Latest News

Rocky Flintoff becomes youngest England Under-19s centurion

Published

2 years ago

2024/07/19

Priyan

Rocky Flintoff became the youngest England Under-19s centurion [ECB]

Rocky Flintoff staged a record-breaking performance as England continued to call the shots on day three of the second Youth Men’s Test against Sri Lanka at Cheltenham.

Watched by his father, former England all-rounder Andrew, the 16-year-old became the youngest player to score a hundred for England Under-19s, raising an impressive 106 to help the Young Lions post 477 and establish a first-innings lead of 324.

Flintoff junior, who signed his first professional contract with Lancashire only last month, faced 181 balls, struck nine fours and two sixes, and added 78 for the sixth wicket in partnership with Jack Carney, ensuring England went way past Sri Lanka’s first-innings 153.

Although the tourists made a better fist of batting in their second innings, they still face an uphill battle to save the game after reaching the close on 246 for 7, still 78 runs in arrears. Mahith Perera made 61 and Dinuru Kalupahana 40 in adding 88 for the fifth wicket, but Harry Moore and Farhan Ahmed both took 2 for 41 as the home side reasserted their superiority.

If England’s intention at the start of the day was to raise the rate of scoring and increase the pressure on Sri Lanka, then they met those twin requirements in a morning session which yielded a further 76 runs in 22 overs.

Looking to push the score along, Carney fell prey to misjudgment, pushing a ball from Vihas Thewmika into the off side and setting off for a single, only to be run out by the lightning-quick reactions of Thisara Ekanayake. England’s wicketkeeper had contributed 29 runs in a valuable stand of 78 in 24 overs for the sixth wicket with Flintoff, helping to see off the threat of the new ball.

Flintoff went to his hundred from 178 deliveries when pushing a ball from Chanthuka to mid-off and completing a hurried single, raising his bat in mid-leap, punching the air in celebration and bringing an appreciative Festival audience to their feet.

Although he showed glimpses of his prodigious talent, Flintoff’s innings was characterised by watchfulness as he put the interests of his team first. His languid style might give the impression of a laidback approach, but his stoical innings was forged upon determination and concentration.

Attempting to accelerate, Flintoff holed out to long-on off the bowling of Praveen Maneesha for 106, at which point England’s lead was already in excess of 300.

Moore raised a useful 24 off 42 balls, including a four and two sixes, before being caught in the deep off the bowling of Praveen Maneesha, while Thewmika accounted for tailenders Ahmed and Charlie Barnard in quick succession to wrap up the innings. Sri Lanka’s bowlers stuck to their task in challenging circumstances, spinners Thewmika and Maneesha returning figures of 3 for 82 and 3 for 112 respectively to limit the damage.

Finding conditions less to their liking in the second innings, England’s bowlers were made to graft hard on a surface that had flattened out considerably since the first day. But they still managed to make important in-roads with pace spearhead Moore playing a key role.

Building up a head of steam from the College Lawn end, the 17-year-old Derbyshire prospect had Pulindu Perera held at first slip with the score on 48 and then used his 6ft5in to good effect, plucking a superb catch from out of the sky at mid-off to dismiss Sharujan Shanmuganathan off the bowling of Noah Thain.

Fellow quick Naavya Sharma then struck an important blow shortly before tea, having first-innings hero Gayana Weerasinghe caught at slip as Sri Lanka slipped to 104 for 3. England turned to spin in the final session and Ekanayake nicked a delivery from Charlie Barnard to slip and departed for a 127-ball 39 with the score on 128.

Just when it was most needed, Perera and Kalupahana summoned defiance, the fifth-wicket pair adding 88 to put a temporary dampener on English ambition. Playing fluently under pressure, Perera raised an eye-catching 50 from 57 balls with nine fours and a six, but Kalupahana was 10 runs short of the same landmark when spinner Farhan Ahmed located an edge and Thain took a fine catch at slip to send back the Sri Lanka captain.

Moore induced Perera to pull straight to mid-wicket in the next over and, when Diniru Abeywickramasinghe was caught behind off the bowling of Ahmed shortly before the close, the tourists were 236 for 7 and in deep trouble.

Brief scores:
Sri Lanka Under-19s 153 and 246 for 7 in 74 overs (Thisara Ekanayake 39, Mahith Perera 61, Dinura Kalupahana 40; Harry Moore 2-41, Farhan Ahmed 2-41) trail England Under-19s 477 in 138.1 overs (Jaydn Denly 91, Hamza Shaikh 107, Rocky Flintoff 106, Keshana Fonseka 76, Jack Carney 29, Harry Moore 24; Vihas Thewmika 3-82, Manuja Chanthuka 2-75, Praveen Maneesha 3-112) by 78 runs

[Cricinfo]

All News Advertisement

Latest News

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

Published

20 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]

Latest News

Trump at a crossroad in US-Israel war with Iran

Published

1 day 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)

Latest News

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

1 day 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.