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South Africa hold nerve against England to continue unbeaten march towards semis

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Kagiso Rabada picked up 2 for 32 as South Africa continued their unbeaten run in the competition [ICC]

Is it too early to say it? That it looks like South Africa’s time has come.

They beat defending champions England in a thrilling encounter, overcoming several scares in Saint Lucia to remain unbeaten in the T20 World Cup 2024 and have one foot in the semi-finals.

South Africa didn’t seem to have enough runs, having scored 63 in the powerplay but only another 100 in the next 14 overs. They seemed to have got their selection slightly wrong on a slower-than-expected pitch by picking only one specialist spinner, who they had bowled out by the 13th over of England’s chase. And their quicks did not appear to have fully bought into pace-off, giving away 52 runs in three overs between the 15th and 17th over to leave England needing only 25 runs off the last 18 balls.

But then, Kagiso Rabada had Liam Livingstone caught at deep backward square off a full toss – and celebrated in his face – and he only gave away four runs in his final over. Marco Jansen sent down a phenomenal penultimate over, bowling into the pitch and taking pace off, and conceded only seven runs, leaving Anrich Nortje with 13 to defend off the last over. His first ball was hit down the ground by Harry Brook, in search of six, but Aiden Markam ran back from mid-on and took the catch over his shoulder. That was the moment the game was won but Nortje still had five deliveries and he kept it together, bowling full, and restricting England to six runs in the 20th over.

The drama aside, England may not too be unhappy after the close defeat. Their spinners Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid were impressive, taking 2 for 45 in 7 overs; Reece Topley conceded only 23 in his four overs; and Harry Brook brought up his first T20 World Cup fifty. The shot selection from the top order may come under scrutiny but with a positive net run-rate and a game against the USA to come, England will still fancy their chances of reaching the semi-finals.

England’s planning against Quinton de Kock was spot on as they chose to open the bowling with Reece Topley and Moeen Ali, both of whom have had the better of de Kock in the past. Topley had dismissed him four times in six meetings, and Moeen six times in 15, but neither got the early breakthrough in this game. Instead, de Kock opened the boundary count with a four and a six down the ground off Moeen and then punished Jofra Archer with a series of pick-up shots over the leg-side. Archer’s opening over cost 21 and de Kock scored 17 of them, including successive sixes. De Kock went on to bring up fifty off 22 balls, equalling Aaron Jones for the fastest half century of the tournament,  but could have been out two overs later, on 58, when he slog-swept an Adil Rashid googly to deep backward square. Mark Wood had to reach forward to take the catch, which appeared clean until TV umpire Joel Wilson determined the ball had burst through his fingers and hit the ground.

De Kock added just seven more runs before Archer got his revenge. He banged in a short, slower ball, de Kock edged and Jos Buttler leapt one-handed to his left and hung on to a humdinger. And that was the entree. Buttler’s main course came when Heinrich Klaasen, on 8, responded late to the non-striker David Miller’s call for a run, after a short ball from Wood had deflected off the wicketkeeper’s pad towards short fine leg. Klaasen was slow between the wickets and Buttler pounced, showing incredible awareness and aim to throw the stumps down at the non-striker’s end with Klaasen well short.

England can catch? Hold my beer, said South Africa, as Reeza Hendricks grabbed on to the first chance they were given. Phil Salt was tempted into an aerial drive off Rabada but did not hit it as well as he hoped and Hendricks leapt two-handed to his left to hold on to a spectacular catch. Rabada should have had a second when Bairstow slashed him to deep third, but Klaasen was unable to hold on.

The drop only cost South Africa six runs due to another wonder catch. Keshav Maharaj tossed the ball up, Bairstow cut and Nortje flung himself to his right at backward point to grab a stunner. And Klaasen was able to redeem himself when Buttler tried to take Maharaj on and was caught at deep mid-wicket. None of those catches, however, compares with what Markram did in the final over when Harry Brook, set on 53, tried to hit Nortje down the ground. He ran back from mid-on and took the catch over his right shoulder; it was the final turning point in the game.

England needed 77 runs off the last six overs and with Keshav Maharaj bowled out, it was up to the seamers to defend starting with South Africa’s most experienced, Rabada. Tasked with the 15th over, Rabada bowled pace-on and conceded six first up when Liam Livingstone hit him over square leg. He ended up giving away 18 runs in the over to take some pressure off England. But it was Baartman’s third over, the 17th, which was the most disappointing from a South African perspective. He tried to find a yorker length but sent down four full tosses in a row, which Livingstone hit through cover, twice, for four and then over square leg. His fourth delivery was toe-ended without damage but a fifth full toss to end the over gave Brook another four and set the game up for a thrilling finish.

Brief scores:
South Africa 163 for 6 in 20 overs  (Quinton de Kock 65, David Miller 43; Moeen Ali 1-25, Jofra  Archer 3-40, Adil Rashid 1-20) beat  England 156 for 6 in 20 overs  (Harry Brook 53, Liam Livingstone 33; Keshav Maharaj 2-25, Kagiso Rabada 2-32, Ottneil Baartman 1-27, Anrich Nortje 1-35) by 7 runs

[Cricinfo]



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Court of Appeal dismisses Ex-IGP’s writ petition

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The Court of Appeal this [17] morning  dismissed the writ petition filed by former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Deshabandu Tennakoon, seeking an interim injunction to prevent the execution of the arrest order issued by the Matara Magistrate’s Court against him.

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Trump moves to close down Voice of America

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Voice of America launched in 1942 with a mandate to combat Nazi and Japanese propaganda [BBC]

US President Donald Trump has signed an order to strip back federally funded news organisation Voice of America, accusing it of being “anti-Trump” and “radical”.

A White House statement said the order would “ensure taxpayers are no longer on the hook for radical propaganda”, and included quotes from politicians and right-wing media criticising the broadcaster.

VOA, still primarily a radio service, was set up during World War Two to counter Nazi propaganda. It says it currently reaches hundreds of millions of people globally each week.

Mike Abramowitz, VOA’s director, said he and virtually his entire staff of 1,300 people had been put on paid leave.

Abramowitz said that the order left VOA unable to carry out its “vital mission… especially critical today, when America’s adversaries, like Iran, China, and Russia, are sinking billions of dollars into creating false narratives to discredit the United States”.

The National Press Club, a leading representative group for US journalists, said the order “undermines America’s long-standing commitment to a free and independent press”.

It added: “If an entire newsroom can be sidelined overnight, what does that say about the state of press freedom?

“An entire institution is being dismantled piece by piece. This isn’t just a staffing decision – it’s a fundamental shift that endangers the future of independent journalism at VOA.”

The president’s order targets VOA’s parent company US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which also funds non-profit entities such as Radio Free Europe and Radio Free Asia, which were originally set up to counter communism.

It tells managers to “reduce performance… to the minimum presence and function required by law”.

CBS, the BBC’s US news partner, said that VOA employees were notified in an email by Crystal Thomas, the USAGM human resources director.

A source told CBS that all freelance workers and international contractors were told there was now no money to pay them.

Emails obtained by CBS notified the bosses of Radio Free Asia and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that their federal grants had been terminated.

VOA and other stations under USAGM say they serve more than 400 million listeners. They are broadly equivalent to the BBC World Service, which is part-funded by the British government.

The Czech Republic’s Foreign Minister, Jan Lipavský, said he hoped the European Union could help keep Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty running in Prague.

He said he would ask European foreign ministers at a meeting on Monday to find ways to at least partially maintain the broadcaster’s operations.

Elon Musk, the billionaire and top adviser to Trump who has been overseeing sweeping cuts to the US government, has used his social media platform X to call for VOA to be shut down.

The US president also cut funding to several other federal agencies – including those responsible for preventing homelessness, and funding museums and libraries.

Trump was highly critical of VOA in his first term. He has recently appointed staunch loyalist Kari Lake to be a special adviser for the USAGM.

The president regularly states that mainstream media outlets are biased against him. He called CNN and MSNBC “corrupt” during a speech at the justice department.

Voice of America launched in 1942 with a mandate to combat Nazi and Japanese propaganda. Its first broadcast – made on a transmitter loaned to the US by the BBC – stated a modest purpose.

Gerald Ford, a former president, signed VOA’s public charter in 1976 to safeguard its editorial independence.

By 1994, the Broadcast Board of Governors, with oversight over non-military broadcasting, was established.

In 2013, a shift in legislation allowed VOA and affiliates to begin broadcasting in the US.

[BBC]

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Corbin Bosch served legal notice by PCB after late shift to IPL

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Corbin Bosch had initially signed up with the PSL before the IPL came calling [Cricinfo]

Corbin Bosch has been served legal notice by the PCB, alleging breach of contractual obligations, after the South Africa allrounder signed for Mumbai Indians for IPL 2025, thus pulling out of PSL 2025.

This season is the first in which the PSL will be played concurrently with the IPL: The IPL will run from March 22 to May 25, and the PSL from April 11 to May 18. Bosch had been picked by Peshawar Zalmi, in the diamond category, at the PSL draft that was held in January. But on March 8, it was announced by Mumbai Indians that he would be replacing the injured Lizaad Williams in their squad.

The PSL franchises have been keen to take some sort of action on Bosch, as they are worried it could set a precedent for players signing up with the PSL but then switching to the IPL. The idea of an outright ban on such players has also been floated in informal discussions.

A PCB statement said: “The legal notice was served through his agent, and the player has been asked to justify his actions of withdrawing from his professional and contractual commitments. The PCB management has also outlined the repercussions of his departure from the league and expects his response within the stipulated time frame. The PCB will not make any further comments on the matter.”

The statement did not specify what the time frame was for Bosch to respond.

The PCB had shifted the PSL window with a view to improve the quality and availability of overseas players whom the league would be able to sign. When the PSL was in the February-March window, it also had to compete with the SA20, ILT20 and the BPL for players. ESPN Cricinfo had reported last year when the window was changed that holding the PSL draft after the IPL auction had also been discussed, to have greater clarity about the availability of overseas players for the league. Leading into this season, the IPL auction was held in November 2024 and the PSL draft in January 2025.

The PSL draft duly attracted a large number of high-profile players, including David Warner, Daryl Mitchell, Jason Holder, Rassie van der Dussen and Kane Williamson.

[Cricinfo]

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