Bosnia and Herzegovina are on the verge of reaching the knockout stages of the World Cup for the first time after beating Qatar 3-1 in their final Group B match.

Bosnia move on to four points and are in a strong position to be one of the best eight third-placed teams to progress to the last 32.

Qatar, meanwhile, exit at the group stage, just as they did four years ago when they hosted the World Cup.

Goals from Bosnia’s youngest-ever World Cup player, 18-year-old Kerim Alajbegovic, and an own goal by Qatar goalkeeper Mahmoud Abunada looked to have put the European side in the box seat.

However, Qatar made a game of it when 35-year-old Hassan Alhaydos, their most capped player, pulled one back late in the first half.

Ermin Mahmic then put the game beyond the Qataris when he scored for the second successive match in the 80th minute.

Bosnia flew out of the blocks as soon as the whistle went, testing Abunada twice inside the first four minutes.

First, Abunada denied Ermedin Demirovic’s fierce drive, and then he tipped away Ivan Sunjic’s shot.

Bosnia’s dominance finally paid off, but it was not the 40-year-old talisman Edin Dzeko who broke the deadlock, but the sublimely talented teenage left-wing.

Abunada was unable to do anything about Alajbegovic’s screamer from outside the area, after he had beaten two players.

The youngster was mobbed by his teammates, and once they had trotted back to the halfway line, he stood and milked the moment, putting a finger to his lips.

Dzeko, winning his 150th cap, came more and more into the game, and not wishing to have his thunder stolen by the new kid on the block, he played an integral role in their second five minutes later.

His shot took a wicked deflection off Sultan Albrake and then Abunada on its way into the net.

Dzeko was well into his stride now, and he broke clear a few minutes later, his shot beating Abunada but rebounding off the post.

Bosnia’s earlier sprightliness dipped in the heat, and it was the doyen of Qatari football, Alhaydos, who repaid coach Julen Lopetegui’s faith by slotting home in the 42nd minute.

The Bosnian defence failed to learn from that, and in time added on, they had the far post to thank for keeping their noses in front as Pedro Miguel’s shot came back off it.

Alhaydos’s World Cup, and perhaps his distinguished international career, ended in tears as he trudged disconsolately off the pitch, injured in the 55th minute.

Chances were few and far between until Esmir Bajraktarevic stole in from the right wing and came close to emulating Alajbegovic’s effort, but Abunada turned it away for a corner.

Bosnian frustration gave way to ecstasy when Mahmic prodded the ball home – the scorer ripping his shirt off in celebration, and the 21-year-old paid little notice to being booked for it.

[Aljazeera]

Apparently, Sri Lanka are about to begin a Test series against West Indies today [Thursday]. Huge if true, because that would mean that Sri Lanka still have a Test team. And that West Indies also still have a Test team. Sri Lanka haven’t played this format for exactly a year, and West Indies haven’t played since December 2025. Sri Lanka have 12 Tests in the entire two-year World Test Championship [WTC] 2025-27 cycle, which is the minimum allowed amount. West Indies have 15 Tests, one of those being a non-WTC game against Afghanistan.

This is the lay of Test cricket in 2026. It doesn’t matter that West Indies produced very arguably the greatest Test team in the history of the sport in the 1980s. It doesn’t matter that Sri Lanka produced Test cricket’s most prolific wicket-taker, in Muttiah Muralitharan. It mainly matters that both have tiny cricket economies in comparison to most other sides, and as such, they have each been shunted deep into Test cricket second-classhood – for this cycle at least.

But here is a chance to prove they deserve more matches in this format. Sri Lanka have been a mid-table team in the three WTC cycles so far; they ended seventh, fifth and sixth, respectively. West Indies, meanwhile, have generally been a lower-table team; they finished eighth each of the three times. Both sides will see this as an opportunity to push for more matches.

England became the first team to reach the Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 semi-finals with a 38-run victory over West Indies built on a gutsy half-century from Danni Wyatt-Hodge in challenging conditions.

On a scorching evening at Lord’s, where temperatures hit 34 degrees Celsius just before the toss, Wyatt-Hodge scored a 42-ball 65 and was well supported by Heather Knight’s  43 off 26 deliveries.

In their defense, England’s bowlers tied West Indies down, with spinners Charlie Dean, Sophie Ecclestone and Linsey Smith sharing four wickets between them. For West Indies, Chinelle Henry and Jahzara Claxton resisted stubbornly in a 63-run stand for the fifth wicket, with Henry remaining unbeaten on 51.

Earlier, there was controversy when Hayley Matthews, West Indies’ captain and key player, was given out caught behind for 14 on an England review with one camera angle showing an apparent mismatch between the vision and UltraEdge. That prompted Matthews to argue her case animatedly with the umpires on and off the field. While her efforts, and those of her team, were in vain, her side remains in contention for the knockouts.

Henry let out an almighty roar when she struck with the fifth ball of the match. It was a fuller one outside off stump with a hint of away swing which lured a drive from Amy Jones and found the edge, looping to Afy Fletcher at short third. But Henry conceded 17 runs off her next over as Wyatt-Hodge settled in with a pull through midwicket and a top edge which beat Fletcher.

Offspinner Ashmini Munisar entered the attack and responded to Sophia Dunkley’s reverse sweep for four with a fuller ball next – too full for Dunkley’s attempted sweep as she was pinned lbw. Despite the early falls of wicket, though, Wyatt-Hodge and Alice Capsey managed to outfox the field and take England to their best powerplay of the tournament so far at 57 for 2.

Heather Knight scored quickly [Cricinfo]

Wyatt-Hodge jumped to the top of the tournament run-scoring charts by backing up her century on the opening night with another pivotal score, having endured two lean innings in between. She punished some short bowling early, and then peppered the off side with some classic and lofted drives. Wyatt-Hodge brought up her fifty off 32 balls with a back-footed flick off the pads to cover.

Capsey, meanwhile, unfurled a lovely reverse for four off Karishma Ramharack but then advanced to a length ball two deliveries later and lobbed it to Henry at long-on, thus ending a 65-run stand with Wyatt-Hodge for the third wicket. Wyatt-Hodge and Knight put on 40 more, but when they ran on Knight’s cut straight to the cover fielder, Wyatt-Hodge didn’t have the legs in the sapping heat to make it to the other end.

There was to be no reprise of the high-powered union between Freya Kemp and Dani Gibson which blew Scotland away at Headingley on Saturday night when Matthews bowled Kemp attempting to sweep. Knight was eventually run out after surviving a couple of near misses. Gibson too fell cheaply on the penultimate ball of the innings, but by then, the home side had plenty on the board.

Matthews was nonplussed when England managed to overturn a not-out decision for caught behind as she attempted a cut off Linsey Smith in the fourth over. Matthews was adamant she hadn’t made contact with the ball, and one angle on the replay showed a gap between bat and ball while UltraEdge indicated a spike. TV umpire Nimali Perera ruled that Matthews was out, but the West Indies captain spent a good deal of time making her case to the on-field umpires.

Hayley Matthews has a heated discussion after her dismissal [Cricinfo]

Matthews watched more replays in the West Indies dugout and continued to disagree with the decision in conversation with the fourth umpire on the sidelines. It was reminiscent of last year’s Ashes Snicko controversy when TV umpire Chris Gaffaney upheld a not-out decision for Australia’s Alex Carey when a clear spike appeared several frames before the ball had passed the bat. But, in this instance, the scorecard showed Matthews out for 14.

In the last over of the powerplay, Deandra Dottin helped herself to 15 runs off Dean’s first four balls, including back-to-back fours followed by a thumping six over long-on. But Dean’s riposte on the last ball was to toss one up on middle and leg as Dottin looked to clear long-on once more. She didn’t connect fully, and found Capsey just inside the boundary.

West Indies were 46 for 2 after six overs, and some frugal bowling by Ecclestone, followed by Dean’s second wicket in as many balls when she had Jannillea Glasgow chopping on with the first ball of her next over, kept England in control.The last time these sides met at a T20 World Cup, in 2024, a rash of fielding errors cost England the match and the chance to progress to the knockout phase. While they are a vastly improved side, the hosts missed two chances in three balls as Claxton and Henry dug in.

SCORES:
England Women 186 for 7 in 20 overs (Danni Wyatt-Hodge 64, Sophia Dunkley 14, Alice Kapsey 28,  Heather Knight 43; Chinelle Henry 1-25, Hayley Matthews 1-32, Ashmini Munisar 2-42, Karishma Ramharack 1-23) beat West Indies Women 148 for 5 in 20 overs  (Hayley Matthews 14, Deandra Dottin 19, Shemaine Campbell 20, Jahzara Claxton 21, Chinelle Henry 51*;  charlie Dean 2-31, Lauren Bell 1-20, Linsey Smith 1-35, Sophie Eccleston 1-22) by 38 runs

[Cricinfo]