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Australia ahead after Cummins, Rabada and Ngidi dominate pulsating second day

Published

6 months ago

2025/06/13

Priyan

Pat Cummins led from the front [Cricinfo]

For two hours in the middle of day two, Australia had one hand on the WTC mace after taking a 74-run first-innings lead at Lord’s. For the next two, South Africa did their utmost to prise their fingers from it, and for the one after that, Alex Carey and Mitchell Starc fought them off with a 61-run eighth-wicket partnership. As things stand, Australia still have a few fingers on the mace after a gripping day of Test cricket.

It was, once again, a day for bowlers. Fourteen wickets fell on day two, the same number as the first day, for a total of 28 wickets in six sessions.

Pat Cummins stole the early headlines when he became the first visiting captain to take a five for at Lord’s and then went on to pluck his 300th Tet wicket. Then it was over to Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen, who had Australia 44 for 3 before Lungi Ngidi, back in the Test side after ten months and coming off a poor first innings, redeemed himself with three wickets in a nine-over spell that broke Australia open.

Where things stand at the end of the day is that South Africa will already have to pull off the fourth-highest sucessfyl chase at Lord’s, and do it against Australia’s unrelenting attack. That means it’s probably still advantage Australia after a breathless seven-and-half-hours in a final that has hit fast-forward.

South Africa resumed the day on 43 for 4, 169 runs behind Australia’s 212, and on a go-slow. Temba Bavuma had laboured his way to 3 off 37 overnight as South Africa’s innings ground yo a halt. but he showed more initiative on the second morning. He struck two glorious lofted drives in Mitchell Starc’s second over of the day and looked to be finding his touch. Bavuma was on 17 before he was given out lbw off a Josh Hazlewood delivery that nipped in and struck his back pad, and he reluctantly reviewed. To everyone’s disbelief including Bavuma’s, Snicko showed an inside-edge. Bavuma went on to drive Hazlewood and Starc over the covers and pull Cummins into the stands for six in what looked like an increasingly authoritative stay at the crease.

His partnership with David Bedingham grew to 64 and it took a moment of magic in the field to separate them. Bavuma drove Cummins in the air and to the right of Marnus Labuschagne, who dived full length at cover and pouched it with both hands.

Bavuma’s dismissal sent South Africa back into their shell. Bedingham and Kyle Verreynne scored 17 nervy runs in the next 52 balls and both looked vulnerable: Bedingham was drawn into a false stroke by Hazlewood and Verreynne was on 1 when he edged Beau Webster just short of Smith at second slip. But the moment of controversy came when Bedingham edged Webster onto the flap of his pad. Alex Carey moved towards him in an attempt to take a catch and the ball bobbled into and then out of Bedingham’s pad flap. At that moment, Bedingham reached for the ball and dropped it close to his foot. Usman Khawaja and Steven Smith began appealing for obstructing the field, and there was some excitement before it was decided the ball was dead. Bedingham responded by hitting the next ball, a half-volley, for four and South Africa went to lunch on 121 for 5, 91 runs behind.

More drama ensued after the break when Cummins hit Verreynne on the pad as he shuffled across, and the ball deflected to fine leg. Verreynne attempted a run, Cummins turned to appeal, and the pair collided, by which point a throw had come in and there was also the chance of a run-out. Cummins asked for a review on the lbw and replays suggested the ball would have gone on to hit leg stump. Three balls later, Jansen handed Cummins a simple return catch, and at 126 for 7, South Africa were in disarray.

Cummins completed his five-for when he had Bedingham caught behind off a thin edge three overs later and then got his 300th when Rabada nailed a pull to Webster at deep square. Cummins finished with 6 for 28 in a final analysis that included six maiden overs out of 18.1 and barely a bad ball. Crucially, he gave Australia an important lead that could still have a decisive say on this game.

The same could be said of South Africa’s collapse. They lost 5 for 12 in 35 balls; Australia had lost 5 for 20 at around the same time on day one.

South Africa came out looking flat as Labuschagne took Rabada’s opening over for seven. Rabada and Jansen bowled three no-balls in the first four overs, but started to find their rhythm when Rabada hit Labuschagne on the pad in his third over and then induced an outside edge.

In the next over, Jansen thought he had Khawaja caught behind and Bavuma burned a review to see daylight between bat and ball. It took until the 11th over for things to start happening for South Africa. For the second time in the match, Rabada struck twice in an over, against the same two batters. Khawaja was caught behind poking outside off and Cameron Green edged to third slip. Smith sought to restore order with a straight drive that went for four. Australia went to tea on 32 for 2, 106 ahead.

As was the case on day one, the evening session could only be described with one word: mayhem. Jansen bowled a marathon spell either side of the break and was into his eighth over when he offered Labuschagne a full one that was just short of driving length, and he nicked off.

Khawaja, Labuschagne and Green had collectively scored 49 runs in this match, the worst return by an Australian top three since 1890.

Then came Ngidi. After three unspectacular overs post-tea, he went fullish and straight. Smith missed and was hit on the back pad and Bavuma was convinced to review again and was successful this time. Ngidi then hit Webster on the back pad with a ball that tailed in and the No. 6 reviewed unsuccessfully. In the next over, Wiaan Mulder beat Travis Head’s inside-edge and the ball ricocheted off his pads onto the stumps, and then came the delivery of the evening: Ngidi’s yorker to Cummins. It thudded into middle and off and Australia were 73 for 7.

But just as South Africa may have started to sniff something special, their momentum drained away. Carey and Starc put on 61 for the eighth wicket at a good clip – 4.31 runs an over – before Rabada had one last word on the day. He got the ball to move back into Carey from around the wicket and had him out lbw in an over peppered with no-balls. All told, Rabada bowled five on the day and six in the match and South Africa have overstepped 19 times.

They’ll worry about that as much as what could have been in the final over when Jansen dropped Starc at gully, off Mulder, off the third-last ball of the day. By then, South Africa had moved the fielders behind the bat closer in, as several balls had dropped short, and Jansen’s attempts to juggle were not as successful as they had been on the first day. Australia go into the third day with a lead of 218 runs and two wickets in hand.

Brief scores:
Australia 212 in 56.4 overs and 144 for 8 in 40 overs (Marnus Labuschagne 22, Alex Carey 43; Lungi Ngidi 3-35, Kagiso Rabada 3-44) lead South Africa 138 in 57.1 overs (David Bedingham 45, Temba Bavuma 3; , Pat Cummins 6-28, Mitchell Starc 2-41) by 218 runs

[Cricinfo]

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Critical moment to ramp up support for Ukraine, European allies say

Published

8 mins ago

2025/12/9

Priyan

[pic BBC]

European leaders have said “now is a critical moment” to ramp up support for Ukraine and put pressure on Russia to bring an end to the war.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in London on Monday to discuss the latest version of a peace plan, drafted between Ukrainian and US officials last week.

The European leaders said more work was needed to obtain security guarantees for Ukraine, as the US puts pressure on Kyiv to agree a swift deal with Russia.

Zelensky, who travelled on to Brussels to meet Nato officials, said that Ukraine would share a revised plan with the US on Tuesday.

Last week, Ukrainian officials spent three days with the US negotiating team in Florida pushing for changes to a US-backed peace proposal which has been widely considered favourable to Russia.

Answering questions from journalists after Monday’s meeting in London, Zelensky said that the “most certainly anti-Ukrainian points have been removed” from the initial deal proposed in November.

But the Ukrainian president acknowledged that there were some outstanding concerns about ceding territory and a compromise had “not yet been found there”.

The US has proposed that Ukraine pulls its forces entirely out of eastern regions which Russia has attempted to take by force, but has been unable to capture in full. In return, the US says Russia would withdraw elsewhere and there would be a cessation of fighting.

But this is an unpalatable option for Zelensky, who refuses to reward Moscow for its aggression and who has repeatedly warned that Russia would use any foothold in the eastern regions to launch future assaults on Ukraine.

“Americans are inclined, in principle, to finding a compromise,” Zelensky said on Monday.

He added that the issue of security guarantees – which Ukraine wants to ensure Russia would be deterred from carrying out future attacks in the event of a peace deal – had yet to be resolved.

A spokesperson for the UK prime minister’s office said: “The leaders all agreed that now is a critical moment and that we must continue to ramp up support to Ukraine and economic pressure on Putin to bring an end to this barbaric war.

“The leaders discussed the importance of the US-led peace talks for European security and supported the progress made,” the statement said.

Leaders also “underscored the need for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine, which includes robust security guarantees”, it added.

Ahead of the talks he hosted at Downing Street, Starmer said there needed to be “hard-edged security guarantees” in a peace deal for Ukraine.

Merz stated he was “sceptical” about some of the details of the potential plan coming from the US side. “But we have to talk about it. That’s why we are here,” he added.

Following the meeting, France said work would be “intensified” to provide security guarantees for Ukraine.

There is nervousness in Kyiv and across Europe that the US could end its support of Ukraine over frustration with the slow progress of negotiations. “We can’t manage without Americans, we can’t manage without Europe and that is why we need to make some important decisions,” Zelensky said in London.

Although the White House has been pushing Kyiv and Moscow to swiftly agree to a multi-point plan to end the war, there has been little sign of a breakthrough.

A five-hour meeting between US envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow last week failed to yield tangible results.

Those talks were followed by three days of discussions between Zelensky’s chief negotiator Rustem Umerov and his US counterparts in Miami, which resulted in vague but positive statements of “progress” from both sides.

However, on Sunday Trump accused Zelensky of not having read the draft of the revised deal.

“I’m a little disappointed that President Zelensky hasn’t yet read the proposal,” he said, while insisting Russia’s Vladimir Putin was “fine with it”.

Almost simultaneously, Zelensky stated that he expected to be briefed on the negotiations by Umerov either in London or Brussels on Monday. “Some issues can only be discussed in person,” he said.

The talks in London were the latest attempt by Ukraine’s European allies to carve out a role in the US-led efforts to end the war, which they fear will undercut the long-term interests of the continent in favour of a quick resolution.

Despite significant economic pressure and sustained battlefield losses, the Kremlin has shown little sign that it is willing to compromise on its key demands, including ruling out any future path to Ukraine joining the Nato military alliance.

Last week, Putin also restated his willingness to continue fighting until his forces take full control of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, 85% of which is currently occupied by the Russian army.

Reuters A serviceman with a Russian flag on his uniform stands guard near the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. — *The fate of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (pictured in August 2022) is a sticking point in negotiations to end the war, a US official said [BBC]*

As talks in the US and Europe continue, so does the war.

Between Sunday and Monday a total of 10 people were killed and 47 were injured as Russian forces attacked nine regions using drones, glide bombs and missiles.

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. Since then, thousands of civilians and soldiers have been killed or injured, with Ukraine’s cities continuing to come under fire on an near nightly basis.

[BBC]

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Northern Japan hit by M7.5 earthquake, tsunami advisories lifted

Published

42 mins ago

2025/12/9

Priyan

A magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck northern Japan on Monday. Tsunami advisories have been lifted for the Pacific coastline in northern Japan. But officials have issued an alert for a potential megaquake in northern Japan.

Strong tremors felt across the region

The earthquake struck off the eastern coast of Aomori Prefecture at 11:15 p.m. on Monday.

The Japan Meteorological Agency has downgraded the magnitude of the quake centered off the Pacific coast in Aomori Prefecture to 7.5 from 7.6.

The depth has also been adjusted to 54 kilometers, from an initial estimate of 50 kilometers.

Tremors with an intensity of upper 6 on the Japanese intensity scale of 0 to 7 were observed in the city of Hachinohe in Aomori Prefecture.

As of 1:00 a.m., six people in Aomori have been injured by either falling down or getting hit by falling objects at their homes.

Tsunami advisories lifted

Authorities had issued a tsunami warning for Iwate Prefecture and parts of Hokkaido and Aomori.

At Kuji Port in Iwate, a tsunami measuring 70 centimeters was observed. In Hokkaido, a 50-centimeter tsunami was seen in Urakawa Town and a 40-centimeter tsunami was observed at Mutsuogawara Port.

The Japan Meteorological Agency says: it is the first time the agency has issued a tsunami warning since July, when a powerful quake off Kamchatka, Russia, prompted it to issue one for Japan’s Pacific coastal areas.

Over 3 hours later, authorities downgraded the tsunami warning to advisories. And they lifted all tsunami advisories for the Pacific coastline of northern Japan at 6:20 a.m. on Tuesday.

‘Long-period ground motions’ recorded

According to authorities, long-period ground motions were recorded during the Monday earthquake.

The motions are slow, large-amplitude seismic waves with frequencies of 2 seconds or longer that occur during a large earthquake. Such motions are known to have a significant impact on high-rise buildings.

Strong long-period motions, classified class-3, the second highest in the 4-level scale were observed in the village of Rokkasho in Aomori Prefecture. Such class-3 waves are strong enough to make it difficult for people in a high-rise building to stand up.

‘An alert for a potential mega quake’ issued

Officials at Japan’s Meteorological Agency have issued an alert for a potential mega quake following Monday’s quake.

A mega quake could trigger tsunami along Japan’s Pacific coast from Hokkaido to Chiba Prefecture.

Officials are urging people to check evacuation routes, prepare emergency kits, secure home furniture and confirm backup food, water and portable toilets.

People along the Pacific coast in those areas should remain on the alert during the next week, even though an evacuation recommendation will not be issued.

The alert is the first since this category of warning was started in 2022.

Morikubo Tsukasa, Cabinet Office official for disaster preparedness, has held a news conference over a potential mega quake.

Morikubo: Based on the statistics of earthquakes that have occurred around the world so far, there is a possibility that a large-scale earthquake with a magnitude of 8 or higher could occur as a follow-up earthquake along the Japan Trench and the Chishima Trench off Hokkaido. It is unclear whether a large-scale earthquake will occur. But everyone should heed the call to take precaution to protect their own lives.

Residents ordered to evacuate

After tsunami warnings were issued, some municipalities in Hokkaido, and the Tohoku region issued evacuation orders to residents.

Traffic disrupted on Monday

East Japan Railway Company says that as of Tuesday, outbound trains on the Tohoku Shinkansen have been suspended between Fukushima and Shin-Aomori stations due to the earthquake. The company says three trains stopped in this section.

The company says that it is checking for any damage to railway tracks and that it remains unclear when services will resume.

The Morioka branch of East Japan Railway says that as of midnight on Tuesday, services on the Tohoku Main Line were suspended in Iwate Prefecture.

It says two trains made emergency stops. It remains unclear when services will resume. There are no reports of injuries.

As for Hokkaido, the operator of its busiest airport, New Chitose Airport near Sapporo, says that as of 11:40 p.m. on Monday, it was checking whether there are any abnormalities on two runways.

Highways have been affected. East Nippon Expressway Company says that as of 11:45 p.m. on Monday, traffic was completely stopped between the Shiraoi and Shinchitose Airport Interchanges and between the Tomakomai Higashi and Numanohata Nishi Interchanges.

Major traffic disorder unlikely on Tuesday

East Japan Railway Company says there has been no impact on its bullet train and regular train services after authorities issued the alert for potential megaquake following magnitude-7 or over quakes related to Monday’s quake. The operator, however, warns that delays or cancellations are still possible if damage to infrastructure is confirmed.

All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines say they plan to operate as usual starting Tuesday.

According to Cabinet Office guidelines, no restrictions will be placed on railways, airports and roads, even after such an alert is issued. The authorities are supposed to provide the public with information about locations they consider being vulnerable to a possible major quake, as well as evacuation sites.

In August 2024, authorities issued a Nankai Trough megaquake advisory after a powerful earthquake struck in southern Japan. The operator of the Tokaido Shinkansen was forced to slow down its bullet trains in some sections over the ensuing one-week period.

Power Companies: No abnormalities at nuclear plants

Tokyo Electric Power Company says it has confirmed that there are no abnormalities at the Fukushima Daiichi and Daini nuclear plants.

The company says it halted the release of treated and diluted water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant at 11:42 pm on Monday, as per predetermined procedures.

The facility suffered a triple meltdown during the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. The water used to cool molten fuel has been mixing with rain and groundwater.

That has been treated to remove most radioactive substances, except tritium. It’s then diluted, reducing levels of tritium to well below the World Health Organization’s guidance for drinking water, before it is released into the ocean.

TEPCO also ordered some employees at the facility to evacuate. There have been no reports so far of injuries at the nuclear power plant.

Tohoku Electric Power Company says no abnormalities have been detected at the Higashidori nuclear power plant in Aomori Prefecture and the Onagawa plant in Miyagi Prefecture.

Hokkaido Electric Power Company says no problems have been found at the Tomari nuclear power plant in the prefecture.

Government bracing for damages

The Japanese government set up a task force at the crisis management center in the prime minister’s office at 11:16 p.m. on Monday in response to the earthquake.

Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae entered the prime minister’s office shortly after 11:50 p.m.

She instructed the government to immediately provide information on any tsunami and evacuation orders to the people in an appropriate manner, take thorough measures to prevent harm, such as evacuating residents, and get a grasp of the extent of damage as soon as possible.

Takaichi: The central government will work closely with local governments and make the utmost effort to carry out measures, such as emergency response, including rescue for the affected people.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Kihara Minoru held a news conference on Tuesday. Kihara said the government continues to assess the extent of the damage.

He added that the government is devoting all its efforts to disaster prevention measures, with rescue and relief efforts as its top priority, led by the police, fire departments, Self-Defense Forces, and Japan Coast Guard.

Expert view on the quake

Sakai Shinichi, professor at the Earthquake Research Institute of the University of Tokyo, says: If this was a shallow earthquake centered in the sea, there is a high possibility that a tsunami has already occurred. People should stay away from the coast. It is important to evacuate and to take measures to stay warm.

Sakai says: The epicenter may be north of the epicenter area of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. This time, the earthquake is believed to have occurred at the plate boundary, so I think it was a slightly larger earthquake. The magnitude could be revised in the future.

[NHK]

Latest News

New mpox strain identified in England

Published

9 hours ago

2025/12/8

Priyan

A new strain of mpox, previously called monkeypox, has been detected in a person in England, say UK health officials.

The virus is a mix of two major types of the mpox virus, and was found in someone who recently returned from travelling in Asia.

Officials say they are still assessing the significance of the new strain.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) says it is normal for viruses to evolve. Getting vaccinated remains the best way to protect against severe disease – although an mpox infection is mild for many.

The new virus strain contains elements of two mpox strains, called clade Ib and clade IIb. It currently has no name.

UK health officials recently encouraged gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men to make sure they were vaccinated against mpox.

That call came as a strain called ‘clade Ib’ showed early signs of local spread in some European countries.

‘Clade IIb’ is linked to a global outbreak of mpox in 2022 which affected many countries worldwide.

In the UK, vaccination is available for groups of people at highest risk of catching mpox:

those who have multiple sexual partners
those who engage in group sex
those who visit sex-on-premises venues

Health officials say the vaccine is 75-80% effective at protecting against mpox.

There have been no studies on how well the vaccine protects against this latest strain, although it’s thought there will be a high degree of protection.

Dr Katy Sinka, head of sexually transmitted infections at UKHSA, said genomic testing had allowed it to be detected.

“It’s normal for viruses to evolve, and further analysis will help us understand more about how mpox is changing.

“Getting vaccinated is a proven effective way to protect yourself against severe disease, so please make sure to get the jab if you are eligible,” she said.

Prof Trudie Lang, director of the Global Health Network at the University of Oxford, said there were “excellent systems” to identify cases and control onward infection in the UK, but in other parts of the world, in more vulnerable populations, “this is harder to achieve”, where access to vaccines is not as reliable.

Prof Lang said if further cases of this strain appeared in the UK and elsewhere, it would be important to understand how it’s being spread and how ill it makes people, in order to assess whether it’s more or less dangerous than previous strains.

There have been nearly 48,000 confirmed cases of mpox globally in 2025, and 2,500 in the past month, with most occurring in central Africa.

Dr Boghuma Titanji, assistant professor of medicine at Emory University, said the new strain is what experts feared would happen if mpox continued to spread worldwide.

“The more mpox circulation we permit, the more opportunities the virus has to recombine and adapt, further entrenching mpox virus as a human pathogen that is not going away,” she said.

Mpox can be a unpleasant illness.

Common symptoms are lesions or a skin rash, which can last for two to four weeks, plus fever, headaches, back pain, muscle aches and tiredness.

The virus spreads from person to person through close physical contact, coughs or sneezes and touching infected clothing, bedding or towels.

UK Health officials say anyone who thinks they might have mpox, should contact NHS 111 for advice on what to do.

[BBC]