A famous quote from Mike Tyson goes something like this: "Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth".
Cricket is no combat sport but England's approach to Test cricket rates highly when it comes to attacking mindset and fearlessness. That plan, given the name 'Bazball' after their coach Brendon McCullum (who does not like that name, must be said), has sparked a stunning turnaround in England's Test fortunes and delivered incredible success over the last 12 months.
And that plan will most likely face its first serious scrutiny against newly-crowned world Test champions Australia in the upcoming Ashes series.
Pat Cummins's team reached the final of the World Test Championship against India on the back of traditional approach to red-ball cricket. Obviously, it helped that they had Test veterans like Steve Smith, David Warner, Nathan Lyon, Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and others in their line-up.
The Aussies blew India away in the final at The Oval to lift the Test mace, and deservedly so as arguably the most consistent Test side in recent times; they had 13 wins and only five defeats over the last three years .
A team brimming with Test runs, wickets and experience will be the biggest challenge for Ben Stokes's England, who are on a mission to change the way Test cricket is played. Their cavalier style of play – maintaining a high scoring rate and going for victory at all times – has won them many admirers, and matches; England have won nine out of their last 11 Tests which included a historic whitewash in Pakistan. But that could change quickly.
England have asked for hard and fast wickets for the five-match series that starts on Friday in Birmingham. The idea being to help their batsmen score as many runs as quickly as possible so that their bowlers can enforce the result.
That's a good plan, but Australia have a superior bowling attack and their main batsmen are in good form. So what's good for the goose is good for the gander.
Former Aussie captain Steve Waugh has questioned whether England have a Plan B if their main approach fails. Fellow great Ricky Ponting believes the win-at-all-cost strategy can fail.
"I think they're trying to find a brand of cricket that they can play that's going to win an Ashes series. It's been refreshing to be honest, to see the win at all cost type of mentality," Ponting said.
"I am really intrigued to see what sort of conditions England want to play that style of cricket. If they have the flatter wickets with smaller boundaries it might just backfire on the bowling group.
"Stuart Broad, Jimmy Anderson and Ollie Robinson are going to want pitches that offer them something. If they don't have those wickets for their bowling attack, let's see how they go against the Aussie batters."
Sure, Australian captains will talk their side up, but it is true that no team has ever played and succeeded this consistently in cricket's history.
And therein lies the biggest challenge. Stokes and his England teammates have talked about staying true to this mindset. The England captain insists that even though he does not like losing, as most don't, he is looking at the bigger picture.
"Just because I say it's all right to fail, it doesn't mean I'm fine with losing," he wrote in a column for the Players' Tribune. "I hate losing.
"But there's a bigger picture. You have to understand that the only way you ever succeed is by having that liberty to really give it a proper go."
The picture will become clear if Australia bat first on a flat wicket and score more than 400 on the opening day. Then we will know if England are willing to charge ahead full speed even if the road gets bumpy.
ALL THE RESULTS
Bantamweight
Siyovush Gulmomdov (TJK) bt Rey Nacionales (PHI) by decision.
Lightweight
Alexandru Chitoran (ROU) bt Hussein Fakhir Abed (SYR) by submission.
Catch 74kg
Omar Hussein (JOR) bt Tohir Zhuraev (TJK) by decision.
Strawweight (Female)
Seo Ye-dam (KOR) bt Weronika Zygmunt (POL) by decision.
Featherweight
Kaan Ofli (TUR) bt Walid Laidi (ALG) by TKO.
Lightweight
Abdulla Al Bousheiri (KUW) bt Leandro Martins (BRA) by TKO.
Welterweight
Ahmad Labban (LEB) bt Sofiane Benchohra (ALG) by TKO.
Bantamweight
Jaures Dea (CAM) v Nawras Abzakh (JOR) no contest.
Lightweight
Mohammed Yahya (UAE) bt Glen Ranillo (PHI) by TKO round 1.
Lightweight
Alan Omer (GER) bt Aidan Aguilera (AUS) by TKO round 1.
Welterweight
Mounir Lazzez (TUN) bt Sasha Palatkinov (HKG) by TKO round 1.
Featherweight title bout
Romando Dy (PHI) v Lee Do-gyeom (KOR) by KO round 1.
6 UNDERGROUND
Director: Michael Bay
Stars: Ryan Reynolds, Adria Arjona, Dave Franco
2.5 / 5 stars
The biog
From: Upper Egypt
Age: 78
Family: a daughter in Egypt; a son in Dubai and his wife, Nabila
Favourite Abu Dhabi activity: walking near to Emirates Palace
Favourite building in Abu Dhabi: Emirates Palace
FORSPOKEN
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Marvel's%20Spider-Man%202
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Assassin's%20Creed%20Mirage
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Starfield
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Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Company%20profile
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What is graphene?
Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged like honeycomb.
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were "playing about" with sticky tape and graphite - the material used as "lead" in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But as they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment had led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
At the time, many believed it was impossible for such thin crystalline materials to be stable. But examined under a microscope, the material remained stable, and when tested was found to have incredible properties.
It is many times times stronger than steel, yet incredibly lightweight and flexible. It is electrically and thermally conductive but also transparent. The world's first 2D material, it is one million times thinner than the diameter of a single human hair.
But the 'sticky tape' method would not work on an industrial scale. Since then, scientists have been working on manufacturing graphene, to make use of its incredible properties.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. Their discovery meant physicists could study a new class of two-dimensional materials with unique properties.
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (c), Chamani Senevirathne (vc), Subha Srinivasan, NIsha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Esha Oza, Ishani Senevirathne, Heena Hotchandani, Keveesha Kumari, Judith Cleetus, Chavi Bhatt, Namita D’Souza.
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.
MATCH INFO
Barcelona 4 (Messi 23' pen, 45 1', 48', Busquets 85')
Celta Vigo 1 (Olaza 42')
More on Quran memorisation:
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
England v South Africa schedule:
- First Test: At Lord's, England won by 219 runs
- Second Test: July 14-18, Trent Bridge, Nottingham, 2pm
- Third Test: The Oval, London, July 27-31, 2pm
- Fourth Test: Old Trafford, Manchester, August 4-8
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
UAE tour of Zimbabwe
All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – UAE won by 36 runs
Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Fixtures (all times UAE)
Saturday
Brescia v Atalanta (6pm)
Genoa v Torino (9pm)
Fiorentina v Lecce (11.45pm)
Sunday
Juventus v Sassuolo (3.30pm)
Inter Milan v SPAL (6pm)
Lazio v Udinese (6pm)
Parma v AC Milan (6pm)
Napoli v Bologna (9pm)
Verona v AS Roma (11.45pm)
Monday
Cagliari v Sampdoria (11.45pm)
Champions League Last 16
Red Bull Salzburg (AUT) v Bayern Munich (GER)
Sporting Lisbon (POR) v Manchester City (ENG)
Benfica (POR) v Ajax (NED)
Chelsea (ENG) v Lille (FRA)
Atletico Madrid (ESP) v Manchester United (ENG)
Villarreal (ESP) v Juventus (ITA)
Inter Milan (ITA) v Liverpool (ENG)
Paris Saint-Germain v Real Madrid (ESP)
