This summer season in the southern hemisphere is shaping up to be a decisive one for the legacy of Misbah-ul-Haq’s Pakistan. They became the No 1 Test side briefly earlier this year and a 2-2 draw in England ranks among the finest results in Misbah’s time.
If they do well in New Zealand and Australia — and especially if they win in the latter — Misbah could move from being one of Pakistan’s greatest captains to arguably the greatest.
It is unlikely he will play beyond the Australia tour, so as far as farewell memories go what could be sweeter than guiding Pakistan to a first-ever series win in Australia?
Not that it has begun especially well. An eight-wicket defeat in Christchurch, in just over two playing days, was a second, chastening result in succession (after the Sharjah defeat to West Indies).
How they fare from hereon depends largely on how they tackle three big questions.
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Who at three?
Much of the success under Misbah has emanated from a stable batting order in which, to a large degree, everyone knows the role they play. The dropping of Mohammed Hafeez — albeit justifiable — has fractured that calm.
It has forced Pakistan to move Azhar Ali — previously so successful at three — to opening the innings. In England and against the West Indies, Pakistan revealed their hand by moving Asad Shafiq to three and there was little to argue against it.
Shafiq did not fail against the West Indies but underwhelmed and a pair in Sharjah was an abysmal way to end. That has seemingly changed the management’s mind and they dropped him back to six in Christchurch, using the newbie Babar Azam at three instead.
This is needless uncertainty — Shafiq wants to bat at three and, as the side’s most technically accomplished player, should be given a long run there.
End near for Younis?
Unlike Misbah, there is less clarity on how long Younis Khan intends to play on for. He is still scoring enough runs to justify his place in the side. But it is tempting to look at his relative struggles for three Tests in England and in the Christchurch Test and think that these could be a couple of difficult assignments for him.
One solution could be for Pakistan to start the transition process in their batting order now for a future without either Misbah or Younis. Move Shafiq to three and Azam to four, with Younis and Misbah to follow. That would allow Younis especially an opportunity to play against a softer ball, with runs already on the board.
Beware, though, the wrath of Khan. This is not to write him off — he has been written off far too many times before and, in fact, it is what he thrives on. But he will be 39 in a week’s time and Pakistan must start planning for his eventual departure.
Why no swing, Amir?
Mohammed Amir’s numbers since his return from a five-year ban are not poor, though neither are they sparkling. Twenty-two wickets in seven Tests, five of which have been in helpful conditions, at an average of 36 — those are slightly meh.
He has bowled well undoubtedly, especially if you consider that he was not allowed anywhere near a cricket ground for four of those five years. The pace remains, as does the strength to bowl lots of overs. And but for a melee of dropped catches those figures would be fat better.
Where, though, is the swing? In Christchurch, which constituted the most swing-friendly conditions he has come across since his return, he barely swung anything. He bowled well and took wickets, but, as in England, struggled to swing it as we remember him doing so.
This could be a sleight of memory. The lasting images of Amir pre-ban are from the English summer of 2010, a summer which was for swing what Woodstock was for music. That tour perhaps exaggerated how much swing he could get otherwise.
It could also be a technical glitch. Though his action looks much the same as it did before, he has not been getting as close to the stumps in delivery as he used to. Some suggest, too, that he is more front-on than he was before. It may not ultimately matter too much because he is smart enough to still pick up wickets. But for a melee of dropped catches his figures would be far better.
Indeed it may be us who have to scale down our expectations.
osamiuddin@thenational.ae
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
'The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window'
Director:Michael Lehmann
Stars:Kristen Bell
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The biog
Favourite hobby: I love to sing but I don’t get to sing as much nowadays sadly.
Favourite book: Anything by Sidney Sheldon.
Favourite movie: The Exorcist 2. It is a big thing in our family to sit around together and watch horror movies, I love watching them.
Favourite holiday destination: The favourite place I have been to is Florence, it is a beautiful city. My dream though has always been to visit Cyprus, I really want to go there.
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
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
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
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
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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4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
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