ABU DHABI // It is on days like this that the world of cricket feels particularly small.
Australia and England have played nine Tests in the past six months and will begin their 10th this week. India and South Africa are playing their fourth series since 2008. In the UAE, meanwhile, Pakistan and Sri Lanka begin on Tuesday their fifth Test series since the start of 2009.
If you only have 10 Test-playing members, there can only be a handful of permutations and combinations of contests before today starts feeling exactly like yesterday and tomorrow, before last season is this season and the next.
Factoring in the ongoing insidious and unsaid, but very real, bifurcation of the calendar between the big three (India, Australia and England) who play each other as often as possible and the rest, who play whoever they can get, skews this even more.
It feels like Pakistan and Sri Lanka clash every day, but who else is there to play? In the case of these two sides, as Pakistan’s captain Misbah-ul-Haq pointed out in Abu Dhabi on Monday, it is better to play each other than to not play Tests at all.
By their usual standards, Pakistan have had a busy year of Tests (this will be their eighth). But their past few seasons have had long gaps between series; after Sri Lanka finish in January, Pakistan do not have a Test assignment until October next year.
Sri Lanka have not played a Test since March and only three all year. Two Test series, against West Indies and South Africa, have been cancelled or postponed by their own board.
No matter the opposition, just some Tests will do.
“I think what is important is to play Test cricket regularly whoever the opposition is,” Misbah said. “At least your players get exposure and you get the taste of this form of the game. Even if you play excessively against the same opponent, it eventually is beneficial.”
Familiarity has its perils, as Misbah conceded. “Sometimes it isn’t easy as when you play regularly against each other it’s difficult to find weaknesses and find new ideas, but it’s fine. As far as we are playing cricket, it’s good.”
One thing that is – relatively – new is the Sri Lanka captain, Angelo Mathews. He led the side in the two-Test series with Bangladesh in March, though Pakistan represent a stiffer and potentially more revealing examination.
If nothing else, he has already mastered the art of captaincy non-speak. Asked about the importance of doing well against a strong side, he said: “Any game is important for all of us. Playing and performing is the main objective. No matter who our opponent is, we need to go out there and enjoy our cricket and try and win. That is our objective.”
There is a fair bit of jostling for spaces in the final XI of both sides. Umar Gul, just returned from a knee injury, is thought to be a 50-50 pick. One of Mohammad Talha or Rahat Ali is expected to partner Junaid Khan in his place.
Mohammad Hafeez’s ODI form has, in all likelihood, propelled him back into the XI, maybe at the expense of Azhar Ali, who has had a difficult year at one down. There was even talk of a possible debut for Ahmed Shehzad.
Sri Lanka will wait on Lahiru Thirimanne’s injury before nailing down their XI, though the return of Mahela Jayawardene and Rangana Herath (after they missed the ODI series) will add considerable robustness to whatever combination they play.
osamiuddin@thenational.ae
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 $1 million over PKK links in 2013
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
The%20specs
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UAE - India ties
The UAE is India’s third-largest trade partner after the US and China
Annual bilateral trade between India and the UAE has crossed US$ 60 billion
The UAE is the fourth-largest exporter of crude oil for India
Indians comprise the largest community with 3.3 million residents in the UAE
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi first visited the UAE in August 2015
His visit on August 23-24 will be the third in four years
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, visited India in February 2016
Sheikh Mohamed was the chief guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations in January 2017
Modi will visit Bahrain on August 24-25
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
RESULT
Argentina 0 Croatia 3
Croatia: Rebic (53'), Modric (80'), Rakitic (90' 1)
The bio
Favourite food: Japanese
Favourite car: Lamborghini
Favourite hobby: Football
Favourite quote: If your dreams don’t scare you, they are not big enough
Favourite country: UAE
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
HOW TO WATCH
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Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
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
