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Australia overcome sensational Sciver-Brunt to retain Women’s Ashes

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Ellyse Perry finished with 91 off 124 balls (Cricinfo)
Alana King and Ashleigh Gardner spun Australia to victory – and retention of the Women’s Ashes – with a thrilling three-run win over England in the second ODI in Southampton.
A century to Nat Sciver Brunt, her third in four ODIs against Australia, brought the hosts to the brink of a win that would keep the series alive but, with five runs needed off the final ball, she managed only a single off the left-arm spin of experienced death bowler Jess Jonassen before a crowd of 12,380. Australia have eight points to England’s six with one more match to play at Taunton on Tuesday, where the best England can hope for is to secure a win which would draw the series.
Ellyse Perry had set Australia up nicely with 91, helped by Annabel Sutherland’s  half-century and a thrilling cameo of 37 off just 14 balls from No. 8 Georgia Wareham. Perry’s 81-run partnership for the sixth wicket with Sutherland, in addition fifty stands with Beth Mooney and Gardner, provided the backbone of Australia’s total of 282 for 7 which asked England to produce their most successful run chase in ODIs for the second match in a row after their pursuit of 264 in Bristol.
But King, who hadn’t played since the Test match, which opened the series, replaced quick Darcie Brown as Australia went for a spin-heavy attack and broke the game open with three wickets for 15 in the space of 23 balls while Gardner claimed 3 for 54 and conceded just six runs off the penultimate over, leaving England chasing 15 off the last. Sciver-Brunt marshaled the closing stages almost to perfection with No. 9 Sarah Glenn, who remained unbeaten on 22 from 35 balls. But, in scenes reminiscent of the 2022 World Cup where Sciver-Brunt scored fighting centuries in losing causes to Australia during the group stage and in the final, her 111 not out fell agonisingly short.
In-form opener Tammy Beaumont set England’s response off in fine fashion, her back-to-back fours off King past mid-off gave her 20 runs in boundaries by the end of the sixth over and after the 10-over powerplay England were 62 without loss.
Legspinner Wareham came on in the 12th over and struck with her third ball as Sophia Dunkley tried to paddle but instead had the top of her off stump rattled to depart for a laboured 13 off 30.
King then rapped Heather Knight on the front knee-roll in line with middle stump in the 18th over and, although Knight reviewed immediately, her dismissal was upheld convincingly. Sciver-Brunt managed to overturn her lbw decision to Tahlia McGrath in the next over when replays showed the ball was missing down the leg side. But then King produced a stunning legbreak to beat Beaumont’s forward defence and ping the top of off stump and had Alice Capesy out cheaply, picking out Gardner just inside the rope at deep midwicket to leave England 123 for 4.
England were still looking good at the halfway point of their innings, at 132 for 4 compared to Australia’s 119 for 4 but then Danni Wyatt sent a Gardner delivery high to Sutherland at long-on and it fell to Sciver-Brunt and Amy Jones to make running repairs to the innings.
Consecutive fours to Jones off Megan Schutt in the 33rd over eased the pressure and Sutherland missed a difficult chance running back at mid-on when Jones was on 34 but then Jones’ attempted reverse-sweep off Gardner found Schutt at backward point and her 57-run stand with Sciver-Brunt ended. Sophie Ecclestone followed lbw to Gardner three balls later and Australia needed 73 from the last ten overs.
With England needing 38 off last five, King conceded just three runs off her last over, the 46th, while Jonassen conceded eight off the 48th. Sciver-Brunt was dropped by Wareham at deep midwicket off the second ball of the penultimate over but England couldn’t quite make Australia pay, despite Sciver-Brunt’s slog-sweep for four followed by two mad dashes for two.
Earlier, Phoebe Litchfield unleashed a sumptuous cover drive for four off Lauren Bell, but was pinned back by one that angled in from just outside off stump on the next ball and Bell had her second wicket when Alyssa Healy spooned tamely to Capsey at short third so that Australia were 27 for 2 inside six overs.
They stretched that to 59 for 2 by the end of the powerplay as Mooney and Perry settled into a 61-run stand. The Australian duo upped the tempo in the 16th and 17th overs as Mooney crashed a one-bounce four off Sciver-Brunt down the ground and swept Ecclestone to the boundary. But it was Mooney’s attempted sweep off Ecclestone in the 19th over which was her undoing, Bell snaffling the edge at short fine leg and Australia were 88 for 3.
Legspinner Glenn struck with the first ball of her second over when had Tahlia McGrath caught behind attempting to cut. Gardner received a life on 4 when she sent a Capsey delivery looping towards short third, Ecclestone running across and getting her left had to the ball but failing to hold on. Gardner capitalised by sending Glenn over long on-for six and moments later Perry brought up her fifty with a pull to square leg for two.
Glenn had an lbw appeal turned down in her next over, Perry surviving England’s review on umpires call, missing a tough caught-and-bowled chance in an eventful 28th over.
Ecclestone made up for her earlier blunder with an excellent catch at mid-off from Bell, who had just returned to the attack to remove Gardner and break a 56-run partnership with Perry.
Kate Cross had already bowled her ten-over allocation when she went off with what was later diagnosed as persistent cramp after putting down Perry on 63 at mid-off from Ecclestone.
Sutherland contributed an impressive 50 from 47 balls, including three fours off one Bell over, down the ground, over wide mid-on an through fine leg. She and Perry were busy in the 43rd over, Glenn conceding 17 from it.
But then England’s bowlers regained control with Ecclestone bowling a tight 45th over, which went for just five runs, and Bell conceding only four from the next. Sutherland brought up her fifty with a single cut just short of point off Ecclestone’s next over but then Ecclestone snared the wickets of Perry and Sutherland, holing out to long-off and long-on respectively in the space of four balls.
Sciver-Brunt conceded just five runs off the penultimate over but then Wareham helped herself to 26 runs from the last. As Bell kept putting the ball in the slot, Wareham launched back-to-back sixes over deep square leg and deep midwicket, followed by fours over mid-off and extra cover which bookended another maximum over mid-on.
Brief scores:
Australia 282 for 7 (Perry 91, Sutherland 50, Wareham 37*, Ecclestone 3-40) beat England 279 for 7 (Sciver-Brunt 111*, Beaumont 60, King 3-44) by three runs


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Tamim Iqbal elected new BCB president

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Tamim Iqbal attended a press conference after being appointed BCB president [Cricinfo]

Tamim Iqbal has been elected as the new BCB president following the elections held in Dhaka on Sunday. Tamim was the only candidate, and he will serve a four-year term in total, having already completed two months as the ad-hoc committee’s head.

The Bangladesh government called for BCB elections under the interim body in April, following the dissolution of the previous elected body under Aminul Islam.

The day-long election, including physical votes and e-ballots, were held at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, which is also the board headquarters. A total of 23 directors were elected in three categories and two government representatives were announced later to form the 25-member body.

Tamim is one of the most prominent cricketers to have played for Bangladesh, having appeared in 391 internationals across three formats. He led Bangladesh to 21 wins in 38 matches across formats, including the 2-1 ODI series against South Africa in 2022. After his international retirement in early 2025, Tamim continued to play domestic tournaments but a heart attack during a Dhaka Premier League match that year put an abrupt end to his playing career.

The election commission said 88 votes were cast to elect 23 directors in two out of the three categories. The first category includes all the divisions and districts of the country, the second is the Dhaka clubs that participate in the league system, while the third consists of former cricketers, captains, education boards and others. Tamim was one of twelve directors elected from the second category.

The new 25-member body held an election among themselves to choose the president and two vice-presidents. After Tamim was elected as board president, Fahim Sinha was elected as one of the two vice-presidents. The other vice-president hasn’t been selected.

The previous board elections were held on October 6 last year. Aminul was re-elected BCB president under controversial circumstqnces when Tamim, leading one of the panels, withdrew from the polls alleging Aminul of “bias and malpractice”.

Category 1 directors: Sayeed Bin Zaman, Abdullah Al Fuad, Minhajul Abedin, Moyeen Uddin Chowdhury, Shantanu Islam, Shafiqul Alam, Mizanur Rahman, Abdul Qayyum Chowdhury, Shakrul Alam, Faisal Amin

Category 2 directors: Tamim Iqbal, Fahim Sinha, Asif Rabbani, Israfil Khasru, Dr Sarkar Mahbub Ahmed, Masuduzzaman, Rafiqul Islam, Sakeef Ahmed, Shanian Taneem, Syed Ibrahim Ahmed, Yasir Abbas, Yasir Faisal

Category 3 director: Sirajuddin Alamgir.

Government representative directors: Ruhul Amin, Sarfaraz Ahmed

[Cricinfo]

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West Indies look to level series in rainy Kingston

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Wanindu Hasaranga takes off after striking [Cricinfo]

With no play possible in the second ODI, both teams go into the third game well-rested. Perhaps this is a chance for the IPL returnees in particular to have caught their breath. The rain, though, may not have cleared in Kingston completely. According to the forecast, showers are likely in the afternoon and also possible in the evening, though there may be dry spells in between. There is a chance this will be a stop-start match in which DLS calculations come into play.

With a series win now beyond them, West Indies will be especially motivated to avoid being blanked at home. There is also the matter of their current 10th-placed ranking, which is not enough for them to gain automatic qualification for the 2027 World Cup (cut-off is end of March next year). They need every ranking point they can get over the next two months. Sri Lanka are slightly more comfortable, at sixth position, and about 12 points clear of the current cut-off. But they’ll want to build more of a cushion themselves.

In the first ODI, Sri Lanka’s dominance in the middle overs is what had won them the match. Maheesh Theekshana and Wanindu Hasaranga were economical on a helpful surface, where West Indies’ frontline spinner Gudakesh Motie had been hit out of the attack. And Sri Lanka’s top six also showed serious hustle, picking up the tempo and keeping the runs flowing after Sri Lanka had had a poor powerplay with the bat.

These remain two relatively evenly-matched teams, however. With a little more discipline from their bowlers, West Indies are capable of leveling the series.

Although his Test average remains outstanding, Kamindu Mendis is yet to find a home in limited-overs cricket. Partly this is because his batting is so versatile, coaches and selectors have tended to yank him up and down the order as the team’s needs evolve. So far in ODIs, he has done his best work at No. 7 and 8, but he has now been asked to open the innings alongside Pathum Nissanka. His first innings at the top of the order brought only 12, but Sri Lanka are unlikely to ditch the strategy after one game. Can batting in the powerplay be the change he needs to kick his white ball career into high gear?

Over a fledgling international career, Keacy Carty has demonstrated promise at No. 3, where he averages 45.18. What he doesn’t have, so far, however, is the kind of body of work a long-term No. 3 should ideally built. So far, he has two tons apiece against England and Ireland, but is yet to put up serious numbers against other oppositions. Runs against an attack of Sri Lanka’s quality would add to his confidence.

Rain will potentially dictate conditions on Monday. If there’s rain around, teams tend to prefer to chase. Not only do they prefer to be batting while DLS calculations are in play, but a wetter ball is also more difficult for bowlers to grip, particularly spinners.

West Indies may think about bringing Shimron Hetmyer into the XI to shake up the batting a little.

West Indies (possible): John Campbell, Justin Greaves,  Keacy Carty,  Shai Hope (capt.)(wk),  Shimron Hetmyer/Sherfane Rutherford,  Roston Chase, Matthew Forde,  Gudakesh Motie,  Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph,  Jayden Seales

Sri Lanka may keep their winning XI, but with so many quicks to choose from, may be tempted to give Eshan Malinga a run, especially if it’s a shortened match.

Sri Lanka (possible): Pathum Nissanka,  Kamindu Mendis,  Kusal Mendis (capt.)(wk), Pavan Rathnayake, Charith Asalanka, Janith Liyanage,  Wanindu Hasaranga,  Milan Rathnayake,  Dushmantha Chameera,  Asitha Fernando/Eshan Malinga

[Cricinfo]

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Huge crowds throng Madrid streets for Pope’s open-air mass

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Pope Leo held the service on the second day of his official visit to Spain (BBC)

More than a million people lined the streets of Madrid on Sunday as Pope Leo XIV held an open-air mass in the Spanish capital, the Vatican said.

Crowds descended on the city as the pontiff arrived for the service on the second day of his official visit to the country at the Plaza de Cibeles, with King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia among the congregants.

The pair welcomed the pontiff to the royal palace on Saturday, as he began his trip by praising the Spanish government’s opposition to global conflicts and its support for migrants.

The Pope waved as he made his way through the city early on Sunday, where authorities mounted a major security operation for the mass and subsequent procession through central Madrid.

People waved flags and shouted “long live the Pope”, with some throwing petals as he arrived at the square.

Large crowds had similarly gathered in the city as he began his trip on Saturday. He was later joined by some 500,000 congregants – most of whom were young people – for a prayer vigil near Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu stadium which stretched into the night.

“In the face of the emptiness of indifference and compliance, before the violence of war and lies, you must be the sparks of a new humanity,” he told those gathered.

EPA/Shutterstock Pope Leo XIV waves to faithful from his popemobile as arrives to Cibeles Square to celebrate mass
The Vatican said 1.2m people lined Madrid’s streets (BBC) 
Reuters Faithful wait ahead of a Holy Mass celebrated by Pope Leo XIV at Plaza de Cibeles
Large crowds could be seen hours before the Pope’s arrival (BBC)

His remarks echoed those he delivered during his royal reception, in which he praised Spain’s commitment to peace and its “faithful adherence to international law”.

The country’s socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has clashed with US President Donald Trump over the US and Israel’s war against Iran, and with Israel over the war in Gaza. The Chicago-born pope has also drawn criticism from the president over his anti-war views.

His trip to Spain – the first by a pope in some 15 years – will also feature an unprecedented address before the Spanish parliament and a meeting with victims of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church.

Pope Leo is also due to visit the Canary Islands with Prime Minister Sánchez later in the week, where they will honour thousands of migrants who have died trying to reach Europe.

(BBC)

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