Another failure with the bat by England captain Alastair Cook overshadowed a fighting century by Gary Ballance during the second Test against India at Lord's on Friday.
Cook’s early exit apart, this was a serviceable Day 2 for the hosts – and significantly better than that for Ballance, whose 110 underpinned England’s 219 for six in reply to 295 all out.
The captain’s wretched run of form has become an inescapable issue, and it will remain so until either Cook rediscovers the prolific runscoring knack that has eluded him for 26 Test innings, or his twin responsibilities as opener and leader are relaxed.
A critical point is surely close, but at least Ballance ensured England still have a feasible opportunity to break their run of nine Tests without a victory.
That was in major doubt when – with Cook and opening partner Sam Robson dismissed for the addition of just nine runs by Bhuvneshwar Kumar (four for 46) – England faltered first to 31 for two and then 113 for four.
Batting at No 3, Ballance made it clear from the moment he reached the crease that he was not about to go easily on a hot and sunny day.
The 24 year old made the wrong sort of headlines on the eve of this match when pictures emerged of him apparently swaying and stripped to the waist in a Nottingham nightclub after the first-Test stalemate at Trent Bridge.
On the pitch, there were few such indiscretions from a batsman who makes a virtue of patience. It took Ballance 54 balls, either side of lunch, to reach double figures.
But his confidence to wait for bowler error and punish it – leaving and defending well in between – helped him pass 50 for the fourth time in only eight Test innings.
He eventually made it two centuries in three attempts, after his unbeaten 104 against Sri Lanka last month, characteristically cashing in with a sudden rush of five boundaries in nine balls as India’s fourth seamer Stuart Binny filled in overs with the old ball.
Ballance said: “It’s a great place to play cricket and it’s gone well this season. It was quite a tough pitch this morning, but once you got in, it was a good day to score runs.
“We lost a few wickets early on and to be fair they bowled well, but [Ian Bell] and I tried to hang in and scrap, thinking hopefully the runs will come later on, and they did.
“It’s still a good pitch, and if we can keep them in the field a bit longer we can get a good lead.”
Ballance had one let-off on 32 when he edged a delivery that left him down the Lord’s slope that flew between wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Shikhar Dhawan at first slip for four.
“Looking at it again, I probably could have left it,” he said. “When you look round, it feels great to see it going through there.
“When it’s going away down the hill, I try to leave as much as I can. Once you get in, you feel like you’re batting on a flat pitch, but early on you do have to think about it.”
Ballance’s four-and-a-half-hour hundred contained 14 fours from 186 balls and arrived in a fifth-wicket stand of 98 with Moeen Ali.
Those riches appeared a long way off when Cook fell for 10, to take his unenviable annual tally to 107 runs in eight innings.
Cook and Robson have not registered a half-century stand in six attempts together, after the captain followed some movement across him and edged to a diving Dhoni to become Kumar’s first victim.
There were relatively few initial alarms for the openers on a pitch that looked less green than when Cook put India in on Day 1.
Movement off the seam and in the air was not so lavish either, but India’s new-ball pair of Kumar and Mohammed Shami bowled much more testing lines than England had offered 24 hours earlier.
In the 10th over, Robson edged Shami to second slip where Ajinkya Rahane put down a regulation chance, but two balls later Cook was dismissed – and Kumar soon had his second wicket, Robson aiming a drive only to also edge behind.
The nagging seamer struck again soon after lunch with a short ball that followed Ian Bell down the slope and had him gloving a catch to third slip.
Ballance remained assured and unhurried, and Joe Root was a determined ally until he went lbw to Ravindra Jadeja off what looked to be an inside edge.
Moeen lent more lasting support until he missed a flick to leg to give part-time off-spinner Murali Vijay his first Test wicket.
When Kumar then returned with the second new ball to have Ballance caught-behind down the leg-side, it was India who again edged the honours.
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Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
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.
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
Normcore explained
Something of a fashion anomaly, normcore is essentially a celebration of the unremarkable. The term was first popularised by an article in New York magazine in 2014 and has been dubbed “ugly”, “bland’ and "anti-style" by fashion writers. It’s hallmarks are comfort, a lack of pretentiousness and neutrality – it is a trend for those who would rather not stand out from the crowd. For the most part, the style is unisex, favouring loose silhouettes, thrift-shop threads, baseball caps and boyish trainers. It is important to note that normcore is not synonymous with cheapness or low quality; there are high-fashion brands, including Parisian label Vetements, that specialise in this style. Embraced by fashion-forward street-style stars around the globe, it’s uptake in the UAE has been relatively slow.
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
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Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
Federer's 19 grand slam titles
Australian Open (5 titles) - 2004 bt Marat Safin; 2006 bt Marcos Baghdatis; 2007 bt Fernando Gonzalez; 2010 bt Andy Murray; 2017 bt Rafael Nadal
French Open (1 title) - 2009 bt Robin Soderling
Wimbledon (8 titles) - 2003 bt Mark Philippoussis; 2004 bt Andy Roddick; 2005 bt Andy Roddick; 2006 bt Rafael Nadal; 2007 bt Rafael Nadal; 2009 bt Andy Roddick; 2012 bt Andy Murray; 2017 bt Marin Cilic
US Open (5 titles) - 2004 bt Lleyton Hewitt; 2005 bt Andre Agassi; 2006 bt Andy Roddick; 2007 bt Novak Djokovic; 2008 bt Andy Murray
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EXPATS
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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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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.
MATCH INFO
Day 2 at the Gabba
Australia 312-1
Warner 151 not out, Burns 97, Labuschagne 55 not out
Pakistan 240
Shafiq 76, Starc 4-52
MATCH INFO
Day 2 at Mount Maunganui
England 353
Stokes 91, Denly 74, Southee 4-88
New Zealand 144-4
Williamson 51, S Curran 2-28
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League last-16, second leg:
Real Madrid 1 (Asensio 70'), Ajax 4 (Ziyech 7', Neres 18', Tadic 62', Schone 72')
Ajax win 5-3 on aggregate
WandaVision
Starring: Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany
Directed by: Matt Shakman
Rating: Four stars
Bharat
Director: Ali Abbas Zafar
Starring: Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Sunil Grover
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
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