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Miller and Baartman help South Africa end Netherlands jinx in low-scoring nail-biter
South Africa made heavy weather of a modest chase in New York before David Miller and Tristan Stubbs dug deep to save them from a third straight defeat at Netherlands’ hands at an ICC tournament.
Miller and Stubbs added 65 for the fifth wicket to lift them from the pits of 12 for 4 on a pitch that didn’t play anywhere as badly as the scorecard suggested, even though there was enough in it for quick bowlers – 13 of the 15 wickets fell to them, while there were two run outs.
As he walked out to bat, Miller might have had a flashback of Adelaide 2022, where his wicket, with 47 needed off 28 balls, shut the door on South Africa and gave Netherlands a 13 run win. On Saturday, Miller stayed the course and remained unbeaten on 59, flicking on his best six-hitting self in the penultimate over with South Africa needing 16 off 12.
In the end, in a game where 209 runs were scored in 38.5 overs, South Africa won with enough to spare.
Quinton de Kock was run out without facing a ball. Reeza Hendricks got a peach from Logan van Beek that angled in and straightened to hit the top of off. Vivian Kingma had the first of a double when he strangled Aiden Markram down leg to leave South Africa 3 for 3. And when Heinrich Klaasen’s rush of blood had him picking out Tim Pringle attempting a pull off Kingma, Netherlands dared to dream – or maybe just expected the expected, considering the recent results between the two sides at ICC events.
Both Miller and Stubbs are instinctive batters who love taking the bowlers on. But the situation they walked out to was not for that sort of batting, it was a crisis. A mis-step could have meant curtains. So they chose caution, saw off the powerplay without any further damage, and hit only a further two boundaries until the ten-over mark to leave South Africa needing 72 off the last ten overs.
Stubbs was on 9 off 21 at this point, struggling to force the pace, especially when the ball was dug in to the pitch. A hint of grip for the spinners also made it difficult for him to hit out. So when Bas de Leede came on in the 11th, Stubbs gave him the charge and enjoyed a massive slice of luck as a thick inside edge flew wide of the midwicket fielder.
Miller, too, rode some luck. A big hit down the ground off left-arm spinner Pringle only just eluded the long-on fielder in the 12th over with South Africa still needing 57 off 50.
Stubbs finally shrug off the pressure that had built around him with a hoick for six off Vikramjit Singh, and then launched van Beek down the ground three balls later to turn the tide South Africa’s way.
It should have been a smooth ride from there, with South Africa needing 29 off 30. But there was another twist. First, Paul van Meekeren delivered a maiden over to Miller, and the pressure showed when Stubbs holed out to deep midwicket in the next, off Bas de Leede. Then, in the 18th, van Beek came back after being walloped for six by Miller to dismiss Marco Jansen.
But, with South Africa needing 16 off 12, de Leede erred in line. Miller began the penultimate over by dispatching a half-tracker over fine leg, and then finished the game with a sequence of 2, 0, 4 and 6 – cue a roar and wild fist pumping.
Miller had tamed the demons of Adelaide 2022.
Sybrand Engelbrecht who represented South Africa at the Under-19 World Cup in 2008 and only recently made his Netherlands’ debut, top-scored with a 45-ball 40 on surface where the next best among the top seven was 12.
At the toss, Netherlands were put in to bat seemingly because South Africa wanted to exploit the morning conditions, and had them tottering at 32 for 4. South Africa’s four-pronged pace attack, led by Marco Jansen was breathing fire at that stage, with pace and bounce off the pitch for assistance.
South Africa’s hostility didn’t end there, with Ottneil Baartman and Anrich Nortje ensuring there weren’t any freebies. This resulted in Netherlands attempting to manufacture strokes, like Scott Edwards did when he executed a reverse scoop for six, but they simply didn’t have enough.
It came down to Englebrecht’s patient knock and his 54-run association with van Beek to get them into three figures. It would have been inadequate on most days, but Netherlands can give themselves a pat on the back for making a match out of it to keep Group D very open.
Brief scores:
South Africa 106 for 6 in 18.5 overs ( David Miller 59*, Tristan Stubbs 33; Vivian Kingma 2-12, Logan van Beek 2-21, Bas de Leed 1-34) beat Netherlands 103 for 9 in 20 overs (Sybrand Engelbrecht 40, Logan van Beek 23; Ottneil Baartman 4-11, Anriche Nortje 2-19, Marco Jansen 2-20) by four wickets
[Cricinfo]
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Our government has reaffirmed its commitment to breaking barriers that limit women’s full participation in the economy, recognizing their vital role in national development. – Dr. Harini Amarasuriya
The Prime Minister made this statement while addressing the launching the She Trades Sri Lanka Hub funded by the UK’s She Trades Commonwealth+ Program held at Galle face Hotel in Colombo on March 14 organized by the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) and the International Trade Centre (ITC).
While addressing the audience, the Prime minister stated, the government has reaffirmed its commitment to breaking barriers that limit women’s full participation in the economy, recognizing their vital role in national development. Emphasizing gender-inclusive policies, financial inclusion, and access to global markets, authorities are prioritizing support for women-led businesses in key sectors such as ICT, agribusiness, and engineering.
A new initiative will establish 200 women-led cooperatives, fostering supportive environments for female entrepreneurs. Additionally, efforts to strengthen childcare, elderly care, and disability services aim to reduce the burdens that limit women’s economic participation.
A dedicated platform has been launched to provide women entrepreneurs with knowledge, networking, and international trade opportunities. Strengthening public-private partnerships and expanding global market access are key strategies to create an inclusive and sustainable trade ecosystem.
By equipping women with the necessary skills, financial resources, and digital trade access, the government aims to ensure that women entrepreneurs become key drivers of economic growth, aligning with broader policies for inclusive and sustainable development.
The event was attended by Ms. Pamela Coke-Hamilton, Executive Director of the International Trade Center, His Excellency Andrew Patrick, British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Officials from the International Trade Center and the British High Commission in Sri Lanka, Chairman of the Export Development Board Mr. Mangala Wijesinghe and Officials from Export Development Board and International Trade Centre and woman Entrepreneurs.
(Prime Minister’s Media Division)
Is it 2023 again ? Mumbai Indians [MI] and Delhi Capitals [DC], two consistently good teams with all-star line-ups, meet again in the WPL final. While DC have breezed into the final this season, MI are coming in battle-hardened, having had to take the circuitous route by playing three matches in four days to get there.
DC have been strong in most departments, and have got their selection calls right throughout the season. Their captain Meg Lanning hit form late in the tournament, Shafali Verma has continued to churn out the runs at the top of the other, and the move to promote Jess Jonassen to No. 3 has paid off. But for DC to look more threatening, they’d want their middle order to step up further. Their middle order (Nos. 4 to 7) collectively averages 17.50, the lowest this season, and have struck at 116.66, which is the second-lowest among all teams.
MI’s line-up also drips with power and strength. Powerplay bowling has been one of DC’s strongest suits, but only MI have bettered that. DC’s bowlers have taken 50 wickets at 23.84 in this phase, while MI have 61 wickets at 22.68.
For MI,Nat Sciver-Brunt has been at her brutal best, Hayley Matthews has delivered with both bat and ball, and captain Harmanpreet Kaur has hit high tempo. The rest of the line-up, though, has blown hot and cold.
But MI will be playing at their home ground – a venue where they’ve lost just once in seven games – and that tilts the scales in their favour. DC, though, have had a good seven days break, and will be coming in without the pressure of having had to scramble for a place in the final. Two heartbreaking finals later, will third time be the charm for them?
MI had promoted Amelia Kerr to the opening slot, and pushed Yastika Bhatia down the order for a couple of games. While Yastika was able to make quick runs from her new position, Kerr, who hasn’t been in the best of form with the bat, wasn’t able to capitalise on her starts. The order went back to what it was in the Eliminator against Gujarat Giants (GG), but neither player made an impact. Will MI switch their positions again to get the best out of Yastika?
MI had also brought in left-arm spinner Saika Ishaque in place of Parunika Sisodia for the Eliminator. Will they pick Ishaque again for the final after she bowled just one over against GG?
DC, who were last in action on March 7, are unlikely to make any changes to their line-up.
Mumbai Indians (probable): Hayley Matthews, Amelia Kerr, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Amanjot Kaur, Yastika Bhatia (wk), S Sajana, G Kamalini, Sanskriti Gupta, Shabnim Ismail, Saika Ishaque
Delhi Capitals (probable): Meg Lanning (capt), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Annabel Sutherland, Marizanne Kapp, Jess Jonassen, Sarah Bryce (wk), Niki Prasad, Minnu Mani, Shikha Pandey, Titas Sadhu
[Cricinfo]
US President Donald Trump has praised talks held with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the US-proposed ceasefire deal in Ukraine as “good and productive”.
This comes after Putin and US envoy Steve Witkoff met in Moscow on Thursday evening, after which the Kremlin said it shared the US’s “cautious optimism” over a peace process.
Trump said in a Truth Social post that the talks provided “a very good chance that this horrible, bloody war can finally come to an end”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, however, accused Putin of trying to drag out talks to continue the war, while Sir Keir Starmer said the Russian president could not be allowed to “play games” with ceasefire proposals.
Earlier this week, Ukraine accepted the US-proposed ceasefire deal, which Russia is yet to agree to.
On Thursday, Putin had said the idea of a ceasefire was “right and we support it… but there are nuances” and he set out a number of tough conditions for peace, a response branded “manipulative” by Zelensky.
Ukraine’s leader continued his criticism on Friday in a series of posts on X, writing: “Putin cannot exit this war because that would leave him with nothing. “That is why he is now doing everything he can to sabotage diplomacy by setting extremely difficult and unacceptable conditions right from the start even before a ceasefire.”
He said Putin would “drag” everyone into “endless discussions… wasting days, weeks, and months on meaningless talks while his guns continue to kill people”.
“Every condition Putin puts forward is just an attempt to block any diplomacy. This is how Russia works. And we warned about this.”
UK PM Sir Keir said the Kremlin’s “complete disregard” for Trump’s ceasefire proposal demonstrated Putin was “not serious about peace”.
“If Russia finally comes to the table, then we must be ready to monitor a ceasefire to ensure it is a serious and enduring peace,” he said. “If they don’t, then we need to strain every sinew to ramp up economic pressure on Russia to secure an end to this war.”
On Saturday, Sir Keir will host a video call with as many as 25 leaders to develop the peacekeeping mission proposed during a summit in London earlier this month.
The ‘coalition of the willing’ – as he called it – will work to deter future Russian aggression, should the US-proposed ceasefire come into effect.
In his social media posts on Friday, Zelensky “strongly” urged “everyone who can influence Russia, especially the United States, to take strong steps that can help”, because Putin would not stop the war on his own.
“Putin is lying about the real situation on the battlefield… the casualties” and “the true state of his economy”, he said, explaining that Putin was “doing everything possible to ensure that diplomacy fails”.
But the White House believes the two sides have “never been this close to peace”.
Talking to reporters, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt maintained that the talks between Putin and Witkoff in Moscow on Thursday were “productive”.
She added Trump has been “putting pressure on Putin and the Russians to do the right thing”.
Trump’s social media post also “strongly requested” Putin should spare the lives of Ukrainian troops, whom he described as surrounded by Russian forces, adding it would be a “horrible massacre” not seen since World War Two.
His comments came after Putin said on Thursday that Ukrainian troops in Kursk had been “isolated” and were trying to leave, as Russia ramps up efforts to reclaim the region invaded by Ukraine last year.
But on Friday, Ukraine’s armed forces general staff denied the encirclement of its troops, calling it “false and fabricated”.
In a statement, it said operations were continuing, with Ukrainian troops having withdrawn and “successfully regrouped” to better defensive positions.
“There is no threat of encirclement of our units,” it said.
In response to Trump’s request, Putin said Ukrainian soldiers in Kursk would be treated with “dignity in line with the norms of international law and the laws of the Russian Federation” if they gave up arms and surrendered.
Meanwhile, G7 members have been meeting in Quebec, where host Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said all the members agreed with the US proposal of a ceasefire that is supported by Ukrainians.
“And we are now studying and looking at Russian reactions, so ultimately the ball is now in Russia’s court when it comes to Ukraine.”
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who was also at the meeting, said the members were united in calling for a ceasefire with “no conditions”.
Following the meeting, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US would not make foreign policy decisions based on what leaders said on social media or at a news conference, and stressed the “only way to end this war is through a process of negotiations”.
[BBC]
Our government has reaffirmed its commitment to breaking barriers that limit women’s full participation in the economy, recognizing their vital role in national development. – Dr. Harini Amarasuriya
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