When England and the Netherlands take to the field at the Vidharbha Cricket Association Stadium on the outskirts of Nagpur in India, it will mark the 15th anniversary of their first World Cup meeting.
Graeme Hick, in India as a television analyst, scored a century in Peshawar and England eased home by 49 runs despite a 114-run stand between Klaas-Jan van Noortwijk and Bas Zuiderant.
Zuiderant, now 34, is still part of the Netherlands squad, having also played at East London in South Africa in 2003 when England cruised home by six wickets. Only James Anderson, then a young tyro who took four wickets, and Paul Collingwood remain from that team as England look to begin their campaign on a positive note.
Victories against the Netherlands aside, both the 1996 and 2003 World Cups typified England's one-day decline since the halcyon years of the late 1980s and early 1990s. They were the worst team into the last eight in 1996 and no one was surprised when Sri Lanka routed them in Faisalabad.
Seven years later, they did not even make the Super Six. It was all a far cry from the Graham Gooch years, when they reached consecutive finals (1987 and 1992), losing to Australia and Pakistan.
That 1987 tournament saw Gooch top the run charts with 471, and he saved his finest innings for the semi-final against the co-hosts, India. His 115, full of punishing drives and precise sweeps, was the inspiration as Kapil Dev's side were denied the chance to defend the trophy that they had won so dramatically at Lord's four years earlier.
In recent times, England have struggled in these conditions. In 2006, India thrashed them 5-1 in a bilateral series, and two years later, they were 5-0 down in a seven-match series when the attacks in Mumbai saw the tour abandoned.
Their opponents will also take some encouragement from what happened at Lord's just over 18 months ago, when they clashed at the World Twenty20. Edgar Schiferli and Ryan ten Doeschate were at the crease as the Netherlands clinched a thrilling last-ball victory.
"It underlines the point that you can't underestimate teams like Holland," said Andrew Strauss, the England captain, on the eve of the Nagpur game.
"They've played a lot of cricket now and are a side with some obvious strengths. We need to be good enough to overcome those. If we're 10 per cent off and they have a good day, we're in trouble."
A raft of injuries and the exciting Eoin Morgan being ruled out by injury disrupted England's World Cup preparation, which involved a 6-1 thumping in Australia. Forced to rethink their strategy, they have stumbled on what might just be an inspired gambit - Kevin Pietersen at the top of the order.
Since depression and other demons sadly ended Marcus Trescothick's international career, England have lacked oomph at the start of their innings. By promoting Pietersen, who certainly is not shot-shy, Strauss hopes that England can make maximum use of the first two power plays.
"Pietersen, we've always felt, has the game to prosper at the top of the order in the subcontinent, on these type of wickets," Strauss said. "I think he could take a couple of the opposition teams by surprise and put pressure on them."
England will be well aware of who they have to contain to ensure that their tournament starts on the right note. The South African-born ten Doeschate only made his debut at 26, but he averages 68.55 with the bat and 20.93 with the ball after 27 games. He has also been an effective performer for Essex on the county circuit.
The pitch in Nagpur is usually batsman-friendly. There have been three scores in excess of 300 in two games, and England could well call on the fit-again Graeme Swann as they tune up for a meeting with India on Sunday.
With Stuart Broad also back and bowling superbly, they will be eager to show that what happened in Australia was just an aberration.
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Through Her Lens: The stories behind the photography of Eva Sereny
Forewords by Jacqueline Bisset and Charlotte Rampling, ACC Art Books
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.”
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Director: Shady Ali
Cast: Boumi Fouad , Mohamed Tharout and Hisham Ismael
Rating: 3/5
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
