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Pacers, Labuschagne give Australia opening day honours

Published

2 years ago

2024/03/8

Priyan

Hazlewood, who had an excellent outing, picked up the final wicket to finish with a five-fer. (Cricbuzz)

Australia bagged the honours on the opening day of the second Test against New Zealand in Christchurch after their pacers bowled out the hosts for just 162 in their first innings. In reply, Australia were jittery with the bat but a fighting unbeaten 45 from Marnus Labuschagne has ensured that they are now only 38 runs adrift.

New Zealand made a positive start to the Test match when Tom Latham picked up two boundaries off the very first over bowled by Mitchell Starc. Josh Hazlewood posed some early questions but Latham continued to pick boundaries regularly to keep New Zealand going. Will Young finally fetched his first boundary after the first drinks break but Starc eventually broke through in his second spell as the batter got a leading edge to third slip to give Australia their first wicket.

Latham continued being positive and appeared to be the key batter but his dismissal triggered a collapse that put the visitors in complete control. The left-hander edged one behind to get caught by the keeper and from 61/1, New Zealand were left reeling at 84/5. Rachin Ravindra chased a wide delivery to get caught at first slip just before the lunch break and post resumption, Hazlewood dismissed Daryl Mitchell and Kane Williamson in successive overs.

Starc then struck twice in two deliveries to pin New Zealand further down and if not for some handy runs from Matt Henry and Tim Southee, New Zealand wouldn’t have gotten anywhere closer to 150. Hazlewood, who had an excellent outing, picked up the final wicket to finish with a five-fer.

Australia in reply made a watchful start with Matt Henry bowling a testing opening spell. However, it was the debutant Ben Sears who gave the hosts the first breakthrough as he got the big fish Steve Smith in his first over. Smith misjudged the delivery completely and offered no shot to get trapped lbw. Usman Khawaja, who was slowly getting into his groove, was the next to depart as Henry found some reward finally by castling him.

Labuschagne then joined forces with Cameron Green to keep Australia steady for a while. The pair hit three boundaries off the first three overs of their partnership before Green took on Sears and Southee. Having already made a match-winning hundred in the opening Test, Green looked set for another big score before Henry came to knock over the No.4 batter. Travis Head threatened briefly by racing to 21 off just 18 balls to eat into the deficit but Henry removed him as well, much to New Zealand’s relief. However, with just 38 runs behind, Australia will fancy their chances of pressing home the advantage on the second day.

Brief scores:
Australia 124/4 in 36 overs (Marnus Labuschagne 45*, Cameron Green 25, Travis Head 21; Matt Henry 3-39) trail New Zealand 162 in 45.2 overs (Tom Latham 38, Tom Blundell 22, Matt Henry 29, TimSouthee 26; Josh Hazlewood 5-31, Mitchell Starc 3/59) by 38 runs

(Cricbuzz)

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Trump says US will ‘obliterate’ Iran’s power plants if Strait of Hormuz not open before 48-hour deadline

Published

12 hours ago

2026/03/22

Priyan

President Donald Trump says the US will “obliterate” Iranian power plants if the Strait of Hormuz is not open within 48 hours – the waterway is vital for global oil shipping.

Iran warns it will retaliate against all US-linked energy infrastructure in the Middle East if its power plants are attacked.

Trump also says he has achieved his war aims “weeks ahead of schedule”, adding: “Iran wants to make a deal. I don’t”

More than 100 people have been injured after strikes on southern Israel. The target appears to have been a nuclear facility 13km away from the city of Dimona

Meanwhile, Israel says it launched a wave of strikes on the Iranian capital. It follows an attack on Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility, Tehran says

An attempted Iranian strike on the joint UK-US base on Diego Gracia happened late on Thursday night into Friday morning, the BBC understands. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper says the UK won’t be drawn into wider conflict

[BBC]

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Trump at a crossroad in US-Israel war with Iran

Published

18 hours ago

2026/03/22

Priyan

Three weeks after the joint US-Israeli war against Iran began, the conflict has reached a fuzzy state of mixed messages and uncertainty, with Donald Trump’s public comments often seemingly contradicted by realities on the ground.

The war is “very complete, pretty much”, Trump has said, but new American ground forces – including a Marine expeditionary unit – are moving into the region. It is “winding down”, but US and Israeli bombing and missile strikes on Iranian targets continue unabated.

Opening the Strait of Hormuz, the geographic choke point through which 20% of the world’s oil export travels, is a “simple military manoeuvre”, but for now only Iranian-approved ships are transiting the waters.

The Iranian military is “gone”, but drones and missiles are still striking targets in the region and targets have extended as far as the joint US-UK base on Diego Garcia.

In a Friday evening Truth Social post published while he was flying from Washington to his Florida resort for the weekend, the US president provided a numbered list of American military objectives for the Iran war, which he said the US was “getting really close” to fulfilling.

The items, comprising his most detailed statement on the subject since the war began, included degrading or destroying Iran’s military, its defence infrastructure and its nuclear weapons programme, as well as protecting American allies in the region.

Not included was the goal of securing the Strait of Hormuz, which Trump said should be the responsibility of other nations that are more dependent on oil exports from the Gulf. The president has frequently noted that the US is a net exporter of energy and does not rely on oil from the Middle East – although such a view glosses over the global nature of the fossil fuel market, where price fluctuations directly impact the price at American gas pumps.

Trump’s Truth Social post also made no call for Iranian regime change. Gone are any references to approving the nation’s next leader or “unconditional surrender”, which Trump had insisted on in the early days of the war.

In Trump’s latest outline of his objectives, it is possible that the US could end its operation with Iran’s current anti-American leadership in power, its oil exports still flowing and its ability to assert some measure of control over the Strait of Hormuz intact.

If that is an unappealing resolution to a war that the president and his aides have said began with the 1979 Iran Revolution and that they would finish, there is an alternative route that involves the US ground forces presently on the way to the Middle East region.

Just over a week ago, US media reported that a Marine expeditionary unit, with about 2,500 combat soldiers and supporting ships and aircraft, had been dispatched from Japan to the Middle East, which it should reach in the coming days. Another Marine force of similar size recently departed its base in California with its arrival expected in mid-April.

Military analysts have suggested that the US could be planning to capture Kharg Island. an 3-sq-km (8-sq-mile) slice of land that contains Iran’s primary oil export terminal. Doing so could, in theory, cut off the nation’s oil shipments, depriving the nation of much-needed revenue and forcing it to make greater concessions to the Americans in exchange for an end to hostilities.

Trump on Friday said that he wasn’t sending ground troops to Iran, but added: “If I were, I certainly wouldn’t tell you”. Clarity, it seems, is not his intention.

The threat of such a move prompted Iran’s state media to report on Saturday that any attack on Kharg Island would lead Iran to cause “insecurity” in the Red Sea, another key global shipping transit point, and “set fire” to energy facilities throughout the region.

Iran’s warning underscores the dangers that would accompany a US escalation that further exposes American military forces to Iranian reprisals.

Earlier this week, US media reported that the Trump administration was preparing to ask Congress for $200bn (£150bn) in emergency funding for the ongoing Iranian military operation. Such a request would suggest that, far from winding down, the White House is preparing for a long, expensive fight.

The initial reaction from Congress, including from Trump’s Republican allies, was cautious at best.

“We’re talking about boots on the ground. We’re talking about that kind of extended activity,” said Republican Congressman Chip Roy of Texas.

“They have got a whole lot more briefing and a whole lot more explaining to do on how we’re going to pay for it, and what’s the mission here.”

The so-called “fog of war” doesn’t just cloud the thinking of military planners, it also affects the perception of politicians and the public.

The Iran war, it seems, is at a pivot. But which direction it takes from here is a puzzle.

(BBC)

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Heat Index likely to increase up to ‘Caution level’ at some places in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern and North-western provinces and in Anuradhapura, Monaragala, Mannar and Vavuniya districts

Published

18 hours ago

2026/03/22

Priyan

Warm Weather Advisory
Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre of the Department of Meteorology
at 3.30 p.m. on 21 March 2026, valid for 22 March 2026.

Heat index, the temperature felt on human body is likely to increase up to ‘Caution level’ at some places in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern and North-western provinces and in
Anuradhapura, Monaragala, Mannar and Vavuniya districts.

The Heat Index Forecast is calculated by using relative humidity and maximum temperature and this is the condition that is felt on your body. This is not the forecast of maximum temperature. It is generated by the Department of Meteorology for the next day period and prepared by using global numerical weather prediction model data.

Effect of the heat index on human body is mentioned in the above table and it is prepared on the advice of the Ministry of Health and Indigenous Medical Services.

ACTION REQUIRED
Job sites: Stay hydrated and takes breaks in the shade as often as possible.
Indoors: Check up on the elderly and the sick.
Vehicles: Never leave children unattended.
Outdoors: Limit strenuous outdoor activities, find shade and stay hydrated.
Dress: Wear lightweight and white or light-colored clothing.

Note:
In addition, please refer to advisories issued by the Disaster Preparedness & Response Division, Ministry of Health in this regard as well. For further clarifications please contact 011-7446491.