With as many as 40 cameras at some venues, an aggregate of more than two million spectators last year and, according to the official statistics, an accumulated TV audience of 2.6 billion, not much goes unnoticed in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
The interminable programme of matches can make for a “cricketainment” overload. To maintain the interest on those slow days – maybe when Yuvraj Singh is batting out a maiden or two – we have created a Spotter’s Guide based on the children’s game I-Spy to get armchair supporters through.
Score points dependent on the rareness of the sights seen in that day’s action, as per the chart here.
The highest score wins.
Pencils at the ready …
Tweet tweet
A tweet by Lalit Modi referencing the fact he has been greatly wronged, the current buffoons have no idea what they are doing, that this really is his shindig anyway, and that he will be back one day to reclaim his throne. One day soon. You just watch – 1 point
Tattoo tally
Just before the bowler starts his run, Kevin Pietersen hoists up his already short sleeves to show biceps covered in Maori tattoos. Though not quite high enough to show his three lions etching, which recently may have been erased anyway – 1 point
No sweat
In an innings where all the bowlers have otherwise been savaged, Sunil Narine ends his four overs for Kolkata Knight Riders with figures of three for 20 and not a bead of sweat on his brow – 1 point
Captain India
MS Dhoni drags his Chennai Super Kings side from a position of seemingly certain defeat over the winning line with a last-ball six, before sauntering off as if nothing ever happened. Then conducts his post-match interviews wearing a sleeveless jumper with no shirt underneath. Because he can – 1 point
Faulkner follies
James Faulkner sends down a moderately decent delivery while bowling for Rajasthan Royals, before unleashing an ugly tirade of abuse towards the unsuspecting batsman – 1 point
Gayle force wind-up
Chris Gayle hits Faulkner into Row Z, trots down the pitch Gangnam Style before laying down to recover from the excitement – 2 points
Bleep
Virat Kohli looks all angry and has his mouth sponsored so that his occasionally choice language is obliterated from the view of sensitive lip-readers – 2 points
Hyperbole
Kohli essays a powerful-yet-elegant drive towards the boundary fence, prompting paroxysms of delight from the commentator Ravi Shastri, who recovers his composure in time to report that it was hit like a tracer bullet – 2 points
Adjustment bureau
Six games into the tournament, Ravi Ashwin unveils a total overhaul of his bowling action. For the third time so far in the competition. While wearing a long-sleeved shirt – 2 points
Feel the earth move
Sir Ravindra Jadeja does a few push-ups to warm up before the match. Not that he is really doing push-ups – in truth, he is pushing the Earth down – 2 points
Not sponsor-rific
The commentator slips up and describes a shot that carries over the boundary rope as a “six” rather than the specified, sponsor’s own “maximum”. That is quickly followed by a one-game suspension from any duties behind the microphone – 2 points
Mob mentality
A worryingly moody troupe of men heading in the direction of Yuvraj Singh’s house after he plays out seven dot-balls in a row while batting for Royal Challengers Bangalore – 2 points
Not so bright stars
Bollywood royalty leaping to Yuvraj’s defence, pointing out via social media that Indian cricket supporters have a lot to thank him for – 2 points
Cheered up
Cheerleaders in Dubai stationed in front of people, rather than an empty part of the ground, thereby having the chance to live up to their remit of leading the cheering – 3 points
Six-hit-none-the-wiser
A young Emirati football player on the Sharjah Club playing fields looking nonplussed when a cricket ball nearly hits him after Ross Taylor middles one while batting for Delhi Daredevils in the stadium next door – 3 points
Chemical bromance
Lasith Malinga developing a cold sore after kissing the ball one too many times at a ground where extensive levels of chemicals are used in the Miracle-Gro to make the grass lush – 3 points
Executive orders
Sunil Gavaskar calls in a perk of his new role as Indian cricket’s overlord by demanding he gets to make a cameo appearance for Mumbai Indians. He presents a straight bat during a watchful innings of 7 from 68 deliveries. It is believed the interim IPL boss’s go-slow was in protest at the excessive scoring rates in the modern Twenty20 game – 5 points
Wave the flag
An English player – 5 points
A Pakistani player – 5 points
A player from any one of the 96 non-Test playing nations – 5 points
Shades of Wrigley
The Sharjah stadium goat breaks free from its tether beside the groundsman's hut, bolts towards the centre of the ground and starts grazing on a length. Daubed on his fleecy coat is the logo of an unendorsed cola brand. The IPL's organisers rage at the craven ambush marketing and immediately issue a cease-and-desist letter to the goat. He eats it – 10 points
No review necessary
An umpire no-balls a bowler with a crooked arm and a long-sleeved shirt for throwing – 10 points
Switch-hitter
Opening the batting for Sunrisers Hyderabad, David Warner feels in such prime touch that he bats half the power-play overs left-handed, then the other half right-handed – 10 points
Javed is wild
Minding his own business after coming along to watch a match, Aaqib Javed, the UAE coach and Dubai resident, gets fished out of the crowd. He is summoned into the injury stricken Mumbai Indians bowling line-up as a late replacement under the Pepsi Injury Joker Card Rule. On account of the fact this is the UAE, the batsmen are Indian, and he is Aaqib Javed, he takes a hat-trick – 10 points
Brought to you by ...
A patch of advertisement-free real estate at the venue, the player’s apparel or on the TV screen – 10 points
pradley@thenational.ae
Follow us on Twitter at @SprtNationalUAE
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
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
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
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
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
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
SHALASH%20THE%20IRAQI
%3Cp%3EAuthor%3A%20Shalash%3Cbr%3ETranslator%3A%20Luke%20Leafgren%3Cbr%3EPages%3A%20352%3Cbr%3EPublisher%3A%20And%20Other%20Stories%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Jumanji: The Next Level
Director: Jake Kasdan
Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Jack Black, Nick Jonas
Two out of five stars
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylturbo
Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic
Power: 242bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Price: Dh136,814
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Transmission: ten-speed
Power: 420bhp
Torque: 624Nm
Price: Dh325,125
On sale: Now
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
MO
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Jeff Buckley: From Hallelujah To The Last Goodbye
By Dave Lory with Jim Irvin
Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
The specs
Engine: 2-litre 4-cylinder and 3.6-litre 6-cylinder
Power: 220 and 280 horsepower
Torque: 350 and 360Nm
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Price: from Dh136,521 VAT and Dh166,464 VAT
On sale: now
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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SPECS
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Student Of The Year 2
Director: Punit Malhotra
Stars: Tiger Shroff, Tara Sutaria, Ananya Pandey, Aditya Seal
1.5 stars
THREE POSSIBLE REPLACEMENTS
Khalfan Mubarak
The Al Jazira playmaker has for some time been tipped for stardom within UAE football, with Quique Sanchez Flores, his former manager at Al Ahli, once labelling him a “genius”. He was only 17. Now 23, Mubarak has developed into a crafty supplier of chances, evidenced by his seven assists in six league matches this season. Still to display his class at international level, though.
Rayan Yaslam
The Al Ain attacking midfielder has become a regular starter for his club in the past 15 months. Yaslam, 23, is a tidy and intelligent player, technically proficient with an eye for opening up defences. Developed while alongside Abdulrahman in the Al Ain first-team and has progressed well since manager Zoran Mamic’s arrival. However, made his UAE debut only last December.
Ismail Matar
The Al Wahda forward is revered by teammates and a key contributor to the squad. At 35, his best days are behind him, but Matar is incredibly experienced and an example to his colleagues. His ability to cope with tournament football is a concern, though, despite Matar beginning the season well. Not a like-for-like replacement, although the system could be adjusted to suit.
Company%20profile
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
The Saga Continues
Wu-Tang Clan
(36 Chambers / Entertainment One)
The%20Genius%20of%20Their%20Age
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BACK%20TO%20ALEXANDRIA
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Company%20Profile
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