DUBAI // Asad Shafiq’s “master innings” of 130 yesterday went to prove the future of Pakistan’s batting is not as bleak as some fear.
That is the view of Misbah-ul-Haq, the Pakistan captain, who shared a 197 run alliance with a player 12 years his junior.
When they were together defending Pakistan’s fifth wicket, faint hopes glimmered that a great escape might be possible.
Their resistance was broken when Misbah surrendered in inexplicably limp fashion, though.
The captain had seen off 217 deliveries from the world’s leading bowlers, before aiming an ungainly swipe at the part-time spinner Dean Elgar.
He edged to slip, and as he perished, so did Pakistan’s chances of saving the game.
At least Shafiq continued to rail against the inevitable, which was the most glowing positive from this defeat, according to Misbah.
“Everybody knows he is capable of that,” Misbah said of his diminutive partner.
“He got a really good hundred in South Africa. He was short of confidence coming into this series but he showed character, played very well in the first Test match, and this innings was special.
“The pitch wasn’t really easy and the South African bowlers were reverse swinging the ball.
“He played a master innings and it was really good for the future of the team.”
Misbah believes Shafiq can lead the way once the two veterans of the batting line-up, Younis Khan and himself, finally give in to the ageing process.
“He is a developing player who is starting to understand the demands of Test and international cricket,” Misbah said.
“In the coming years we might not have me or Younis Khan in the batting line up. He has the talent and temperament to play long innings.”
Shafiq’s second innings marathon was the sort of exceptional effort that proves the rule of Pakistan’s batting. One innings they are sublime, the next ridiculous.
It was their scarcely fathomable first innings of 99 all out which brought about their defeat here.
The answer to the age old problem of their inconsistency remains unclear, according to their captain. “That session really hurt us,” Misbah said. “We don’t want this sort of thing in future, where we get out in one session.
“We need to think about that. We need more character, more concentration, more attitude. Ups and downs and performances like that can really hurt the team.”
pradley@thenational.ae
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Audio: Misbah on Shafiq
Also, Misbah defends his openers Mansoor and Masood
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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
Test
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Basquiat in Abu Dhabi
One of Basquiat’s paintings, the vibrant Cabra (1981–82), now hangs in Louvre Abu Dhabi temporarily, on loan from the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.
The latter museum is not open physically, but has assembled a collection and puts together a series of events called Talking Art, such as this discussion, moderated by writer Chaedria LaBouvier.
It's something of a Basquiat season in Abu Dhabi at the moment. Last week, The Radiant Child, a documentary on Basquiat was shown at Manarat Al Saadiyat, and tonight (April 18) the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is throwing the re-creation of a party tonight, of the legendary Canal Zone party thrown in 1979, which epitomised the collaborative scene of the time. It was at Canal Zone that Basquiat met prominent members of the art world and moved from unknown graffiti artist into someone in the spotlight.
“We’ve invited local resident arists, we’ll have spray cans at the ready,” says curator Maisa Al Qassemi of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.
Guggenheim Abu Dhabi's Canal Zone Remix is at Manarat Al Saadiyat, Thursday April 18, from 8pm. Free entry to all. Basquiat's Cabra is on view at Louvre Abu Dhabi until October
