UAE squad to face Ireland
Ahmed Raza (captain), Chirag Suri (vice-captain), Rohan Mustafa, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Boota, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Waheed Ahmad, Zawar Farid, CP Rizwaan, Aryan Lakra, Karthik Meiyappan, Alishan Sharafu, Basil Hameed, Kashif Daud, Adithya Shetty, Vriitya Aravind
Ahmed Raza says UAE's players are grateful for any cricket they can get, given the disruption that has been caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The national team will be reunited in competition for the first time in 11 months on Friday, when they play Ireland at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
They will play four one-day internationals in the space of seven days against the Irish.
The next official cricket inked into the UAE's schedule is a Cricket World Cup League Two tri-series against hosts United States and Scotland in August.
Raza, the UAE captain, said he is looking forward to a return to playing, given the difficulties of the recent past.
“It was definitely concerning, but we were pretty lucky to be in the UAE,” Raza said.
“The government and the concerned authorities took care of this pandemic very well, and we were able to hit the ground running, before any other Associate nation.
“We played a domestic tournament which was streamed live, then a T20 tournament. We had a busy calendar that was postponed due to the pandemic.
“Now we are looking forward to what this year will hold. We have to take each series at a time, and we cannot plan much ahead of ourselves.
“We have to look at this series, and then see what the rest of the year holds for us.
“It has been good to be back together after nearly a year off. It has been really good.”
Although international cricket has been paused for the best part of a year for them, the country’s leading players have not been short of cricket of late.
Domestic cricket restarted in July, and has continued more or less uninterrupted since. The national team have been training as a collective for the best part of three months.
Three players – Raza, Karthik Meiyappan and Zahoor Khan – also had the unexpected benefit for training with IPL franchises when that competition was exiled here from September to November.
“When we left IPL, we felt we had gained a lot,” Raza said. “It is hard to explain in words, but we just started feeling different, and you are different in your approach as well.
“I hope whatever we learnt in that period, we can showcase that in our performances in this series.”
Zahoor, who was part of the Mumbai Indians training squad during the IPL, is fit to face Ireland.
The fast bowler had been an injury concern, following an elbow injury sustained in the Emirates D20 last month.
However, both he and Chirag Suri, who had missed that tournament with a rib injury, have been named in the squad for the series.
The 17-man squad also includes debut call ups for Alishan Sharafu, Aryan Lakra, Kashif Daud and Adhitya Shetty.
For Ireland, the series represents a return to ODI action for the first time since they beat world champions England in a remarkable run chase in August, in the Cricket World Cup Super League.
They will return to that competition after the four-game series against the UAE, with three matches against Afghanistan, also in Abu Dhabi.
“We didn’t get a lot of cricket last year, but we did get more cricket than a lot of teams, so we were fortunate,” Andy Balbirnie, the Ireland captain, said.
“We are looking forward to hitting the ground running.”
Kevin O’Brien, the Ireland batsman, said the tourists are targeting a clean-sweep against their hosts, ahead of the series against Afghanistan.
“We are a well-conditioned team. We are all very fit, and have worked hard over the last eight or nine months through lockdown, working in the gym or running on our own when you couldn’t train in the gym.
“Four games in seven days will be tough, but fingers crossed we all get through it unscathed and can get our best team on the field for every match.
“The main thing for us is to try and win 4-0 leading into the Afghanistan series.”
The series starts at 9.30am on Friday, with all matches to be played at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in the capital.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
Moral education needed in a 'rapidly changing world'
Moral education lessons for young people is needed in a rapidly changing world, the head of the programme said.
Alanood Al Kaabi, head of programmes at the Education Affairs Office of the Crown Price Court - Abu Dhabi, said: "The Crown Price Court is fully behind this initiative and have already seen the curriculum succeed in empowering young people and providing them with the necessary tools to succeed in building the future of the nation at all levels.
"Moral education touches on every aspect and subject that children engage in.
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Bio
Born in Dubai in 1994
Her father is a retired Emirati police officer and her mother is originally from Kuwait
She Graduated from the American University of Sharjah in 2015 and is currently working on her Masters in Communication from the University of Sharjah.
Her favourite film is Pacific Rim, directed by Guillermo del Toro
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How does ToTok work?
The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store
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No.6 Collaborations Project
Ed Sheeran (Atlantic)
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
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1 cup baking soda
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Titanium Escrow profile
Started: December 2016
Founder: Ibrahim Kamalmaz
Based: UAE
Sector: Finance / legal
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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.
Ruwais timeline
1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established
1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants
1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed
1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.
1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex
2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea
2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd
2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens
2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies
2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export
2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.
2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery
2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital
2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13
Source: The National
Who has been sanctioned?
Daniella Weiss and Nachala
Described as 'the grandmother of the settler movement', she has encouraged the expansion of settlements for decades. The 79 year old leads radical settler movement Nachala, whose aim is for Israel to annex Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where it helps settlers built outposts.
Harel Libi & Libi Construction and Infrastructure
Libi has been involved in threatening and perpetuating acts of aggression and violence against Palestinians. His firm has provided logistical and financial support for the establishment of illegal outposts.
Zohar Sabah
Runs a settler outpost named Zohar’s Farm and has previously faced charges of violence against Palestinians. He was indicted by Israel’s State Attorney’s Office in September for allegedly participating in a violent attack against Palestinians and activists in the West Bank village of Muarrajat.
Coco’s Farm and Neria’s Farm
These are illegal outposts in the West Bank, which are at the vanguard of the settler movement. According to the UK, they are associated with people who have been involved in enabling, inciting, promoting or providing support for activities that amount to “serious abuse”.
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Engine: Duel electric motors
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The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
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UAE squad to face Ireland
Ahmed Raza (captain), Chirag Suri (vice-captain), Rohan Mustafa, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Boota, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Waheed Ahmad, Zawar Farid, CP Rizwaan, Aryan Lakra, Karthik Meiyappan, Alishan Sharafu, Basil Hameed, Kashif Daud, Adithya Shetty, Vriitya Aravind
