The UAE might have suffered a miserable end to their Covid-disrupted one-day international series against Ireland in Abu Dhabi this week.
But the future for the game here appears bright if the action at the Karwan Rising Stars F40 competition in Ajman is anything to go by.
The national team were thrashed by 112 runs after their batting capitulated against Irish at the Zayed Cricket Stadium on Monday.
Up the coast in Ajman, a new competition set up by a private benefactor, Babar Iqbal, to give exposure to the country’s leading young players has been underway.
Just as he did at the Emirates D20 tournament in Dubai in December, teenage spinner Aayan Afzal Khan has caught the eye already.
Playing for Hawks against Lions on Tuesday evening, Aayan – who only turned 15 in November – took 4-30 from his eight overs.
He then scored 49 opening the batting as the Hawks chased the 232 required for victory with an over to spare.
His excellence with the ball was noteworthy for the fact senior national team batsmen Fahad Nawaz and Rameez Shahzad were among his victims.
Before he fell Rameez, who is the only UAE player to date to have scored two centuries in ODI cricket but was not part of the squad to face, scored a 43-ball 55.
ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA
Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi
Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser
Rating: 4.5/5
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 380hp at 5,800rpm
Torque: 530Nm at 1,300-4,500rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Price: From Dh299,000 ($81,415)
On sale: Now
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
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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.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 240hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 390Nm at 3,000rpm
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Price: from Dh122,745
On sale: now
Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.
