CHITTAGONG // Graeme Swann spun England to a 181-run victory in the first Test against Bangladesh yesterday, but not before the tourists were made to sweat during a wicketless opening session.
Having toiled without reward in the evening session yesterday, England again had to work hard by a 167-run stand between Junaid Siddique and Mushfiqur Rahim on the final morning.
The pair faced 524 balls as Junaid registered his country's first Test century against England and Mushfiqur fell five runs short of a second.
But Swann, who took a second five-wicket haul to claim his first 10-wicket match, accounted for both after lunch to hasten the win.
Alastair Cook, the England captain, can be happy with the result in his first match in charge but will have been concerned by the lack of a cutting edge on the final day.
"We were a little bit concerned. Full credit to the way those two [batsmen] fought, they didn't give us any chances," Cook said. "If you apply yourself and bat really well, [you are] really hard to get out."
Cook also paid tribute to Swann when he said: "Swanny has so much control of his game, he is very easy to captain. He knows the fields he wants and you trust him to make the breakthrough."
It was not easy to dismiss Bangladesh, who resumed on 191 for five and had survival, rather than the target of 513, on their minds.
Runs were a virtual irrelevancy in terms of the game but Mushfiqur will have taken personal pride in a push for four off Steve Finn that brought him a second half-century of the match in the second over.
England gratefully accepted the new ball 15 minutes in and Tim Bresnan duly located Mushfiqur's outside edge with his third delivery of the morning, though it landed just short of the slip cordon.
In his next over he had Junaid fending away from his body but this time the thick edge zipped for four between two gullies.
Luck continued to go against the bowlers, Stuart Broad seeing a strong lbw appeal against Mushfiqur dismissed.
Meanwhile, with an attacking field leaving gaps on both sides of the wicket, the Tigers' pair continued to chalk off landmarks.
Junaid scored his ton off 262 balls, laced with 14 fours, but he lost some of his authority having reached three figures and finally fell in the second over after what must have been a tense lunch break for England. Swann was the bowler, tossing up a ball that did just enough to glance the bat on its way to Paul Collingwood at slip.
Swann marked Junaid's wicket by swearing at the player. "It was not meant as a personal slight on him, just as a release of pent up frustration," Swann said later.
The hard work was not quite over, though, with the quirks of the Bangladesh order meaning a one-time opener, Naeem Islam, was waiting at eight. He hit Swann for a four and a six in successive deliveries but Mushfiqur, one big shot away from a richly-deserved hundred, perished attempting to emulate the feat. That gave Swann his ninth wicket of the match.
Abdur Razzak lasted just seven balls before Broad beat him for pace to trap him leg before.
Shahadat Hossain (12) was dropped by Collingwood, a mistake not repeated by Matt Prior off the bowling of Bresnan before Naeem (36) was caught in the deep by Michael Carberry flicking Swann to mid-wicket, ending a spirited innings on 331.
Despite the defeat, Shakib al Hasan, the Bangladesh captain, pointed to their second innings performance as proof that they are finding their feet at Test level.
"Previously we have only seen one of our batsmen perform at a time. Now we have more than one batsman scoring runs, which is a positive thing," he said. "We are still improving, but we have much more discipline than the side we once were."
* PA Sport
England 599-6 decl. & 209-7 decl.
Bangladesh 296 & (overnight 191-5):
T Iqbal b Swann 14
I Kayes c Prior b Finn 23
J Siddique c Collingwood b Swann 106
A Ahmed c Prior b Bresnan 26
Mahmudullah b Bresnan 5
S Hasan lbw b Swann 4
M Rahim b Swann 95
N Islam c Carberry b Swann 36
A Razzak lbw b Broad 1
S Hossain c Prior b Bresnan 12
R Hossain not out 0
Extras (2b, 7lb) 9
Total (all out; 124 overs) 331
Fall of wickets: 1-33, 2-45, 3-99, 4-105, 5-110, 6-277, 7-294, 8-301, 9-327
Bowling:
Broad 24-7-65-1
Bresnan 24-7-63-3
Finn 18-7-47-1
Swann 49-11-127-5
Pietersen 7-1-15-0
Trott 2-0-5-0
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
Drivers’ championship standings after Singapore:
1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - 263
2. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari - 235
3. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes - 212
4. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull - 162
5. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari - 138
6. Sergio Perez, Force India - 68
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
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20NOTHING%20PHONE%20(2a)
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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
Brief scores:
Toss: Nepal, chose to field
UAE 153-6: Shaiman (59), Usman (30); Regmi 2-23
Nepal 132-7: Jora 53 not out; Zahoor 2-17
Result: UAE won by 21 runs
Series: UAE lead 1-0
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
RIDE%20ON
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Larry%20Yang%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStars%3A%20Jackie%20Chan%2C%20Liu%20Haocun%2C%20Kevin%20Guo%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%202%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
What%20is%20Dungeons%20%26%20Dragons%3F%20
%3Cp%3EDungeons%20%26amp%3B%20Dragons%20began%20as%20an%20interactive%20game%20which%20would%20be%20set%20up%20on%20a%20table%20in%201974.%20One%20player%20takes%20on%20the%20role%20of%20dungeon%20master%2C%20who%20directs%20the%20game%2C%20while%20the%20other%20players%20each%20portray%20a%20character%2C%20determining%20its%20species%2C%20occupation%20and%20moral%20and%20ethical%20outlook.%20They%20can%20choose%20the%20character%E2%80%99s%20abilities%2C%20such%20as%20strength%2C%20constitution%2C%20dexterity%2C%20intelligence%2C%20wisdom%20and%20charisma.%20In%20layman%E2%80%99s%20terms%2C%20the%20winner%20is%20the%20one%20who%20amasses%20the%20highest%20score.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Try out the test yourself
Q1 Suppose you had $100 in a savings account and the interest rate was 2 per cent per year. After five years, how much do you think you would have in the account if you left the money to grow?
a) More than $102
b) Exactly $102
c) Less than $102
d) Do not know
e) Refuse to answer
Q2 Imagine that the interest rate on your savings account was 1 per cent per year and inflation was 2 per cent per year. After one year, how much would you be able to buy with the money in this account?
a) More than today
b) Exactly the same as today
c) Less than today
d) Do not know
e) Refuse to answer
Q4 Do you think that the following statement is true or false? “Buying a single company stock usually provides a safer return than a stock mutual fund.”
a) True
b) False
d) Do not know
e) Refuse to answer
The “Big Three” financial literacy questions were created by Professors Annamaria Lusardi of the George Washington School of Business and Olivia Mitchell, of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Answers: Q1 More than $102 (compound interest). Q2 Less than today (inflation). Q3 False (diversification).
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Other ways to buy used products in the UAE
UAE insurance firm Al Wathba National Insurance Company (AWNIC) last year launched an e-commerce website with a facility enabling users to buy car wrecks.
Bidders and potential buyers register on the online salvage car auction portal to view vehicles, review condition reports, or arrange physical surveys, and then start bidding for motors they plan to restore or harvest for parts.
Physical salvage car auctions are a common method for insurers around the world to move on heavily damaged vehicles, but AWNIC is one of the few UAE insurers to offer such services online.
For cars and less sizeable items such as bicycles and furniture, Dubizzle is arguably the best-known marketplace for pre-loved.
Founded in 2005, in recent years it has been joined by a plethora of Facebook community pages for shifting used goods, including Abu Dhabi Marketplace, Flea Market UAE and Arabian Ranches Souq Market while sites such as The Luxury Closet and Riot deal largely in second-hand fashion.
At the high-end of the pre-used spectrum, resellers such as Timepiece360.ae, WatchBox Middle East and Watches Market Dubai deal in authenticated second-hand luxury timepieces from brands such as Rolex, Hublot and Tag Heuer, with a warranty.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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SUE%20GRAY'S%20FINDINGS
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Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends