The Sri Lankan captaincy is a vexed appointment, surpassed in its complications perhaps only by the Pakistan captaincy.
The peculiar combination of political pressures, with those of a permanently creaky board and the everyday stresses of captaincy, are almost unique.
It is not within the capabilities of many men, and even those who last leave with scars. Mahela Jayawardene, a fresh innovator of a leader, was spent after a three-year stint.
A man with the stature of Kumar Sangakkara could handle it only for a couple of years. Tillakaratne Dilshan never looked like being a long-haul man and he was done in less than a year.
Angelo Mathews was the next big thing when he arrived in Sri Lanka cricket, cursed at first for being that rare species, a genuine all-rounder.
He is not that anymore, really, unless in limited-overs cricket. His ascent to leadership has been some time in the making, even if he is the youngest to hold the post.
This will not be easy, but he could not have made a better start against a major opponent than he has in Abu Dhabi, all but guiding his side to safety with a career-best 116, and maybe, just maybe, even an improbable and glorious triumph.
How he fares in the field will only become apparent over time, but in Jayawardene, he still has a very, very sharp head to bounce ideas off.
As for how he leads by example, with bat in hand, he will not be able to set a better template than he has at Zayed Cricket Stadium, where he showed on the first day what Test-match batting requires.
There was both discretion and ballast in his strokeplay, and intelligence and selflessness in how he farmed the strike with the tail.
In the second innings, his example was adopted by others.
Kaushal Silva on Thursday and Dinesh Chandimal through half of Day 4 yesterday provided a platform for Mathews, 26, to play what must be his finest Test innings to date.
Over the years, Mathews’s limited-overs prowess – he is an all-action star in the 20 and 50-over formats – has overshadowed the fact that he is, or can be, a very solid Test bat.
Yesterday was proof of it.
Sri Lanka were still in much strife when he faced the first ball of the day, also his first ball of the innings.
To be there, over seven hours later, forward pressing another ball away from harm from Saeed Ajmal, was a monumental achievement, built on strength, patience and the little snippets of adventure that so illuminate his game in colours.
The importance of this hundred, whatever the result, should not be underplayed.
“Played like a captain,” Chandimal said, and as one of the newer members of a side that will at some point soon lose the services of their two greatest batsmen and finest leaders, it is a telling impression.
It is impossible to say right now how far Mathews will go, which is a comment not on him but the environment in which he leads.
It is equally difficult, though, on the basis of this Test, to see him not being there for a while yet.
osamiuddin@thenational.ae
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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Job: CEO JCDecaux Middle East
In the role: Since January 2015
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Studied: Corporate finance
Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
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The Bloomberg Billionaire Index in full
1 Jeff Bezos $140 billion
2 Bill Gates $98.3 billion
3 Bernard Arnault $83.1 billion
4 Warren Buffett $83 billion
5 Amancio Ortega $67.9 billion
6 Mark Zuckerberg $67.3 billion
7 Larry Page $56.8 billion
8 Larry Ellison $56.1 billion
9 Sergey Brin $55.2 billion
10 Carlos Slim $55.2 billion
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MATCH INFO
Tottenham 4 (Alli 51', Kane 50', 77'. Aurier 73')
Olympiakos 2 (El-Arabi 06', Semedo')
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