Shahid Afridi is a born cricketer who gelled with our team straight away, even though we only met him the day before he played for us.
He was lovely, and in no way was he an overpowering presence. The first time I met him was at the press conference we had the day before the tournament, then we had a small meeting where he met the rest of the team straight after.
He just said a few words during team talks, basically sending a simple message which was to enjoy our cricket. It is what we always try to do, but sometimes you forget that it is so important.
We were playing against professional sides, England's Sussex and Surrey plus the Cape Cobras from South Africa, and he knew we were all part-time cricketers with jobs to go to. He made us feel comfortable, saying: "Enjoy your cricket, I know you are all good cricketers, so let's see what we can do."
And the boys responded to that. I think they played really well, and gave two of the best sides in England a run for their money.
We have certainly learned more from it than any of the other sides. We ended up winning the event but the best thing was the experience we gained from it.
When you play against a professional side, you have to raise your standards pretty quickly because they are so good. Even if you cannot match them you have to go up a level just to compete.
It is a good job that the viewing at The Sevens ground is good for batsmen, because if you are only 20 yards away from Afridi when you are at the non-striker's end, it is obviously not the safest place to be. You have to watch out when he is hitting it because he hits it so hard.
We have a guy in our team, Amjad Javed, who is famous in UAE cricket for how hard he hits it. But he does not even come close to Afridi.
One of the first shots he hit when he was playing for us went straight past a boundary fielder. He did not even have a chance to move. Even his forward defensives raced across the field. We like him.
Nigel Fernandes is captain of the Fly Emirates staff team. Shahid Afridi, the Pakistan cricketer, made a guest appearance for them in last weekend's Emirates Airline Twenty20 tournament in Dubai.
sports@thenational.ae
The%20specs
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The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
Company: Instabug
Founded: 2013
Based: Egypt, Cairo
Sector: IT
Employees: 100
Stage: Series A
Investors: Flat6Labs, Accel, Y Combinator and angel investors
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
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
New schools in Dubai
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List of officials:
Referees: Chris Broad, David Boon, Jeff Crowe, Andy Pycroft, Ranjan Madugalle and Richie Richardson.
Umpires: Aleem Dar, Kumara Dharmasena, Marais Erasmus, Chris Gaffaney, Ian Gould, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Nigel Llong, Bruce Oxenford, Ruchira Palliyaguruge, Sundaram Ravi, Paul Reiffel, Rod Tucker, Michael Gough, Joel Wilson and Paul Wilson.
SPECS
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Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
Name: Colm McLoughlin
Country: Galway, Ireland
Job: Executive vice chairman and chief executive of Dubai Duty Free
Favourite golf course: Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club
Favourite part of Dubai: Palm Jumeirah
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
THE SPECS
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Transmission: six-speed manual
Power: 325bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Speed: 0-100km/h 3.9 seconds
Price: Dh230,000
On sale: now
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
The Settlers
Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
BABYLON
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FROM%20THE%20ASHES
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
Petrarch: Everywhere a Wanderer
Christopher Celenza,
Reaktion Books
The bio
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite travel destination: Maldives and south of France
Favourite pastime: Family and friends, meditation, discovering new cuisines
Favourite Movie: Joker (2019). I didn’t like it while I was watching it but then afterwards I loved it. I loved the psychology behind it.
Favourite Author: My father for sure
Favourite Artist: Damien Hurst
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
