Tom Banton could be forgiven for getting ahead of himself when he arrives in Abu Dhabi for the IPL.
He will be jetted in on a private charter flight, at the expense of a Bollywood kingpin. He will be ushered to the team hotel at the Ritz Carlton in the capital, where he will find opulence as standard.
His contract will inform him he is making around $136,000 (Dh 500,000) for six weeks’ work, which is decent for a 21-year old. Or anybody, come to think of it.
Already, he has been termed “like AB de Villiers,” and a “better version of Kevin Pietersen,” by various franchise coaches.
All things considered, he will do well to guard against letting his head swell. But if he needs a reality check, he won’t have to look too far.
When he gets to nets at Zayed Cricket Stadium, he will just have to glance over the sterilised fence to see the dad of one of his classmates at school.
The same guy who gave him a lift to his first match in men’s first XI cricket, when he was still just 13, and captained him in the same game, too.
And the same guy who made the call to cut him loose from the county where he grew up.
Dougie Brown is now the director of cricket in Abu Dhabi, where Kolkata Knight Riders are based for this season of IPL.
Eight years ago, Brown was playing the last of his seven seasons of club cricket in Birmingham, which he dovetailed with heading up the academy for county side Warwickshire.
He was a schoolboy prodigy, a phenomenal player
It was at that point he picked up a 13-year-old wicketkeeper batsman called Tom Banton, and gave him a lift to a Barnt Green first XI game for the first time.
Getting chat out of teenagers can be a tricky business, even for someone as gregarious as Brown. “Any conversation wasn’t being stimulated by him,” Brown recalled of that particular car trip.
The former Scotland and England international was certain, though, the young kid’s cricket would soon be doing his talking for him.
“We had to get special dispensation from the league, because at that stage we weren’t allowed to play 13-year olds as it was considered to be too dangerous,” Brown said.
“We told them he was definitely going to be better than the majority of players he would be playing against in a year – and at that minute he was probably comparable. He could handle himself in that environment.”
It did not need a soothsayer to predict Banton was marked out for the top. Even as a 10-year old, he had scored a double century in age-group cricket, “which does not really happen,” as Brown points out.
“He was a schoolboy prodigy, a phenomenal player,” Brown said.
All of which jars – on the surface at least – with what happened subsequently.
Brown knew Banton well. He was his captain in club cricket, his academy director at Warwickshire, and his eldest daughter – a fellow sports scholar – was in the same class as him at school.
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Kolkata Knights Riders train in Abu Dhabi
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Despite all that, the coach believed Banton’s progress would be inhibited if he stayed where he was.
“Having to keep him on the right path was challenging,” Brown said.
“We used to have a lot of internal meetings about where he was at with his cricket and his attitude.
"It was decided that, for his benefit and development, we were going to release him from our academy structure.
“We knew it was going to be the biggest call we were ever going to have to make.
“We knew we would live or die by this decision, but for his benefit, he should look to go and play cricket elsewhere.
“He was thinking along the same lines anyway, and it all fitted in for him educationally, too.”
Banton was released from Warwickshire’s academy, and moved two hours away to finish his final years of schooling in Taunton, where he joined up with the county side Somerset.
Since then, he has gone on to play for the full county team, then England, as well as franchise sides in Pakistan, Australia and Abu Dhabi, with the IPL to follow from Saturday.
KKR can’t wait for him to get here. Their team mentor David Hussey described him as being “phenomenal in the Big Bash,” and a “new version, or better version of Kevin Pietersen.”
And Aaqib Javed, who recruited him to play for Qalandars in the Abu Dhabi T10 last November said Banton was like De Villiers, “he is that good”.
Brown is not surprised by his development. He is sure the right call was made for all concerned back then because "taking that friendship element out of it, there was still a professional decision to be made.”
“We knew we’d be left with egg on our faces, because we knew he’d be an outstanding player somewhere else,” Brown said.
“But we honestly thought if he had stayed at Warwickshire, he could quite easily have been out of the game within 18 months.”
For his part, Banton seems grateful for how things worked out. When he was interviewed by the BBC after making his England debut last year, Brown was one of the first people he credited for his rise.
As for the lofty acclaim that has been coming his way in his budding career to date, he says he does not pay it much thought.
He said he is just glad to be involved in a tournament as high profile as the IPL, saying it us “something I have been dreaming of since a very young age.”
And as for those Pietersen comparisons? He is not paying too much attention.
“Obviously, he is one of the greatest players to have played from England,” Banton said in an interview with KKR’s official website.
“I have watched him while growing up and he was definitely an idol of mine. But honestly, I don’t like to think so much, otherwise you get too far ahead of yourself.”
KKR start their IPL campaign when they play Mumbai Indians – the other team based in Abu Dhabi – at the Zayed Cricket Stadium on Wednesday, September 23.
TEST SQUADS
Bangladesh: Mushfiqur Rahim (captain), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Imrul Kayes, Liton Das, Shakib Al Hasan, Mominul Haque, Nasir Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Mehedi Hasan, Shafiul Islam, Taijul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman and Taskin Ahmed.
Australia: Steve Smith (captain), David Warner, Ashton Agar, Hilton Cartwright, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Matthew Wade, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Renshaw, Mitchell Swepson and Jackson Bird.
Graduated from the American University of Sharjah
She is the eldest of three brothers and two sisters
Has helped solve 15 cases of electric shocks
Enjoys travelling, reading and horse riding
Getting there
The flights
Flydubai operates up to seven flights a week to Helsinki. Return fares to Helsinki from Dubai start from Dh1,545 in Economy and Dh7,560 in Business Class.
The stay
Golden Crown Igloos in Levi offer stays from Dh1,215 per person per night for a superior igloo; www.leviniglut.net
Panorama Hotel in Levi is conveniently located at the top of Levi fell, a short walk from the gondola. Stays start from Dh292 per night based on two people sharing; www. golevi.fi/en/accommodation/hotel-levi-panorama
Arctic Treehouse Hotel in Rovaniemi offers stays from Dh1,379 per night based on two people sharing; www.arctictreehousehotel.com
GRAN%20TURISMO
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CRICKET%20WORLD%20CUP%20QUALIFIER%2C%20ZIMBABWE%20
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Porsche Macan T: The Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 265hp from 5,000-6,500rpm
Torque: 400Nm from 1,800-4,500rpm
Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch auto
Speed: 0-100kph in 6.2sec
Top speed: 232kph
Fuel consumption: 10.7L/100km
On sale: May or June
Price: From Dh259,900
Boulder shooting victims
• Denny Strong, 20
• Neven Stanisic, 23
• Rikki Olds, 25
• Tralona Bartkowiak, 49
• Suzanne Fountain, 59
• Teri Leiker, 51
• Eric Talley, 51
• Kevin Mahoney, 61
• Lynn Murray, 62
• Jody Waters, 65
Western Region Asia Cup Qualifier
Results
UAE beat Saudi Arabia by 12 runs
Kuwait beat Iran by eight wickets
Oman beat Maldives by 10 wickets
Bahrain beat Qatar by six wickets
Semi-finals
UAE v Qatar
Bahrain v Kuwait
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
The specs: 2019 Mercedes-Benz GLE
Price, base / as tested Dh274,000 (estimate)
Engine 3.0-litre inline six-cylinder
Gearbox Nine-speed automatic
Power 245hp @ 4,200rpm
Torque 500Nm @ 1,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined 6.4L / 100km
ANATOMY%20OF%20A%20FALL
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AL%20BOOM
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What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
Step by step
2070km to run
38 days
273,600 calories consumed
28kg of fruit
40kg of vegetables
45 pairs of running shoes
1 yoga matt
1 oxygen chamber
The biog
Name: Ayisha Abdulrahman Gareb
Age: 57
From: Kalba
Occupation: Mukrema, though she washes bodies without charge
Favourite things to do: Visiting patients at the hospital and give them the support they need.
Role model: Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women's Union, Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation and President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood.
New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
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The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
How green is the expo nursery?
Some 400,000 shrubs and 13,000 trees in the on-site nursery
An additional 450,000 shrubs and 4,000 trees to be delivered in the months leading up to the expo
Ghaf, date palm, acacia arabica, acacia tortilis, vitex or sage, techoma and the salvadora are just some heat tolerant native plants in the nursery
Approximately 340 species of shrubs and trees selected for diverse landscape
The nursery team works exclusively with organic fertilisers and pesticides
All shrubs and trees supplied by Dubai Municipality
Most sourced from farms, nurseries across the country
Plants and trees are re-potted when they arrive at nursery to give them room to grow
Some mature trees are in open areas or planted within the expo site
Green waste is recycled as compost
Treated sewage effluent supplied by Dubai Municipality is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs
Construction workforce peaked at 40,000 workers
About 65,000 people have signed up to volunteer
Main themes of expo is ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three subthemes of opportunity, mobility and sustainability.
Expo 2020 Dubai to open in October 2020 and run for six months
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The Comeback: Elvis And The Story Of The 68 Special
Simon Goddard
Omnibus Press
RESULTS
2.30pm Jaguar I-Pace – Conditions (PA) Dh80,000 (Dirt)
1,600m
Winner Namrood, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Musabah Al Muhairi
(trainer)
3.05pm Land Rover Defender – Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (D)
1,400m
Winner Shadzadi, Tadhg O’Shea, Bhupat Seemar
3.40pm Jaguar F-Type – Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Turf) 1,600m
Winner Tahdeed, Fernando Jara, Nicholas Bachalard
4.15pm New Range Rover – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,400m
Winner Shanty Star, Richard Mullen, Rashed Bouresly
4.50pm Land Rover – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 2,400m
Winner Autumn Pride, Bernardo Pinheiro, Helal Al Alawi
5.25pm Al Tayer Motor – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 T) 1,000m
Winner Dahawi, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi
6pm Jaguar F-Pace SVR – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,600m
Winner Scabbard, Sam Hitchcock, Doug Watson
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
UAE%20SQUAD
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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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Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
MATCH INFO
West Ham United 2 (Antonio 73', Ogbonna 90 5')
Tottenham Hotspur 3 (Son 36', Moura 42', Kane 49')
