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Sri Lanka confirm Group A semi-final spot, Netherlands push for top finish in Group B
Tournament favourites, Sri Lanka, confirmed their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier Group A semi-final spot with a dominant, 67-run victory over Uganda at Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi, while the Netherlands dashed Zimbabwe’s hopes of semi-final contention, with a hard-fought, 14-run win at Tolerance Oval in Wednesday’s afternoon matches.
Opener Vishmi Gunaratne (player of the match) and the Sri Lankan spinners were the stars for the table-toppers from Group A. Netherlands produced a solid, all-round performance with captain Babette de Leede, leading from the front and producing a player-of-the-match-winning performance with the bat in their crucial Group B encounter, which kept their semi-final hopes alive, while ending Zimbabwe’s.
Zimbabwe vs Netherlands
Opting to bat first, Netherlands lost key batter Iris Zwilling early to a direct hit at the non-striker’s end by Pellagia Mujaji, but Sterre Kalis and de Leede rebuilt with a watchful stand.
The partnership began slowly as Netherlands ambled to 29 in the first six overs. Kalis opened up with back-to-back fours off Josephine Nkomo and looked in ominous touch.
Sharne Mayers was brought into the attack in the 13th over and struck off her first delivery, cleaning up de Leede for 37 to break the stand.
Francis Chipare doubled it up with the wicket of Kalis two overs later, trapping her in front for 34 off 37 balls.
Netherlands added 42 runs in the last five overs with Robine Rijke leading the charge. She remained unbeaten on 39 off 25 balls to give the innings the late push it badly needed.
In reply, Modester Mupachikwa led Zimbabwe’s fight at the top but Netherlands struck at the other end, sending back three batters inside the Powerplay.
Frederique Overdijk, Silver Siegers and Zwilling took a wicket apiece as Zimbabwe were reduced to 29/3. Caroline de Lange added another scalp to the tally after the Powerplay, sending Ashley Ndiraya back to the hut for three.
Nkomo and Mupachikwa resurrected the innings with a solid partnership but with Netherlands maintaining impeccable discipline with the ball, the runs were not coming as quickly as they would have wanted.
Zimbabwe needed 52 in the last five overs to win, but could only manage 37 more and finished on 121/4, despite the Nkomo-Mupachikwa stand remaining unbeaten.
Netherland’s triumph today makes it two in three games in the tournament so far.
Sri Lanka vs Uganda
A career-best T20I knock from Vishmi Gunaratne and a brilliant bowling effort led Sri Lanka to a massive win in Group A of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier.
The opening stand began with a bang for Sri Lanka as Chamari Athapaththu and Gunaratne completed their fifty-run partnership from 45 balls. It was brought to a screeching halt by Janet Mbabazi who removed Athapaththu for 24 off 21.
Harshitha Madavi was run out shortly afterwards, but Gunaratne found support from Hasini Perera, who came in at number four. Gunaratne completed her half-century from 51 deliveries, with Perera being the aggressor at the other end. The latter was eventually dismissed for 30 off 24 balls in the 18th over.
Gunaratne finished on an unbeaten 73 off 64 balls, her highest score in T20Is, leading Sri Lanka to a formidable 154/4 in 20 overs.
In the chase, Sri Lanka were all over Uganda in no time, reducing them to 22/2 inside the Powerplay.
Inoka Ranaweera stepped into the attack immediately after the Powerplay and struck twice in two deliveries, limiting Uganda to 22/4. Left-arm wrist spinner, Shashini Gimhani, also took a wicket in her first over, leaving Uganda five wickets down inside 10 overs with 35 runs on the board.
Prosscovia Alako resisted Sri Lanka’s charge but scarcely found support from the other end as wickets kept tumbling. She made 36 in 32 balls and was the seventh batter dismissed.
Kavisha Dilhari saw off the last two wickets from successive deliveries in the final over and Uganda were bundled out for 87, handing Sri Lanka a satisfactory victory.
With the 67-run win, Sri Lanka continue their unbeaten streak in the tournament with three wins out of three in Group A.
Scores in brief:
Match 13:
Netherlands beat Zimbabwe by 14 runs
Netherlands 135 for 6 in 20 overs (Robin Rijke 39 not out, Babette De Leede 37, Sterre Kalis 34; Francisca Chipare 2-27)
Zimbabwe 121 for 4 in 20 overs (Josephine Nkomo 39 not out, Modester Mupachikwa 39 not out; Caroline De Lange 1-17, Iris Zwilling 1-19)
Player of the Match – Babette De Leede
Match 14:
Sri Lanka beat Uganda by 67 runs
Sri Lanka 154 for 4 in 20 overs (Vishmi Gunaratne 73 not out, Hasini Perera 30; Janet Mbabazi 1-19)
Uganda 87 all out in 19.2 overs (Prosscovia Alako 36; Inoka Ranaweera 2-10, Shashini Gimhani 2-23, Kavisha Dilhari 2-27)
Player of the Match – Vishmi Gunaratne
(ICC)
It is understood the ICC has told the BCB to inform the Bangladesh government that if Bangladesh continues to refuse to travel to India to play its matches in the 2026 T20 World Cup, then they will be replaced by another team at the tournament. That decision was followed by a vote, where the majority of the ICC Board was in favour of having a replacement.
BCB have been given one more day to come back to the ICC on its stance on playing in India.
If that is the case, then Scotland is likely to replace Bangladesh in Group C at the World Cup. Scotland had failed to qualify for the 2026 T20 World Cup, having finished behind Netherlands, Italy and Jersey at the European Qualifier.
[Cricinfo]
Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya participated in a high-level dialogue titled “Tourism as Soft Power and Diplomatic Capital” held at the Euronews Hub, Piz Buin Davos, on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum on January 20.
The session explored how tourism functions as a strategic instrument of diplomacy by strengthening international trust, cultural exchange, and regional cooperation through mobility and people-to-people engagement. The Prime Minister shared the panel with Mr. Kuban Omiraliyev, Secretary General of the Organization of Turkic States and Mr. Meshari Alnahar – CEO Aseer Investment Company, Saudi Arabia.
Addressing global trends, the Prime Minister emphasized that Sri Lanka is an example of hope, recovery and resilience in a world of conflict demonstrating how tourism can play a critical role in a changing global environment particularly amid climate shocks, geopolitical instability, and uneven economic recovery. She noted that tourism is not only an economic sector but also a vital diplomatic bridge that supports livelihoods, builds relationships and connects people.
Drawing on Sri Lanka’s recent experience, she highlighted the country’s strong tourism recovery despite multiple crises, including the impact of Cyclone Ditwah. Transparent crisis management and strategic engagement with international partners helped sustain visitor confidence, resulting in record tourist arrivals even in challenging circumstances.
The Prime Minister also underscored the importance of green and climate friendly tourism infrastructure and underlined that Sri Lanka welcomes long term investment in tourism. She pointed out that tourism supports millions of jobs worldwide and that inclusive policies are essential to ensure fair opportunities, particularly for women and vulnerable communities.
[Prime Minister’s Media Division]
Harry Brook admits he was fortunate to keep his job as white-ball captain following a latte night alteraction with a nightclub bouncer in New Zealand, and says he is in the process of regaining the trust of his team.
Brook, now in Sri Lanka for England’s ODI series which gets underway on Thursday, was speaking for the first time since news broke that he had been disciplined for the incident in Wellington in October, for which he was fined £30,000 and put on a final warning for his off-field conduct.
“Obviously I made a terrible mistake,” Brook said. “Not only as a player, but as a captain. It’s very unprofessional and I should be leading from the front. “I’ve learnt from my mistakes, I’ve reflected a lot on what’s happened and I know it wasn’t the right thing to do. I want to say sorry to my team-mates, to all the fans that travel far and wide to watch, spend a lot of money on coming out to watch us play cricket and supporting us, and to the ECB for putting them in a tricky situation, and it’ll never happen again. I’m extremely sorry.”
Brook, along with a number of other England players, had been out drinking the night before the third ODI against New Zealand, with the match the final competitive fixture for England before the Ashes began three weeks later.
Brook, who says he then went on his own to a nightclub, says he was “clocked” by a bouncer when attempting to get in.
“We went out for a couple of drinks beforehand and then I took it upon myself to go out for a few more and I was on my own there,” Brook said. “I was trying to get into a club and the bouncer just clocked me, unfortunately. Like I said, I shouldn’t have been in that situation from the start. I wasn’t absolutely leathered, I’d had one too many drinks.”
Brook reported his actions to the management mid-game the next day, and came close to being sacked from his position as captain as a result.
“It was definitely going through my mind,” Brook said of the potential that he would lose his job, before adding that he had not at any stage considered resigning. “Never came into my mind. I left that decision to the hierarchy and, look, if they’d have sacked me from being captain, then I’d have been perfectly fine with it, as long as I was still playing cricket for England.
“Probably, yeah,” he added, when asked if he felt lucky to keep his job. “I think I’ve got a little bit of work to do to try and regain the trust of the players. I said sorry to them yesterday. I felt like I needed to say sorry for my actions. It’s not acceptable as a player, but as a captain it’s really not acceptable to do what I did in New Zealand. I’ll be the first person to say that. I hold my hands up.”
In the aftermath of the incident, which was kept private by England until after the Ashes had concluded, Brook sought help from Test captain Ben Stokes, who himself was involved in a high-profile nightclub fight in 2018.
“He obviously wasn’t best pleased at what I’d done,” Brook said. “But he tried to help me through it and he knows exactly what it feels like to be in this situation. We had a few conversations, but we quickly moved on.”
The news broke amid allegations of a drinking culture in English cricket, after players were regularly seen drinking alcohol during England’s tour of Australia.
“No, there’s no drinking culture at all,” Brook said. “Like I said, everybody has the ability to say no. If you want a drink, if you don’t want a drink, you’re allowed to make that decision yourself.
“It wasn’t just drinking [in Australia]. We weren’t just going out and getting leathered every day. We were having a few drinks here and there. We were playing plenty of golf, going to nice cafes, having coffees but we had a few drinks here and there. I don’t think that’s a bad thing. It’s just what human beings do.”
Despite this, England have introduced a curfew for their tour of Sri Lanka, with playing staff not allowed out past midnight.
“That’s been made as a group decision,” Brook said. “We think that it’s the best thing going forward, for the time being, to be able to put us in situations where we can win games of cricket and perform to the best of our ability.”
England play three ODIs against Sri Lanka, starting on Thursday in Colombo, before playing three T20Is ahead of next month’s World Cup. England have struggled of late in the 50-over format, losing 11 of their past 15 matches. That poor run of form will add extra pressure to the position of head coach Brendon McCullum, whom Brook threw his support behind, calling him “the best head coach I’ve had by a million miles”.
England have made a number of changes to their team since their last outing against New Zealand three months ago, with the return of Zak Crawley to the top of the order the most noticeable change. Crawley replaces Jamie Smith as opener, and will play his first List A game in over two years, having last played for England in December 2023. Elsewhere, Liam Dawson has been selected as the second spinner to accompany Adil Rashid in the middle-overs.
England : Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook (capt), Jos Buttler (wk), Will Jacks, Sam Curran, Jamie Overton, Liam Dawson, Adil Rashid
[Cricinfo]
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