With Pakistan heading towards an inevitable series defeat and the position hopeless, it was pushing it to say this was a moment of glory for Azhar Ali.
He is not universally favoured as captain. Far from it. His form had been indifferent. He had scored 72 from his previous five Test innings combined, which included two ducks.
He had been powerless to stop England amassing a mammoth total of 583-8 in the first innings.
With everything going against him, he at least bought himself some respite, and a reminder for the doubters that he can play a bit after all.
Pakistan’s captain scored his 17th Test century, as he offered proud resistance against England’s on-song pace attack on another gloomy day in Southampton.
With inclement weather forecast to play havoc with the remaining two days of the third lockdown Test between England and Pakistan, his effort may yet have been enough to force a draw in this match.
At the start of the day, it had appeared as though the story of the day was going to be about 600 for an Englishman, rather than a hundred for a Pakistani.
James Anderson had started this Test match with 593 Test wickets. Seven in the match, to become the first fast bowler to 600 in Tests, was certainly within his compass.
The way he started, it seemed as though he was in a rush to get them all in one go. He took the first three wickets to fall as the beleaguered tourists endured a torrid time on the evening of day two.
Then he was straight back into his work the following morning, as he had Asad Shafiq caught by Joe Root in the slips.
At 30-4, it felt like all that stood between the hosts and an early win was the weather. Play was twice halted for rain in the morning session.
For the second Test running, though, Mohammed Rizwan provided some backbone in the Pakistan middle order. He joined his captain in a stand worth 138 for the sixth wicket.
If Azhar’s effort marked a return to form, then one of the opposition knew exactly how he felt.
A few weeks ago Jos Buttler must have felt just as put upon as Azhar. Run-shy, and with a series of listless displays with the gloves, Buttler’s position in the England team was in doubt.
Since then, he has shared in a partnership – with Chris Woakes, which won the opening Test – that will probably define the series.
Then in the first innings of this game he made his career best score, and batted for longer than he ever has done before.
Revived, he has hit a spectacular vein of form behind the timbers, too. First, he held a smart catch, up at the wicket to dismiss Fawad Alam off the off spin of Dom Bess.
Then he ended Rizwan’s rearguard with a fine diving catch down the leg side off the bowling of Woakes.
Rizwan, who made 53, has been earning rave reviews for his own glovework in this series. He might have appreciated his opposite number’s effort had it not brought about his own demise.
Shortly after, Buttler bettered that effort, this time diving further and higher to catch Shaheen Afridi one handed, again down the leg-side, off Stuart Broad.
For much of the afternoon session, it appeared as though England’s fielders were conspiring against Anderson.
Rory Burns and Zak Crawley put down simple catches in the slips, then his old friend Broad could have ended Azhar’s vigil with a simple chance at mid-on.
He grassed it, then somehow ran out Mohammed Abbas with a direct hit having disdainfully thrown the ball away in disappointment.
Anderson seemed ready to erupt, yet kept it together long enough to end Pakistan’s innings by dismissing Naseem Shah, to complete his 29th five-wicket haul in Tests.
That left Azhar on 141 not out, and Pakistan 310 runs behind. England enforced the follow on, went straight back out, only for the umpires to call a halt due to bad light as soon as they made it to the crease.
England squads for Test and T20 series against New Zealand
Test squad: Joe Root (capt), Jofra Archer, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Jack Leach, Saqib Mahmood, Matthew Parkinson, Ollie Pope, Dominic Sibley, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes
T20 squad: Eoin Morgan (capt), Jonny Bairstow, Tom Banton, Sam Billings, Pat Brown, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Joe Denly, Lewis Gregory, Chris Jordan, Saqib Mahmood, Dawid Malan, Matt Parkinson, Adil Rashid, James Vince
A new relationship with the old country
Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates
The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.
ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.
ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
Signed
Geoffrey Arthur Sheikh Zayed
What are the main cyber security threats?
Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
The Baghdad Clock
Shahad Al Rawi, Oneworld
On racial profiling at airports
MATCH INFO
Rugby World Cup (all times UAE)
Third-place play-off: New Zealand v Wales, Friday, 1pm
Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
The%20Specs
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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
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
RESULT
Los Angeles Galaxy 2 Manchester United 5
Galaxy: Dos Santos (79', 88')
United: Rashford (2', 20'), Fellaini (26'), Mkhitaryan (67'), Martial (72')
FIXTURES
All kick-off times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Friday
Sevilla v Levante (midnight)
Saturday
Athletic Bilbao v Real Sociedad (7.15pm)
Eibar v Valencia (9.30pm)
Atletico Madrid v Alaves (11.45pm)
Sunday
Girona v Getafe (3pm)
Celta Vigo v Villarreal (7.15pm)
Las Palmas v Espanyol (9.30pm)
Barcelona v Deportivo la Coruna (11.45pm)
Monday
Malaga v Real Betis (midnight)
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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