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Zimbabwe outplay UAE, Sri Lanka blow away Scotland
Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka registered comfortable wins in matches seven and eight of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier in Abu Dhabi under the Tolerance Oval and Zayed Cricket Stadium lights on Saturday.
Zimbabwe bounced back from a disappointing loss to Vanuatu on Thursday by registering a comfortable, eight-wicket win over the United Arab Emirates (UAE) while Sri Lanka lived up to their “tournament favourites” reputation with a 10-wicket drubbing of Scotland.
UAE vs Zimbabwe
The UAE won the toss and opted to bat first, but just as in their tournament opener against Ireland, they failed to fire with the bat. The tournament hosts lost three wickets inside the first six overs, but the innings was steered back on track courtesy of a 52-run, fourth-wicket partnership between Kavisha Edodage (23) and top-scorer, Heena Hotchandani (32 off 33 balls, three fours).
Both batters fell in quick succession and after their departure, the UAE’s lower-order struggled to get going in the death overs. Rinitha Ranjith’s much needed 19 off 11 balls (two fours) helped her side pass the 100-run mark.
Zimbabwe’s bowlers maintained their discipline with the ball for most of the UAE innings. Josephine Nkomo (player of the match) was the pick of the bowlers with four wickets for 11 runs in four overs. She took wickets both with the new ball and in the death overs with her impressive seam bowling. Audrey Mazvishaya helped maintain their momentum with her own two wickets for 25.
Zimbabwe were rarely troubled in their chase. Opener, Sharne Mayers, fell for 13 after a 22-run opening partnership. Wicketkeeper-batter Modester Mupachikwa (22) added 43 runs for the second-wicket with Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano.
After Mupachikwa’s dismissal in the 10th over, Mugeri-Tiripano saw her side home in the company of skipper Mary-Anne Musonda who scored an unbeaten 26 off 23 balls (three fours). Mugeri-Tiripano scored a brisk, unbeaten 36 from 26 with the help of four fours. Zimbabwe completed the chase with 27 balls to spare, Suraksha Kotte was the only wicket-taker for UAE.
Scotland vs Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka won the toss and opted to field first and the decision reaped rich rewards as the Scotland’s batters failed to create momentum from the start of their innings. After losing opener Darcey Carter for a duck in the opening over, Scotland kept losing wickets at regular intervals.
Player of the match in the win against Thailand, Inoshi Priyadharshani, produced another quality spell. The off-spinner took three wickets in her four overs, conceding a mere 11 runs. Kavisha Dilhari, later named the player of the match, also made life tough for Scotland’s batters with her off-spinners, she took four wickets in 3.2 overs.
Lorna Jack top-scored with 24 runs, while captain, Kathryn Bryce, contributed an enterprising 22 off 19 balls (five fours) but failed to make the most of her promising start.
In reply, captain Chamari Athapaththu, smashed an unbeaten 59 off 35 balls (10 fours, one six) as Sri Lanka cruised past the target in 10.1 overs. Athapaththu played in her typically aggressive manner as the Scotland bowlers searched but found no answers. The bowlers were also let down by a below-par fielding effort, including dropped chances as Athapaththu played her shots.
Athapaththu’s opening partner Vishmi Gunaratne dropped anchor on the other end, her captain leading from the front with some swashbuckling shots. Sri Lanka are now poised for a semi-final spot from Group A with matches against Uganda and USA to follow next week.
Scores in brief:
Match 7:
Zimbabwe beat UAE by eight wickets
UAE 105 for 9 in 20 overs (Heena Hotchandani 32, Kavisha Edodage 23; Josephine Nkomo 4-11, Audrey Mazvishaya 2-25)
Zimbabwe 106 for 2in 15.3 overs (Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano 36 not out, Mary-Anne Musonda 26 not out; Suraksha Kotte 1-13)
Player of the match – Josephine Nkomo
Match 8:
Sri Lanka beat Scotland by 10 wickets
Scotland 94 all out in 18.2 overs (Lorna Jack 24, Kathryn Bryce 22; Kavisha Dilhari 4-13, Inoshi Priyadharshani 3-11)
Sri Lanka 95 for no loss in 10.1 overs (Chamari Athapaththu 59 not out, Vishmi Gunaratne 24 not out)
Player of the match – Kavisha Dilhari
(ICC)
United States President Donald Trump has confirmed that talks with Iran are continuing to try to de-escalate tensions in the Gulf, even as the US military announced shooting down an Iranian drone that approached its aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea.
Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday that Washington was negotiating with Iran “right now”, but declined to say where the talks were taking place.
“[The talks] are all over. But they are negotiating. They’d like to do something, and we’ll see if something is going to be done,” he said.
“They had a chance to do something a while ago, and it didn’t work out. And we did ‘Midnight Hammer’, I don’t think they want that happening again,” he added, referring to the operation last June in which the US Air Force and Navy struck three Iranian nuclear facilities.
Trump, who has been pushing Teheran to agree to talks over its nuclear programme, has repeatedly threatened to attack the country again over a recent crackdown on antigovernment protests. The US president sent the USS Abraham Lincoln to the Gulf last week, leading to fears of a possible military confrontation.
The carrier strike group, which brought roughly 5,700 additional US troops, joined three destroyers and three littoral combat ships that were already in the region.
Tensions have been easing in recent days amid a push by regional powers for a resolution.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said earlier on Tuesday that he had instructed the country’s foreign minister to “pursue fair and equitable negotiations, guided by the principles of dignity, prudence, and expediency”, provided that a “suitable environment exists”.
“These negotiations shall be conducted within the framework of our national interests,” Pezeshkian added
[Aljazeera]
Seven million people’s cancer could be prevented each year, according to the first global analysis.
A report by World Health Organization (WHO) scientists estimates 37% of cancers are caused by infections, lifestyle choices and environmental pollutants that could be avoided.
This includes cervical cancers caused by human papilloma virus (HPV) infections which vaccination can help prevent, as well as a host of tumours caused by tobacco smoke from cigarettes.
The researchers said their report showed there is a “powerful opportunity” to transform the lives of millions of people.
Some cancers are inevitable – either because of damage we unavoidably build up in our DNA as we age or because we inherit genes that put us at greater risk of the disease.
But researcher Dr Isabelle Soerjomataram said “people are surprised to hear” that nearly four in 10 cancers can be prevented as it is “a substantial number”.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the WHO, analysed 30 preventable factors known to increase the risk of cancer.
These include smoking and ultraviolet (UV) radiation which can directly damage our DNA; obesity and too little physical activity which alter inflammation and hormones in the body to raise cancer risk; and air pollution which can wake up dormant cancer cells.
The agency’s report also looked at nine cancer-causing infections including HPV, hepatitis viruses which lead to liver cancer and the stomach bug H. pylori.
The team used data on cancer cases from 2022 and from the 30 risk factors a decade earlier – across 185 countries – to perform their statistical analysis.
The big three contributors to more than 18 million cancer cases around the world were found to be:
- smoking tobacco which caused 3.3 million cancers
- infections causing 2.3 million cancers
- alcohol use leading to 700,000 cancers
However, the overall figures mask a nuanced picture of cancer risk around the world.
There is a stark sex-divide with 45% of men’s cancers being preventable compared with 30% in women, partly down to higher levels of smoking among men.
In women living in Europe, the top three preventable causes of cancer are smoking, closely followed by infection and then obesity.
While in sub-Saharan Africa, infections dominate and account for nearly 80% of preventable cancers in women.
This means any measures to tackle these cancers would need to be tailored to each region or country.
“This landmark study is a comprehensive assessment of preventable cancer worldwide, incorporating for the first time infectious causes of cancer alongside behavioural, environmental, and occupational risks,” said Soerjomataram, the deputy head of the IARC Cancer Surveillance Unit.
“Addressing these preventable causes represents one of the most powerful opportunities to reduce the global cancer burden.”
The report, published in the journal Nature Medicine, showed lung cancer (linked to smoking and air pollution) stomach cancer (linked to H. pylori infection) and cervical cancer (linked to HPV infection) made up nearly half of all preventable cases of cancer.
Dr Andre Ilbawi, team lead for cancer control at WHO, said the study was “good news” as it showed something could be done and he pointed to the success of countries that have introduced policies to tackle smoking or vaccinate against HPV.
“The percentage of preventable cancers can change over time and our goal is to get it as close to zero as possible,” he said.
[BBC]
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