SHARJAH // Afghanistan's national cricketers were deprived of the chance to scout their US opponents from across the playing field yesterday, as a delayed flight from Colombo, Sri Lanka, meant they missed a scheduled 10am training session.
Some might have perceived it as a blessing in disguise. Rarely can a match of the "Gentleman's Game" carry as much political intrigue as Afghanistan's meeting, in Dubai on Thursday, with a certain US national team.
The cricketers representing the two nations were due to share practice facilities at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, ahead of the forthcoming ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier, to be staged in the UAE from Tuesday.
Some can hardly wait for the action to commence.
"Every game is important for us because we are trying to qualify for the World Cup, whether we play against Ireland, Scotland or America," said Hameed Hassan, a fast bowler for Afghanistan.
"Lots of people are definitely waiting for the America game. Inshallah, we will win our first two games against Ireland and Scotland, then we will do our best to beat them.
"We have been sent a lot of good wishes from people back at home, who are waiting to see how we do against them. Let's see how we do on Thursday."
Whether the group A fixture between the US and Afghanistan will be as incendiary as it might appear on paper is debatable.
The US squad is peopled entirely by players of either West Indian or subcontinental backgrounds. Few of the players are particularly motivated by traditional American sport, and fewer still are likely to stay up to watch the Super Bowl tonight.
As if to emphasise the disparate make-up of this side, they are coached by two former Test players from different nations. Dipak Patel, who is of Indian heritage, was brought up in the British Midlands before emigrating to New Zealand, for whom he played international cricket.
The Guyanese head coach, Clayton Lambert, became an American citizen in 1991 thanks to sponsorship by his mother, and still played Test cricket for the West Indies after that.
The political significance of a sporting fixture between his adopted nation and Afghanistan does not carry much weight with Lambert.
"For us, it is just a game that we want to win because we don't like to lose, not for any other reason," said the burly 47-year-old coach.
Indeed, the greatest incentive for the Americans to succeed against the Afghans seems to be that it would upset the odds.
The US were only welcomed back into the global cricket fold relatively recently, after being suspended from international competition due to problems at the administrative level.
They were granted a special invitation to play at this week's qualification tournament by the sport's Dubai-based ruling body, the International Cricket Council.
The ICC believes that there is a dormant market for the sport ready to be tapped in the US, with Twenty20 - an abridged version of the game which takes just three hours, as opposed to five days - seen as the ideal vehicle to attract new fans.
Afghanistan, meanwhile, have blazed a trail through international cricket in recent years. They are now regarded as one of the best limited-overs sides outside of the Test playing elite.
"We know they have very talented players," added Lambert. "It was not long ago that we were in the same division as Afghanistan.
"They won, we lost, and they have really progressed now they are part of the [ICC] high performance programme.
"They benefit from living like professional cricketers, but we have some outstanding talent. Pound for pound, we are not afraid of anyone."
Later this month, the Afghans will be the nominal "home" side when Sharjah becomes the first venue in world cricket to have staged 200 one-day internationals, in a match against Canada.
It is a marker of how far they have come in such a short time. When the emirate played host to its first international match in 1984, cricket was just starting to take root amongst Afghan refugees, who had been displaced to neighbouring Pakistan by the Soviet invasion.
The game was learnt from watching Pakistan matches on television. Sticks and taped tennis balls had to pass for makeshifts bats and cricket balls, and early matches were played on flattened mud pitches.
In less than a decade, they earned official one-day international status via a competition in South Africa last year, in which they finished two places ahead of the UAE.
Their evolution has been swift in every facet of the game. When they first toured together as an international cricket team in 2001, they celebrated taking wickets with a handshake and uttered "Allah Akbar". Anything more vociferous was banned by their Taliban rulers. Now they have earned a reputation as one of the most excitable and vocal sides on the circuit.
"The match against the USA will be an exciting one, but it will just be another game of cricket in which both sides are trying as hard as possible to emerge the winner," said Nawroz Mangal, the Afghanistan captain.
"We respect the USA and know we cannot afford to be complacent against them."
pradley@thenational.ae
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- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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Expo 2020 Dubai will be the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia
The world fair will run for six months from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021.
It is expected to attract 25 million visits
Some 70 per cent visitors are projected to come from outside the UAE, the largest proportion of international visitors in the 167-year history of World Expos.
More than 30,000 volunteers are required for Expo 2020
The site covers a total of 4.38 sqkm, including a 2 sqkm gated area
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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
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
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Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
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Teaching your child to save
Pre-school (three - five years)
You can’t yet talk about investing or borrowing, but introduce a “classic” money bank and start putting gifts and allowances away. When the child wants a specific toy, have them save for it and help them track their progress.
Early childhood (six - eight years)
Replace the money bank with three jars labelled ‘saving’, ‘spending’ and ‘sharing’. Have the child divide their allowance into the three jars each week and explain their choices in splitting their pocket money. A guide could be 25 per cent saving, 50 per cent spending, 25 per cent for charity and gift-giving.
Middle childhood (nine - 11 years)
Open a bank savings account and help your child establish a budget and set a savings goal. Introduce the notion of ‘paying yourself first’ by putting away savings as soon as your allowance is paid.
Young teens (12 - 14 years)
Change your child’s allowance from weekly to monthly and help them pinpoint long-range goals such as a trip, so they can start longer-term saving and find new ways to increase their saving.
Teenage (15 - 18 years)
Discuss mutual expectations about university costs and identify what they can help fund and set goals. Don’t pay for everything, so they can experience the pride of contributing.
Young adulthood (19 - 22 years)
Discuss post-graduation plans and future life goals, quantify expenses such as first apartment, work wardrobe, holidays and help them continue to save towards these goals.
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VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
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A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
