Play the fantasy cricket online, the official video game of the Cricket World Cup 2011.
AUSTRALIA
Best World Cup performance: Champions (1987, 1999, 2003, 2007).
Last World Cup: Winner.
Captain: Ricky Ponting.
Coach: Tim Nielsen.
World Cup record: 51-17, 1 tie.
Key players: Ricky Ponting, Brett Lee, Cameron White.
Strengths: Australia are No 1 in the ODI rankings, went through the 2007 World Cup undefeated, and have the best win-loss ratio in the tournament. Ponting, who has played in the last four World Cup finals, is back at the helm after overcoming a broken finger which sidelined him since late December. Australia beat England 6-1 in a recent ODI series to rebound after an Ashes loss.
Weaknesses: Many stars of the last World Cup — including Glenn McGrath, Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden — have retired and their replacements do not have the same skill or experience. If the front line pacemen are wayward, Australia could concede some big totals. Lack of an experienced, specialist spinner - Jason Krejza only made his ODI debut earlier this month and was a late addition to the squad because of injuries - could hurt.
CANADA
Best World Cup performance: Group stage (1979, 2003, 2007).
Last World Cup: Group stage.
Captain: Ashish Bagai.
Coach: Pubudu Dassanayake (Sri Lanka).
World Cup record: 1-11.
Key players: John Davison.
Strengths: Canada reached their fourth World Cup by finishing runner-up to Ireland in the qualifying tournament. The team has a talented top-order contributor in Davison, who made headlines at the 2003 tournament with what was then the fastest century in the tournament. Rizwan Cheema, the No 7 batsman who battered the West Indies bowling for a 69-ball 89 in 2008, gave England a massive scare in a World Cup warm-up match on Tuesday when as he blazed 93 from 70 balls and although Canada eventually lost by 16 runs it showed they can be a dangerous batting side.
Weaknesses: Their lack of depth and experience. Canada left out some seasoned veterans in a gamble to promote a handful of younger players into the international arena, compounding the pressure on the likes of Davison and Bagai to perform in every match.
KENYA
Best World Cup performance: Semi-finals (2003).
Last World Cup: Group stage.
Captain: Jimmy Kamande.
Coach: Eldine Baptiste (West Indies).
World Cup record: 6-16, 1 tie.
Key players: Thomas Odoyo, Collins Obuya.
Strengths: Kenya have some vastly experienced leaders in Steve Tikolo and Thomas Odoyo, who are playing in their fifth World Cups. The will benefit in the field from hiring Jonty Rhodes, the energetic former South Africa international to enliven their fielding performance.
Weaknesses: They are an ageing squad well past their prime and not expected to repeats their surprising run to the semi-finals in 2003. The squad also contain nine World Cup rookies and lack depth in the bowling department, a deficiency exposed in a series of losses to domestic teams in India during a recent tour to acclimatise to local conditions. Kenya also lost by two wickets to the Netherlands in a World Cup warm-up match at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo, on Tuesday
NEW ZEALAND
Best World Cup performance: Semi-finals (1975, 1979, 1992, 1999, 2007).
Last World Cup: Semi-finals.
Captain: Daniel Vettori.
Coach: John Wright.
World Cup record: 35-26, 1 no result.
Key players: Vettori, Brendon McCullum.
Strengths: Recruiting John Wright, the former New Zealand Test player and India coach to oversee preparations will help Vettori focus primarily on what happens on the field. New Zealand generally lift for the World Cup and have a team of solid all-rounders capable of producing an upset result if they all click at the same time.
Weaknesses: New Zealand are coming into the tournament with only two wins in their last 14 ODIs, including an 11-match losing streak in which it went down 4-0 in Bangladesh and 5-0 in India before winning in the first and last matches of a 3-2 home series loss to Pakistan. Vettori is the only star in the squad and until Wright's appointment was overburdened by additional selection and preparation responsibilities.
PAKISTAN
Best World Cup performance: Champions (1992).
Last World Cup: Group stage.
Captain: Shahid Afridi.
Coach: Waqar Younis.
World Cup record: 30-24, 2 no results.
Key players: Afridi, Abdul Razzaq.
Strengths: In all-rounders Afridi and Razzaq, Pakistan possesses two batsmen who can turn an innings quickly and they are well suited to the subcontinental conditions.
Weaknesses: No team has had a more tumultuous preparation — senior batsman Salman Butt and front line pacemen Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer were recently banned by the International Cricket Counci; for a minimum of five years after being found guilty in a spot-fixing scandal. Pakistan was supposed to be a World Cup co-host but was stripped of those rights after gunmen attacked the Sri Lanka team bus en route to a Test match at Lahore almost two years ago. Pakistan are relying on Shoiab Akhtar to lead the pace attack, with much riding on the injury-prone fast bowler.
SRI LANKA
Best World Cup performance: Champions (1996).
Last World Cup: Finalist.
Captain: Kumar Sangakkara
Coach: Trevor Bayliss (Australia).
World Cup record: 25-30, 1 tie, 1 no result.
Key players: Sangakkara, Muttiah Muralitharan.
Strengths: Sri Lanka won the World Cup the last time it was held in Asia and reached the finals in 2007. Record-holding spin bowler Muttiah Muralitharan will be playing his last tournament and is aiming to deliver a second World Cup title to Sri Lanka. This is a well-rounded squad with the only question mark being over the middle-order. They are likely to stick to a combination of seven batsmen and four bowlers, a line-up that has served them well in home games, with Angelo Mathews battling in the top six as well as having bowling duties.
Weaknesses: The pressure of expectations — Sri Lankans are expecting Sangakkara and Muralitharan to win the tournament which their country is co-hosting, despite little practice on the relatively new surfaces prepared for the World Cup.
ZIMBABWE
Best World Cup performance: Super 6 (1999, 2003)
Last World Cup: Group stage.
Captain: Elton Chigumbura.
Coach: Alan Butcher (England).
World Cup record: 8-33 1 tie, 3 no results.
Key players: Chigumbura, Tatenda Taibu.
Strengths: The squad have played reasonably frequently in Bangladesh and have experience in the subcontinental conditions, which suit their spin-orientated bowling attack led by Ray Price and Prosper Utseya. Zimbabwe are not burdened by any expectations and are growing in confidence after a restructure of the domestic competition and some coaching assistance from Brian Lara, the former West Indies captain.
Weaknesses: Zimbabwe have not returned to the form of 1999, when they beat India and South Africa in the World Cup. The squad lacks depth in batting and bowling departments and does not have a stand-out match winner. Suffered back-to-back World Cup warm-up defeats against South Africa and Ireland.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
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.
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
Leaderboard
64 - Gavin Green (MAL), Graeme McDowell (NIR)
65 - Henrik Stenson (SWE), Sebastian Soderberg (SWE), Adri Arnaus (ESP), Victor Perez (FRA), Jhonattan Vegas (VEN)
66 - Phil Mickelson (USA), Tom Lewis (ENG), Andy Sullivan (ENG), Ross Fisher (ENG), Aaron Rai (ENG), Ryan Fox (NZL)
67 - Dustin Johnson (USA), Sebastian Garcia Rodriguez (ESP), Lucas Herbert (AUS), Francesco Laporta (ITA), Joost Luiten (NED), Soren Kjeldsen (DEN), Marcus Kinhult (SWE)
68 - Alexander Bjork (SWE), Matthieu Pavon (FRA), Adrian Meronk (POL), David Howell (ENG), Christiaan Bezuidenhout (RSA), Fabrizio Zanotti (PAR), Sean Crocker (USA), Scott Hend (AUS), Justin Harding (RSA), Jazz Janewattananond (THA), Shubhankar Sharma (IND), Renato Paratore (ITA)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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.”
Expert advice
“Join in with a group like Cycle Safe Dubai or TrainYAS, where you’ll meet like-minded people and always have support on hand.”
Stewart Howison, co-founder of Cycle Safe Dubai and owner of Revolution Cycles
“When you sweat a lot, you lose a lot of salt and other electrolytes from your body. If your electrolytes drop enough, you will be at risk of cramping. To prevent salt deficiency, simply add an electrolyte mix to your water.”
Cornelia Gloor, head of RAK Hospital’s Rehabilitation and Physiotherapy Centre
“Don’t make the mistake of thinking you can ride as fast or as far during the summer as you do in cooler weather. The heat will make you expend more energy to maintain a speed that might normally be comfortable, so pace yourself when riding during the hotter parts of the day.”
Chandrashekar Nandi, physiotherapist at Burjeel Hospital in Dubai
Sting & Shaggy
44/876
(Interscope)
RESULTS
6.30pm: Maiden Dh 165,000 1,600m
Winner: Superior, Connor Beasley (jockey), Ahmad bin Harmash (trainer)
7.05pm: Handicap Dh 185,000 2,000m
Winner: Tried And True, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
7.40pm: Maiden Dh 165,000 1,600m
Winner: Roy Orbison, Fernando Jara, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
8.15pm
Handicap Dh 190,000 1,400m
Winner: Taamol, Dane O’Neill, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
8.50pm
Handicap Dh 175,000 1,600m
Winner: Welford, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
9.25pm: Handicap Dh 175,000 1,200m
Winner: Lavaspin, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
10pm: Handicap Dh 165,000 1,600m
Winner: Untold Secret, Xavier Ziani, Sandeep Jadhav
RACE CARD
6.30pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 Group 1 (PA) Dh119,373 (Dirt) 1,600m
7.05pm Handicap (TB) Dh102,500 (D) 1,200m
7.40pm Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (Turf) 1,800m
8.15pm UAE 1000 Guineas Trial (TB) Dh183,650 (D) 1,400m
9.50pm Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (D) 1,600m
9.25pm Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 1,000m