So quickly did England make their presence felt in the T20 World Cup in the UAE, the Barmy Army had scarcely had chance to find their voice before a first victory was clinched.
The travelling supporters had just managed a few lines of “Everywhere we go” before Jos Buttler set the sealed on a six-wicket trouncing of West Indies at the Dubai International Stadium.
Even the margin of victory was misleading. England had stumbled over their pursuit of a meagre 56 to win, as they chased a rapid victory to provide a net run-rate boost.
The fact they did cross the line with 70 balls to spare could prove handy when the Super 12 which its business end it a few weeks’ time.
It has been eight days since cricket had last been played at this stadium. Whether the groundstaff have been able to revive the wicket after a month’s worth of traffic had passed over it in the Indian Premier League remains to be seen.
The fact the West Indies tumbled to such a paltry score in the first match of their title defence was little to do with the facilities. Even Kieron Pollard, their captain, acknowledged as much.
He said his side had “been demolished”, pointing out there were “no demons in the pitch – it was a good batting track, but not a good batting display”.
“We accept it, and we take full responsibility for what transpired,” Pollard said.
“Games like this, you want to bin as soon as possible and move on. If you try to dig too deep, you might unearth something you really don’t want to.”
One thing that certainly had not changed in the week or so since the IPL concluded in Dubai was the form of Moeen Ali.
The England allrounder had played a starring role when Chennai Super Kings amassed 192-3 to win that tournament earlier this month.
In his first competitive action since, he continued to thrive. Back then in the yellow of Chennai, it had been with the bat where he shone brightest. This time it was with the ball and in the field.
He started England’s campaign with a fine catch, retreating from mid off, to dismiss Evin Lewis. Buoyed, he then took the wickets of Lendl Simmons and Shimron Hetmyer.
By the time his four overs were finished – bowled off the reel, and with the new ball – the Caribbean side were four wickets down, and the game was as good as finished.
Even then, he was upstaged by his spin colleague, Adil Rashid. The leg-spinner took 4-2– the best figures ever by an Englishman in T20 internationals - to hurry the West Indies innings to a close.
Although England’s spinners performed well, the West Indies batsmen were certainly culpable for their own demise.
England arrived at this tournament as the top-ranked side, while the holders were way down in ninth. That said, the Caribbean side are fancied in many quarters given both their depth of experience and the number of power hitters in their line up.
The commitment to power hitting, though, was their undoing against England.
Despite Rashid’s figures, it was Moeen who earned the player of the match award.
“I think Moeen Ali read the conditions beautifully,” said Eoin Morgan, the England captain who was at the non-striker’s end as Buttler hit the winning runs.
“He took chances when his match-up was in his favour, and to take his opportunity like he has, after the success he's had in the IPL was brilliant.”
Although England have designs on something more substantial than one – albeit crushing – opening day win over the holders in this event, Morgan was delighted with the way they had performed.
“It's as good as it gets,” Morgan said. “To start our campaign like that, all credit to our bowling unit.”
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
match info
Maratha Arabians 138-2
C Lynn 91*, A Lyth 20, B Laughlin 1-15
Team Abu Dhabi 114-3
L Wright 40*, L Malinga 0-13, M McClenaghan 1-17
Maratha Arabians won by 24 runs
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
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'Cheb%20Khaled'
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Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
RESULTS FOR STAGE 4
Stage 4 Dubai to Hatta, 197 km, Road race.
Overall leader Primoz Roglic SLO (Team Jumbo - Visma)
Stage winners: 1. Caleb Ewan AUS (Lotto - Soudal) 2. Matteo Moschetti ITA (Trek - Segafredo) 3. Primoz Roglic SLO (Team Jumbo - Visma)
Points Classification
1. Marcel Kittel (Germany / Quick-Step) 63
2. Arnaud Demare (France / FDJ) 38
3. Andre Greipel (Germany / Lotto) 25
4. Sonny Colbrelli (Italy / Bahrain) 24
5. Mark Cavendish (Britain / Dimension Data) 22
6. Taylor Phinney (U.S. / Cannondale) 21
7. Geraint Thomas (Britain / Team Sky) 20
8. Thomas Boudat (France / Direct Energie) 20
9. Stefan Kueng (Switzerland / BMC Racing) 17
10. Michael Matthews (Australia / Sunweb) 17
The Breadwinner
Director: Nora Twomey
Starring: Saara Chaudry, Soma Chhaya, Laara Sadiq
Three stars
Results
5.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Dirt) 1,600m, Winner: Panadol, Mickael Barzalona (jockey), Salem bin Ghadayer (trainer)
6.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Turf) 1,400m, Winner: Mayehaab, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass
6.40pm: Handicap (TB) Dh85,000 (D) 1,600m, Winner: Monoski, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer
7.15pm: Handicap (TB) Dh102,500 (T) 1,800m, Winner: Eastern World, Royston Ffrench, Charlie Appleby
7.50pm: Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (D) 1,200m, Winner: Madkal, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass
8.25pm: Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (T) 1,200m, Winner: Taneen, Dane O’Neill, Musabah Al Muhairi
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Arabian Gulf Cup FINAL
Al Nasr 2
(Negredo 1, Tozo 50)
Shabab Al Ahli 1
(Jaber 13)
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
The biog
Favourite food: Fish and seafood
Favourite hobby: Socialising with friends
Favourite quote: You only get out what you put in!
Favourite country to visit: Italy
Favourite film: Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
Family: We all have one!
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl
Power: 153hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 200Nm at 4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Price: Dh99,000
On sale: now
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Three tips from La Perle's performers
1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.
2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.
3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
No Shame
Lily Allen
(Parlophone)
