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The Men’s 100: Promoted Jamie Smith hands Rockets season’s first defeat
London Spirit held off the charge of Trent Rockets under lights at Lord’s to register their second win and throw The Hundred men’s competition wide open.
The win takes them into a five-way tie at the top, while for Rockets, their hopes of peeling off a third consecutive run-chase to go outright top were dashed as Spirit held their nerve to clinch it by 21 runs.
Despite the final winning margin, at the midway point of the Rockets’ chase the game was beautifully poised. Tom Banton and Joe Root had carved out 69 for the first wicket, with Banton having just launched Dan Worrall for an 89-metre six.
But when Jamie Overton removed Banton in eccentric fashion, the opener angling a dab onto his own stumps to depart for 46, Spirit got to work. The next set, delivered by Worrall, swung the game decisively – David Willey and then Rehan Ahmed falling in the space of three balls, the latter clean-bowled by a beautiful away cutter.
Five balls later, when Root mistimed his sweep shot against Liam Dawson to fall for 27, the Rockets had lost four wickets in 14 deliveries, all but ending their chances of hauling in a record chase at Lord’s in the Hundred. Some muscular hitting from Marcus Stoinis at the death was too little too late.
Spirit’s pace attack of Overton, Worrall, Luke Wood and Richard Gleeson, who sent down this year’s fastest tournament delivery to date – a 94.1mph yorker – hunted brilliantly as a pack.
With the bat, Jamie Smith was the star man for Spirit. Promoted to open he was irresistible, going to his half-century in 32 balls and sharing a 73-run partnership with Kane Williamson, the pair laying the platform for Ashton Turner to pump a quickfire 16-ball 30 at the death.
Meerkat Match Hero Smith said: “It’s been difficult at times at home for us, so to come out here and get a win here in front of a fantastic crowd is really important and steps us on for the next few games we’ve got coming up here.
“Our seamers took the pace off, and we used the ground dimensions really nicely, and most importantly we kept taking wickets, which stemmed the flow for them.
“It’s nice to get some runs, especially on a new ground and playing for a new team. It’s good to start well, and we’ve got a quality team. I just need to keep building the relationships with the guys at the top of the order, David Warner and Kane Williamson, and the players we’ve got throughout.”
Brief scores:
London Spirit 162 for 5 in 100 balls (Jamie Smith 52, Kane Williamson 45, Ashton Turner 30, Ollie Pope 17; Sam Cook 1-36, Lockie Ferguson 1-38, Marcus Stoinis 2-27, Rehan Ahmed 1-20) beat Trent Rockets 141 for 6 in 100 balls (Tom Banton 46, Joe Root 27, David Willey 11, Marcus Stoinis 35; Daniel Worrall 2-32, Richard Gleeson 2-36, Liam Dawson 1-30, Jamie Overton 1-14) by 21 runs
[Cricinfo]
A discussion with the Catholic Council was held on Thursday (21) afternoon at the Presidential Secretariat under the co-chairmanship of Minister of Science and Technology, Chrishantha Abeysena and Secretary to the President Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake.
Discussions focused on administrative issues relating to Catholic schools taken over by the Government, the formulation of a structured teacher cadre system for Catholic religious education, the need to recruit Catholic nuns and priests into the teaching profession and the establishment of a mechanism to obtain the support of the Ministry of Education for the administration of Government-acquired Catholic schools.
It was also decided that discussions with the Catholic Council would be held three times annually, while Senior Additional Secretary to the President Roshan Gamage would serve as Secretary to the forum.
Expressing appreciation on behalf of the Catholic Council, His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith thanked President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and the Government for facilitating the discussion.
His Eminence further stated that the expectation was to ensure every student, without discrimination, is given the opportunity to learn his or her own religion and stressed the importance of resolving the prevailing issues within the education sector.
Also present at the occasion were Most Rev. Bishop Harold Anthony Perera, Most Rev. Bishop Christy Noel Emmanuel, Most Rev. Bishop Anton Ranjith, Most Rev. Bishop Wimal Siri Jayasuriya, other clergy representing the Catholic Council, Secretary to the Ministry of Education, Nalaka Kaluwewa and senior officials of the Ministry of Education.
(PMD)
Italian Navy’s ITS GIOVANNI DELLE BANDE NERE, which arrived in Colombo (21 May 2026) on a replenishment visit, departed the island today (22 May).
The Sri Lanka Navy bade a customary farewell to the departing ship in compliance with naval traditions at the port of Colombo.
During her brief stay in Colombo, the Commanding Officer of the ship, Commander Antonio BUFIS called on the Commander Western Naval Area at the Western Naval Command Headquarters.
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Landslide early warnings issued to the Districts of Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara, Kegalle, Nuwara Eliya and Ratnapura
The National Building Research Institute [NBRI] has issued Landslide Early Warnings to the Districts of Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara, Kegalle, Nuwara Eliya and Ratnapura valid upto 0900 AM on 23rd May 2026.
Accordingly,
LEVEL I [RED] landslide early warnings have been issued to the Divisional Secretaries Divisions and surrounding areas of Deraniyagala, Ruwanwella and Dehiowita in the Kegalle district and Ratnapura, Ayagama, Kuruwita and Eheliyagoda in the Ratnapura district.
LEVEL II [AMBER] landslide early warnings have been issued to the Divisional Secretaries Divisions and surrounding areas of Seethawaka and Padukka in the Colombo district, Attanagalla in the Gampaha district, Horana, Bulathsinhala, Ingiriya and Palindanuwara in the Kalutara district, Yatiyanthota in the Kegalle district and Pelmadulla, Kiriella, Elapatha, Kalawana and Nivithigala in the Rathnapura district.
LEVEL I [YELLOW] landslide early warnings have been issued to the Divisional Secretaries Divisions and surrounding areas of Mirigama and Divulapitiya in the Gampaha district, Agalawatta and Mathugama in the Kalutara district, Bulathkohupitiya in the Kegalle district and Ambagamuwa in the Nuwara Eliya district.
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