Accepted wisdom suggests that when a sportsman is out of form, he finds fortune impossible to come by.
Kevin Pietersen made a joke of that theory yesterday, as he snapped out of his fallow spell with an innings that was more charmed than a gypsy fortune-teller's psychic box.
Remarkably, given his standing in the game, Pietersen's place in the England line-up, which had been writ large in indelible back ink ever since his debut in the 2005 Ashes - fitness allowing - has been questioned of late.
It has been 16 months since his last century in any format. However, England's selectors were probably no closer to dropping him than they were to believing his 80 at Edgbaston, Birmingham, was blemish-free.
Another adage holds that fortune favours the brave. Pietersen is rarely short on courage, and his most famous innings - the counter-attacking 158 which clinched the 2005 Ashes against Australia - also contained three grassed catches. But yesterday's effort was stretching the point to ridiculous lengths.
England's leading batsman had already been dropped twice after arriving at the wicket on Friday afternoon.
His third and fourth lives followed in quick succession in the morning session of day two, which was action-packed despite being abbreviated to just 6.2 overs of play by rain.
First Umar Amin, one of Pakistan's misfiring young batsmen, shelled a simple chance that looped straight to him at gully, via the inside edge of Pietersen's bat and then his pad.
The catch had been so easy that Shane Warne, on commentary, ran out of synonyms for "dolly" in trying to describe it.
Straight after, Pietersen found a novel way to dodge the bullet, as he was caught off a delivery from Mohammed Asif which was subsequently deemed a dead-ball. On 41 at that stage, a distracted Pietersen pulled away from the crease just as Asif reached his delivery stride - yet still had a swish as the ball was projected towards him.
The ball looped up in the direction of Salman Butt, the Pakistan captain, at mid-off, who held a tumbling catch. However, everyone suspected something must be up by that point.
In the first place, a Pakistani fielder had held a catch. That clearly cannot be right for a start, and Marais Erasmus, the umpire, reprieved Pietersen.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the down-on-their-luck Pakistanis had missed their chance, and they were made to pay.
By the time the sun broke through the clouds in the afternoon session, England's version of Good Luck Chuck was back in the groove.
Yet still he was living on the edge. A fifth chance came and went when he had reached 74. He was bamboozled by the off-spin of Saeed Ajmal, only for the edge to evade the gloves of Zulqarnain Haider at the wicket, and race through his legs for four instead.
He eventually went for 80, caught and bowled by Ajmal, who deservedly ended with five wickets.
Pietersen's was the highest score in England's tally of 251 and they were closing in on victory by stumps as they had reduced the bedraggled tourists to 19 for one.
pradley@thenational.ae
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
THE BIO
Favourite car: Koenigsegg Agera RS or Renault Trezor concept car.
Favourite book: I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes or Red Notice by Bill Browder.
Biggest inspiration: My husband Nik. He really got me through a lot with his positivity.
Favourite holiday destination: Being at home in Australia, as I travel all over the world for work. It’s great to just hang out with my husband and family.
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Dr Amal Khalid Alias revealed a recent case of a woman with daughters, who specifically wanted a boy.
A semen analysis of the father showed abnormal sperm so the couple required IVF.
Out of 21 eggs collected, six were unused leaving 15 suitable for IVF.
A specific procedure was used, called intracytoplasmic sperm injection where a single sperm cell is inserted into the egg.
On day three of the process, 14 embryos were biopsied for gender selection.
The next day, a pre-implantation genetic report revealed four normal male embryos, three female and seven abnormal samples.
Day five of the treatment saw two male embryos transferred to the patient.
The woman recorded a positive pregnancy test two weeks later.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
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The Byblos iftar in numbers
29 or 30 days – the number of iftar services held during the holy month
50 staff members required to prepare an iftar
200 to 350 the number of people served iftar nightly
160 litres of the traditional Ramadan drink, jalab, is served in total
500 litres of soup is served during the holy month
200 kilograms of meat is used for various dishes
350 kilograms of onion is used in dishes
5 minutes – the average time that staff have to eat
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
When Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi
Known as The Lady of Arabic Song, Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi on November 28, 1971, as part of celebrations for the fifth anniversary of the accession of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan as Ruler of Abu Dhabi. A concert hall was constructed for the event on land that is now Al Nahyan Stadium, behind Al Wahda Mall. The audience were treated to many of Kulthum's most well-known songs as part of the sold-out show, including Aghadan Alqak and Enta Omri.
THE SPECS – Honda CR-V Touring AWD
Engine: 2.4-litre 4-cylinder
Power: 184hp at 6,400rpm
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Transmission: Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT)
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Top speed: 202kmh
Fuel consumption: 6.8L/100km
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