This time last year, the lead up to the second HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) season was dominated by one issue. Would the overseas players who were involved agree to go to the final in Lahore?
Would it take place at all, given a suicide blast happened in the city while the early phases of the PSL were taking place in the UAE?
Players baulked at the question, offering little more than, “Let’s wait and see”. That was the line they had been asked to toe by the tournament’s administrators.
When it was asked at the captains’ media briefing on the eve of the tournament, Najam Sethi, the PSL chairman, interjected and shut it down, saying sufficient security measures were in place.
When it came to it, the game went ahead as planned at the Gaddafi Stadium, with 10,000 security personnel reportedly on duty, for a match with a capacity of less than 30,000.
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Read more:
PSL 2018: Lowdown on teams and star players in action in the UAE and Pakistan
Islamabad United batsman Alex Hales turns back on Test cricket for England
PSL 2018: Everything you need to know about the third edition of the tournament
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Darren Sammy, the Peshawar Zalmi captain, had his doubts. Finally, he decided it was worth it. He assuaged the concerns of his colleagues, they all went, and won against a Quetta Gladiators side whose regular overseas players all opted out.
“Darren is a superstar in Pakistan, the one player who is a household name,” Sethi said at Tuesday’s trophy launch ahead of the start of PSL 3, casting an eye along the dais to the smiling St Lucian.
“Darren, we are indebted to you for the courage with which you came to Lahore and won the hearts of everyone.”
Eleven months on, the salient questions ahead of the 2018 PSL seem to relate to cricket. Can Multan Sultans challenge after their introduction to the tournament? Is Imad Wasim up to the captaincy of Karachi Kings? What is Jofra Archer going to be like? How good can Shaheen Afridi become?
Thanks to Sammy, who subsequently travelled back to Lahore as part of a World XI that played a series against Pakistan’s national team, the security issue feels less relevant.
“I’ll go,” Tymal Mills, the English fast-bowler who was one of the Quetta contingent who opted out of last year’s final, said of potentially playing in Karachi in the showpiece match this time around.
“Teams wouldn’t sign you now if you wouldn’t agree to. Unless something happens between now and then, we have agreed to go.
“There has been a decent amount of cricket there between now and then, whereas last year it was the first proper game, which is why I was quite sceptical.
“I know the levels of security will be really high. Hopefully we get there, because the final is in Karachi, whereas the semi-finals are in Lahore. It would be a really special occasion to be a part of.”
Mills saw the way Sammy, and his own England colleague Dawid Malan, were feted for agreeing to play in last year’s final, but said he has no regrets over missing out.
The left-arm fast-bowler, who has joined Karachi Kings for his second season of PSL, is hopeful to be part of such an occasion this time around.
“I don’t regret my decision,” Mills said, after training with his new Karachi teammates at the ICC Academy in Dubai.
“I feel, at the time, it was the right one to make. It was first game, and there had been a few incidences in the month leading up to it.
“I had my first IPL coming up as well, so it wasn’t a financial thing or anything like that. I’m glad it went well, and I watched on TV to support Quetta.
“You could see Sammy and the guys were really well received, and that it meant a lot to the people of Pakistan that the guys were going to Pakistan for that game.
“I’m sure the semi-finals and the final this time will be equally well received.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
HER%20FIRST%20PALESTINIAN
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What is graphene?
Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged like honeycomb.
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were "playing about" with sticky tape and graphite - the material used as "lead" in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But as they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment had led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
At the time, many believed it was impossible for such thin crystalline materials to be stable. But examined under a microscope, the material remained stable, and when tested was found to have incredible properties.
It is many times times stronger than steel, yet incredibly lightweight and flexible. It is electrically and thermally conductive but also transparent. The world's first 2D material, it is one million times thinner than the diameter of a single human hair.
But the 'sticky tape' method would not work on an industrial scale. Since then, scientists have been working on manufacturing graphene, to make use of its incredible properties.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. Their discovery meant physicists could study a new class of two-dimensional materials with unique properties.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
A cheaper choice
Vanuatu: $130,000
Why on earth pick Vanuatu? Easy. The South Pacific country has no income tax, wealth tax, capital gains or inheritance tax. And in 2015, when it was hit by Cyclone Pam, it signed an agreement with the EU that gave it some serious passport power.
Cost: A minimum investment of $130,000 for a family of up to four, plus $25,000 in fees.
Criteria: Applicants must have a minimum net worth of $250,000. The process take six to eight weeks, after which the investor must travel to Vanuatu or Hong Kong to take the oath of allegiance. Citizenship and passport are normally provided on the same day.
Benefits: No tax, no restrictions on dual citizenship, no requirement to visit or reside to retain a passport. Visa-free access to 129 countries.
The%20Kitchen
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EDaniel%20Kaluuya%2C%20Kibwe%20Tavares%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EKane%20Robinson%2C%20Jedaiah%20Bannerman%2C%20Hope%20Ikpoku%20Jnr%2C%20Fiona%20Marr%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
MO
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECreators%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMohammed%20Amer%2C%20Ramy%20Youssef%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMohammed%20Amer%2C%20Teresa%20Ruiz%2C%20Omar%20Elba%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Major honours
ARSENAL
BARCELONA
- La Liga - 2013
- Copa del Rey - 2012
- Fifa Club World Cup - 2011
CHELSEA
- Premier League - 2015, 2017
- FA Cup - 2018
- League Cup - 2015
SPAIN
- World Cup - 2010
- European Championship - 2008, 2012
ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA
Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi
Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser
Rating: 4.5/5
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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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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