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Ireland top Group B of ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier, Scotland maintain momentum
Two more matches were decided in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier in Abu Dhabi on Monday afternoon.
Ireland made a statement when they beat Zimbabwe by a comprehensive 56 runs, to rising to the top of Group B at Zayed Cricket Stadium, while Scotland put behind their disappointing 10-wicket loss to Sri Lanka on Saturday by outplaying the United States of America (USA) by 44 runs at the adjacent Tolerance Oval.
Ireland’s opening pair of Amy Hunter (71) and Gaby Lewis (69) shone for their side with a brilliant, 130-run opening stand, while Scotland’s captain, Kathryn Bryce, produced a memorable all-round performance, returning unbeaten for 57 with the bat and taking four for 17 with the ball spearheading her side to a comfortable win in the Group A clash.
Ireland vs Zimbabwe
Amy Hunter and Gaby Lewis sizzled with a 130-run, opening partnership to help Ireland post their fifth-highest total in women’s T20Is. Hunter began the innings with a bang, slamming a hat-trick of fours from the first three deliveries from Josephine Nkomo, who came into the game fresh off a four-wicket haul.
With Lewis joining hands, Ireland got off to a flyer, racing to 59/0 inside the Powerplay. Lewis was the first to make a half-century, reaching the landmark off 36 balls. Hunter joined her soon, taking 34 balls for her fifty. It was Kelis Ndhlovu who finally put an end to the opening partnership when she had Lewis caught out for a brilliant 47-ball 69.
Nkomo sent back Hunter for 71 in the 17th over, but the damage was already done, by then Ireland had already crossed the 150-run mark and eventually finished on 176/3 in their 20 overs.
In Zimbabwe’s reply, Ava Canning struck twice in the Powerplay, sending back Sharne Mayers and Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano cheaply to give Ireland an even stronger grip on the game.
Skipper, Mary-Anne Musonda and Modester Mupachikwa combined to lift Zimbabwe out of trouble and at the end of 10 overs, the team moved to 65/2. Laura Delany broke the stand with the wicket of Mupachikwa (27), but Musonda (48) held on for as long as she could, finishing just short of her own half-century.
Zimbabwe went on to lose their next four wickets in the space of 22 balls and eventually finished on 120/8. They have one win in three games and will need a big one in their final game to stand a chance of making it to the semi-finals.
Meanwhile, with two wins in two games, Ireland are at the top of Group B and are favourites to make the semis now.
Scotland vs USA
Scotland’s skipper, Kathryn Bryce, led from the front to help them to a 44-run victory over the USA and make it to two wins in three matches.
Asked to bat first, Scotland encountered early jitters as they lost their openers Saskia Horley and Megan McColl inside the Powerplay, but it was the fourth-wicket partnership between Bryce and Ailsa Lister that steadied the ship for the team. The duo added 66 runs in just 39 deliveries to swing the momentum back into Scotland’s favour.
Lister’s knock of 34 (22) came to an end when she decided to step down the track against Aditiba Chudasama, only to be stumped by keeper Sindhu Sriharsha.
ICC Women’s Associate Player of the Decade, Bryce, held the innings together from her end, bringing up her ninth T20I fifty in 42 balls.
Her unbeaten knock of 57* along with Lorna Jack’s cameo of 20 (17) took Scotland to 149/6 in their 20 overs.
In the bowling department too, it was Bryce who made the headlines. Opening the bowling, she picked up a wicket from her first delivery, dismissing Gargi Bhogle without scoring.
She returned with her lethal in-swingers in her second over and snared two more wickets – first rattling Disha Dhingra’s stumps and then trapping Sriharsha in the front. Both batters departed for ducks.
USA could only manage 26 runs for the loss of four wickets at the end of the Powerplay.
Leg-spinner Abtaha Maqsood was brought into the attack to dismantle the middle-order.
Maqsood dismissed Jessica Willathgamuwa (10) and Geetika Kodali (3) to reduce USA to 50/7.
Isani Vaghela and Jivana Aras combined to stop the flow of wickets and added 39 runs in 45 deliveries. Vaghela played a crucial hand of 30 off 26 balls before Chloe Abel dismissed her while Aras remained unbeaten on 24.
USA could only manage 105/8 in their 20 overs, falling short by 44 runs as they recorded their second loss in a row in the Qualifier.
Along with an unbeaten fifty, Bryce finished with career-best T20I bowling figures of 4/17 to earn the Player of the Match award.
Scores in brief:
Match 9:
Scotland beat USA by 44 runs
Scotland 149 for 6 in 20 overs (Kathryn Bryce 57 not out, Ailsa Lister 34; Isani Vaghela 2-17, Aditiba Chudasama 2-25)
USA 105 for 8 in 20 overs (Isani Vaghela 30, Jivana Aras 24 not out; Kathryn Bryce 4-17, Abtaha Maqsood 2-16)
Player of the Match – Kathryn Bryce
Match 10:
Ireland beat Zimbabwe by 56 runs
Ireland 176 for 3 in 20 overs (Amy Hunter 71, Gaby Lewis 69; Kelis Ndhlovu 1-32, Josephine Nkomo 1-36)
Zimbabwe 120 for 8 in 20 overs (Mary-Anne Musonda 48, Modester Mupachikwa 27; Ava Canning 2-13, Laura Delany 2-19, Cara Murray 2-29)
Player of the Match – Amy Hunter
(ICC)
The Commander of the Navy, Vice Admiral Damian Fernando paid a courtesy call on the Speaker of the Parliament, Dr Jagath Wickramaratne at the Office of the Speaker, today (7 July
2026).
The meeting marked the Commander of the Navy’s first official interaction with the Speaker following his assumption of command of the Sri Lanka Navy. During the cordial discussion, they exchanged views on the Navy’s role in matters of national importance.
The formal meeting drew to a close with an exchange of mementoes, signifying the importance of the occasion.
The woman suspected of carrying out a parcel bombing in Monaco which injured a sanctioned Ukrainian multi-millionaire and his family has been found dead, Ukraine’s security service (SBU) has said.
A cross-border manhunt had been launched for Anastasiia Berezovska, a Ukrainian woman who officials believed had fled the wealthy city-state after planting the bomb in the entrance hall of an apartment building on 29 June.
The 39-year-old’s body was found with gunshot wounds to the head, according to the SBU.
Two people including a current officer within Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) have been detained on suspicion of murder.
Berezovska arrived in Ukraine two days after the attack on 1 July, the SBU said in its statement, citing law enforcement sources.
There, she communicated with her family and two men – a former law enforcement officer and a current officer in the MoD’s main intelligence directorate.
The two men were investigated as possible accomplices in the Monaco attack based on information that they “repeatedly transferred funds” to Berezovska’s “crypto and bank accounts”.
The intelligence officer subsequently confessed to Berezovska’s murder and said he had done so with “another suspect”, the agency said.
It continued: “During the search of the former law enforcement officer’s home, a basement room resembling a torture chamber was found.
“Both suspects were detained on suspicion of committing murder with premeditation by a group of individuals.”
An investigation is ongoing with the “personal assistance” of the head of the intelligence directorate Oleg Ivashchenko.
Monaco’s deputy prosecutor Morgan Raymond said Berezovska had spent days casing out the residence and was “disguised as a man” during the attack last Monday.
Three people were injured, two of them seriously, when a package exploded just as they entered the building shortly after 21:00 local time (19:00 GMT).
Berezovska was believed to have fled in a hire car to Italy and onwards to Germany – where special forces searched an apartment rented by a 39-year-old Ukrainian woman “currently on the run” in the central state of Hesse on Thursday, police said.
The SBU said Ukrainian authorities had shared all available information with officials in Monaco, with who its prosecutor general was in “close co-operation”.
Law enforcement authorities were working to identify “other suspects” in the attack, it added.
Authorities in Monaco have not confirmed the victims’ identities, but local media reported Vadym Yermolaiev, his partner and his 13-year-old son had been targeted.
Yermolaiev, a real estate developer, was named the 39th richest Ukrainian by Forbes magazine in 2020 with a reported fortune of $230m (£173.8m).
He has major interests are in wine and alcohol in Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014, and has been the subject of sanctions imposed by the government in Kyiv since 2023.
He is a Cypriot citizen, having renounced his Ukrainian citizenship in 2019, and has been living in Monaco.
Belgium dumped USA out of their own World Cup on Monday, as Charles De Ketelaere’s brace secured a 4-1 win that was eclipsed by the bitter row over Folarin Balogun’s ban.
Victory means the Belgians face Spain in the quarterfinals, while the USA follow the other World Cup cohosts, Canada and Mexico, out of the tournament with elimination in the round of 16 after a thoroughly flat performance.
All attention pre-game had been on Balogun’s place in the USA starting lineup, after US President Donald Trump had asked FIFA to review the striker’s one-game suspension for a red card, and the governing body controversially obliged.
Belgium’s starting lineup had a few surprises of its own, with Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku among the heavyweights benched. But coach Rudi Garcia’s gambit proved inspired, with De Ketelaere grabbing an early goal to puncture the feel-good vibes in Seattle.
Malik Tillman grabbed one back from a free kick, but De Ketelaere swiftly restored Belgium’s lead. A catastrophic piece of goalkeeping by Matt Freese and a late Romelu Lukaku goal left the Americans dead and buried.
FIFA’s move to suspend Balogun’s ban after he was sent off in the previous round against Bosnia and Herzegovina has been slammed by football fans, pundits and players around the world, but there were no such misgivings among the Seattle crowd.
A colossal roar greeted the stadium announcement of Balogun’s name in the starting lineup, vastly dwarfing the cheers even for USA talisman Christian Pulisic.
The “USA” thunderclap then echoed around the stadium, utterly drowning out a small corner of chanting Belgium fans in the opening minutes.
But the American party was swiftly silenced. The majority of 67,000 fans fell silent in the ninth minute as De Ketelaere scored, easily tapping home from close range after Nicolas Raskin’s cross evaded some lax defending.
It was the first time the Americans had conceded the opener all tournament. With the atmosphere deflated, no immediate fightback was visible on the pitch either. The midfield was outgunned, and the defence looked nervous.
On the half-hour mark, Balogun drew a foul on the edge of the area and whipped the crowd back to life. He waved his arms frantically as Tillman – fresh from scoring a free kick against Bosnia – lined up the ball.
Tillman’s shot deflected off the Belgian wall and spun into the net, and the stadium shook.
But the joy was again short-lived. In the 33rd minute, De Ketelaere leapt up to meet Leandro Trossard’s cross, and comfortably out-jumped an off-balance Tim Ream to score his second.
The US inched back into the game as the first half closed out, with Balogun blasting over from a long Tillman throw, then narrowly failing to catch a long ball, again from the Bayer Leverkusen midfielder.
US coach Mauricio Pochettino switched formation at half-time, sending Gio Reyna into the number 10 role and pushing Weston McKennie out to the right. The Americans resumed play with more intensity, pushing higher up the pitch.
But self-inflicted disaster struck in the 57th minute. Freese came out to collect a Belgium long ball, turned to evade the charging De Ketelaere, but then hesitated with his pass.
De Ketelaere jabbed the ball to Hans Vanaken, who made no mistake with an open goal from long range.
Pulisic limped off with an injury minutes later, and with him went the US dreams of reaching a first World Cup quarterfinal since 2002.
His replacement, Sebastian Berhalter, flashed an ambitious shot narrowly wide in the 79th minute, and Balogun had a close-range effort saved soon after.
But Chris Richards handed the ball to Lukaku in stoppage time, and the veteran striker did not hesitate to seal the rout.
[Aljazeera]
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