Australia is scheduled to host the T20 World Cup later this year. AFP
Australia is scheduled to host the T20 World Cup later this year. AFP
Australia is scheduled to host the T20 World Cup later this year. AFP
Australia is scheduled to host the T20 World Cup later this year. AFP

Allan Border can't imagine T20 World Cup in Australia behind closed doors


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Former Australia captain Allan Border said it is difficult to imagine hosting this year's Twenty20 World Cup Down Under in front of empty stadiums.

The coronavirus pandemic, which has prompted travel restrictions around the world, has raised doubts about the showpiece tournament, which is scheduled to begin in Geelong on October 18.

The idea of playing behind closed doors to give cricket-starved fans live action on television has found some backing but Border, 64, is not a fan of the concept, especially for a World Cup.

"I just can't imagine playing at empty stadiums ... it defies belief," he told Fox Sports News.

"Having teams, support staff and everyone else associated with the game wandering around the country, playing games of cricket, but you can't let people into the grounds. I just can't see it happening.

"It's either you play it and everyone just gets on with the job and we're past this pandemic.

"Or it just has to be cancelled and you try to fit it in somewhere else."
The virus has so far infected about 6,400 Australians and led to 61 deaths.

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UAE SQUAD

 Khalid Essa (Al Ain), Ali Khaseif (Al Jazira), Adel Al Hosani (Sharjah), Mahmoud Khamis (Al Nasr), Yousef Jaber (Shabab Al Ahli Dubai), Khalifa Al Hammadi (Jazira), Salem Rashid (Jazira), Shaheen Abdelrahman (Sharjah), Faris Juma (Al Wahda), Mohammed Shaker (Al Ain), Mohammed Barghash (Wahda), Abdulaziz Haikal (Shabab Al Ahli), Ahmed Barman (Al Ain), Khamis Esmail (Wahda), Khaled Bawazir (Sharjah), Majed Surour (Sharjah), Abdullah Ramadan (Jazira), Mohammed Al Attas (Jazira), Fabio De Lima (Al Wasl), Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Khalfan Mubarak (Jazira), Habib Fardan (Nasr), Khalil Ibrahim (Wahda), Ali Mabkhout (Jazira), Ali Saleh (Wasl), Caio (Al Ain), Sebastian Tagliabue (Nasr).

Living in...

This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.

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Sinopharm vaccine explained

The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades. 

“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.

"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."

This is then injected into the body.

"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.

"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."

The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.

Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.

“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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