When Mohammad Aamer and Steven Finn last lined up against each other in two Under 19 Test matches at Scarbrough and Derby, two outposts on the English county circuit, few experts would have predicted that their ascension would be so rapid that they would find themselves leading the bowling attack for their countries at senior level three years later.
But that will be the case at Nottingham, England this afternoon when Aamer, 18, and Finn, who is three years older, provide a fascinating subplot in the first Test match of the series between England and Pakistan.
Their careers are very much in their infancy - they have played 16 Tests between them - but they are the two hottest bowling prospects in world cricket. Their promise sets the pulse racing.
Finn already has two five-wicket hauls to his name, albeit against Bangladesh, and has been compared to his idol Glenn McGrath, the Australian fast bowler, and Curtly Ambrose, the West Indian, for his uncomplicated run-up, unerring accuracy and, of course, his 6ft 7in height. Aamer has been billed as a natural successor to Wasim Akram, the great Pakistan swing bowler.
"I think he's not only got good pace up his sleeve and an ability to swing the ball, but I think he actually thinks about the game really smartly as well," Ricky Ponting, the Australia captain renowned for being measured in his praise of opponents, said of Aamer after the recent series against Pakistan in England.
"He seems a lot more mature than what his age would probably suggest as far as bowling is concerned."
Sir Geoffrey Boycott, the former England opener, added: "I think he is very talented and I think Pakistan has always had very talented youngsters. He's exceptionally good. He's got pace, he's got spirit and obviously has got a big heart. It seems he's always up for the challenge."
A ringing endorsement was also provided by Michael Holding, the graceful former West Indian pace bowler.
"The impressive thing about Aamer is the fact that at 18, he has the ability to move the ball in both directions without any noticeable change in action or delivery, yet has the control to adjust so easily to left- and right-handed batsmen," Holding said in an interview with Cricinfo. "The pace that he generates is good and consistent."
Those innate skills and mature attitude led some to question his age during a tour of Australia last year, particularly after he took five wickets in the Boxing Day Test. "I'm 17. Any doubt?" Aamer said unflustered. "Look at my shoulders and wrist - [I'm a] little boy."
The little boy has taken giant strides since that match and he helped Pakistan end their 15-year wait for a Test win over Australia last week. His frail frame, however, remains a subject of concern, given his past injuries.
Aamer was only 15 when he toured England with the U19 squad and had to return home midway through the tour with two stress fractures. Mudassar Nazar, a former Pakistan Test cricketer, was the director of the National Cricket Academy then and he remembers those troubled times.
"When we analysed Aamer at the National Cricket Academy upon his return to Pakistan, it came to light that he was suffering from three stress fractures to his back," Nazar said told Pakpassion.net. "Two of the fractures had been present since the age of 11 or 12, and the third was suffered in England on the U19 tour.
"The earlier fractures were probably as a result of playing cricket at a young age, perhaps street cricket or tape ball cricket and Aamer was probably not even aware of the fact that he was suffering from the fractures. The third fracture was as a result of being over bowled on the U19 tour of England."
Nazar's care and support, which Aamer often talks about, helped the bowler return to the spotlight after a nine-month layoff, only for a bout of dengue to scupper his chances of playing in the 2008 U19 World Cup. However, he returned to win the World Twenty20 in 2009 with the national team.
As Aamer went through his highs and lows, Finn was progressing gradually at Middlesex under the watchful gaze of Angus Fraser, the director of cricket at the county. The youngster made his first-class debut at 16 in 2005, the youngest to do so since Fred Titmus, the former England spin bowler, in 1949, and had been on the selectors' radar for some time before he was picked for the series in Bangladesh in January. He has not looked back.
In only his third Test, Finn claimed a nine-wicket match-haul against Bangladesh, getting his name on the Lord's honours board at the very first attempt - just like McGrath. He also earned an increment contract from the English cricket board and was whisked off for strength and conditioning work in preparation for this series and the Ashes tour later this year.
"He's going to have a long successful career ahead of him, because as you saw in the Bangladesh game, he's a very capable young man," Fraser said in an interview.
"One of his strengths is his self-analysis. He sets himself high standards, and he wants to be better than he is each day. He can walk off having taken nine for 37, but still thinking about a couple of poor balls he bowled, rather than the nine wickets he took."
Both Finn and Aamer share this cerebral trait. They think batsmen out and yet can bamboozle them with pace and bounce - a formidable combination that should make the duo compelling viewing as England and Pakistan slug it out over the next five days.
arizvi@thenational.ae
Finn Aamer
21 Age 18
4 Tests 10
19 Wickets 32
708 Balls 2069
445 Runs 1135
2/0 5WI/10WM 1/0
23.42 Average 35.46
5-42 Best figures in innings 5-79
9-187 Best figures in match 7-106
37.2 S/R 64.6
3.77 Econ 3.29
Mar 2010 Debut Jul 2009
Jimmy Anderson
England
The swing bowler has suffered a crisis of confidence since he was left out of the World Twenty20-winning team and needs to reestablish himself as the leader of England's attack.
Umar Amin
Pakistan
England will have been studying video footage to find out more about the unknown left-hander but observers in Pakistan have been well aware of the Punjab-born batsman for some time. The 20-year-old has been given the onerous task of filling the void left by Younus Khan and Mohammed Yousuf.
Eoin Morgan
England
Injury to Ian Bell has provided the left-hander, who has previously been seen as a one-day specialist, the chance to book his seat on the Ashes plane as England's reserve batsman.
Mohammad Asif
Pakistan
Mohammad Aamer may be getting all the headlines but Asif provides the perfect foil with the new ball. In swinging conditions he could pose all sorts of problems for Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook.
Salman Butt
Pakistan
Was his debut win as captain against Australia just beginner's luck or have Pakistan unearthed a shrewd leader? We will find out over the next five days.
Matt Prior
England
He will be smarting from his omission as England limited-overs wicketkeeper and keen to prove he is the better gloveman and batsman that Craig Kieswetter.
Schedule:
Friday, January 12: Six fourball matches
Saturday, January 13: Six foursome (alternate shot) matches
Sunday, January 14: 12 singles
Our legal advisor
Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
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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Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Six tips to secure your smart home
Most smart home devices are controlled via the owner's smartphone. Therefore, if you are using public wi-fi on your phone, always use a VPN (virtual private network) that offers strong security features and anonymises your internet connection.
Keep your smart home devices’ software up-to-date. Device makers often send regular updates - follow them without fail as they could provide protection from a new security risk.
Use two-factor authentication so that in addition to a password, your identity is authenticated by a second sign-in step like a code sent to your mobile number.
Set up a separate guest network for acquaintances and visitors to ensure the privacy of your IoT devices’ network.
Change the default privacy and security settings of your IoT devices to take extra steps to secure yourself and your home.
Always give your router a unique name, replacing the one generated by the manufacturer, to ensure a hacker cannot ascertain its make or model number.
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Padmaavat
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Starring: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Jim Sarbh
3.5/5
Babumoshai Bandookbaaz
Director: Kushan Nandy
Starring: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Bidita Bag, Jatin Goswami
Three stars
Fixtures
Wednesday
4.15pm: Japan v Spain (Group A)
5.30pm: UAE v Italy (Group A)
6.45pm: Russia v Mexico (Group B)
8pm: Iran v Egypt (Group B)
Tips on buying property during a pandemic
Islay Robinson, group chief executive of mortgage broker Enness Global, offers his advice on buying property in today's market.
While many have been quick to call a market collapse, this simply isn’t what we’re seeing on the ground. Many pockets of the global property market, including London and the UAE, continue to be compelling locations to invest in real estate.
While an air of uncertainty remains, the outlook is far better than anyone could have predicted. However, it is still important to consider the wider threat posed by Covid-19 when buying bricks and mortar.
Anything with outside space, gardens and private entrances is a must and these property features will see your investment keep its value should the pandemic drag on. In contrast, flats and particularly high-rise developments are falling in popularity and investors should avoid them at all costs.
Attractive investment property can be hard to find amid strong demand and heightened buyer activity. When you do find one, be prepared to move hard and fast to secure it. If you have your finances in order, this shouldn’t be an issue.
Lenders continue to lend and rates remain at an all-time low, so utilise this. There is no point in tying up cash when you can keep this liquidity to maximise other opportunities.
Keep your head and, as always when investing, take the long-term view. External factors such as coronavirus or Brexit will present challenges in the short-term, but the long-term outlook remains strong.
Finally, keep an eye on your currency. Whenever currency fluctuations favour foreign buyers, you can bet that demand will increase, as they act to secure what is essentially a discounted property.
Simran
Director Hansal Mehta
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Soham Shah, Esha Tiwari Pandey
Three stars
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Getting there
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Tbilisi from Dh1,025 return including taxes