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West Indies quicks make merry but Williamson, Bracewell ensure even day
Michael Bracewell and Nathan Smith’s 52-run stand for the seventh wicket ensured New Zealand ended the rain-affected opening day on an even keel. In seam-friendly conditions at the Hagley Oval,Kane Williamson had set the platform with a half-century but once he fell, New Zealand collapsed to 148 for 6. They looked in danger of being bowled out under 200 before the lower order steered them to 231 for 9 at stumps.
After winning the toss, West Indies captain Roston Chase had no hesitation in opting to bowl first. Apart from the overcast conditions and a green pitch, Chase also pointed to the venue’s history. Of the 15 Tests played here, including the current one, only once has a team opted to bat after winning the toss, South Africa in 2022.
Kemar Roach, playing his first Test since January 2025, took only three balls to prove his captain right. Bowling around the wicket, he pitched one up in the channel. Devon Conway hung his bat out, got a healthy outside edge, and Justin Greaves did the rest at second slip.
But rain arrived after just 3.3 overs and halted play for 90 minutes. Another shower towards the end of the first session meant only 10.3 overs were possible before an early lunch was taken. New Zealand scored only 17 in that period.
Williamson upped the scoring rate after lunch, hitting Johann Layne for two fours in three balls. While he was not always in control, he played late and defended with soft hands, like he always does. That helped him survive and also score runs on a difficult pitch.
Debutant Ojay Shields had a forgettable start. His first ball in Test cricket was short and wide and a front-foot no-ball. Tom Latham, who was on 2 off 47 until then, cut it away for four. In his next over, Shields bowled Williamson through the gate but had once again overstepped.
That showed there was still help from the pitch but Layne and Shields were not disciplined enough to take advantage of it. But Greaves was. In his back-to-back overs, he removed Williamson and Latham. Williamson was squared up and caught at second slip; Latham nicked an overpitched delivery to the wicketkeeper.
Soon after, Jayden Seales castled Rachin Ravindra with a full delivery from around the wicket. Will Young made only 14 before Layne had him caught at second slip, leaving New Zealand 120 for 5. It was Layne’s maiden Test wicket. Shields followed suit when Tom Blundell inside-edged one onto his stumps.
Bracewell and Smith then got together and revived the innings. Bracewell was the aggressor in their stand, while Smith defended well. Chase eventually broke the stand when Smith flicked one uppishly to short midwicket.
Bracewell realised there was not much batting left and started taking more risks. The strategy didn’t work for long, though. On 47, he miscued a pull to give Shields his second wicket. Matt Henry also fell to the short ball, caught off Roach for 8. Two balls later, Roach hit Jacob Duffy on the helmet with another bouncer. As the physio came out for a concussion test, the umpires realised it had gotten too dark to continue.
As a result, only 70 overs were possible in the day’s play. In those 70 overs, West Indies gave away 23 extras, which could prove to be decisive in these conditions.
Brief scores:
New Zealand 231 for 9 in 70 overs (Kane Williamson 52, Michaell Bracewell 47; Kemar Roach 2-47, Oja Shields 2-34, Justin Greaves 2-35) vs West Indies
[Cricinfo]
Bangladesh cruised to a seven wicket victory to close out their group stage, with a three-for from Iqbal Hossain Emon, and an 82-ball 64 from captain Azizul Hakim leading the way against USA.
Batting first, USA lost opener Amrinder Gill and No. 3 Arjun Mahesh by the end of the third over. But a more applied approach from Sahil Garg and Utkarsh Srivastava took them out of the powerplay to the relative safety of 33 for 2.
The scoring rate was slow throughout their innings, with Bangladesh’s Al Fahad, Shariar Ahmed and Rizan Hossan all taking two wickets, and keeping the scoring rate around a touch below four. When Adnit Jhamb walked out at No. 7 in the 30th over, he kicked into a higher gear. He hit just three boundaries and a six during his knock of 68, but rotated the strike much better than any other USA batter on the day. Alongside the lower order, Jhamb dragged their total up to a respectable 199.
Bangladesh, however, remained in cruise control during the chase. Opener Zawad Abrar was particularly brutal, hitting five fours and three sixes as he raced away to a 42-ball 47. He fell to a caught-and-bowled effort off Garg, but by that point, Bangladesh were 78 for 1, and more than a third of the way to their target.
Another big partnership followed after his dismissal: Hakim hit the sole half-century of the match, stitching together an 88-run partnership with Kalam Siddiki. By the time he was the third batter to be dismissed, the result was a foregone conclusion.
Rizan Hossan hit two sixes in back-to-back overs in the company of Siddiki. The second one closed out the match, giving Bangladesh their first win of the tournament, and pushing USA out of contention for the Super Sixes
Brief scores:
Bangladesh Under 19s 201 for 3 in 41.3 overs (Azizul Hakim 64, Zawad Abrar 47; Rifat Beg 30, Kalam Siddiki 30*; Ritvik Appidi 1-27) beat USA Under 19s 199 in 50 overs (Adnit Jhamb 68*, Utkarsh Srivastava 39; Iqbal Hossain Emon 3-41, Al Fahad 2-38, Shahriar Ahmed 2-32, Rizan Hossan 2-27) by seven wickets
A five-wicket haul from Will Byrom helped Australia top Group A of the Under 19 men’s World Cup after they skittled Sri Lanka for 58. Byrom and Charles Lachmund ripped through Sri Lanka in the first powerplay, reducing them to 31 for 6 at the ten-over mark.
In the third over, Lachmund had yorked out Viran Chamuditha right in front of the stumps, while Dimantha Mahavithana edged one to slip. From there, the procession never stopped. The two tall pacers extracted movement and bounce off a pitch that had plenty in it for those who bowled it quick. Most Sri Lanka batters were either caught in the slip cordon or stuck in front of the crease, unable to counter the movement, and often late on their feet.
Hayden Schiller and Kasey Barton slipped into the attack once the powerplay was done, and immediately took over the same lines and lengths. The highlight of Barton’s own spell was his wicket of Sethmika Seneviratne. He dropped it on a full length and fizzed it back into the off stump, trimming Seneviratne’s bails and breaching through Sri Lanka’s last recognised batter.
Sri Lanka’s bowling defence began with Rasith Nimsara extracting similar movement off the pitch. However, both his bowling, and Kugathas Mathulan’s from the other end, were plagued by inconsistent lines that often drifted down leg. Sri Lanka ended up conceding 11 extras, which included nine wides. After Will Malajczuk fell early, Nitesh Samuel was a little circumspect. But Steven Hogan ensured to finish the run chase with little fuss, just as time before rain drifted in towards the ground.
Brief scores:
Australia Under 19s 61 for 1 in 12 overs (Steven Hogan 28*; Rasith Nimsara 1-20) beat Sri Lanka Under 19s 58 in 18.5 overs (Chamika Heenetigala 14; Will Byrom 5-14, Charles Lachmund 2-19, Kasey Barton 2-13) by nine wickets
[Cricinfo]
US President Donald Trump has withdrawn an invite for Canada to join his newly constituted Board of Peace, in the latest spat between the North American neighbours.
“Please let this Letter serve to represent that the Board of Peace is withdrawing its invitation to you regarding Canada’s joining,” Trump said on Truth Social in a post addressed to Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Carney made headlines this week warning of a “rupture” in the US-led global order. Ottawa also said it would not pay to join Trump’s new body.
The board, which gives Trump wide decision-making powers as chairman, is being billed by the US as a new international organisation for resolving conflicts.
Trump did not give a reason in Thursday evening’s post as to why he had decided to revoke Canada’s offer.
Carney’s office did not immediately respond. The prime minster had indicated last week he would accept Trump’s invite on principle.
But Ottawa had indicated in recent days that it would not pay the $1bn (£740m) membership fee which Trump has said permanent members will be asked to pay to help fund the board.
His Board of Peace was originally thought to be aimed at helping end the two-year war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and oversee reconstruction.
[BBC]
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