Latest News
Nat Sciver-Brunt lands first blow as England seal series opener
Nat Sciver Brunt brought up her 15th T20I half-century – the most by any non-opening batter in the women’s game – and ensured England took the opening honours on their tour of South Africa. She eclipsed an excellent allround effort by Nadine de Klerk, who scored a 19-ball 29 to push South Africa over 140 and took 2 for 20 to keep South Africa in it, but their bowling inexperience showed.
In an XI without Marizanne Kapp and Ayabonga Khaka, who are both being rested for this series, South Africa’s discipline was under the microscope. Sune Luus opened the bowling for the first time in a T20I, and was one of three bowlers to concede at more than six runs an over. South Africa may also be disappointed with their batting effort. While six of their top seven got starts, no-one kicked on and they had no half-century stands.
England, despite a sometimes messy effort in the field, put it together where it mattered most. Sciver-Brunt and Amy Jones put on 50 for the fifth wicket, which was the key to their successful chase.
Wolvaardt starts well but England get the openers early
South Africa’s opening pair of Laura Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits picked up from where they left off at the T20 World Cup, with a typically industrious start. Wolvaardt found the boundary off the second ball when Sciver-Brunt strayed down leg to be clipped behind square, where a misfield gave her four. She went on to cream Lauren Bell through the covers and smear Sophie Ecclestone over midwicket for two more boundaries in successive overs while Tazmin Brits only faced five balls in the first three overs. Wolvaardt looked dangerous until she advanced on Charlie Dean, missed a straight one and was bowled. Brits started to find her touch and took on Ecclestone with a confident sweep but her ambition got the better of her. Like Wolvaardt, Brits danced down the track and was beaten for pace, which gave Jones a simple stumping.
England’s fielding: The ridiculous and the sublime
Perhaps it was not quite that extreme but England’s full range was on display in the mid-section of South Africa’s innings. There were shades of their drops against West Indies in the T20 World Cup semi-final when an Anneke Bosch chance slipped through Sciver-Brunt’s fingers at deep backward square. Bosch, on 13, swung at a Sarah Glenn delivery and hit it with the wind, which may have been what foxed Sciver-Brunt despite being in a good position to take the catch. That only cost England five runs before Bosch was bowled by Freya Kemp. In the next over, Ecclestone timed her movements well to take the catch that dismissed Sune Luus for a duck. Luus, who only has one 50 from her last 15 T20I innings, hit Dean in the air to mid-off, where Ecclestone had to move left and jump to take a sharp catch, and did so with ease.
De Klerk’s cameo
South Africa’s hundred came up in the 16th over, when the 36-run stand between Annerie Dercksen and Nondumiso Shangase was broken, which gave de Klerk four overs to show off her finishing skills. Her first boundary was a strong sweep off Bell but she was kept quiet until the last ball of the penultimate over when she hit Ecclestone’s final ball to fine leg. De Klerk took control in the last over when she hit Bell for two more boundaries in an 18-run over, to finish unbeaten on 29 off 16 balls. Her 42-run sixth-wicket partnership with Dercksen was South Africa’s highest of the match and pushed them over 140.
It is only Ayanda Hlubi’s third T20I match so it’s difficult to be too harsh on her but she seemed to struggle with her run-up and rhythm immediately. Her first ball was short and down leg and Maia Bouchier helped it on its way for four. Then, she overstepped. Bouchier popped the free hit up to mid-off (who dropped it, though it didn’t matter), but two balls later, Hlubi overstepped again. And then again. Bouchier could not take advantage of any of the free hits and the over finally ended after nine deliveries with England 11 without loss. Hlubi’s second over was more disciplined but her third cost 22 runs, including another no-ball that was hit for four by Jones, who launched the resultant free hit for the innings’ only six.
How low can you go?
Buffalo Park is not known for its bounce and tends to get slower and lower as matches go on. That’s exactly what happened through England’s innings as Eliz-Mari Marx on comeback, took full advantage. When Bouchier premeditated a switch-hit of sorts over backward point, in the fifth over, and missed, Marx bowled her but her coup de grace came when she was brought back on in the 11th over. Marx stunned England captain Heather Knight, who stayed back in her crease to a full delivery, and inside-edged onto her stumps. England were 65 for 4 in the 11th over, and needed 78 runs inside 10 overs to win.
No getting past Nat Sciver-Brunt
Some of the others may have looked rusty but Sciver-Brunt was in fine touch as early as the second ball she faced. She punched it off the back foot through the covers to get going. Her ease against South Africa’s spinners saw her score 33 runs off the 31 balls she faced against them and her dominant on-side play meant South Africa could not plug the gaps quickly enough. Sciver-Brunt scored 48 of her 59 runs in the on-side, including five of her seven boundaries. She scored 20 runs off 15 balls in the last five overs, to keep England in touch with the required run-rate and clear the path for a win.
Brief scores:
England Women 143 for 6 in 19.2 overs (Nat Sciver-Brunt 59, Amy Jones 31,Maia Bouchier 20; Eliz-Mari Marx 3-19, Nadine de Klerk 2-20, Nondumiso Shangase 1-20) beat South Africa Women 142 for 5 in 20 overs (Laura Wolvaardt 22, Annerie Derecksen 26*, Nadine de Klerk 29*; Sophie Ecclestone 1-18, Charlie Dean 2-21, Sarah Glenn 1-23, Freya Kemp 1-15) by four wickets
[Cricinfo]
Torrential rains have killed more than 100 people across Southern Africa, forcing mass evacuations and rescue operations as authorities warn that more destructive weather may still be to come.
Weeks of heavy rainfall have battered South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, overwhelming rivers and infrastructure and leaving entire communities cut off. Weather services across the region have issued further alerts, raising fears of additional flooding.
In South Africa, officials said on Friday that flooding in the northern provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga had killed at least 30 people.
Army helicopters have been deployed to rescue residents trapped on rooftops and in trees as swollen rivers swept through towns and villages. Security personnel were also evacuated from a border checkpoint with Zimbabwe after floodwaters surrounded the area.
President Cyril Ramaphosa toured affected parts of Limpopo on Thursday, saying the province had received about 400mm (16 inches) of rain in less than a week. In one district, he said, “there are 36 houses that have just been wiped away from the face of the earth.”
Limpopo Premier Phophi Ramathuba said more than 1,000 homes had been damaged across the province. “It’s so terrible,” she said.
In neighbouring Zimbabwe, the government’s disaster management agency reported at least 70 deaths since the start of the year, with more than 1,000 homes destroyed, and schools, roads and bridges collapsing under the force of the floods.
Mozambique has been the hardest hit. Its disaster management authorities said 103 people had died during an unusually severe rainy season since late last year. The figure includes deaths caused by flooding, lightning strikes, infrastructure collapse and a cholera outbreak linked to contaminated water supplies.
More than 200,000 people have been affected nationwide, with thousands of homes damaged and tens of thousands facing evacuation, according to the World Food Programme. The agency warned that flooding has submerged more than 70,000 hectares (173,000 acres) of crops, deepening food shortages for small-scale farmers in a country already struggling with poverty and repeated cyclones.
The United States Famine Early Warning System said flooding was reported or expected in at least seven Southern African countries, possibly linked to the La Nina phenomenon, which often brings heavier rainfall to the region.
South Africa’s Kruger National Park has also been hit, with about 600 tourists and staff evacuated from flood-affected camps. Park authorities said no deaths or injuries had been reported, but large areas remain inaccessible after rivers burst their banks.
Southern Africa has endured a series of extreme weather events in recent years, from deadly cyclones to severe droughts, exposing the region’s vulnerability to climate-driven disasters and fragile infrastructure.
A 119-run partnership between MegLanning and Phoebe Litchfield set up a second successive win for UP Warriorz (UPW) against Mumbai Indians (MI) as they continued their bounceback after starting the season with a hat-trick of defeats.
Put in to bat, Lanning and Litchfield hit fifties before MI managed to restrict them to 187 for 8. However, a rejigged batting line-up faltered in the chase as the defending champions succumbed to their third defeat of the season in their last game in Navi Mumbai. UPW became just the second team to do the league double over MI in the WPL, after Delhi Capitals last year, also led by Lanning.
Nicola Carey, opening the bowling with Shabnim Ismail rested, continued her great form in WPL 2026 as she cleaned up Kiran Navgire for a golden duck with an inswinging yorker that beat the batter all ends up. But Lanning ensured a good powerplay for UPW.
After Litchfield picked up her first boundary courtesy an inside edge through backward square, Lanning got going with a pick-up flick off Carey that went all the way as 12 runs came off the third over. She then swept Nat Sciver-Brunt through square leg before picking up two more boundaries off Carey.
When Hayley Matthews was introduced in the sixth over, Litchfield first drove her through cover before Lanning hit back-to-back boundaries to take UPW to 56 for 1 at the end of the powerplay.
After a quiet eighth over bowled by Amelia Kerr, Litchfield was on 18 off 16 and needing to pick up the tempo. Next over, she square drove Amanjot Kaur for four before skipping down the track to loft her over long-off.
Lanning reached her half-century off 35 balls in the next over, hammering Kerr over long-off to get there. Litchfield, who Kerr had dismissed eight times in T20s, also lofted her over her head for a boundary as the two Australians started to pick up the pace. A quiet over followed, courtesy Sciver-Brunt, which also saw Triveni Vasisht drop Litchfield, but Litchfield and Lannning both picked up a boundary each off Sanskriti Gupta.
In a two-over period of frenzy that followed, UPW racked up 34 runs but lost both their set batters. Litchfield first just beat Carey running to her left at deep midwicket as she swept Amanjot for six and then brought up a 33-ball half-century with a cover drive. When Amanjot went short, Litchfield pulled her for another boundary through midwicket. She then chipped one to cover, where she was given another life, this time by Harmanpreet Kaur. Litchfield picked up another six off long-off to make it a 20-run over before a pick-up flick found deep backward square, where Sanskriti held on this time.
Lanning didn’t want to release any pressure and took on Matthews next over, putting away a couple of short balls for back-to-back fours. She swept the spinner for another boundary before picking out deep square leg to finish on 70 off 45.
After a period of 12 balls without a boundary after Lanning’s departure, Chloe Tryon launched a six over long-off. Tryon and Harleen Deol kept the boundaries coming as they picked up 23 runs off the next two overs.
But, MI’s star overseas allrounders then dampened the finish for UPW. First, Sciver-Brunt started the 19th over with back-to-back wickets. Tryon sliced a full toss to cover, where Harmanpreet made amends by holding on to the catch before Shweta Sehrawat was caught behind first ball. She got a thin edge that popped up off G Kamalini’s gloves but she did well to grab it in the second attempt.
Deol hit another boundary before missing a legbreak from Kerr in the final over to be out stumped. Kerr then also had Sophie Ecclestone stumped and Deepti Sharma caught behind to give away only two runs in the final over and restrict UPW to 187 for 8.
MI came into the game with the second worst average for the opening partnership and the worst run rate. On Saturday, they tried their fourth different combination of the season, with Sajeevan Sajana partnering Matthews. Matthews started well, with a three boundaries through the off side off Kranti Gaud and Shikha Pandey.
Sajana got into the action in the third over, pulling Gaud for six over midwicket before getting an outside edge for four. But, Gaud came back strong by trapping her in front to give UPW the first breakthrough.
Ecclestone then nearly had Matthews lbw, choosing not to review after the batter missed a sweep, even though it looked close. But it didn’t matter as Matthews chipped the next ball back to Ecclestone, who went on to bowl a wicket maiden.
Sciver-Brunt then got a couple of boundaries off Gaud and Harmanpreet was crafty in gliding one between backward point and short third off Ecclestone, but they only managed 38 runs in the first six, continuing their trend of slow starts.
Sciver-Brunt, who was looking in great touch, hit Pandey straight to Lanning at cover in the first over after the powerplay as MI’s job got harder. Then Deepti, who bowled a quiet first over, had Carey miscuing one down the ground and Deol took a good catch running back from mid-on.
Harmanpreet, who was struggling to get going, pulled Tryon for a six over midwicket but fell in the same over trying the same shot. Having lost half their side and needing to score at over 13 runs an over, it was effectively game over for MI.
Kerr and Amanjot tried to mount a comeback, with an 83-run stand that saw the latter hammer three sixes, but they could not keep up with the asking rate. Amanjot offered a return catch to Pandey in the penultimate over and MI ended up 22 runs short.
Brief scores:
UP Warriorz Women 187 for 8 in 20 overs (Meg Lanning 70, Phoebe Litchfield 61, Harlene Deol 25, Chloe Tryon 21; Nicola Carey 1-38, Amelia Kerr 3-28, Nat Sciver-Brunt 2-22, Hayley Maththews 1-40, Amanjot Kaur 1-38) beat Mumbai Indians Women 165 for 6 in 20 overs (Hayley Maththews 13, Sajeevan Sajana 10, Nat Sciver Brunt 15, Harmanpreet Kaur 18, Amelia Kerr 49*, Amanjot Kaur 41; Kranti Gaud 1-38, Shikha Pandey 2-30, Sophie Ecclestone 1-33, Deepti Sharma 1-35, Chloe Tryon 1-18) by 22 runs
[Cricinfo]
President Yoweri Museveni has been declared the winner of Thursday’s election extending his four decades in power by another five years.
He gained 72% of the vote, the election commission announced, against 25% for his closest challenger Bobi Wine, who has condemned what he described as “fake results”.
Wine has called on Ugandans to hold non-violent protests.
Museveni, 81, first came to power as a rebel leader in 1986 but since then has won seven elections.
The election process was marred by violence and Wine, a 43-year-old former pop star, says that at least 21 people have been killed.
The authorities have so far confirmed seven deaths.
Access to the internet has been cut in the country since Tuesday, making it hard to verify information.
The authorities say the blackout was necessary to prevent misinformation, fraud and the incitement of violence – a move condemned by the UN human rights office as “deeply worrying”.
Wine has demanded that the internet be restored.
[BBC]
Floods kill more than 100 across southern Africa as rains intensify
Lanning, Litchfield and Pandey help UP Warriorz do the double over Mumbai Indians
Ugandan leader to extend 40-year rule after being declared winner of contested poll
Iran supreme leader blames US for deadly protests
Trump names Tony Blair, Jared Kushner to Gaza ‘Board of Peace’
The Government is taking steps to regulate early childhood education to ensure quality education while enhancing the professionalism of preschool teachers. — PM
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
Sunday Island 27 December – Headlines
#SundayIsland 17th December – Headlines
Sunday Island – 28th March
Sunday Island Headlines – 21 March
Sunday Island – 21st February – Headlines
-
Business3 days agoKoaloo.Fi and Stredge forge strategic partnership to offer businesses sustainable supply chain solutions
-
Business7 days agoDialog and UnionPay International Join Forces to Elevate Sri Lanka’s Digital Payment Landscape
-
News19 hours agoUNDP’s assessment confirms widespread economic fallout from Cyclone Ditwah
-
Editorial2 days agoThe Chakka Clash
-
Editorial19 hours agoCrime and cops
-
News7 days agoSajith: Ashoka Chakra replaces Dharmachakra in Buddhism textbook
-
Features7 days agoThe Paradox of Trump Power: Contested Authoritarian at Home, Uncontested Bully Abroad
-
Features7 days agoSubject:Whatever happened to (my) three million dollars?