As one precociously gifted teenage left-hander from Abu Dhabi got international TV airtime this week, Jonathan Figy might have been forgiven for feeling a little wistful.
Ethan D’Souza looked suited to UAE national team colours as he was batting against world stars like Rashid Khan and Mujeeb ur Rahman in the Sharjah tri-series.
His brilliant boundary line catch to dismiss Mohammed Nawaz on Saturday night was one of the highlights of the UAE’s first game against Pakistan.
Had Figy been watching, he might have been thinking: that could have been me. Because, not so long ago, it was.
Six years ago, Figy had been the pick of a crop of highly talented young players emerging from UAE age-group cricket.
He had long been a prolific run getter in the schools game, both here and in the UK, where his rare talent had earned him a scholarship to attend Winchester College.
At 18, he debuted in one-day international cricket against Associate cricket’s standard bearers, Scotland, and looked to the manner born.
He then went to the Under-19 World Cup in South Africa, and became the first UAE player to score a century in a global ICC tournament. And in the six years since? Nothing.
The two ODIs he played back in 2019 left him perched on an average of 55, which is still the highest of any UAE cricketer.
Now, Figy scoffs at the idea that he sits on top of the rest by that yardstick, pointing out that it is such a small sample size it should be disregarded. He also points out that he might have been elevated to senior cricket before his time, anyway. The national team was in the throes of a drastic rebuild at the time, in the wake of a corruption storm which tore the game in the Emirates apart.
He says now that he had never got ahead of himself, and always felt his time might come when he was around 24 – which is precisely the age he turned just over a week ago.
While the UAE have been competing with Pakistan and Afghanistan over in Sharjah, Figy has had some business to attend to himself. On the neighbouring oval to where he made his ODI debut in 2019, he was playing in the DP World ILT20 Development Tournament. Not just playing, but thriving.
While captaining Gulf Giants, he made four half-centuries, finishing by a large margin the tournament’s leading run-scorer. As statements go, it was emphatic.
“Even though things have not been going too well, and I have been out of the side, I have discovered myself as a cricketer,” Figy said. “I have found my game. I have gone away and scored runs in domestic cricket, and I am fine-tuning my skills. Now, hopefully it is coming to people’s attention.
“The most important thing is that I am enjoying my cricket, because you never know when your last game might be. I know that sounds strange, being only 24.
“I still have the passion to play for UAE again. Deep down, I still want that. My parents have been so supportive. A lot would have said, ‘Go and work’, and if I had stayed in the UK, I might have had a good job by now.
“But I have chosen a pathway which not many do, but wearing that UAE jersey means a lot to me. I have scored a hundred in a World Cup. It means so much to me.”
His resurgence in the game was not always guaranteed. Three years ago, he was on the brink of giving up the sport altogether.
“Honestly, I just want to thank my coach at Winchester College, Mr [Paul] Gover,” Figy said. “In 2022, in my last few months of university, I made a call to him telling him I would quit cricket. I was in the library, working on my dissertation, and there were lots of students around me. I told him I didn’t think I could do it.
“This was at a point when everyone was struggling with Covid, and a lot of cricketers had to stop playing. Tears were running down my face, but he just said, ‘Keep going’.
“That is something that really stuck with me. A lot of the things I am doing now are thanks to him.”
Schoolboys rarely emerge from Winchester College short of options. It was, for example, the alma mater of Rishi Sunak, the former British Prime Minister. Figy works as a maths tutor while trying to make good his aspirations in cricket.
“I have a degree and I could do work and live a decent life, but I want to take a risk,” Figy said.
“I want to play cricket and pursue my passion. I really want to play for the UAE. There is a real hunger and desire to have that honour of representing the country.
“I was born and brought up here. For me to wear the jersey means a lot to me. I am doing everything I can, and hopefully I can be back soon.”
It is telling that Figy only speaks about the idea of playing for the national team again. His run spree came in a tournament in which the country’s leading players are actually all vying with each other for a contract to play T20 franchise cricket.
Figy said the ILT20 Development Tournament was the “highest quality of cricket” he has experienced domestically, given what is at stake for the players. But he is clear about what motivates him.
“Always: country first,” he said. “In three seasons [of ILT20], we have seen the exposure the players get from playing in that tournament. If I was to get that opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the world’s best, I know my game could go even higher.
“To get the advice from them would be great, but [playing for UAE] is what is at the forefront of my mind. I want to do whatever I can to make that happen.”
And, as for D’Souza, that teen whizz kid from the capital blocking one of the routes back to the national team? Figy feels no envy whatsoever.
“I am proud of him,” Figy said of D’Souza. “We are good mates off the field, and we have been texting each other.
“It has been so good to see him doing well. We are both Abu Dhabi boys, and whoever [is selected] we back them and want them to do well. Not many go on to play for UAE from the Abu Dhabi region, so for him to be there is great to see. Hopefully he can continue to do well and win games for UAE.
“Selection is not in my hands but if I get that opportunity, I want to go out there and win games for UAE, and make everyone proud, too. That is my goal.”
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
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Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
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Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
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Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
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Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
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Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 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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- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
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Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
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The Bio
Favourite place in UAE: Al Rams pearling village
What one book should everyone read: Any book written before electricity was invented. When a writer willingly worked under candlelight, you know he/she had a real passion for their craft
Your favourite type of pearl: All of them. No pearl looks the same and each carries its own unique characteristics, like humans
Best time to swim in the sea: When there is enough light to see beneath the surface
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Creator: Mike White
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Rating: 4.5/5
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Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
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Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
Specs
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Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Dubai World Cup factbox
Most wins by a trainer: Godolphin’s Saeed bin Suroor(9)
Most wins by a jockey: Jerry Bailey(4)
Most wins by an owner: Godolphin(9)
Most wins by a horse: Godolphin’s Thunder Snow(2)
