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Zadran 177, Omarzai five-wicket haul knock England out
The politicians hadn’t wanted this game to go ahead, but who could have wished to deny the scenes of raw euphoria that unfolded in Lahore, as Afghanistan completed the double they had set in motion at the 2023 World Cup and dumped England out of the Champions Trophy in a wildly undulating, anxious scramble for glory.
Eight runs was the margin when – with Mark Wood hobbled and all the recognised batters gone – Adil Rashid swung for the hills off the penultimate ball of the match and picked out the man of the hour, Ibrahim Zadran, whose take in front of the dug-out was completed with the same coolness with which he had compiled his exceptional knock of 177 from 146 balls – an innings that had simply been too good to fail.
Much the same could have been said for England’s main man of their 326-run chase, Joe Root, whose 120 from 111 balls was his 17th in the ODI format but, remarkably, his first since the 2019 World Cup. Had he had a bit more support, and had he not been racked with cramp going into the final push, his run-a-ball tempo might have been more than sufficient to seize the day. Instead, he was undone by an effort ball from the indefatigable Azmatulllah Omarazi, whose five-wicket haul followed a priceless knock of 41 from 31 balls that had helped to pull his own team out of a tailspin.
Speaking straight afterwards, a shell-shocked Jos Buttler insisted he would not be making any “emotional” statements about his future as captain, but acknowledged the fundamental lack of confidence that had contributed to his team’s downfall.
After Afghanistan had opted to bat first, Jofra Archer’s three-wicket powerplay onslaught should by rights have settled the contest there and then. And yet, from 37 for 3 in the ninth over, Zadran and his captain Hashmatullah Shahidi focussed solely on survival until the point that their 103-run fourth-wicket stand had, almost imperceptibly, transformed itself into a platform for a thrillingly smooth acceleration.
Ultimately Afghanistan’s scorecard told the exact tale of their innings. Three single-figure scores at the top – for a combined total of 14 runs from 28 balls – then a trio of 40s, at ever increasing tempos, from Shahidi, Omarzai and the forty-something himself, Mohammad Nabi, whose 24-ball onslaught was a typically ageless display from a player who has been on every step of this Afghanistan journey, right from their exploratory tour of England as a de facto club side way back in 2006.
And then, underpinning it all, a performance of rare majesty from Zadran, whose sixth hundred in 35 ODI innings was not only the highest by an Afghan in the format, but the best in Champions Trophy history, trumping the 165 that Ben Duckett had posted against Australia in the previous fixture at Lahore.
It was a controlled explosion of an innings, and one of the most impressive ODI performances that can ever have been compiled. Zadran showed the tenacity to hang tough while England’s quicks were dominating the early exchanges, but after reaching his first fifty from 65 balls, he marched through to his hundred from 41 more, then clattered along at a near 200 strike-rate thereafter.
By the time he holed out to square leg at the start of the 50th over, Zadran had worked his way so smoothly through the gears that England had been left with scarcely any agency in their predicament. This was summed up when Wood, who had already spent 38 minutes off the field after his left knee gave way midway through his fourth over, was forced to leave the field once again, this time for good and with two overs of his allocation unused.
It had been a typically masochistic effort from Wood, whose willingness to bust a gut for the cause has never been in doubt. But England’s desperation to get him back into the fray there epitomised their threadbare resources. In a throwback to the sort of bit-part tactics that dominated ODI cricket in the 1980s and 1990s, Joe Root and Liam Livingstone had been charged with cobbling together 12 overs between them. But when, with nowhere else to turn, Root’s offspin was served up to the hard-swinging Nabi, two massive leg-side sixes ensued in a 23-run 47th over.
Not even Archer could stem the tide. He’d already been crashed for a six and three fours by Zadran, now in overdrive, who then launched a slower ball in Archer’s final over over long-on to seize Duckett’s record.
England’s target of 326 was daunting but not insurmountable, as they themselves had discovered on this same ground on Saturday night, when their own hefty total of 351 for 8 had been hunted down by Australia with 15 balls to spare. And yet, it was close to double the sort of target that England might at one stage had envisioned.
The scoreboard pressure was quickly brought to bear. Phil Salt started with a confident thump for four that telegraphed the trueness of the surface, but then lost his off bail as he tried to pull a skiddy length ball from Omarzai. And though Jamie Smith is undoubtedly a name for the future, it’s debatable whether he is the No.3 for the present. Certainly his dismissal was guileless in the extreme: a no-look gallop at the irrepressible Nabi, who skidded his offbreak through a touch quicker, to claim a wicket with the first ball of his spell for the third ODI in a row.
Where there was Root, there was hope, as he and Duckett set about rebuilding the innings much as they had done from an identical starting point against Australia. But after what ought to have been a costly drop from Shahidi at mid-off, when Duckett had 29, Rashid Khan stepped up with a skiddier full length, and sent his man on his way via DRS, just nine runs later.
The errors thereafter came with wearying inevitability. Harry Brook looked a million dollars for his first 20 balls, then got caught in two minds as he popped a tame return catch to Nabi for 25, whereupon Buttler – a player whose form seems so overwhelmingly dominated by his mindset – barely survived his first 12 runs before finally landing a slap for six to seemingly ignite his stay. But then, after one more slog-sweep for six off Nabi, Buttler was undone by Omarzai’s energetic lengths, as he spliced a pull straight to midwicket for 38.
Now it was all on Root. For the first 90-odd balls of his innings, England’s anchorman might as well have been on a serene stroll in Iqbal Park, with his innings scarcely deviating from a run-a-ball tempo. But then, after reaching his 50 from 50 and his hundred from 98, he felt the early onset of cramp, and with 58 still required from six overs, he inverted his stance into a Buttler-style ramp, and pinged his only six over the keeper’s head.
But it was too much to ask for Root to walk the innings home. He kept looking for the angles, and found one final sublime deflection for four through backward square, but at the precise moment at which Afghanistan’s own innings had gone into overdrive, he attempted a flick over deep third off another skidder Omarzai lifter, and was sent on his way via a scuff of the gloves to the keeper.
Jamie Overton seemed to have got the memo with the long-levered finish that he had so long promised but rarely delivered, but having brought the chase within reach with 32 from 28 balls, he attempted another takedown and found long-on with 17 still needed. And though Jofra Archer seemed to be riding his luck with an under-edge for four and a sprawling reprieve at deep cover, he was unable to close it out either. Thirteen from eight was needed when he flung his hands through an Omarzai slower ball, for Nabi in the deep to make no mistake.
Minutes later, it was all done and dusted. Afghanistan march onto what could have been another politically charged showdown with Australia, with a place in the semi-finals at stake, having already crushed the hopes of their new favourite tournament bunnies. Irrespective of the situation in their homeland, a remarkable set of players have once again epitomised the hope and escapism in tough times that only sport can provide.
Brief scores:
Afghanistan 325 for 7 in 50 overs (Ibrahim Zadran 177, Azmatullah Omarzai 41,Hashmatullah Shahidi 40, Mohammad Nabi 40; Joffra Archer 3-64, Liam Livingstone 2-28) beat England 317 in 49.5 overs (Ben Duckett 38, Harry Brook 25, Joe Root 120, Joss Buttler 38, Jamie Overton 32; Azmatullah Omarzai 5-58, Mohammad Nabi 2-57) by eight runs
[Cricinfo]
Aiden Markram, Laura Wolvaardt and Simon Harmer were the biggest winners at the Cricket South Africa (CSA) Awards 2026, picking up the highest individual honours after stellar seasons across formats. Fast bowler Lungi Ngidi and wicketkeeper-batter Quinton de Kock also went home with multiple awards.
Harmer, 37, was named Test Player of the Year after spearheading South Africa’s red-ball attack during the awards cycle, between April 2025 and 2026. The offspinner enjoyed a prolific return in this period, where he took 30 wickets in four matches. After taking eight wickets in the Rawalpindi Test against Pakistan to help draw the series, he led South Africa to a famous series sweep against India with match hauls of 8 for 51 and 9 for 101 in Kolkata and Guwahati respectively.
Wolvaardt, meanwhile, continued to set the benchmark in women’s cricket. South Africa’s captain was named the Women’s Player of the Year, SA Women’s Players’ Player of the Year and Women’s ODI Player of the Year, completing the awards sweep. Across the eligibility period, she piled up runs in all conditions and played a key role in South Africa’s run to the ODI World Cup final in 2025, finishing as the top scorer of the tournament with 571 runs at an average of 71.37, including centuries in the semi-final and final. Wolvaardt was South Africa’s leading run-scorer in the ODI series in New Zealand before dominating the home T20I series against India, where she scored 330 runs in five matches and was named Player of the Series.
The biggest winner among the men’s all-format awards was Markram, who claimed both the SA Men’s Player of the Year and SA Men’s Players’ Player of the Year awards, after a season in which he led South Africa to major success across formats, most noticeably in the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia last year.
Ngidi, meanwhile, collected the Men’s T20 International Player of the Year award and the SA Fans’ Player of the Year prize. His dismissal of Jos Buttler during South Africa’s second ODI against England was also voted the Best Men’s Delivery of the year.
Matthew Breetzke’s breakthrough campaign earned him the Men’s ODI International Player of the Year award, while Dewald Brevis and Kayla Reyneke were recognised as the International Men’s and Women’s Newcomers of the Year, respectively.
The SA20 awards reflected the competition’s standout performers. De Kock, the tournament’s leading run-scorer, was named both SA20 Batter of the Season and Betway SA20 Player of the Season (MVP). Ottneil Baartman collected the SA20 Bowler of the Season award after finishing as the leading wicket-taker, while Jordan Hermann was named SA20 Rising Star of the Season.
Among the domestic awards, Kyle Simmonds and Mignon du Preez were named the men’s and women’s Most Valuable Players, while Robin Peterson, JP Triegaardt and Sandile Masengemi received the top coaching honours in their respective competitions.
CSA also recognised contributions beyond performances on the field. Arno Jacobs was named CSA Umpires’ Umpire of the Year, Lubabalo Gcuma received the CSA Umpire of the Year award, and Sinalo Jafta was presented with the Makhaya Ntini Power of Cricket Award.
[Cricinfo]
The United States said it had launched fresh strikes against Iran on Wednesday evening as President Donald Trump warned Tehran it “better behave”.
The US military said “Iranian military capabilities used to threaten vessels” moving through the Strait of Hormuz had been targeted, and that it had separately fired on a ship attempting to violate its renewed blockade of Iran’s ports.
It came after Iran claimed it had struck US military targets in the region, including in Bahrain and Kuwait, as a fifth day of renewed hostilities strained their preliminary deal to end the war.
Iran’s top negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, meanwhile told state media Tehran had “no reason” to abide by the deal if it did benefit from it.
Trump had threatened late on Tuesday to attack bridges and power plants should Iran not return to talks next week.
Asked by reporters late on Wednesday whether he would give a deadline before doing so, he responded: “I don’t like giving deadlines, but they pretty much know, they know the story… they better behave.”
He later told delegates at a defence summit that Iran was “not happy right now”.
“They want to settle so badly. They don’t like what we’re doing,” he said. “We’ll find out whether we want to settle with them or if we just finish it off.”
Ghalibaf however said Iran’s national security depended on Tehran maintaining “Iranian arrangements” in the strait.
He added that negotiation – along with war – was part of Iran’s strategy of resistance as it engaged an “existential” conflict with the US.
The escalation in Trump’s rhetoric came after he said a 20% toll he had threatened to impose in the Strait of Hormuz would be replaced by “massive” trade and investment deals with Gulf states.
A previous threat by Trump to bomb Iran’s civilian infrastructure, which was made in April, drew condemnation at the time from UN human rights chief Volker Türk, who said: “Under international law, deliberately attacking civilians and civilian infrastructure is a war crime.”
The latest US strikes marked the second wave its military said it had carried out during daylight hours on Wednesday. It said it had “further degraded Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz” earlier in the day.
A 90-minute wave was used to target Iran’s coastal defences and cruise missile storage and launch sites on Greater Tunb Island, US Central Command (Centcom) added.
Centcom also said it had redirected two commercial vessels since reimposing its blockade on Iranian ports on Tuesday evening, which stops vessels from transiting to and from Iranian ports and coastal areas.
The blockade had previously been lifted as part of a deal that was struck by the two countries last month – known as a memorandum of understanding – that aimed to end the months-long conflict.
However, a dispute over the strait has become a key point of contention.
In response to the renewal of the US blockade, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned the US that it should “expect the closure of other oil and gas export routes that serve the interests of the United States and its allies”. It did not elaborate on which routes could be affected.
Ongoing US-Iran hostilities have underscored the strategic importance of the Strait to the global economy, with a sharp rise in oil prices triggered by tanker traffic virtually stalling through the key shipping lane.
[BBC]
Lautaro Martinez scored a 92nd-minute winner as Lionel Messi inspired World Cup holders Argentina to a stunning comeback to beat England 2-1 and set up a final with European football champions Spain.
England had been on course to reach their first FIFA World Cup final since 1966 after Anthony Gordon fired them into the lead 10 minutes into the second half of the semifinal in front of 68,239 fans in Atlanta on Wednesday.
The great rivalry between these nations has produced several memorable contests on the World Cup stage through the years, and this will be remembered as the stuff of legends in Argentina as the South Americans denied England with two late sucker punches.
Messi set up Enzo Fernandez to fire in an 85th-minute equaliser, and then, with extra time looming, crossed for substitute Lautaro Martinez to head in the winner in the second minute of stoppage time.
It was maybe not quite up there with Diego Maradona’s legendary display in putting England to the sword in 1986, but the goals this time brought Argentina back from the dead and kept alive their hopes of winning back-to-back World Cups.
No team has retained the trophy since Brazil in 1962, and now, Messi will become just the second player after Brazilian great Cafu to appear in three World Cup finals. Italy are the only other side to defend a World Cup crown.
The 2026 final will take place at New York New Jersey Stadium in New Jersey on Sunday, as the first 48-team World Cup boils down to a confrontation between the reigning champions of Europe and South America.
Messi had waited until the age of 39 to get the chance to play against England, and he will now face Spain for the first time in a competitive game.
His career appeared to be complete when he dragged Argentina to glory in 2022 in Qatar, but he is clearly not done yet.
England, though, will have huge regrets as they head to Miami to play France in Saturday’s third-place playoff, a game neither team will want to contest.
The prospect of a first World Cup final appearance since their sole triumph 60 years ago was a momentous one, and they were so close, but will live to regret sitting back after Gordon’s opener.
Given the deep-rooted rivalry between these nations, this was always likely to be a game with an edge, and there was a palpable sense of tension at Atlanta Stadium.
Argentina’s players were clearly fired up, partly by a determination to hold onto their World Cup crown but also by a sense of what this fixture means.
That translated into a niggly contest, pockmarked by fouls in the first half, including Elliot Anderson being booked for scything down Messi.
There were no real chances to speak of in the first half, but England struck in the 55th minute.
Kane was involved in the buildup as the ball eventually came to Morgan Rogers on the right, and he whipped in a low cross towards the back post where Gordon stole in front of Nahuel Molina to score.
But this was the stadium where Argentina produced a stunning comeback from 2-0 down to beat Egypt in the last 16, and they were not done.
They threw everything at their opponents, as Jordan Pickford made a great save from a Nico Gonzalez header, and Alexis Mac Allister was then denied by the post in the 76th minute.
Fernandez was denied from range by Pickford, but moments later, he equalised, controlling a Messi pass on the edge of the area and letting fly past the goalkeeper.
Argentina smelled blood, and Mac Allister again hit the post before England failed to clear, and Martinez headed in the winner from an exquisite Messi cross to spark chaotic scenes of celebration and leave England completely deflated.
[Aljazeera]
The key men for Thomas Tuchel’s side during this campaign have been Jude Bellingham and captain Harry Kane, yet they failed to deliver on this occasion, and England’s players slumped to the turf at full-time.
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