Sports

All-round Kapp and Dercksen headline South Africa’s confident win

Published

2 years ago

2024/12/5

Priyan

Marizanne Kapp struck three times with the ball [Cricinfo]

Allrounders Marizanne Kapp and Annerie Dercksen were at the fore as South Africa kickstarted the women’s ODI series against England with a six-wicket win in Kimberley. The duo shared six wickets between them as England were bowled out for 186. South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt then anchored the chase with an unbeaten 59, again aided by valuable cameos from Kapp, Dercksen and Nadine de Klerk as South Africa went 1-0 up with 70 balls to spare in the three-match series.

Refreshed after being rested from the preceding T20I series, Kapp picked up three wickets inside her first four overs reducing England to 29 for 3. That soon became 77 for 5 and eventually 106 for 7 in the 26th over. But a counterattacking eighth-wicket partnership of 67 off 64 between Charlie Dean and Sophie Ecclestone helped England to a respectable total.

It seemed as if South Africa would make easy work of the chase when Tazmin Brits hit three fours in a Lauren Filer over. But she was given out lbw when a length ball from Lauren Bell hit her on the thigh pad after her missed attempt at a sweep-pull. She wanted to review the call but Hawk-Eye was down and she couldn’t use the DRS. However, South Africa found the going easier against Bell and Filer, especially when they pitched the ball on the fuller lengths. They had raced to 38 for 1 after six overs when spin was brought on.

Dean applied the brakes on scoring and trapped Sune Luus lbw, who was also unable to review the decision with DRS down, and walked back visibly upset. At that stage, with the up-and-down bounce exaggerated by the use of the heavy roller, the target felt distant.

But Dercksen eased the nerves by hitting three fours in her first eight balls. She helped South Africa take back the control England exerted through Dean and Nat Sciver-Brunt and allowed Wolvaardt to play the waiting game. Dercksen and Wolvaardt added 54 for the third wicket before the former fell pulling a short ball from Filer straight to deep square leg, where Tammy Beaumont took a well-judged catch.

That is when Kapp stamped her mark with the bat, scoring a run-a-ball 22 with three fours and a six. She first sliced Ecclestone past backward point before hitting Filer for a four and six to help South Africa march towards the target. At the other end, Wolvaardt completed her half-century off 92 balls. Kapp fell with South Africa 51 away but Wolvaardt and de Klerk [48 not out off 28 balls] completed the formality with the latter hitting 11 fours, the most by any batter in the contest. On the way, South Africa managed to keep Ecclestone wicketless for a ten-over spell in an ODI for the first time since March 2022.

England were dealt an early blow with Maia Bouchier being ruled out after spraining her neck while batting in the nets. As a result, Sophia Dunkley partnered with Beaumont at the top after they opted to bat. Beaumont edged Kapp first ball she faced but wicketkeeper Sinalo Jafta couldn’t hang on. Kapp, and Jafta, did not have to wait long for success though as Dunkley tickled one to Jafta on the final ball of the first over.

Kapp continued to probe with the new ball and, along with Ayabonga Khaka, managed to string together a row of 11 dots before Beaumont decided to change gears. She charged Khaka to flick her over midwicket and went past Claire Taylor to become England’s second-highest run-scorer in women’s ODIs, and enter the list of top ten run-getters in the format. But her joy was short-lived, when, in the following over, she charged down to Kapp but was beaten on the inside to be bowled. Danni Wyatt-Hodge continued from where she left off in the T20Is and smacked a couple of balls before she was trapped in front by de Klerk.

Amy Jones then helped England recover briefly as spin came into play. But Dercksen, in just her second ODI preferred here ahead of the more experienced Anneke Bosch, struck soon enough, getting Jones to miscue a pull towards deep backward square leg where Chloe Tryon pulled off a stunning diving catch. Nonkululeko Mlaba, who had an injury scare after twisting her ankle early in the match, then trapped Alice Capsey lbw.

Heather Knight took her time and looked to get the measure of the surface. She hit five fours in her innings, often using her feet even against the seamers. But her attempted paddle against Mlaba proved to be her downfall.

At that stage, England looked to be folding cheaply, but Dean and Ecclestone combined for England’s third-best partnership for the eighth wicket in ODIs. It was only when de Klerk pulled off a fine leaping catch at backward point after Ecclestone mistimed a cut off a slow short ball from Dercksen that the partnership ended.

That effort was not enough to prevent a first loss on the tour for England, who were playing an international game for the first time at the Kimberley Oval.

Brief scores:
South Africa Women 189 for 4 in 38.2 overs (Laura Wolvaardt 59*, Nadine de Klerk 48*) beat England Women 186 in 38.4 overs (Charlie Dean 47*, Heather Knight 40; Annerie Dercksen 3-16, Marizanne Kapp 3-24, Nonkululeko Mlaba 2-47) by six wickets

[Cicinfo]

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Lutkenhaus, 17, upsets Olympic champion Wanyonyi in Oslo

Published

4 hours ago

2026/06/11

Priyan

Wanyonyi (left) finished behind Lutkenhaus (right) in Oslo [BBC]

American teenager Cooper Lutkenhaus produced a stunning performance to hold off Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi in the men’s 800m at the Diamond League meeting in Norway.

The 17-year-old crossed the line in a personal best of one minute and 42.08 seconds to edge out the Kenyan by one hundredth of a second in Oslo, despite Wanyonyi recording his fastest time of the season (1:42.09).

Lutkenhaus was unbeaten in his five previous 800m finals this year, having claimed gold at the World Indoor Championships and become the Diamond League’s youngest ever winner on his debut in Stockholm last weekend.

“This boy [Lutkenhaus] is in a good shape,” said the 21-year-old Wanyonyi, who missed the event in Sweden following the birth of his first child.

“Can you believe that as an Olympic champion, you are trying to knock down a 17-year-old boy?

“I started the race in front and after 600m to go, I tried to see who is coming to push me. Then I saw him passing me so then I tried to respond. But my target today was to run my season best, to improve.”

British sprinter Amy Hunt placed second in the women’s 100m in 10.99 seconds, with St Lucia’s Olympic champion Julien Alfred taking victory in a time of 10.76.

Amber Anning was fourth in the women’s 400m as Norway’s Henriette Jaeger enjoyed success, while her fellow Briton, Jake Wightman, finished fifth in the Dream Mile behind Kenya’s Timothy Cheruiyot.

There was Ethiopian dominance in the women’s 3,000m race, with Freweyni Hailu, Likina Amebaw, Senayet Getachew and Hawi Abera occupying the top four positions.

Hailu recorded the fastest time in the world this year, crossing the line in 8:24.22, while GB pair Megan Keith and Innes Fitzgerald finished seventh and ninth respectively.

In the final event of the evening, home favourite Karsten Warholm’s time of 47.40 was only enough to earn the Swede second place behind Brazilian rival Alison dos Santos (46.89) in the men’s 400m hurdles.

[BBC Sports]

Sports

From UAE heartbreak to fresh hope in England

Published

6 hours ago

2026/06/11

Sahan Weerasooriya

Sri Lanka’s fortunes depend heavily on their captain Chamari Atapattu. She’s seen taking part in religious observances prior to the team’s departure to the UK last week.

Sri Lanka will open their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup campaign against hosts England when the 12-nation tournament gets underway in Birmingham on Friday. The event carries a prize purse of USD 8.7 million, underlining the remarkable growth of the women’s game in recent years.

Every participating team is guaranteed a minimum of USD 250,000, even if they fail to win a game during the group stage.

Sri Lanka have been drawn in Group A alongside hosts England, defending champions New Zealand, Ireland, Scotland and West Indies. The top two teams qualify for the semi-finals.

The islanders endured a miserable campaign at the previous Women’s T20 World Cup in the UAE, losing all four of their group games. More concerning than the defeats themselves were the margins of those losses. Since then, however, the side has made significant progress and, under new Head Coach Jamie Siddons, there is a renewed sense of belief within the camp.

Sri Lanka arrived in Birmingham after comprehensive warm-up victories over Pakistan and the Netherlands in Derby. The team was scheduled to train under lights at Edgbaston on Wednesday evening as preparations entered the final phase.

Having qualified for the tournament by virtue of their international ranking, Sri Lanka will be quietly confident of giving a good account of themselves.

Following the opening game in Birmingham, they will travel to Southampton, Bristol and Manchester for the remainder of the group stage. A trip to London will materialise only if they progress to the knockout rounds.

Since the last World Cup, Sri Lanka have played a considerable amount of bilateral cricket and also underwent an intensive residential camp in Pallekele in the lead-up to the tournament.

Several exciting young players have emerged over the last year, adding fresh energy to the side and raising expectations. The biggest challenge, however, will be adapting to English conditions.

Australia remain the most successful team in the tournament’s history, having lifted the trophy six times. England, West Indies and New Zealand have each won the title once.

Rex Clementine in Birmingham

Sports

Gaikwad 101 trumps Arachchige 74 as India A win thriller against Sri Lanka A

Published

6 hours ago

2026/06/11

Sahan Weerasooriya

Sahan Arachchige's 74 was not enough as Sri Lanka A collapsed in the chase [SLC]

India A began their tour of Sri Lanka with a nervy eight run win against the hosts in Dambulla. A series that has been given the added edge by the presence of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi opened under hot weather on a two-paced surface. The stroke-making on the pitch was anything but easy. Here’s a look back at the match which India A eventually snatched from the jaws of defeat.

There had been a frenzy around him ever since he arrived in Sri Lanka three days ago. Fans, officials and media alike clamoured for a glimpse of him. Their first sighting of the 15-year-old in action was brief. Yet, it offered a tantalising glimpse of what they could expect.

After Prabhsimran Singh played out a first-over maiden, Sooryavanshi got off the mark with a boundary off his very first ball – a slap over the infield. Three fours followed in a 12-ball knock that yielded 14 runs. His innings ended in the fourth over when an attempted loft off seamer Mohamed Shiraz flew flat to mid-off, where captain Sahan Arachchige pulled off a superb diving catch.

Sooryavanshi has three more group games, followed by a final if India A qualify, to make amends before he flies to Ireland. There, he will link up with the senior Indian team for the T20I series.

Rutrraj Gaikwad wasn’t even in the original squad, but a hamstring injury to Riyan Parag earned him a late call-up to Sri Lanka, and unexpectedly, the vice-captaincy. On Tuesday, he made the most of that opportunity, showing he could thrive in the No. 4 role in one-day cricket with a measured 114-ball 101 that anchored India A’s 277.

It was another reminder of Gaikwad’s pedigree in the format. His only ODI century for India came in his most recent appearance, against South Africa in December 2025, when he shared a 195-run stand with Virat Kohli in Raipur. However, this innings was different.

On a slow surface where Sri Lanka A’s spinners controlled much of the middle overs, Gaikwad prioritised strike rotation over boundary-hitting. He struck just six fours and three sixes, yet dominated a 150-run fourth-wicket partnership with captain Tilak Varma.

Gaikwad was reprieved on 49, when Niroshan Dickwella missed a straightforward stumping opportunity off legspinner Vijaykanth Viyaskanth. Gaikwad kicked his innings into high gear thereafter by hitting the next ball, a full toss, for six over deep midwicket to bring up his half-century.

The hundred brought a unique record: it was his 21st List A century, achieved in just his 96th match, making him the fastest player to reach the mark. Pakistan’s Khurram Manzoor, the previous quickest, needed 130 matches.

India’s search for a seam-bowling allrounder beyond Hardik Pandya has largely centred on Nitish Kumar Reddy and Shivam Dube. But there is growing promise in Suryansh Shedge. The Mumbai allrounder provided the finishing touches to India A’s innings with an unbeaten 26 off 14 balls.

Then, with the ball, Shedge extracted appreciable seam movement and bounce in a lively opening spell, troubling Sri Lanka A’s batters despite finishing wicketless with 8-0-41-0. If he can bowl as consistently as he did here, he will continue to strengthen his case after a solid IPL 2026.

Anukul Roy, meanwhile, showed why he remains a highly-rated spin option. The left-arm spinner returned 2 for 49 from his ten overs, but the figures only partly reflected his impact. He broke an 86-run stand by enticing Sadeera Samarawickrama into a mistimed loft to long-on, before dismissing Ravindu Fernando caught and bowled off a leading edge in his next over. Those strikes led Sri Lanka A from cruise control to full-blown turbulence. They were eventually bowled out for 269 in the 49th over.

SCORES:

INDIA A

277/6 in 50 overs [Priyansh Arya 32, Rutraj Gaikwad 101, Tilak Varma 60; Mohamed Shiraz 2-67] beat SRI LANKA A 269 in 48.5 overs [Niroshan Dickwella 47, Avishka Fernando 45, Sadeera Samarawickrama 46, Sahan Arachchige 74; Arshad Khan 2-24, Anukul Roy 2-49, Ayush Badoni 2-46, Vipraj Nigam 2-46] by 8 runs