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The Men’s 100: Curran-Cox onslaught sees Invincibles home
A remarkable 10-ball hitting barrage from Sam Curran and Jordan Cox turned the game on its head and drove Oval Invincibles towards a crucial win against table-topping rivals Trent Rockets in The Hundred.
Chasing 171 to win, the Invincibles were just beginning to feel the pressure at 70 for 2 with 102 needed for victory from just 40 balls – ten legal balls, one strategic timeout and six sixes later they’d sailed to 121 for 1, with just 51 more required from the last 30.
It was a scarcely believable spell of sustained hitting, from Curran in the main, that thrilled the Kia Oval crowd and more or less broke the back of a chase that leaves the home side sitting pretty at the top of the table with two games to go.
Cox would end unbeaten on 58, to maintain his fantastic form, and for Curran it was 54 and the acclaim of his home crowd.
Before the Curran and Cox show it was another England man who looked set to define the day, Joe Root showing all his usual brilliance to compile a 41-ball 76 in Rockets’ imposing total.
Only Root made timing look easy, up to the point the game swung back to the hosts, although South African George Linde did give the fans some crowd-catching practice to preview the later entertainment with an eight-ball 25.
It was a vital win for Invincibles in their pursuit of the crucial first place, a finish that would secure passage straight through to the final as they look to win their third title on the bounce.
Meerkat Match Hero Sam Curran said: “When the strategic timeout happened, I was on seven off 12 or something like that, so the panic was in! I think the break came at the right time just to have a little sip of water and kind of restart again.
“But it was a huge game and a huge win. We looked at the table before this game, and with two sides on 16 points we’re really pleased to get the points tonight.
“I think it was 107 off 40 balls, and we knew in T20 or 100-ball cricket, you’re looking at hitting three or four sixes, and then before you know it we got six, seven, eight, and you’re like, ‘Wow, we’re nearly at 70 off 35 balls’.
An estimated 550,000 people took part in demonstrations across France today to protest against teaching conditions in schools, rising fuel prices and the cost of living.
Marches were largely peaceful and took place in several major French cities, including Paris, where 110,000 people attended.
“We just want to study, we just want a future” one student taking part in the protest in the capital told BBC News, while another said they were ” just trying to make things change”.
But French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said some groups “at the margins of these protests” caused the situation to “degenerate”.
According to the French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, 1200 people were arrested. Officials also reported looting in cities such as Marseille, where masked 8ntruders also entered the city hall. In Lyon, the tourist office was set on fire and shops were damaged.
French President Emmanuel Macron said any vandals and looters would be “prosecuted and punished”, while Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the leader of left-wing party La France Insoumise, said demonstrations had been calmly mobilised.
Meanwhile, firefighters are continuing to battle a blaze at Limoges City Hall after a reported break-in and arson inside the 19th-century building during protests there.
(BBC)
A large fire near a Canadian military base in Alberta has killed and injured some people, the defence minister said, without confirming the number of casualties.
The Canadian Armed Forces were working with local authorities to manage the fire and were looking into what caused it, David McGuinty said, describing the situation as “very, very active and delicate”.
Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney said on X that a “serious incident creating a major fire” had occurred, adding his “thoughts are with all the brave women and men affected”.
Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, where the fire broke out, is one of the country’s busiest military training bases.
The blaze “spread rapidly due to high winds” and had torn through the fences of the base, the Municipal District of Wainwright said.
McGuinty told reporters he “cannot recall an incident like this in recent memory”.
It is unclear when the fire broke out, but the district first posted about the incident at about 17:30 local time.
Local authorities have urged residents to avoid the area and give all emergency vehicles right of way.
(BBC)
The Asian Youth Games gold medallist who has run sub four minutes previously returned a time of 3:55.97 seconds to become the first athlete in his age category at these championships to run the distance under four minutes.
Achintha who has a personal best of 3:53.05 from last year was representing Prince College Ratnapura today.
In another impressive 1,500 m feat Tharushi Abhisheka of Lyceum International School, Wattala established a new meet record in the Under-20 Girls’ 1,500m as she returned a time of 4:34.59 seconds to win.
By the end of the second day of the meet seven new meet records had been established.
D. V. C. de Soysa (of Galewela Central College) Under-16 Boys’ Discus Throw – 55.83m.
D. G. Lahiru Achintha (of Ratnapura Kumara Vidyalaya) Under-18 Boys’ 1,500m – 3:55.97 secs.
W. P. Nethula Induwara (Rahula College, Matara) Under-14 Boys’ 100m – 11.70 seconds
K. V. R. Gayesha (Ira Handa Kotuwa Wewa Maha Vidyalaya, Polonnaruwa) Under-16 Girls’ High Jump – 1.70m
H. M. D. S. Herath (Maris Stella College, Thimbirigaskatuwa) Under-20 Boys’ Long Jump – 7.65m
P. M. Amaya Semindi (Vijitha Central College, Dikwella) Under-14 Girls’ High Jump – 1.58m
Record 1,600 students take Russian Classical Ballet examination in Sri Lanka
Half a million people join protests in France, but some turn violent
Deadly fire breaks out at Canada military base
Showers or thundershowers will occur in most parts of the island after 1.00 p.m.
Buddhist hierarchy demands prison perks for monk convicts
Debate on NCM against Speaker postponed indefinitely
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
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