England got their T20 World Cup campaign off to a perfect start as they beat Afghanistan by five wickets in Perth on Saturday, with their bowling and fielding in top form.
Left-arm seamer Sam Curran was the star with incredible figures of 5-10 - the first England bowler to take five wickets in a T20I.
Their next challenge is against Ireland and the weather in Melbourne on Wednesday.
The Australian east coast has been damper and cooler than usual because of the ongoing La Nina weather pattern, with downpours at Hobart on Monday forcing a no-result between South Africa and Zimbabwe.
The forecast for Melbourne is not good for Wednesday and Friday - when England face hosts Australia. There is 80 per cent chance of rain for the Ireland game and a similar probability for the next game two days later.
However, captain Jos Buttler believes England will be ready to adjust their gameplan if rain interferes.
"The big key is to be able to react quickly to those kinds of things," Buttler said. "You have a little idea of things you might do if those kinds of things happen.
"But I don't want to get too sort of preoccupied with what-ifs. I don't want to spend all night staying awake thinking about what might happen, just try and react to it when it does happen.
"What's great about the squad and our team is we've got lots of different options, and even in the same team you can ask people to fulfil different roles.
"That gives us a lot of options when situations change and change quickly - whether that's rain or something, and then we can try and change tack quickly and adapt."
While England will be buoyed by their effort against Afghanistan, Ireland enter the match on the back of a crushing nine-wicket defeat against Sri Lanka in Hobart.
However, Buttler said there is no chance of his players taking any game lightly as only the top two teams from the six-team group will progress to the semi-finals and net run rates are likely to be a factor.
"In such a short tournament, in must-win games pretty much every time, we try and get our best team on... the best team on the day due to conditions, opposition," he said.
"Any time you take things for granted or you don't respect the opposition is when you can get hurt.
"I think in T20 cricket especially, there's the one format where it's as level a playing field as any."
Meanwhile, New Zealand will look to maintain the devastating form they showed against defending champions Australia when they face Afghanistan.
The Black Caps stunned their trans-Tasman rivals in all departments in the tournament opener with an 89-run win at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Fast bowler Trent Boult said the challenge is now to start afresh.
"It is hard, but we quickly got on a plane the next day and moved into a new hotel and started preparing for a new game," Boult told reporters at the MCG.
"The boys spoke leading into this tournament, into that game, of what it means to be here and how exciting it is to be on this stage, and T20 cricket is about fun.
"It's about showing your skills and going out there and having a good time."
The%20specs
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SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20IPHONE%2015%20PRO%20MAX
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week
QUARTER-FINAL
Wales 20-19 France
Wales: T: Wainwright, Moriarty. Cons: Biggar (2) Pens: Biggar 2
France: T: Vahaamahina, Ollivon, Vakatawa Cons: Ntamack (2)
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week
The biog
Name: Timothy Husband
Nationality: New Zealand
Education: Degree in zoology at The University of Sydney
Favourite book: Lemurs of Madagascar by Russell A Mittermeier
Favourite music: Billy Joel
Weekends and holidays: Talking about animals or visiting his farm in Australia
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The%20stats%20and%20facts
%3Cp%3E1.9%20million%20women%20are%20at%20risk%20of%20developing%20cervical%20cancer%20in%20the%20UAE%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E80%25%20of%20people%2C%20females%20and%20males%2C%20will%20get%20human%20papillomavirus%20(HPV)%20once%20in%20their%20lifetime%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EOut%20of%20more%20than%20100%20types%20of%20HPV%2C%2014%20strains%20are%20cancer-causing%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E99.9%25%20of%20cervical%20cancers%20are%20caused%20by%20the%20virus%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EA%20five-year%20survival%20rate%20of%20close%20to%2096%25%20can%20be%20achieved%20with%20regular%20screenings%20for%20cervical%20cancer%20detection%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EWomen%20aged%2025%20to%2029%20should%20get%20a%20Pap%20smear%20every%20three%20years%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EWomen%20aged%2030%20to%2065%20should%20do%20a%20Pap%20smear%20and%20HPV%20test%20every%20five%20years%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EChildren%20aged%2013%20and%20above%20should%20get%20the%20HPV%20vaccine%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Family reunited
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was born and raised in Tehran and studied English literature before working as a translator in the relief effort for the Japanese International Co-operation Agency in 2003.
She moved to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies before moving to the World Health Organisation as a communications officer.
She came to the UK in 2007 after securing a scholarship at London Metropolitan University to study a master's in communication management and met her future husband through mutual friends a month later.
The couple were married in August 2009 in Winchester and their daughter was born in June 2014.
She was held in her native country a year later.
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
