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All-round Campher, Stirling help Ireland draw level

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Curtis Campher picked up three wickets and then went on to score a half-century [Cricinfo]

Curtis Campher produced another brilliant all-round display to lay the platform for Ireland’s series-levelling win in Harare. His three-wicket burst sucked the momentum out of Zimbabwe’s innings and restricted them to a total well below par and his 144-run stand with Paul Stirling,  who scored an excellent 89, ensured Ireland were always comfortable in the chase.

Ireland had fallen short in their chase in the first ODI, but Stirling was happy to bowl first once again on a greener pitch. Despite half-centuries from Wesley Madhevere and Sikander Raza.  Ireland never let Zimbabwe get away from them.

Mark Adair finished with a four-wicket haul, but it was Campher’s spell that broke a 74-run stand between Madhevere and Raza and pegged the hosts back significantly just as they were getting into a position of strength.

And despite an early wicket, Stirling and Campher ensured Ireland stayed above the asking rate, and by the time the two departed, it was too late for Zimbabwe to mount a comeback.

With Ireland chasing 246, Andy Balbirnie got them underway with an elegant drive through cover point in the first over. The second over saw Stirling thrash Blessing Muzarabani through the covers for a boundary first ball. Muzarabani lost his radar as he ended up bowling a ten-ball over, which cost Zimbabwe 14 runs.

However, Muzarabani came back strongly and had Balbirnie caught at slip with a well-directed short ball in the sixth over. He even beat Campher’s outside edge a couple of times.

But Campher and Stirling saw out the new ball and kept Ireland on track, with the skipper still cashing in on the fielding restrictions with a few more boundaries, including the first six of the match in the ninth over off Trevor Gwandu.

The fifty-run stand came up in just 51 balls, with the batters happy to rotate strike amid the occasional boundary. Ireland were also helped by Zimbabwe being generous with extras – 23 in all.

Stirling brought up his half-century in the 24th over, and the century stand with Campher came up soon after.

Campher’s fifty came up in the 30th over and he celebrated by pulling Gwandu into the stands in front of square leg. The stand was finally broken when a length ball from Gwandu stayed deceptively low to beat Campher’s attempted pull and pin him in front.

Harry Tector, who made a sluggish 39 off 78 in the first ODI, was more enterprising, pulling away the third ball he faced for a boundary. In the last game, it took him 77 deliveries to hit one.

But his stay was short-lived as he looked to cut a short and wide delivery only to edge it behind, with Tadiwanashe Marumani taking a good catch. Stirling, though, ensured Ireland didn’t get bogged down, launching Ngarava over long-on.

Ngarava finally got a breakthrough when Stirling went after a short ball and ended up miscuing it to cover, 11 short of a century. Lorcan Tucker then took charge and hit Gwandu for three consecutive boundaries. Ireland wiped out the rest of the target without fuss, with Tucker hitting the winning runs in the penultimate over.

Earlier, Zimbabwe’s openers got off to a watchful start before Brian Bennett got going with a flurry of boundaries off Adair and Graham Hume. Five of his six boundaries came on the off side, and he hit two of them in succession off Adair, only for the quick to snag him with a wide delivery that he edged to slip.

Ireland were able to slow things down after Bennett’s dismissal. Curran and Craig Ervine could add only nine runs off 25 balls before Josh Little got a full delivery to seam past Ervine’s inside edge and uproot his middle stump. Curran’s frustrating knock came to an end when he chopped on in Andy McBrine’s first over for 18 off 36.

Raza played out McBrine for four dots to start off with, handing the spinner a wicket maiden, before getting off the mark with a boundary off him in his next over. Madhevere, who looked positive from the get-go, and Raza ensured Zimbabwe kept ticking along with regular boundaries, with Madhevere bringing up a run-a-ball half-century in the 27th over.

However, an inspired bowling change got the momentum right back with Ireland. Campher was introduced in the 30th over and in his second over, he set Madhevere up beautifully. Bowling a series of outswingers, he had Madhevere moving across his stumps before firing in a straight one to trap him lbw.

In his next over, he bowled a length ball across Johnathan Campbell and there was a noise, prompting the umpire to give it caught behind. Replays, however, suggested that the ball had brushed the pad. There was little doubt about Campher’s next wicket when he pinged Marumani plumb in front two balls later.

Raza and Masakadza then arrested the collapse, with Raza scoring 27 off 24 in a 50-run stand, bringing up his half-century in the process. Raza holed out at deep midwicket trying to up the tempo as he miscued a pull off Adair. Tector took a good catch running in from the ropes and diving in front.

Masakadza and Ngarava tried to drag Zimbabwe past 250, but Ireland made short work of the tail, with Adair picking two of the last three wickets.

Brief scores:
Ireland 249 for 4 in 48.4 overs (Paul Stirling 89, Curtis Campher 63, Lorcan tucker 36*, George Dockrell 20*; Richard Ngarava 1-53, Blessing Muzarabani 1-51, Trevor Gwandu 2-50) beat Zimbabwe 245 in 49 overs (Brian Benett 30, Wessly Madhevere 61, Sikandar Raza 58,Wellington Masakadza 35; Mark Adair 4-54, Curtis Campher 3-13, Graham Hume 1-47, Josh Little 1-56, Andy McBrine 1-36) by six wickets

[Cricinfo]



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Munoz sends Colombia into World Cup knockouts with 1-0 win over DR Congo

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Daniel Munoz celebrates scoring the winning goal for Colombia during the 2026 World Cup Group K match against the Democratic Republic of the Congo at Guadalajara Stadium in Zapopan [Aljazeera]

Daniel Munoz has fired ‌Colombia into the World Cup round of 32 with a ⁠1-0 win over the Democratic Republic of the ⁠Congo in Group K after goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi had threatened to turn the match into a night of frustration.

Munoz struck the winner from the right ⁠side of the penalty area in the 76th minute on Tuesday, finally beating Mpasi, who had repeatedly denied Colombia with an inspired performance.

Colombia, who opened their World Cup campaign with a 3-1 win over Uzbekistan, commanded possession and created numerous chances.

Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup 2026 - Group K - Colombia v DR Congo - Estadio Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Mexico - June 23, 2026 Colombia's Daniel Munoz celebrates scoring their first goal with Luis Diaz and Juan Quintero REUTERS/Raquel Cunha
Colombia’s Daniel Munoz celebrates with Luis Diaz and Juan Quintero after scoring a goal [Aljazeera]

James Rodriguez, making his 10th World Cup appearance to equal the Colombian record jointly held by Freddy Rincon and Carlos Valderrama, forced Mpasi into action with a powerful strike in the 11th minute.

The goalkeeper stood firm, repelling efforts ‌from Jhon Arias and winger Luis Diaz, who came close to breaking the deadlock in the 18th minute, controlling a chipped pass inside the penalty area, turning smartly, and firing a shot goal-wards, only for Mpasi to save it with his foot.

The African side, buoyed by their opening 1-1 deaw with Portugal, threatened sporadically through Edo Kayembe, Cedric Bakambu and Yoane Wissa, but lacked a clinical finish.

By half-time, Colombia had registered 15 ⁠shots, including six on target, with nine of their 10 ⁠outfield players attempting efforts.

Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup 2026 - Group K - Colombia v DR Congo - Estadio Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Mexico - June 23, 2026 Colombia's Luis Diaz has his shot saved by DR Congo's Lionel Mpasi REUTERS/Raquel Cunha
Colombia’s Luis Diaz has his shot saved by DR Congo’s Lionel Mpasi [Aljazeera]

In the stands, DR Congo had support from Michel Nkuka Mboladinga, the team’s famous “living statue” fan, who made his World Cup debut after missing the opener against Portugal because of Ebola quarantine requirements.

Colombia resumed ⁠on the front foot after the break, with Diaz forcing another fine save from Mpasi in the 51st minute before Arias dragged ⁠the rebound wide.

Wissa almost snatched the lead for DR Congo ⁠in the 73rd minute, when his shot from Simon Banza’s assist was blocked, but Colombia struck shortly after through Munoz.

Diaz later thought he had doubled the advantage with a finish into the top corner, only for the ‌effort to be ruled out for offside.

Colombia moved to six points from two matches and guaranteed their progress to the knockout stage ahead of their final group game against Portugal, ‌who beat Uzbekistan 5-0 earlier on Tuesday.

DR Congo remained on one point and will need a result against Uzbekistan to keep their qualification hopes alive.

Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup 2026 - Group K - Colombia v DR Congo - Estadio Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Mexico - June 23, 2026 DR Congo fan Michel Nkuka Mboladinga, also known as Lumumba Vea in the stands during the match REUTERS/Daniel Becerril TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
DR Congo fan Michel Nkuka Mboladinga, also known as Lumumba Vea, in the stands during the match [Aljazeera]

[Aljazeera]

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July 6th declared as Sri Lanka National Legal Aid Day

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The Legal Aid Commission of Sri Lanka was established under the Legal Aid Act No. 27 of 1978 with the objective of facilitating access to justice for all citizens, including vulnerable groups and marginalized persons.

The commission makes a significant contribution to the protection of fundamental rights through the provision of legal aid services promotion of legal awareness, strengthening the rule of law and promoting access to justice.

It has been identified the appropriateness of declaring a National Legal Aid Day to enhance the public awareness of legal rights and remedies, facilitate a national dialogue on law enforcement and enhance the public understanding of the importance of legal services.

Accordingly, having ratified the legal Aid Act No.27 of  1978, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution furnished by the Minister of Justice and National Integration to declare July 06th as the National Legal Aid Day.

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Appointment of a special Committee for protection of lands in Eastern Province

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A series of political, economic, and administrative problems in the Eastern Province have arisen due to the misuse of government power and political patronage, as well as illegal land grabbing, unauthorized land grabbing, and unauthorized constructions along the coastline.

As a result, the natural ecosystem of the region has been severely endangered, and these informal and illegal human activities have also become a major factor in the rapid creation of severe soil erosion along the entire eastern coastal area.

Furthermore, despite 16 years having passed since the end of the civil war, the lack of a formal program to permanently resettle the displaced people and the deviation from common criteria in the formation of the administrative structure have had a direct impact on the development activities of the province, as well as national security.

Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution furnished by the  President to implement the following proposals and find prompt and permanent solutions to the aforementioned problems, take legal action and  strengthen institutional coordination.

• Appointing a committee by the name of “Protecting Eastern Province Lands’ with the chairmanship of the former Land Commissioner of the Southern Province and current Local Government Commissioner of the Southern Province, Senaka Palliyaguruge, and comprising of representatives of relevant institutions.

• Establishing of a special unit headed by a Deputy Inspector General of Police and granting of full powers to the security forces to stop unauthorized land acquisitions and land reclamations carried out using political power.

• Taking over the government lands that were provided by the Sri Lanka Mahaweli Authority 05 years ago, to the government where no project has been implemented so far.

• Handing over the acquired lands to the Divisional Secretaries to use for the development activities of the people under a formal program.

• Preparing of a formal plan to promote the tourism industry by utilizing the high potential of the eastern coastline while protecting the coastal system.

• Formulating a mechanism to ensure that the government officials implement the law impartially and transparently when operating hotels along the eastern coastal area.

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