ABU DHABI // Jacques Kallis, South Africa's stand-in captain, has warned that Test cricket will die if it is played on the type of batsman-friendly pitches that have been seen in the UAE over the past fortnight.
Pakistan's batsmen were largely untroubled as they were able to force a second successive draw against the Proteas at the Zayed Cricket Stadium yesterday to halve the two-match series.
Kallis was one of the batsmen who profited from the benign batting conditions in the UAE, as he made consecutive centuries in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
However, as a seam-bowling all-rounder, he was also acutely aware that the battle was an unfair one for the bowlers. Just 52 wickets out of a possible 80 fell in 10 days of cricket in the Emirates.
For much of the two Test matches, there was more excitement to be had watching the Movember moustaches growing on the faces of South Africa's players than there was following the action in the middle.
"This is worrying and really needs to be looked at in Test cricket," Kallis said.
"We are struggling to keep the game alive and to play on two wickets like that is really not good for the game.
"The groundsmen really need to ensure the game of Test cricket stays healthy and look to ensure there is a good contest between bat and ball.
"It did not really break up and you could probably play another Test match straight away and still not get a result."
The fact that an injury-depleted and controversy-fatigued Pakistan managed to avoid defeat in the series, having gone down to successive Twenty20 and one-day international series losses to the same opponents, was a boon for their captain, Misbah-ul-Haq.
He averaged 110 for the series, and was undefeated at the crease when both Tests were saved, including his effort of 58 from 140 balls yesterday.
Azhar Ali supported his salvage effort with a funereal 28 not out from 135 balls as Pakistan closed a vacuous Test match on 153 for three from 67 overs.
"The wicket was obviously very good for batting, but you still need to play with skill to succeed," Misbah said.
"I think my team showed that. I never felt my team was demoralised [despite the previous controversies].
"Morale was always high within my team and they played good, hard cricket.
"I am very happy with the way all of them have played and coped with the pressure."
pradley@thenational.ae
Scorecard
South Africa, 1st innings?584-9 dec
Pakistan, 1st innings 434 all out
South Africa, 2nd innings (overnight 173-4)
Prince not out 47?Boucher b Gul 15
Botha not out 7
Extras 1nb, 1lb 2
Total (5 wkts dec, 55 overs) 203
Fall of wickets: 5-182
Bowling: Gul 7-0-32-1; Tanvir 5-1-29-0; Rehman 22-1-81-3; Sami 5-0-28-0; Hafeez 16-4-32-1
Pakistan, 2nd innings
Hafeez lbw b Harris 34
Taufeeq lbw b Botha 30
Azhar not out 28
Younus lbw b Harris 0
Misbah not out 58?Extras 2lb,1w 3
Total (3 wkts, 67 overs) 153
Fall of wickets: 1-66; 2-66; 3-66
Bowling: Steyn 11-2-40-0; Morkel 11-1-29-0; Harris 23-14-28-2; Kallis 2-0-13-0; Botha 17-4-40-1; Petersen 1-0-1-0
Match drawn.
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Creator: Jenna Lamia
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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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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
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How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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Calls
Directed by: Fede Alvarez
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