Latest News

Dinura Kalupahana leads from the front as Sri Lanka U19s rally at Wormsley

Published

2 years ago

2024/07/9

Priyan

New-ball pair Alex French and Naavya Sharma claimed the first three wickets with catches in the slip cordon before Rocky Flintoff ran out Sharujan Shanmuganathan after a terrible mix-up left both batsmen at the non-strikers’ end.

Alex Green then had Mahith Perera caught behind in the over before a second rain delay, but an unbroken sixth-wicket stand of 74 between captain Dinura Kalupahana and Diniru Abeywickramashingha hauled Sri Lanka back into the contest.

With low cloud cover and a green-tinged pitch, Hamza Shaikh, captaining England Men U19s for the first time, had no hesitation in putting Sri Lanka into bat after winning the toss.

Shaikh’s decision was vindicated almost immediately as Surrey’s tall right-armer French removed both openers inside the first half-hour. Freddie McCann held on to edges from Sadew Samarasinghe and Pulindu Perera at second slip.

Gayana Weerasinghe flicked Sharma over the leg-side rope for six in a rare moment of attack from the tourists, but the Middlesex man had him in his next over when Noah Thain held a sharp catch to his right at first slip.

Sharma was only called into the squad over the weekend and was celebrating with his teammates again soon after as Sri Lanka’s morning got worse.

Shanmuganathan pushed into the off-side and set off for a single that Perera declined only after offering enough hesitation to entice his partner to commit. Flintoff needed only to lob the ball to wicketkeeper Jack Carney who removed the bails while the batsmen stared accusingly at each other.

Sri Lanka were 49 for 4 when rain forced the players off for more than two hours. In a shortened middle session, Leicestershire’s Green grabbed the only wicket with his first ball of a new spell when Perera edged to Carney.

After a second break the Sri Lanka batters opted to counter-punch. New batter Abeywickramasingha took the lead with six boundaries in his unbeaten 35 from 41 balls as the pressure was put back on England’s bowlers.

That allowed Kalupahana time to show his class as he eased to his half-century, from 98 balls, with a boundary off Green. The captain then started to up his rate striking Farhan Ahmed over the ropes and was unbeaten on 70 when a third rain delay eventually ended play.

Brief scores: (stumps day 1)

Sri Lanka Under 19 177/5 in 42.4 overs (Mahith Perera 22, Dinura Kalupahana 70*, Diniru Abeywickremasinghe 35*; A M French 2-56) vs England Under 19

All News Advertisement

Latest News

USA’s Ali Khan claims having been ‘denied’ India visa ahead of T20 World Cup

Published

11 hours ago

2026/01/14

Priyan

USA's Ali Khan was born and raised in Pakistan [Cricinfo]

Ali Khan the USA fast bowler of Pakistan origin, has claimed in a caption to a story on Instagram that he has been “denied” an Indian visa. USA are scheduled to play India in Mumbai on February 7, the opening day of the 2026 T20 World Cup.

Khan, who is currently in Colombo for a USA training camp, posted on Tuesday without giving any further details. ESPNcricinfo has approached the USA team manager for comment.

USA are yet to announce their squad for the 2026 T20 World Cup but it is expected the final 15 will be chosen from the 18 that are at the camp in Sri Lanka. It is understood that the squad will be picked by the USA coaching group, while the team administration and logistics are being overseen by the ICC, which took charge following the suspension of USA Cricket late last year.

Khan, 35, is one of three USA players of Pakistan origin currently at the camp in Colombo; Ehsan Adil – who has played three Tests for Pakistan – and Mohammad Mohsin are the other two. The ICC has made no official comment on the situation but is understood to be trying to facilitate the matter and is confident it will be resolved.

A number of associate teams in the tournament – Oman, UAE and Italy – will be looking on with interest, given their squads are likely to include a number of players of Pakistan origin, or with Pakistani nationality.

ESPNcricinfo understands that England’s two squad members of Pakistan heritage, Adil Rashid and Rehan Ahmed, are both still awaiting their visas. While the matter is expected to be resolved in time for the tournament, their situation is complicated by the need to apply in-person. Rehan is currently in Australia at the BBL, while Rashid is in Dubai.

Last September, the ICC had informed all participating teams that securing visas to India and Sri Lanka, the co-hosts of the T20 World Cup, would be the responsibility of the respective boards but it would facilitate paperwork if needed. In the case of USA, with the suspension of USAC, that responsibility would lie with the ICC.

Worsening diplomatic and political ties between India and Pakistan have made visas an complicated issue in recent years, even for players who are nationals of other countries. England’s Shoaib Bashir and Saqib Mahmood had faced delays in obtaining visas but were granted them eventually, as was the case with Australia’s Usman Khawaja. The visas for the Pakistan team were also delayed ahead of their travel to India for the 2023 ODI World Cup.

USA, who got a direct entry for the 2026 T20 World Cup after making the Super Eights stage in the 2024 tournament, are scheduled to play three of their four group A matches in India. Their first match is against defending champions India on the opening day (February 7) of the T20 World Cup in Mumbai, followed by Pakistan in Colombo (February 10) and then two matches in Chennai – against Netherlands (February 13) and Namibia (February 15).

[Cricinfo]

Latest News

At least 28 dead as crane collapses onto train in Thailand

Published

12 hours ago

2026/01/14

Priyan

At least 28 people have been killed after a construction crane fell on top of a moving train carriage at around 09:00 local time (02:00 GMT)

According to official records, the train, which was carrying at least 195 people, had set off from Bangkok and was headed to Ubon Ratchathani province. After it had departed from Nong Nam Khun station in Nakhon Ratchasima province was about to reach the next station, it was struck by a falling construction crane.

The crane had been working on a high-speed rail project linking Thailand and China.

The impact caused one train carriage to derail and another to catch fire.

The disaster left at least 80 people injured, the youngest just one year old One survivor, a train staff member, recalled how he and the other passengers were thrown into the air after the crane fell on the vehicle

The governor of the State Railway of Thailand has been ordered to “thoroughly and comprehensively” investigate the cause of the accident

[BBC]

Latest News

Trump cancels US-Iran meetings, urges protesters to take over institutions

Published

22 hours ago

2026/01/14

Priyan

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with members of the media aboard Air Force One en route from Florida to Washington, U.S., January 11, 2026 [Aljazeera]

United States President Donald Trump says he has cancelled all meetings with Iranian officials and has told protesters to “take over your institutions” amid Tehran’s crackdown.

In a social media post on Tuesday, Trump said that “help is on the way” without offering further details. Trump has openly contemplated ordering military attacks on Iran over the last several days.

“Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING – TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!! Save the names of the killers and abusers. They will pay a big price,” Trump said on his website, Truth Social. “I have cancelled all meetings with Iranian Officials until the senseless killing of protesters STOPS. HELP IS ON ITS WAY. MIGA!!! [MAGA]”

Trump has threatened Iran with military strikes in the past as a means of pressuring Tehran into greater alignment with US demands, and has said during the last week that a harsh response by Iranian authorities to the country’s protesters could result in US attacks.

The US president announced on Monday that any country doing business with Iran would be subject to a 25 percent tariff. On Tuesday, the State Department issued an alert saying US citizens should “leave Iran now” amid the rising tensions.

[Aljazeera]