A farewell century for Alastair Cook would be “fantastic”, says England assistant coach Paul Farbrace.

Cook, who is set to retire from international cricket, ended the third day of England’s fifth Test against India at The Oval on 46 not out.

“He has played really well and has shown everything that he is about,” said Farbrace.

“I think he is enjoying milking all the applause he is getting. It’s driving him to bat as long as he possibly can.”

Opener Cook, playing his 161st Test, made 71 in England’s first innings, only his second half-century in 2018.

When he emerged for his 291st and final innings in Test cricket on Sunday afternoon, he was given a prolonged standing ovation by The Oval crowd.

It was a similar story at the end of the day after Cook had guided England to 114-2, a lead of 154 runs.

“He’s been pretty calm, but I would imagine that reception when he went out to bat moved him,” said Farbrace.

“It certainly moved everyone else in the dressing room.”

Cook, 33, will retire as England’s most capped Test cricketer, as well as their highest run-scorer, leading century-maker and taker of most catches.

If he manages to complete a 33rd Test century on Monday, it will end a career that began with a hundred against the same opponents on his debut in Nagpur in 2006.

“As much as we will miss his runs and catches, we’ll also miss the calming influence that he has amongst everybody,” added Farbrace.

“He manages to make everyone feel very welcome. He has the respect of everybody and everyone is comfortable talking to him. He’s very down to earth.”

England’s next assignment is a three-Test tour of Sri Lanka in November.

With Cook not there, it will end his run of 159 consecutive Tests, a record in the longest form of the game.

“Come Sri Lanka, there will be a lot people looking around, realising he’s not there and understanding what an impact he has had on the team,” said Farbrace.

“He’s a very caring bloke. He’ll be a huge miss.”

Out of all of Elon Musk’s ventures, the Boring Company is undoubtedly the most WTF.

For instance, the tunneling company may be best known for its Not-a-Flamethrower, the barely legal $600 flame-spewing gadget with Dr. Seuss-inspired terms and conditions. 

Even Musk himself recently admitted that “the flamethrower was a terrible idea,” and that “I’m not saying the Boring Company will succeed.” 

So it shouldn’t come as that much of a surprise that the company doesn’t take other aspects of its business too seriously either. Like its machines, some of which are apparently controlled with actual Xbox controllers. 

The company posted a video Saturday showing exactly that: a large piece of tunneling machinery being guided by an Xbox controller.

Whether or not this is the company’s usual setup is unclear. It could simply be an experiment, or it could be the real deal. And while we’re highly skeptical of the company claim that it’s the “best video game ever,” the Xbox controller seems to be more than up for the task.  

Sure, there are probably loads of other complex controllers that are specifically designed to operate heavy, industrial machinery. But why even bother if you could just pick up your old Xbox controller and pretend you’re playing a very loud, very monotonous, video game?

Alastair Cook moves to 46 not out in his final innings as an international cricketer following Ravindra Jadeja’s unbeaten 86 that keeps India in contention on day three of the fifth Test at the Oval.

REPORT: Alastair Cook extends hosts’ advantage at The Oval

WATCH MORE: Cook receives guard of honour from India

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Image: Mashable Composite/Getty Images

As the world crumbles around us, take solace in this: After a years-long feud, Drake and Meek Mill have buried the hatchet.

The two appeared together onstage Saturday night during the Boston stop of Drake’s ‘Aubrey and the Three Amigos’ tour with Migos. After rising theatrically from beneath the stage, Meek performed his song “Dreams and Nightmares.” Drake played hype man.

 It was a nice moment:

“We need more peace in the world. We need more love in the world,” Drake said after the performance.

After the show, Drake shared more about the experience on Instagram (a very Drake thing to do). “This really gave me piece (sic) of mind tonight,” he wrote. “Healing and moving forward created one of the most electric and gratifying moments of my career.”

We love friendship!

BALTIMORE – Absolutely deplorable.

There is no other way to describe the ineptitude put on display by the Buffalo Bills Sunday afternoon in their season-opening 47-3 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, the most lopsided Week 1 loss, and the second-worst loss in the 59-year history of the franchise.

You might say the only thing worse than the Bills was the weather as it rained all day at M&T Bank Stadium, and that was reflected in the number of empty seats as thousands of Ravens fans made the right call and stayed home rather than venture out. And they were joined by thousands of others who left at halftime with the Ravens comfortably ahead 26-0.

But that wouldn’t even be correct. Nothing was worse than the Bills on this day, and what made this performance such an utter abomination is that Buffalo was incompetent on offense, on defense, and on special teams, a total team effort. If the Bills were to play twice as well in future games, that might only be good enough to win three or four games.

But quite frankly, given what we saw Sunday, is that even possible? This roster is so devoid of top-level talent, is so lacking in depth, the Bills may not be able to compete on level terms with any team in the league this year.

Nathan Peterman, everyone’s preseason darling, was overmatched once again. The good news is that he didn’t throw five interceptions as he did in Los Angeles last year; only two this time. The bad news is that he could not produce a single first down in the first half. Not a single one. That hasn’t happened in any Bills game in the 21st century.

Of course, he had no help from anyone. His wide receivers couldn’t get open, and his offensive line couldn’t protect him, but the undeniable truth is that Peterman cannot play in the NFL. He just can’t. He’s not big enough, he’s not strong enough, his arm is mediocre, and he can’t turn bad plays into good ones the way the good quarterbacks can. He’s barely backup level, let alone a starter, and Sean McDermott may have already come to that conclusion.

The Bills won the coin toss to start the game, and that was the only thing they won all day. McDermott opted to defer as he almost always does — analytics, you know — and the Ravens said thank you very much and drove 80 yards in 10 plays to take a lead they never relinquished. Alex Collins scored the touchdown on a 7-yard run right through the middle of the defense which looked awful the entire series.

After a pair of three-and-outs by the Bills, the Ravens made it 14-0 when Flacco hit John Brown with a 7-yard TD pass on a play where he was uncovered in the end zone. Completely uncovered. 

Special teams got into the act in the second quarter as the punt team allowed a 51-yard return by Janarion Grant to the Bills’ 23 that set up a field goal by Justin Tucker.

When the defense finally did something right — Matt Milano recovering a fumble that was forced by rookie Tremaine Edmunds at the Ravens 35 — the offense moved backward and Stephen Hauschka missed a 51-yard field goal.

More: Buffalo Bills are historically bad

Before the half ended, Peterman served up the first of his two interceptions which set up a Tucker field goal, and after the Bills twice failed to recover a muffed punt, the Ravens made them pay by driving 85 yards to a Flacco TD pass to Michael Crabtree that made it 26-0.

“Poor Nathan Peterman,” CBS’ Boomer Esiason said at halftime. “They’ve thrown him to the wolves, boys. He just does not look good. It’s unfortunate. The question is will Josh Allen see playing time today assuming nothing happens to Nathan Peterman. It would be a decision by the coaching staff. I don’t think they will because I think Baltimore is absolutely feasting on everybody.”

When Peterman did nothing on Buffalo’s first two possessions of the third quarter, McDermott did indeed decide to end the misery and he turned to rookie Josh Allen, proving that McDermott isn’t worried about protecting the first-round asset, or shattering his confidence.

By that point, the deficit had risen to 40-0 as rookie punter Corey Bojorquez dropped a snap at his own 14 that led to Flacco’s 13-yard TD pass to Willie Snead, and Peterman’s second pick resulted in Javorius Allen’s TD plunge.

Like Peterman, Allen really had no chance, but there was no doubt he looked more capable of moving the offense than Peterman did at any point, and he did put together a 12-play, 46-yard march that ended with a Hauschka field goal to break the Ravens’ shutout.

At the end of the third quarter, the Bills had six first downs, were 1 of 12 on third down, and 83 net yards of offense.

MAIORANA@Gannett.com

 

Doha, Qatar – Mewa Singh is a 50-year-old labourer from the Indian state of Punjab.

With a family of five to feed, he moved to Qatar 14 years ago because he didn’t have a regular income in India.

“I was the sole bread earner for the family. The money wasn’t enough,” Singh told Al Jazeera while cutting wire ropes at the under-construction Lusail Stadium, the venue for the 2022 World Cup final, just outside Qatar’s capital, Doha.

But before leaving India, Singh was told to pay INR 60,000 (then $1,363) to the agent who helped him land a construction job in Qatar. That amount is the equivalent of how much Singh would have earned in a year at that time.

Singh is one of almost 20 million low-skilled workers in the Gulf. A huge number of them paid agents varying sums of money to get a job in the region. Laws in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain now forbid these “recruitment costs” being levied on workers but that has not stopped agents from charging it in the labourers’ country of origin.

“This [unauthorised fee] is a global issue. The lowest-skilled, low-income workers pay for it. These workers are the most vulnerable and desperate. In this region, they form the bulk of the workforce,” said Ray Jureidini, current research professor on migrant worker rights, violations and reform in the Middle East at Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Doha.

“We’re talking mainly Asian countries and increasingly from Africa now. There’s a culture that exists in the countries of origin that if you want a job in the Gulf or elsewhere, you have to pay.”

While the sums vary, workers from Bangladesh would generally pay more to get a job in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region than others, according to research done by Jureidni.

Some workers that Jureidni spoke to said they had paid $3,300. Others shelled out up to $10,000. 

“They take loans from banks, borrow from others, including friends and family. That puts them in debt even before they start earning,” Jureidni said. “Workers are trapped in this cycle of debt and end up in forced labour.”

These excessive payments, coupled with other recruitment–related abuses, significantly reduce the amount of money that migrant low-skilled workers are able to spend in the host country or remit home, according to an International Labour Organization report.

Why do recruitment fees exist?

With high demand for migrant labour workers in the Gulf, especially in the construction sector, competition among agencies providing the workforce is fierce. In order to minimise expenses, the contractors omit recruitment costs from the tender when they bid.

“If an employer is not prepared to pay, it ends up being the workers who pay,” said Jureidini, adding that recruitment agencies, in order to land contracts, offer so-called “incentives” and payments – a trend that exists globally.

“They’ll offer companies money to give them that contract. This is where all the unethical and fraudulent practice occurs. On average, the amount of money going into these payments to employees and companies is around $1,000 per worker.

“With almost 20 million workers in the region, this industry is worth $20bn in fraudulent transactions.”  

Seven years ago, Mithunja Pathak paid INR 53,000 (then $1,040) to an agent in India who promised him a carpentry job in Qatar. As happened with many others, Pathak was instructed to quote a smaller figure if asked after arriving in Qatar.

“I paid the whole amount up front,” said Pathak. “Almost everyone does that. There’s no other choice.”

Still, there are companies that, even reluctantly, will adhere to ethical practices – not charging recruitment fees and delivering on the contracts that the workers were promised. But, they want a “level playing field”.

“They are in a competitive situation,” said Jureidni. “They say if they are to compete against a company not paying recruitment cost, they will be at a disadvantage and won’t be able to underbid them.” 

With almost 20 million workers in the region, this industry is worth $20bn in fraudulent transactions

Dr Ray Jureidini

Daniel Gathuru paid approximately 120,000 Kenyan shilling ($1,190) to his agent to land him a construction job at a World Cup site in Qatar just under two years ago. When he arrived in Doha from Nairobi, he realised he didn’t have to pay anything.

“The guys back home conned us. The company had told the agency that nobody should pay to come here. We didn’t know that then. Now all we can do is tell others,” said Gathuru, his voice devoid of emotion.

Additionally, since it is cash swapping hands between the workers and agents, there is no proof the labourers can give to their companies of the fraud that is omnipresent and widespread in their country of origin.

A 2014 study by the ILO concluded that worker-paid migration costs can be as high as a third of what low-skilled workers will earn in two or three years abroad in certain migration corridors.

Late last year, a number of contractors working for Qatar 2022 launched an initiative to partially reimburse workers assigned to some World Cup projects.

Selected contractors signed up with the tournament’s organisers and agreed to pay an additional monthly amount “towards any hardship they may have gone through when they were coming to Qatar”.

“We now have 41 companies in total that have agreed with the reimbursement project,” said Mahmoud Qutub, director of the Worker’s Welfare Division for Qatar 2022. “The amount will vary – from QAR 50 to 150 ($13.7 to $41.1) per month – but at least the contractors have realised the issue and the need to do something.”

This reimbursement amounts to an average of QAR 2,401 ($658) over the course of two years. 

Hassan al-Thawadi, secretary-general of the World Cup 2022 organising committee, said it was the organisation’s belief that “this World Cup can be a catalyst for change, both in Qatar and in other parts of the world”.

“Unethical recruitment is a global issue and an area many countries struggle to manage. All too often, the very people who have left their home to provide for their families are the ones exploited,” said al-Thawadi.

A representative from HBK, one of the contractors for the Lusail Stadium site and a participant in the initiative, said the amount will be paid to all its workers following a probation period, “regardless of whether they paid anything to an agent or not and they will continue receiving it as long as they’re working for HBK”.

While the number of beneficiaries is low – the scheme only covers 20 percent of the workforce over the next two years, according to Qutub – the initiative has been hailed as an effective first step to help workers who are often helpless on this issue after arriving in a new country.

For Gathuru, the extra cash will go towards paying back those he borrowed from to pay the agent.

Pathak is happy he will be able to send extra money home.

But for Singh, who is still on probation, this “small amount” will do little to “make a difference” in his life.