The West Indies had the rain to thank after defeating Scotland by five runs on the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method at the Harare Sports Club yesterday to book their place at the 2019 cricket World Cup.
Chasing 199 to win and with it their own place at next summer's tournament, Scotland were 125-5 after 35.2 overs when heavy rain came and prevented any further play. When the match was called, Scotland required 74 runs in just over 14 overs, and with George Munsey (32 not out) settled at the crease, Scottish hopes for a victory would have been high.
West Indies may have started the match as clear favourites, but the two-time World Cup winners quickly found themselves 2-2 after Chris Gayle was removed with the first ball of the innings and Shai Hope soon followed.
Evin Lewis (66) and Marlon Samuels (51) combined to steady the West Indies innings, putting on 121 runs for the third wicket. However, once Lewis fell lbw to Brad Wheal, Samuels and Shimron Hetmyer (4) quickly departed to leave West Indies 135-5.
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Carlos Brathwaite offered some lower order resistance with a 26-ball 24, but the West Indies innings was wrapped up inside 48.4 overs with the last eight wickets falling for just 75 runs.
Safyaan Sharif (3-27) and Wheal (3-34) were the pick of the Scotland bowlers, with Michael Leask chipping in with two wickets.
With a low total to defend, the West Indies knew taking early wickets would be vital to their chances of victory. And that is exactly what the Caribbean side did by removing both of Scotland's opening batsmen inside the first four overs. Captain Kyle Coetzer (2) was removed first by Kemar Roach, before West Indies skipper Jason Holder bowled Matthew Cross (4).
Scotland rallied as Calum MacLeod (21) and Richie Berrington (33) made encouraging starts, with Munsey guiding the Scots to 125-5 before the rain ended proceedings.
Victory for the West Indies ensured the ultimate prize of a place at next year's World Cup, but captain Holder insists his players are focused on Sunday's World Cup Qualifier final.
"I'm extremely pleased," Holder said. "The guys put up their hands in every game, and every single game was pressure for us. Scotland have played some very good cricket, I can imagine how they're feeling.
"My mind hasn't gone to the World Cup just yet. We want to win this tournament, but we must thank the fans in the Caribbean. Our true fans stuck in with us. We're thinking about the final."
With the West Indies claiming one World Cup spot, Afghanistan, Ireland and Qualifier hosts Zimbabwe are all vying for the other remaining space.
Zimbabwe take on the UAE on Thursday knowing victory will be enough to clinch second place. Afghanistan and Ireland, who face each other on Friday, will therefore be hoping for a UAE win to keep their respective World Cup hopes alive.
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
MADAME%20WEB
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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Company profile
Date started: Founded in May 2017 and operational since April 2018
Founders: co-founder and chief executive, Doaa Aref; Dr Rasha Rady, co-founder and chief operating officer.
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: Health-tech
Size: 22 employees
Funding: Seed funding
Investors: Flat6labs, 500 Falcons, three angel investors
Scorecard:
England 458 & 119/1 (51.0 ov)
South Africa 361
England lead by 216 runs with 9 wickets remaining
RESULT
Shabab Al Ahli Dubai 0 Al Ain 6
Al Ain: Caio (5', 73'), El Shahat (10'), Berg (65'), Khalil (83'), Al Ahbabi (90' 2)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Company profile
Name: One Good Thing
Founders: Bridgett Lau and Micheal Cooke
Based in: Dubai
Sector: e-commerce
Size: 5 employees
Stage: Looking for seed funding
Investors: Self-funded and seeking external investors
