Latest News
Sciver-Brunt and Ecclestone lead England to classy victory
Nat Sciver-Brunt produced one of the innings of the Women’s T20 World Cup so far to guide England home in the final over, against South Africa. Her 48 not out was not only the most substantial of the match, it was also the most aggressive, coming off 36 deliveries.
It was Sciver-Brunt’s 64-run stand with Danni Wyatt-Hodge that swung the match decisively in England’s favour, as they pursued a target of 125.
South Africa’s spinners had been valiant, particularly Nonkululeko Mlaba, who took 1 for 22 from her four overs. But with England’s strong batting line-up, they needed more of the chances the bowlers created to be taken. South Africa could not capitalise on two half-chances offered by Wyatt-Hodge, and though Sciver-Brunt rode her luck to some extent too, none of the mis-hits went to fielders.
The win leaves England in a strong position to qualify for the semi-finals, with two wins from two and a solid net run rate of 0.653. South Africa have more work to do.
Although England had been careful not to lose wickets early on, they required an injection of energy through the middle overs to set them properly on course for victory, and Sciver-Brunt was the woman to provide it. She was immediately dynamic at the crease, hitting her fourth ball for four behind square on the offside, before settling into her usual rhythm of picking runs through the legside.
She would frequently shuffle to off and target the square leg boundary against the spinners, even if, on such a slow surface, she didn’t always find the timing. She hit 32 of her runs in the arc between fine leg and deep midwicket, scoring four boundaries in that direction.
Though Wyatt-Hodge was stumped with 11 still to get off 12 deliveries, Sciver-Brunt struck a four in each of the last two overs, and iced the game.
Between them, left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone legspinner Sarah Glenn, and offspinner Charlie Dean bowled 12 overs for 58 runs, and took four wickets. Linsey Smith, also a left-arm spinner, took 1 for 32 off her four overs too.
But it was the tight, varied bowling of Ecclestone and Glenn that really kept the scoring down through the middle overs. Ecclestone got the two biggest opposition wickets – bowling Laura Wolvaardt in the 16th over, before crashing another one into the stumps of an advancing Marizanne Kapp int he 19th over. She finished with figures of 2 for 15 from her four – the best returns in the game.
She’d started so strongly. South Africa’s captain won the toss in what was an obviously bat-first situation, and looked excellent in the powerplay, in which she scored 22 off 15 balls, helping take South Africa to a healthy 37 for 1. But then England’s spinners applied the brakes, and she was unable to find the boundary for the remainder of her innings, which went until the 16th over. She maintained a decent scoring rate thanks to her singles and twos, but against a batting order of England’s quality, South Africa needed a score in the vicinity of 150 to feel safe.
Then, in the field, she let two half-chances off Wyatt-Hodge slip through her outstretched fingers, the first of those let-offs coming when the batter was on only 8.
Still, Wolvaardt’s was the most substantial of South Africa’s individual contributions – she made 42 off 39.
Brief scores:
England Women 125 for 3 in 19.2 overs (Nat Sciver-Brunt 48*, Dani Wyatt-Hodge 43; Marizanne Kapp 1-17, Nonkululeko Mlaba 1-22, Nadine de Klerk 1-23) beat South Africa Women 124 for 6 in 20 overs (Laura Wolvaardt 42, Marizanne Kapp 26,Annerie Dercksen 20*; Linsey Smith 1-32, Charlie Dean 1-25, Sophie Ecclestone 2-15, Sarah Glenn 1-18) by seven wickets
[Cricinfo]
Sri Lanka kept alive their slim hopes of making it to the semi-finals of the 2026 T20 World Cup with a nervy win over Scotland in Manchester.
Chasing 152, they found themselves needing seven from the final over. Nilakshika Silva and Sugandika Kumari took four off the first three balls of Rachel Slater before the seamer hobbled off with what looked like a knee issue. Priyanaz Chatterji came on to bowl the remaining three balls. She conceded a single off the fourth delivery but with two needed from two, Sugandika slashed through short third for four to seal the win.
Sri Lanka now rely on England beating New Zealand and Ireland handing a thrashing to West Indies to make it to the final four. On the other hand, Scotland would rue a golden opportunity of securing a direct qualification to the 2028 edition of the tournament.
Darcey Carter and Katherine Fraser gave Scotland a brisk start. Carter didn’t hesitate to take the aerial route and picked up four fours off the first ten balls she faced. Fraser too chipped in with a couple of boundaries but Silva’s excellent catch diving to her right at mid-off off Mithali Ayodhya ended her innings on 12.
Carter and Kathryn Bryce took the side to 45 for 1 in the powerplay. During this period, Carter also became the leading run getter in the tournament, going past England’s Danni Wyatt-Hodge’s tally of 193.
Sri Lanka made a comeback once the field restrictions were relaxed. Even though Kathryn hit Athapaththu for a six and a four off successive balls in the ninth over, she could manage only 23 off 23 before being caught and bowled by Kavisha Dilhari.
Carter tried to break the shackles but her aerial shots failed to clear or beat the boundary riders. After being 18 off ten at one point, she could manage only 16 off the next 26 deliveries she faced. As a result, Scotland could score only 43 in eight overs after the powerplay.
Sarah Bryce and Ailsa Lister put the Scotland innings back on track with a fourth-wicket stand of 53 in just 32 balls. The stand was broken when Lister was run out for 26 off 17 as Silva nailed a direct hit at the non-striker’s end after fielding the ball in her follow-through. Chatterji was also run out on the very ball but Sarah carried on. She hit two fours off Ayodhya in the final over to take her side past 150. That meant Scotland scored 63 in the last six overs.
Coming off an unbeaten 106 against Ireland, Athapaththu once again was at her attacking best. She started by smashing two fours off Kathryn in the opening over before taking down Gabriella Fontenla in the next. She hit Fontenla three fours and a six in an 18-run over. Imesha Dulani fell cheaply but Athapaththu and Hasini Perera took Sri Lanka past fifty in just 4.4 overs.
Just when it started to look like another easy chase for Sri Lanka, Fraser bowled Athapaththu from around the wicket for 33 off 16. Harshitha Samarawickrama showed good intent, hitting two fours off the first three balls, but just like the first innings, the scoring rate dropped after the powerplay. Kathryn then had Perera caught at mid-off in the ninth over and Fraser trapped Hansima Karunaratne lbw in the tenth to make it 78 for 4.
Fraser and Kirstie Gordon bowled enough dots to keep Sri Lanka under pressure. But with 27 required from 18 balls, Gabriella Fontenla dropped two catches in two overs. In the penultimate over, Kathryn also felt the pressure and gave away ten, including two in the form of wides. In contrast, the experienced Silva stayed calm and took her side home in the company of Sugandika.
Scores:
Sri Lanka Women 154 for 7 in 19.5 overs (Chamari Athapaththu 33, Hasini Perera 23, Harshitha Samarawickrama 27, Kavisha Dilhari 18, Nilakshiaka Silva 21*, Kaushini Nuthyangana 12; Kathryn Bryce 2-28, Rachel Slater 2-31, Kathryn Farser 2-25, Kirstie Gordon 1-24) beat Scotland Women 151 for 6 in 20 overs (Sarah Bryce 47*, Darcey Carter 34, Katherine Fraser 12, Kathryn Bryce 23, Alisa Lister 26; Mithali Ayodhya 2-34, Sugandika Kumari 1-25, Kavisha Dilhari 1-19) by three wickets
[Cricinfo]
“Obviously, it depends on the team management… what we plan to do in this match. That is a different thing. But I think it is a very thin line between trying to give somebody an opportunity and you being unfair to some other player.”
Seattle Orcas had won just one of their first three games in MLC 2026, but it all came together beautifully for them against Washington Freedom on Thursday. The 88-run win was enough for them to jump straight to No. 2 on the points table, behind the unbeaten Los Angeles Knight Riders.
Orcas got the sort of start they wanted, reaching 59 for no loss after the powerplay even as they slowed down to get to 79 for 2 at the halfway stage. But then they really turned in on thanks to Shimron Hetmyer and Marcus Stoinis. Matthew Breetzke had given the innings some momentum in partnership with Hetmyer, but when Breetzke got out in the 15th over, Orcas were solid without being spectacular at 138 for 3. Around 200 was expected, but not the 227 they got.
And that was down to Stoinis, their captain. Hetmyer was already on 44 off 20 balls and got to his half-century off 24 deliveries soon after, but Stoinis almost caught up with Hetmyer in a blaze of sixes. He hit five of them in one over, the 17th, bowled by medium pacer Ian Holland. From 4 off six balls, Stoinis was on 34 off 12, and though there was another big one in the next over, bowled by Marco Jansen, Stoinis fell for 42 off 16 deliveries the next ball.
Hetmyer, meanwhile, left it till the last over, which started with Orcas on 208 for 5. Jack Edwards was the bowler, and Hetmyer went 6, 6, 6 off the first three balls. That was enough to take Orcas to a huge total, and for Hetmyer to finish on 79 not out off 33 balls.
With that many runs to chase down, Freedom needed a solid start. Instead, they were 42 for 5 after the powerplay, having lost most of the big guns: Steven Smith, Mitchell Owen, Andries Gous, Glenn Maxwell and Edwards. Jasdeep Singh had four of the five wickets, including three in his second over – the fifth of the innings – where he got Gous first ball, Maxwell off the next, and Edwards off the fifth. Smith was already in the bag from his first over, and Jasdeep came back in the 14th to complete his five-for with Jansen’s wicket.
At one point, it looked like the record for the biggest victory margin (by runs) in MLC – currently 123 from when San Francisco Unicorns beat Freedom last season – would be broken. That it wasn’t was thanks to runs from Freedom’s Nos. 8, 9 and 10. Amila Aponso top-scored for Freedom with 31 not out from 13 balls from No. 10, and the men before him, Holland and Jansen, contributed 46 from 39 deliveries between them.
The latest defeat, their second in three games, left Freedom at the bottom of the table.
Scores:
Seattle Orcas 227 for 6 in 20 overs (Tim Seifert 37, Shayan Jahangir22, matthew Breetzket 32, Shimron Hetmyer 79*, Marcus Stoinis 42, Ali Sheikh 11; Marco Jansen 3-33, jack Edwards 1-56, Ian Holland 2-49) beat Washington Freedom 139 in 16.2 overs (Andries Gous 18.Obus Pienaar 10, Marco Jansen 20, Ian Holland 26, Amila Aponso 31*; Marcus Stoinis 1-20, Jasdeep Singh 5-24, ottneil Baartman 1-11, Cameron Gannon 2-16, Harmeet Singh 1-40) by 88 runs
[Cricinfo]
Heartbreak for Scotland as Sri Lanka clinch thriller to stay alive
Showers will occur at times in the Western, Sabaragamuwa and North-western provinces and in Galle, Matara, Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya districts
FSP complains of irregularities in a Guinness World Record event held in Sri Lanka
Opposition MPs sign motion demanding debate on prolonged failure to fill vacancies in superior courts
Another Lankan desperado deported from Malaysia arrested at BIA
SJB swift justice!
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
Sunday Island 27 December – Headlines
#SundayIsland 17th December – Headlines
Sunday Island – 28th March
Sunday Island Headlines – 21 March
Sunday Island – 21st February – Headlines
-
Features6 days agoNanda Pethiyagoda Wanasundara as three generations of family saw her
-
Features5 days agoSri Lanka developing independent hydrographic capabilities
-
Editorial6 days agoFuel crisis: Beyond price debate
-
Opinion4 days agoRanasinghe Premadasa: The man who would not take ‘No’ for an answer
-
Latest News5 days agoSooryavanshi thumps fastest List A fifty as India A win tri-series
-
News4 days agoUS Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs meets President
-
Business5 days agoUniversity of West London opens Sri Lanka’s first full UK university branch campus
-
Features6 days agoThe Sirisena – Ranil conflict and events leading to MR’s return as PM