Sports
Seifert, Phillips and Chapman counter Bairstow’s fireworks to seal New Zealand win
New Zealand squared the four-match T20I series by chasing down 176 with relative ease at Trent Bridge. They got ahead of the game by belting 73 runs in the Powerplay, with Tim Seifert nailing 48 in his 50th T20I, then stayed there thanks to Glenn Phillips and Mark Chapman.
England had started brightly themselves, with Jonny Bairstow crunching six sixes in his 73 off 41. But their innings fell away after his dismissal, as New Zealand’s three spinners squeezed in the middle overs; England’s total looked a little light at a venue with notoriously short boundaries, and so it proved.
This was due to be a five-match series before three ODIs, but the fifth T20I was quietly converted into a 50-over game last year with an eye on the World Cup. As a result, this was not quite a decider – and it felt decidedly low-key, with Jos Buttler opting to rest himself ahead of greater tests to come.
Yet it served as more valuable preparation for New Zealand, who recovered from an abject start to the series to share the trophy. Friday’s first ODI in Cardiff marks the start of the more relevant part of their tour, but this was a clinical victory under the Nottingham floodlights all the same.
Finn Allen played in the only way he knows how, smoking three of his first four balls for four before losing his off stump when attempting to smear Luke Wood across the line. His six-ball 16 was only a cameo, but ensured that New Zealand were ahead of the required rate throughout the chase.
Promoted to open, Seifert was brutish. He camped on the back foot, lofting England’s seamers back down the ground with mid-off inside the ring, and crunched Adil Rashid for two fours and a six in the fifth over. Daryl Mitchell was run out shortly after the Powerplay, taking on Wood in the deep, but New Zealand were in control.
Rehan Ahmed, playing his first international game at home – and in the city he grew up in – bowled tidily for his 2 for 27, having Seifert caught-and-bowled and Phillips caught in the deep, but Phillips had crunched Moeen Ali, Rashid and Brydon Carse in between times for his 42 off 25.
The rate was down to a run a ball by the time Phillips holed out, and Chapman finished the job in style, cruising to 40 not out off 25 balls. Rachin Ravindra cut the winning boundary through the infield, with Wood misfielding at cover to sum up England’s disappointing night.
After four quiet games for Welsh Fire in the Hundred, Bairstow has roared back to form in this series. He top-scored in England’s win in Manchester, batting through the innings for 86, and raced to 47 off 22 after five overs after Moeen chose to bat.
This was Bairstow’s first innings at Trent Bridge since his 136 off 92 in a Test against the same opposition last year, the knock that secured his status as Bazball’s standard-bearer. His first two boundaries – short-arm jabs for four and six off Matt Henry – were reminiscent of that century, and he swiped 17 runs off Kyle Jamieson’s first over as England raced to 63 for 0 after six.
Bairstow was the only England batter to score freely against spin through the middle, crunching both left-arm spinners – Ravindra and Mitchell Santer – for six, though holed out to long-on immediately after the second. He was due to keep wicket in the run chase, though handed over to Buttler after experiencing shoulder pain while batting; he later played down the severity of the injury.
Bairstow apart, England’s batting line-up floundered against spin for the second game running. Ish Sodhi was not at his best but Will Jacks edged him behind after a fourth consecutive unconverted cameo, before Harry Brook hoicked his drag-down to deep backward square leg for 4 off 8 balls.
Neither Dawid Malan nor Liam Livingstone looked at their best in making 26 apiece, and Santner claimed two wickets in his fourth over – Malan and Moeen caught in the deep on the leg side – to finish with 3 for 30. Ravindra, playing ahead of the rested Devon Conway, had Sam Curran caught at wide long-on, and the three spinners finished with combined figures of 6 for 68 in 10 overs.
When Henry closed things out with a superb final over, which culminated in Livingstone drilling his wide yorker straight to extra cover, England had fallen some way short of the total they had lined up. It did not take long for New Zealand’s top order to underline that their 175 was under-par.
Brief scores:
New Zealand 179 for 4 (Seifert 48, Phillips 42, Chapman 40*) beat England 175 for 8 (Bairstow 73, Santner 3-30) by six wickets
(Cricinfo)
As FIFA investigates Argentina’s conduct after the World Cup final, Spain coach Luis de la Fuente has described the incidents as “intolerable and unacceptable.”
FIFA asked one of its disciplinary prosecutors on Monday to report back on testy on-field confrontations after Spain’s 1-0 win in extra time on Sunday to dethrone the defending champion.
Argentina midfielder Leandro Paredes physically tangled with Spain players Eric Garcia and Gavi, and Spain captain Rodri was hit in the stomach as he ran past Argentina defender Nahuel Molina.
“It cannot be allowed,” De la Fuente told Spanish public broadcaster TVE on Thursday, adding he did not see the incidents at the time while “celebrating with other people”.
“In any case, I find it intolerable and unacceptable from players of that calibre, whom I had been praising in the days before and who have a magnificent coach,” the Spain coach said.
FIFA has given no details of the remit for its investigator, or if witness statements could be sought from Spain players and staff.
Argentina assistant coach Roberto Ayala apologised on Wednesday for his confrontation with Dani Olmo, which he described as a shove and not a punch.
De la Fuente praised his players in the TVE interview for how they handled the situation at MetLife Stadium.
“I want to highlight our behaviour in the face of that kind of aggression and provocation,” the coach said. “Our players always kept their composure and behaved like true professionals.”
The Spain squad stood in a guard of honour for Argentina players walking to the podium to get their medals from US President Donald Trump. Minutes later, when Rodri lifted the trophy, most of the Argentina squad turned their backs on the ceremonial moment.
FIFA disciplinary rules allow a special prosecutor to “request the opening of disciplinary proceedings and propose that disciplinary measures be imposed on member associations, clubs and individuals”.
FIFA gave no timetable for any cases, and it is unclear when any potential bans for Argentina players would apply as the team does not have competitive games scheduled in the coming months.
[Aljazeera]
United Kingdom gymnast Gabriel Langton suffered conscious and speaking with doctors after being taken to hospital following a heavy fall during the men’s team gymnastics final at the Commonwealth Games, team officials said.
The 19-year-old crashed headfirst to the floor on Friday after he came off the horizontal bar in the final rotation of the competition, prompting a lengthy halt as medical personnel rushed to his aid.
Langton received treatment on the competition floor for several minutes before being placed on a stretcher, fitted with head and neck support and taken from the arena to hospital for further assessment.
Langton was conscious, moving and speaking with doctors, team officials said.
“We are grateful to the medical teams who responded immediately to provide assistance,” Team England said in a statement.
“He has been taken to hospital and we will share more information when it is available.”
The incident cast a shadow over the remainder of the competition, with England settling for silver behind Canada after action resumed.
Australia claimed bronze, securing their first men’s team gymnastics medal since winning gold at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi.
Langton, who had been drafted into the squad as a replacement for injured six-time Olympic medallist Max Whitlock, could not celebrate his team’s podium finish.
“From what we’ve heard, he’s doing OK,” said Langton’s teammate, Luke Whitehouse.
“Gymnastics is such a dangerous sport and things like this remind us of that. It’s one of those things you have to put out of your mind.”
[Aljazeera]
Under 17 Division I Cricket
by Reemus Fernando
A combined bowling effort helped St. Peter’s College, Bambalapitiya beat Prince of Wales College Moratuwa by 55 runs and reach the pre-quarter finals of the Under 17 Division I cricket tournament on Friday.
Of all the knockout stage matches played on Friday, the encounter between the Petes and the Cambrians was the match that lasted the longest distance as the home team found batting resistance from number nine batsman.
The Cambrians foughtback after slipping to 59 for seven, on the back of a fighting 64 from Kaveesha Kithmina to bow down gracefully.
Batting first, St. Peter’s posted 230 for nine thanks to 76 off 113 balls by Sashidu Silva and a brisk 61 from 49 deliveries by Menura Dissanayake.Sandeepa Dananjaya was the pick of the Prince of Wales bowlers with an impressive five-wicket haul for 33 runs.
Most of the other knockout matches were one sided contests.
Royal College Colombo bundled out Wariyapola Sri Sumangala College, Kandy for a mere 44 runs to record a crushing 269 runs win and secure a pre-quarter final berth against St. Joseph’s College Darley Road.
Gagan Gamage (7-1-16-5) and Mahiru Kodituwakku (7-2-18-4) used the home advantage to good effect as they shared nine wickets between them to rattle the opposition within 18 overs. Batting first the Reid Avenue team amassed 313 runs for five wickets with Savain Gamage (53), Dushen Udawela (50) and Manuth Dasanayake (76) scoring half centuries.
Maris Stella College, Negombo, Galahitiyawa Central and St. Aloysius’ College, Galle were the other teams to enter the pre-quarter final stage on Friday.
St. Aloysius’ College, Galle booked a pre-quarter final berth against St. Sebastian’s College Moratuwa with a crushing seven-wicket victory over Ananda Sastralaya, Kotte.
Ananda Sastralaya struggled throughout their innings and were bundled out for 65 runs. Chenuka Dodangoda with a run a ball 27 was the only batsman to make a notable contribution.
St. Aloysius’ bowlers shared honours bowling tight spells. Hasitha Dasun produced the standout performance taking four wickets for two runs, while Manindu Pabasara supported well picking up two for seven. Yenul Nethsuka, Chethana Kularathna and Sanuda Imaya picked up a wicket each.
In reply, St. Aloysius made light work of the modest target, reaching 67 for 3 in just 9.4 overs. Gimhan Hansaka struck an aggressive 33 off 25 balls with seven fours to lay the foundation for victory.
Kavinga Dabare claimed all three wickets for Ananda Sastralaya, finishing with 3 for 9, but his effort could not prevent St. Aloysius’ from sealing the pre-quarter final berth.
In the other matches, Maris Stella College, Negombo beat Royal Central Polonnaruwa by five wickets and Galahitiyawa Central beat Taxila Central by six wickets.
Spain’s De la Fuente slams Argentina’s World Cup conduct as ‘unacceptable’
Commonwealth Games: Gymnast Langton’s headfirst crash leads to concussion
India’s education minister resigns after weeks of ‘Cockroach’ protests
ICC prosecutor Karim Khan removed over ‘political’ sex abuse claims
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