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Pakistan bat vs unchanged England with Afridi back
Pakistan have recalled Shaheen Shah Afridi for their Super Eight fixture against England in Pallekle at the expense of Faheem Ashraf, and will bat first after Salman Agha won the toss on a fresh pitch.
Afridi’s nine overs at the T20 World Cup have cost 101 runs and he has been left out for consecutive matches after Pakistan’s heavy defeat to India in Colombo, including their no-result against New Zealand to start the Super Eight stage. But he has been recalled to face England, perhaps due to their top order’s perceived vulnerability against left-arm seam.
Ashraf rescued Pakistan in their opening group-stage match against the Netherlands, hitting 29 not out off 11 balls to secure a three-wicket win. But he has only bowled two overs in the tournament and has been batting down the order.
“It looks like a good pitch,” Agha said at the toss. “We want to put up an above-par score and defend that total.”
England will qualify for the semi-finals if they win either of their remaining Super Eight fixtures, but Brook said that he would rather get the job done this evening than face a must-win match against New Zealand on Friday. “That would be lovely, wouldn’t it? But you never know in T20 cricket, it’s such a fickle game,” he said.
Brook said that he would have chosen to bat first if he had won the toss, but expects a better surface than the one that England played on at Pallekele two days ago in their low-scoring win over Sri Lanka. “Hopefully, it’s going to be a little bit better,” he said. “We haven’t had our perfect game yet. Hopefully, it’s just around the corner.”
England have picked the same team for the fifth consecutive match at this World Cup, and have carded their batting line-up in the same order despite some calls for Brook to be promoted from No. 5.
The fixture is a rematch of the 2022 T20 World Cup final, which England won by five wickets at the MCG, and there are nine survivors across the two teams.
England: Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (wk), Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Harry Brook (capt), Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Liam Dawson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid.
Pakistan: Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Agha (capt), Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Salman Mirza, Usman Tariq.
(Cricinfo)
A major storm hit the US east coast on Monday, bringing record-breaking snow that caused disruptions for millions and thousands of flight cancellations.
Parts of Rhode Island and Massachusetts have seen nearly 37in (94cm) of snowfall, with more than 19in in New York City’s Central Park, the National Weather Service (NWS) said.
Weather warnings stretched from North Carolina to northern Maine, with some in place further north in parts of eastern Canada.
More than 600,000 properties on the US east coast endured power outages, while the Boston Globe – a major US newspaper – said it will not go to print for the first time in its 153-year history due to the storm.
(BBC)
During an operation conducted in the dark hours of 22 Feb 26, the Sri Lanka Navy seized an Indian fishing boat and apprehended twelve (12) Indian fishermen while they were poaching in Sri Lankan waters, in the sea area south of Mannar.
The seized boat and the Indian fishermen were handed over to the Fisheries Inspector of Dikovita for onward legal proceedings.
Mexico has deployed thousands of soldiers to bolster security after a wave of violence erupted following the death of a powerful drug lord, the country’s security minister has said.
Defence Secretary Ricardo Trevilla said an extra 2,500 soldiers had been sent to western Mexico on Monday, with the government saying about 9,500 troops have been deployed overall since Sunday.
At least 20 states have seen unrest since Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes – better known as “El Mencho” – died in custody on Sunday shortly after being captured by Mexican special forces in Jalisco state.
The Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) is one of Mexico’s most feared criminal organisations and its leader was the country’s most wanted man.
At least 25 members of Mexico’s National Guard have died in Jalisco state since the violence erupted, the country’s security minister said.
El Mencho was captured after forces tracked down a romantic partner he was meeting, according to defence secretary Trevilla.
The drug lord was was seriously injured in a firefight between his bodyguards and the military commandos deployed to capture him, and he died while the military was transporting him from the town of Tapalpa to the capital, Mexico City.
At least six of El Mencho’s security guards were also killed in the operation, while three members of the Mexican military were injured, the defence ministry said.
Security secretary Omar Garcia Harfuch said a prison guard, a member of the state prosecutor’s office and 30 members of El Mencho’s criminal organisation were killed in the unrest since his death, according to the AFP news agency.
Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum has praised the army’s operation that led to El Mencho’s death and said her priority is to guarantee peace and security across the country.
“There is calm, there is government, there are armed forces and there is a lot of co-ordination,” Sheinbaum said.
As news of El Mencho’s death spread, members of his cartel launched attacks in many towns and cities where the CJGN is active.
In some towns, they blocked roads by throwing spikes and nails on to the tarmac – in others, they commandeered buses and other vehicles then torched them in the middle of the road.
Sheinbaum said that the road blocks had been cleared by Monday morning.
However, dozens of banks and local businesses have been damaged after they were set alight by cartel members.
[BBC]
More than 5,000 flights cancelled as US east coast digs out of record snow
Pakistan bat vs unchanged England with Afridi back
Navy seize an Indian fishing boat poaching in Mannar seas
Fair weather will prevail except for showers in the Southern province and in Rathnapura, Monaragala and Kaluthara districts after 2.00 p.m
Families of those sentenced to death for killing MP Atukorale seek AKD’s intervention
OPV leaves Baltimore, expected in Colombo in May
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
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