It says much about the class of Aqib Ilyas that, when he was dismissed for 53 against UAE on Wednesday, he actually saw his career average drop.
It was his second half century in the space of three days, as he played his part in Oman's rousing wins against Ireland and UAE.
Really, he is just warming up. The Muscat-raised batter is getting back into the old routine at the Cricket World Cup Qualifier in Bulawayo having had his international career interrupted for 18 months by a health scare.
Ilyas was training with Oman ahead of a home T20 World Cup qualifying tournament at the start of last year. He laboured through some running drills and felt acute pain in his ankle.
Oman’s physio felt swelling and recommended an immediate trip to hospital. After X-rays and a CAT scan, Ilyas was informed he had a potentially cancerous bone tumour.
“It was too scary,” Ilyas told The National. “My parents were back in Pakistan, and I couldn’t speak to them. My younger brother was sitting right next to me, and I started crying.
“I thought of how my mother would feel when she got to hear this because in my mind, this was cancer. I knew the bone had been swollen for a long time, so I thought it must have spread a long way.
“I messaged [Oman coach Duleep Mendis] and said, ‘I am done with my cricket. I won’t be able to continue because the doctors told me I might be going through cancer.’
“I started crying, and my brother said, ‘What has happened? I never shared it with him because he is younger than me. Then my cousin came and said, ‘What happened? You went to the hospital and now you are not speaking to anyone.’ I said the doctors had told me this might be cancer.”
It took a friend who worked at the hospital to help dissipate Ilyas’ fear. He explained the difference between malign and benign tumours, and that there was a chance of recovery.
Oman Cricket stepped in to help their man, too. Pankaj Khimji, the Muscat industrialist who is the cricket board’s chairman, reassured Ilyas they would look after him, and said he could go anywhere in the world for his surgery.
Rather than stay at home in Muscat, where he would risk spending his rehab moping around while his mates played cricket without him, he opted to travel to Pakistan, where his extended family are based.
“I said that after the operation, being apart from cricket will be depressing,” Ilyas said. “My team will be playing and I will be out of this beautiful game for a long time.”
Surgery was complex, given the bone had grown misshapen around the tumour. But he received the good news that it was benign.
“My father started crying,” Ilyas said when the news was passed on. “He had been very concerned.
“They only wanted to open the bone once, and everyone was praying for me that the results would be benign.
“I received a call from the doctor who said, ‘You don’t have to worry about anything. It was a benign tumour.’
“My father was right in front of me, and he started crying. These are the moments you remember.”
I feel like am very blessed to have a talent for cricket
Aqib Ilyas
Being in the care of his family was exactly where he wanted to be. But it did not take long for his mind to wander back to thinking of a return to the cricket field.
“Family is the first thing that comes into your mind during a bad time,” he said.
“Even if you are at the ground and you don’t do well, your brothers and sisters are the first thing that come into your mind.
“Life is first, then cricket – but cricket is also a major thing in my life.”
His rehab was slow. It took more than a year to get back on the field. Now he is back on the international stage, it is like he was never away.
Certainly, it must feel that way to opposition bowlers. Especially those from the UAE, many of whom know Ilyas well and regard him as a friend.
Ilyas grew up in Muscat but his university studies brought him to Dubai. In his time in the UAE he wowed the domestic cricket scene to such an extent that an inquiry was made as to whether he would consider staying and qualifying for the national team.
His heart remained in Oman, though, and he has returned to have a fine international career – illness and injury notwithstanding. In 18 ODI innings to date, Ilyas has never failed to make at least double figures. He has two centuries, plus seven half-centuries besides.
“I feel like am very blessed to have a talent for cricket,” Ilyas said.
“Former cricketers used to say to me they have seen me playing quality shots and that I have a lot of talent, but at that time maybe I wasn’t thankful enough to the Almighty.
“Now, after being out for so long, I am thankful to Him for even the small moments. Life, you get it once and you have to live it. I take it as a blessing that I am in the field and can play for this team.”
It's up to you to go green
Nils El Accad, chief executive and owner of Organic Foods and Café, says going green is about “lifestyle and attitude” rather than a “money change”; people need to plan ahead to fill water bottles in advance and take their own bags to the supermarket, he says.
“People always want someone else to do the work; it doesn’t work like that,” he adds. “The first step: you have to consciously make that decision and change.”
When he gets a takeaway, says Mr El Accad, he takes his own glass jars instead of accepting disposable aluminium containers, paper napkins and plastic tubs, cutlery and bags from restaurants.
He also plants his own crops and herbs at home and at the Sheikh Zayed store, from basil and rosemary to beans, squashes and papayas. “If you’re going to water anything, better it be tomatoes and cucumbers, something edible, than grass,” he says.
“All this throwaway plastic - cups, bottles, forks - has to go first,” says Mr El Accad, who has banned all disposable straws, whether plastic or even paper, from the café chain.
One of the latest changes he has implemented at his stores is to offer refills of liquid laundry detergent, to save plastic. The two brands Organic Foods stocks, Organic Larder and Sonnett, are both “triple-certified - you could eat the product”.
The Organic Larder detergent will soon be delivered in 200-litre metal oil drums before being decanted into 20-litre containers in-store.
Customers can refill their bottles at least 30 times before they start to degrade, he says. Organic Larder costs Dh35.75 for one litre and Dh62 for 2.75 litres and refills will cost 15 to 20 per cent less, Mr El Accad says.
But while there are savings to be had, going green tends to come with upfront costs and extra work and planning. Are we ready to refill bottles rather than throw them away? “You have to change,” says Mr El Accad. “I can only make it available.”
Brief scores:
Toss: Sindhis, elected to field first
Kerala Knights 103-7 (10 ov)
Parnell 59 not out; Tambe 5-15
Sindhis 104-1 (7.4 ov)
Watson 50 not out, Devcich 49
The five pillars of Islam
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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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.
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
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Director: Kangana Ranaut, Krish Jagarlamudi
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- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
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- 400m Olympic running track
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- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
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The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
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• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
Turning%20waste%20into%20fuel
%3Cp%3EAverage%20amount%20of%20biofuel%20produced%20at%20DIC%20factory%20every%20month%3A%20%3Cstrong%3EApproximately%20106%2C000%20litres%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAmount%20of%20biofuel%20produced%20from%201%20litre%20of%20used%20cooking%20oil%3A%20%3Cstrong%3E920ml%20(92%25)%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ETime%20required%20for%20one%20full%20cycle%20of%20production%20from%20used%20cooking%20oil%20to%20biofuel%3A%20%3Cstrong%3EOne%20day%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EEnergy%20requirements%20for%20one%20cycle%20of%20production%20from%201%2C000%20litres%20of%20used%20cooking%20oil%3A%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E%E2%96%AA%20Electricity%20-%201.1904%20units%3Cbr%3E%E2%96%AA%20Water-%2031%20litres%3Cbr%3E%E2%96%AA%20Diesel%20%E2%80%93%2026.275%20litres%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
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Transmission: 10-speed auto
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The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
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The Bio
Favourite holiday destination: Either Kazakhstan or Montenegro. I’ve been involved in events in both countries and they are just stunning.
Favourite book: I am a huge of Robin Cook’s medical thrillers, which I suppose is quite apt right now. My mother introduced me to them back home in New Zealand.
Favourite film or television programme: Forrest Gump is my favourite film, that’s never been up for debate. I love watching repeats of Mash as well.
Inspiration: My late father moulded me into the man I am today. I would also say disappointment and sadness are great motivators. There are times when events have brought me to my knees but it has also made me determined not to let them get the better of me.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
India cancels school-leaving examinations
