Sports

Gibson, Dean knock over New Zealand for 80 as England cruise to series win

Published

3 weeks ago

2026/05/26

Priyan

Dani Gibson and Charlie Dean picked up three wickets each [Cricinfo]

England’s bowlers demolished New Zealand’s batting line-up to set up an emphatic seven-wicket win in the third and final T20I at Hove for a 2-1 series victory.

Career-best figures of 3 for 14 for Dani Gibson combined with 3 for 13 for stand-in skipper Charlie Dean allowed England to bounce back from a 14-run loss in the second game in Canterbury on Saturday, bowling New Zealand out for a paltry 80 with five balls to spare.

That previous defeat was made all the more disappointing for the hosts by the fact that they had their opponents in a similar precarious position at 11 for 4 before the White Ferns hit back. There were to be no similar batting heroics this time from Sophie Devine, or anyone else for that matter, as the visitors collapsed to 33 for 6 on the back of another excellent powerplay by Libsey Smith in which she took 1 for 6 from two overs before Gibson chimed in with the big wickets of Melie Kerr and Devine.

Sophie Ecclestone returned to the bowling attack after missing the second match with a tight hamstring and bowled with excellent economy to take 1 for 11 and Issy Wong bowled Jess Kerr, New Zealand’s top scorer with just 20, to finish with 1 for 20.

England lost both openers inside the powerplay, but reeled in the target with 6.1 overs remaining.

New Zealand’s performance was cause for concern in their last competitive match before next month’s T20 World Cup, where they will be the defending champions. England may expect a tougher contest from India when they meet for a three-match T20I series starting on Thursday, but are yet to regain regular opener Danni Wyatt-Hodge and captain Nat Sciver-Brunt ahead of their home World Cup.

Both New Zealand openers were out to premeditated reverse sweeps. Suzie Bates replaced Georgia Plimmer at the top of the order, having dropped right down in the series opener in Derby and sat out the second game, as the White Ferns looked to avoid another poor start with the bat. But Bates managed just 3 off 11 before she spooned a typically miserly Smith straight to backward point. Izzy Gaze had struck Wong for four and six through fine leg and long-on but when Dean brought herself into the attack in the final over of the powerplay, she struck with her third ball, which turned in, beat the bat and crashed into the stumps.

With their side in deep trouble, the softest dismissals were to come as Gibson struck twice in her first over. Melie Kerr picked out Maia Bouchier at mid-on then Devine, who scored 45 and 87 in her two previous innings this tour, could only shake her head in dismay, almost as the ball was being gathered at mid-off from her miss-hit attempt at a lofted drive. Devine was out for a five-ball duck and from 29 for 2, the White Ferns were 30 for 4.

New Zealand were pinning their hopes on experienced duo of Maddy Green and Brook Halliday for a rescue mission but when Dean pinned the latter on the front pad, it took a smart review by England’s acting captain to reveal a fairly straightforward lbw. Then Ecclestone chimed in with a beauty that rearranged Izzy Sharp’s stumps.

New Zealand had lost 5 for 5 in the space of 3.1 overs, then Gibson returned to remove Green, thanks to a sound catch by Bouchier, running round from midwicket to wide long-on. From 58 for 7 the tail fell away, Smith claiming her second when Nensi Patel failed to review an lbw given as the ball struck her in the stomach kneeling to sweep, but replays showed impact was outside the line.

Alice Capsey, opening again while Wyatt-Hodge is on maternity leave, couldn’t reprise her unbeaten 74 from the first match of the series in Derby, which England won convincingly, also by seven wickets. She was trapped lbw by offspinner Patel’s first delivery which pitched on middle and turned onto the inside of Capsey’s thigh pad. Fellow opener Sophia Dunkley managed 22 off 21 before she fluffed a pull straight to mid-on from Bree Illing.

New Zealand missed an opportunity to remove Heather Knight on 4, sweeping towards deep square leg where Halliday strode in and dived forward to get both hands to the ball very low before it popped out of her grasp as she hit the ground. But even when Melie Kerr had Knight caught at backward point off a reverse sweep, New Zealand couldn’t haul themselves out of the mire left by their batters.

Brief scores:
England Women 81 for 3 in 13.5 overs (Sophia Dunkley 22, Mala Bouchier 19*, Heather Knight 18; Bree Illing 1-20, Nensi Patel 1-07, Melle Kerr 1-18) beat New Zealand Women 80 in 19.1 overs (Isabella Gaze 17, Maddy Green 14, Jess Kerr 20; Linsey Smith 2-15, Issy Wong 1-20, Sophia Ecclestone 1-11, Charlie Dean 3-13, Dani Gibson 3-14) by seven wickets

[Cricinfo]

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Spinners make it two in two for England

Published

28 mins ago

2026/06/17

Priyan

England's performance with the ball helped them set up the win [Cricbuzz]

England’s spin attack, led by Sophie Ecclestone’s three-wicket haul, secured their second win in as many games as they beat Ireland at the Rose Bowl in Southampton on Tuesday (June 16). Unlike their demolition job over Sri Lanka in the tournament opener, England were made to work hard for these two points as they stuttered in a tricky run chase before prevailing by four wickets.

Already under pressure coming into this fixture on the back of their loss to Scotland, Ireland were asked to bat first. England didn’t take too long to strike as Amy Hunter got castled by Linsey Smith after she attempted to sweep a delivery too early. In the very next over, Gaby Lewis timed a scoop to perfection but hit it straight to the fielder. Ireland continued to crumble inside the Powerplay as it was now Charlie Dean’s turn to strike. After six overs, Ireland were 38/3 with their hopes firmly pinned on Orla Prendergast again to revive them.

While Prendergast continued to bat in fine fashion, Ecclestone came back into the attack to strike and pin Ireland further down. In a bigger blow, the batting side went on to lose the big wicket of Prendergast as she chopped one on to her stumps. At 57/5 after 10 overs, Ireland needed a miracle to storm back into the contest. While Leah Paul and Alice Tector hung in for a while, it was a cameo from Louise Little that actually dragged Ireland beyond 100. Little smashed four boundaries in the final over of the innings after Ecclestone struck twice in the penultimate over.

A target of 119 should have been a cakewalk for a side that posted 219 in their first game. But on this surface, England were made to work hard. Danni Wyatt-Hodge picked up a few boundaries but Aimee Maguire gave Ireland massive hope with her double strike in the fifth over. Both the England openers found Lewis on the field to depart early and in the final over of the Powerplay while Prendergast bowled a third straight over and was rewarded with Alice Capsey’s wicket. England finished the Powerplay with 35/3 – which meant they were on the same boat as Ireland at this stage.

The experienced duo of Heather Knight and Nat Sciver-Brunt then got together to put the chase back on track. Sciver-Brunt picked up a boundary each off the next three overs and Knight got going with a sweep behind square that carried England to a strong position at the halfway mark. After 13 overs, England were coasting at 95/3 before Ireland found some hope again. Prendergast came back for her final over and broke the partnership with Knight’s wicket.

With only 9 runs needed, Sciver-Brunt decided to walk back retired out after feeling some tightness in her calf. While the England skipper after the game revealed that it was just a precautionary measure, the fact that it was the same calf that has recently troubled her will concern England going forward. Just three balls after she walked off, England lost the wicket of Danielle Gibson as well to a needless run out which caused unnecessary panic in the dugout. However, Dean hit one over the covers for a vital boundary to calm the nerves down before securing the win in the following over.

scores:
Ireland Women 118/9 in 20 overs (Alana Dalzelle 14, Orla Prendergast 26, Leah Paul 10, Alice Tector 10, Louise Little 26*; Lauren Bell 1-39, Linsey Smith 1-20, Sophie Ecclestone 3-22, Charlie Dean 2-11, Dani Gibson 2-10) lost to England Women 119/6 in 17.3 overs (Dani Wyatt Hodge 16, Nat Sciver-Brunt 48, Heather Knight 26; Aimee Maguire 2-23, Orla Prendergast 2-17) by 4 wickets

[Cricbuzz]

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Messi hat-trick fires holders Argentina to win over Algeria at World Cup

Published

48 mins ago

2026/06/17

Priyan

Argentina's Lionel Messi celebrates scoring their first goal [Aljazeera]

Lionel Messi marked his record sixth World Cup appearance with his first hat-trick at a FIFA tournament as Argentina beat Algeria 3-0 to open the defence of their global crown, he also became the joint highest scorer at World Cups with the feat.

The former 38-year-old forward thought he had opened the scoring in the eighth minute in Kansas City on Tuesday when he slotted home from close range, but the offside flag was raised.

The dream start to his record-setting appearance, which will be matched by Cristiano Ronaldo for Portugal against DR Congo on Wednesday, was not to be denied for long though.

A trademark, mazy run was capped by a drive on the edge of the box from that famed left foot. The power too much for Algeria keeper Luca Zidane, son of World Cup winner with France, Zinidine.

Messi doubled his tally on the hour mark with a simple tap in from a rebound off the keeper following a drive from Alexis Mac Allister.

The moment that even a player as decorated as Messi came in the 76th minute when he drilled low past the keeper from just outside the box.

The strike took Messi level with former Germany striker Miroslav Klose on 16 World Cup goals.

His substitution came just three minutes later to a standard ovation, even old maestro seemed disappointed to be removed – and most likely rested for Argentina’s tilt at becoming only the third side to defend a World Cup title.

Algeria – the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations winners – offered little, but were themselves denied an early goal when Fares Chaibi’s ninth minute strike was ruled out for offside.

Messi saw to it that there was no opening game upset to be had tat this edition, having lost their opening game at Qatar 2022 to Saudi Arabia.

Messi, who spent the majority of his club career in Spain with Barcelona before moving to French giants Paris-Saint Germain, plys his trade in US football’s Major League Soccer with Inter Miami.

Jordan and Austria open their account in the group later on Tuesday in San Francisco.

[Aljazeera]

Sports

Iran draw 2-2 with New Zealand in politically charged World Cup match

Published

2 hours ago

2026/06/17

Priyan

The Iran vs New Zealand game ended all square at the Los Angeles Stadium [Aljazeera]

Iran twice came from behind to draw 2-2 with New Zealand in an exciting World Cup clash at Los Angeles Stadium as protests against Tehran’s government and a peace deal signed to end the US-Iran war formed a charged backdrop to the match.

High security presence and protests outside the venue were among the off-field concerns surrounding the match on Monday.

And when New Zealand took an early lead through Elijah Just’s volleyed shot from inside the box, after being set up by Chris Wood, some fans critical of the Iranian government celebrated with New Zealand supporters.

Many of these anti-regime spectators also carried Iran’s pre-Islamic Revolution Lion and Sun flag, against FIFA’s rules. Several also booed Iran’s national anthem before kickoff.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 15: Fans of IR Iran hold up the nations flag before the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group G match between IR Iran and New Zealand at Los Angeles Stadium on June 15, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. Jamie Squire/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by JAMIE SQUIRE / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP) — *Fans of IR Iran hold up the nations flag before the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group G match between IR Iran and New Zealand at Los Angeles Stadium on June 15, 2026 in Los Angeles, California [Aljazeera]*

But most of the crowd of more than 70,000 appeared firmly behind Team Melli, chanting “Ir-ran! Ir-ran!” and erupting when Ramin Rezaeian equalised shortly after the half-hour mark.

Rezaeian, one of several Iran players who had not played club football since February after the domestic league was suspended amid US and Israeli air strikes, reacted quickest to a blocked shot and poked the ball past the advancing goalkeeper.

Wood and Just combined again early in the second half, the New Zealand captain sliding a precise pass into the 26-year-old forward’s path before Just hammered home to restore the All Whites’ lead.

Iran responded 10 minutes later with a superb goal from Mohammad Mohebbi, who headed Rezaeian’s perfect cross in off the far post to make it 2-2.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 15: Ramin Rezaeian #23 of IR Iran celebrates with teammates after scoring his team's first goal during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group G match between IR Iran and New Zealand at Los Angeles Stadium on June 15, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP) — *Ramin Rezaeian celebrates with teammates [Aljazeera]*

The stalemate means all the teams in Group G have one point after Belgium drew 1-1 with Egypt earlier on Monday.

New Zealand, making their third appearance at the tournament, remain without a win at a World Cup after seven matches. Iran are looking to reach the knockout round for the first time.

The match laid bare divisions among Iranian American fans, many of whom said they felt torn between pride at seeing Iran on the sport’s biggest stage, anger over Tehran’s crackdown on protesters and concern over Washington’s bombing campaign.

Before kickoff, about 300 to 500 protesters gathered outside the stadium, waving anti-government signs and flags.

Some Iranian Americans had said attending the match would imply support for Iran’s government, while others said they wanted to set politics aside and support the players.

Iran will next return to Los Angeles to face Belgium on Sunday when New Zealand take on Egypt in Vancouver.

[Aljazeera]