SHARJAH // Captain Misbah-ul-Haq may finally give a second spinner a chance as Pakistan look for the right combination to level the series against Sri Lanka in the third Test, which begins today on a flat Sharjah pitch.
“You get spin on the pitches here as far as Test cricket goes,” Misbah, who has a say in the selection of the playing XI, said yesterday. “It’s a do-or-die situation for us and we have to level the series. There is no other option.”
Pakistan and Misbah also thought the second-Test pitch in Dubai last week would take spin, but they went with only Saeed Ajmal and the pitch hardly broke. Sri Lanka registered their biggest victory in Tests against Pakistan in winning by nine wickets to take a 1-0 lead.
In their five previous Tests at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Pakistan had two wins over the West Indies in 2002, twice lost to Australia by an innings in the same year and drew with Sri Lanka in 2011. “Out of five matches, four have produced results so you can’t say that the pitch doesn’t produce results,” Misbah said.
Bringing in left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman also could be expedient as fast bowler Bilawal Bhatti has been nursing a hamstring injury since bowling in the first innings of the second Test.
Misbah is unlikely to tinker with his top order batsmen despite Ahmed Shehzad, Khurram Manzoor and Mohammad Hafeez struggling against the Sri Lanka seamers – especially with the new ball. The three have each scored a half century in the series and have the backing of their captain.
“Two innings can go bad for anyone,” Misbah said. “The new ball is always difficult, so we are not worried about that very much.”
While Pakistan have had a lot of work and reflection after the heavy defeat on Sunday, Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews just wants that his teammates do not get complacent and look to win again.
Mathews has led from the front with his match-saving career-best unbeaten 157 in the first Test, while Mahela Jayawardene notched his 32nd Test century, with three stitches in his left hand, to set the stage for the big win in the second.
All three seamers have bowled well within their limits to trouble Pakistan batsmen with their swing.
“We can’t be complacent because they are a very good unit and they can come back and come back hard,” Mathews said.
Mathews said Pakistan’s confusion over the state of the pitches in the UAE has helped Sri Lanka as his seamers have taken advantage.
“Having confusion, it’s always good for us,” Mathews said. “There was a lot of help for the seamers [in Dubai] and our seamers bowled better than their seamers, so we got more wickets than them.”
Sri Lanka, meanwhile, have announced they will tour Bangladesh later this month following a security assessment in the violence-plagued country, cricket board officials said.
“We are very positive about playing in Bangladesh,” Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) secretary Nishantha Ranatunga said. “We look forward to playing there.”
Confirmation that the tour is going ahead comes after SLC vice president Mohan de Silva and the board’s former chief executive Ajith Jayasekera travelled to Bangladesh earlier this week.
Bangladesh has been rocked by some of the deadliest political violence in its history in recent weeks, with the opposition trying to derail a January 5 general election, which was marred by boycotts.
The violence has also prompted speculation that the 50-over Asia Cup and the Twenty20 World Cup, which are both scheduled to be hosted by Bangladesh in the next few months, could be shifted.
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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
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Banthology: Stories from Unwanted Nations
Edited by Sarah Cleave, Comma Press
When is VAR used?
• Goals
• Penalty decisions
• Direct red-card incidents
• Mistaken identity
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
How to come clean about financial infidelity
- Be honest and transparent: It is always better to own up than be found out. Tell your partner everything they want to know. Show remorse. Inform them of the extent of the situation so they know what they are dealing with.
- Work on yourself: Be honest with yourself and your partner and figure out why you did it. Don’t be ashamed to ask for professional help.
- Give it time: Like any breach of trust, it requires time to rebuild. So be consistent, communicate often and be patient with your partner and yourself.
- Discuss your financial situation regularly: Ensure your spouse is involved in financial matters and decisions. Your ability to consistently follow through with what you say you are going to do when it comes to money can make all the difference in your partner’s willingness to trust you again.
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Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
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One in four Americans don't plan to retire
Nearly a quarter of Americans say they never plan to retire, according to a poll that suggests a disconnection between individuals' retirement plans and the realities of ageing in the workforce.
Experts say illness, injury, layoffs and caregiving responsibilities often force older workers to leave their jobs sooner than they'd like.
According to the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Centre for Public Affairs Research, 23 per cent of workers, including nearly two in 10 of those over 50, don't expect to stop working. Roughly another quarter of Americans say they will continue working beyond their 65th birthday.
According to government data, about one in five people 65 and older was working or actively looking for a job in June. The study surveyed 1,423 adults in February this year.
For many, money has a lot to do with the decision to keep working.
"The average retirement age that we see in the data has gone up a little bit, but it hasn't gone up that much," says Anqi Chen, assistant director of savings research at the Centre for Retirement Research at Boston College. "So people have to live in retirement much longer, and they may not have enough assets to support themselves in retirement."
When asked how financially comfortable they feel about retirement, 14 per cent of Americans under the age of 50 and 29 per cent over 50 say they feel extremely or very prepared, according to the poll. About another four in 10 older adults say they do feel somewhat prepared, while just about one-third feel unprepared.
"One of the things about thinking about never retiring is that you didn't save a whole lot of money," says Ronni Bennett, 78, who was pushed out of her job as a New York City-based website editor at 63.
She searched for work in the immediate aftermath of her layoff, a process she describes as akin to "banging my head against a wall." Finding Manhattan too expensive without a steady stream of income, she eventually moved to Portland, Maine. A few years later, she moved again, to Lake Oswego, Oregon. "Sometimes I fantasise that if I win the lottery, I'd go back to New York," says Ms Bennett.
Mia Man’s tips for fermentation
- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut
- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.
- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.
- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.
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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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Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
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Starting price: Dh79,000
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Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
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If you go…
Emirates launched a new daily service to Mexico City this week, flying via Barcelona from Dh3,995.
Emirati citizens are among 67 nationalities who do not require a visa to Mexico. Entry is granted on arrival for stays of up to 180 days.