Sports
Brook hundred repels New Zealand before Carse leads England surge

Harry Brook scored his second dazzling hundred in as many innings to once again rescue his side from trouble in Wellington. Buoyed by Brook’s 123 off 115 balls, England then knocked over half of the New Zealand batting as 15 wickets fell on the opening day of the second Test.
Having been reduced to 43 for 4 on what Tom Latham had described at the toss as a “traditional” Basin Reserve pitch, England were indebted to Brook and Ollie Pope reprising their Christchurch heroics with a rip-roaring stand of 174 at more than a run a ball. But New Zealand held their nerve – and (almost) all of their catches – to claim the last four wickets for 21 after Brook had been run out by the alert Nathan Smith.
Ben Stokes said he had wanted to bat, but either way it made for another uncomfortable examination of England’s approach in bowler-friendly conditions. Matt Henry set the tone for New Zealand by bowling four consecutive maidens, picking off both openers in the process, while Smith continued an eventful start to life in the Test team by taking 4 for 86 from 11.4 overs.
England were duly skittled in just over two sessions – but the benefit of their aggression, which saw them scoring at 5.12 an over, meant not only had they posted a serviceable score, there was still plenty of life in the surface when it came to their turn with the ball. Pitches in New Zealand have a tendency to flatten out, but England’s seamers quickly got stuck into their work.
As in Christchurch, much of the action revolved around Brydon Carse. His face was a mask of anguish moments after hitting the top of Kane Williamson’s off stump, as the officials confirmed that he had overstepped. Williamson, on 20 at the time, averages close to 70 at Basin Reserve, with five hundreds. But after taking a spectacular diving catch to help dismiss Rachin Ravindra, Carse returned for a second spell and found Williamson’s outside edge, the dismissal completed by a diving Pope, before bouncing out Daryl Mitchell as England surged late in the day.
New Zealand’s opening stand had not got much further than England’s before Gus Atkinson coaxed an expansive drive from Devon Conway, which only resulted in a thick edge to second slip. Carse immediately caused issues for Williamson, who was perilously close to edging behind; England reviewed only for UltraEdge to suggest the noise had been from bat thumping into pad. After Carse’s no-ball, New Zealand had moved on to 53 for 1 when Stokes had Latham chopping on.
Brook’s hundred, the eighth of his career, came off just 91 balls and this time owed little to the generosity of New Zealand’s fielders. He was beaten often, with the pitch offering plenty of assistance, but continued to play with freedom, crashing 11 fours and five sixes before being dismissed from what became the last ball before tea. Having turned Smith into the leg side and set off looking for a run, Brook was then stranded well out of his ground as the bowler scampered across to his right and threw down the stumps.
Pope was also in fluent form, adding his second half-century for the series batting at No. 6 after the top order had been blown away. He drove and cut with aplomb, and looked unrufflable until confronted by the extra bounce of Will O’Rourke midway through the afternoon session. After getting away with a miscue that cleared short leg, he was dismissed top-edging a pull in O’Rourke’s next over.
O’Rourke had another shortly after when he pinned Stokes to the crease before taking the outside edge for a catch at second slip. Brook’s dismissal was followed by another collapse, as Atkinson, Woakes and Carse all fell in consecutive overs.
England’s scorecard had told a sorry tale at the top of the first hour. Henry was immaculate with the new ball, at one stage possessing figures of 4-4-0-2, before Smith struck twice in as many overs. That brought together Brook and Pope, off the back of their match-changing stand of 151 in the first Test, and an almost immediate shift in momentum.
Having dropped eight catches at Hagley Oval, New Zealand swallowed their chances this time around, barring a Carse edge that went too fast for Glenn Phillips. But the second half of the session saw 81 runs scored off 80 balls as Brook and Pope proved that attack is the best form of defence for this England side.
Although Zak Crawley hit 10 off the first over of the day, which included lofting Tim Southee back over his head for an imperious six, it quickly became clear that England’s aggressive method was going to be tested to the fullest – albeit that the early cloud cover had already burned off by the start of play, and most of the morning session took place under clear blue skies.
Crawley eclipsed his Christchurch tally by taking two off Southee’s first ball, and by the end of the over he had surpassed his meagre average in Tests against New Zealand. But Henry was in no mood to allow liberties at the other end, bowling seven dots to Ben Duckett before finding the opener’s outside edge, Latham scooping a low chance in the first sign that New Zealand’s catching was back up to the mark.
Crawley then found himself in Henry’s crosshairs. He was dismissed for the third time in as many innings by a peach of a delivery that nipped back through the gate to hit the top of middle and leg – Crawley’s tentative forward defensive emphatically breached.
Henry conceded his first runs at the start of his fifth over, Root pushing three through the covers, but that was to be his only scoring shot as an injudicious waft at Smith produced a thick outside edge and a flying one-handed catch from Mitchell at first slip.
At 26 for 3, England were in strife – albeit marginally better off than when Brook walked out in the first innings on his previous visit to Basin Reserve. On this occasion, England’s situation got worse before it got better, as Jacob Bethell was suckered into gloving Smith’s bumper down the leg side. Pope survived a direct hit when called through for a tight single by Brook, who then decided to concentrate on boundaries as the pair raced to a fifty stand from just 37 balls.
Brook’s signature shot was his inside-out thrash over the extra cover boundary, which he unfurled on three occasions, while Henry was also dumped on to the grass banks when dropping short, before the introduction of Phillips’ offspin helped usher him through to his third century in four Tests against New Zealand.
Brief scores:
New Zealand 86 for 5 in 26 overs (Kane Williamson 37; Brydon Carse 2-28) trail England 280 in 54.4 overs (Harry Brook 123, Ollie Pope 66, Nathan Smith 4-86, Will O’Rourke 3-49) by 194 runs
[Cricinfo]
Latest News
Afghanistan lose ICC Champions Trophy 2025 warm-up match to New Zealand

New Zealand completed a stunning chase to beat Afghanistan by two wickets in their final one-day international (ODI) warm-up before the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz top scored with 110 off 107 deliveries, while Sediqullah Atal hit 52, as Afghanistan posted 305-9, batting first at the National Stadium in Karachi, Pakistan on Sunday evening.
The Kiwis, who open the tournament on Wednesday against hosts Pakistan, looked in trouble when they were reduced to 152-5 in the 30th over as Rashid Khan snared two of the wickets. Dean Conway (66), thereafter, and Glenn Phillips (46), previously, were, however, both able to retire out to offer match practice for those following.
Daryl Mitchell, who ranks seventh on the list of ICC ODI batters, made full use of the opportunity, proving the ever-reliable finisher for the Black Caps as he and Matt Henry saw their team over the line with an unbeaten 74-run partnership for the ninth wicket.
Mitchell’s 36 off 25 balls was heavily complimented by Henry’s 31 off 20.

Both sides used 15-man teams on rotation for the 11-a-side match, which substantially helped to the aggregate total of 613 runs as batter after batter was sent to the middle.
It was still a close call for New Zealand, though, with Henry having to play his part to seal the victory with the highest strike rate of the match by anyone reaching double figures.
Hashmat Shahidi (40) and Ibrahim Zadran (32) helped to top up the Afghan total before their Champions Trophy debut against South Africa on Friday. Zadran shared an opening stand of 96 with Gurbaz, who was eventually removed by a combination of Mitchell with the ball and Henry in the field.

The latter claimed two wickets, as did Jacob Duffy and Mitchell Santner. Afghanistan had reached 234-3 in a dominant start before Mitchell’s intervention to remove Gurbaz slowed matters.
The chase played out in reverse fashion with the slow start from the Kiwis, but cameos from Mark Chapman (47) and Santner (33) ensured there was at least a foundation upon which Mitchell and Henry were able to launch.
The Kiwi victory was achieved with 13 balls to spare and was a considerable marker laid down by a side considered dark horses for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy.
Mitchell Santner’s side already warmed up for their opener by beating hosts – and second favourites – Pakistan by five wickets in their tri-series on Friday. New Zealand will play Pakistan again in the opening match of the Champions Trophy in Karachi on Wednesday.
The Champions Trophy, regarded as second only to the World Cup in the one-day game, runs until March 9 and is the first global cricket tournament hosted by Pakistan in nearly three decades.
[Aljazeera]
Sports
Mandhana, bowlers help RCB cruise past Delhi Capitals

Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) made short work of a full-strength Delhi Capitals by keeping their batting line-up to 141 and then chasing the total down with ease to continue the trend of the chasing side winning, for the fourth game in a row. Even though RCB were without the trio of Sophie Molineux, Shreyanka Patil and Asha Sobhana, which brought them glory in last year’s final against DC, the trio of Renuka Singh, Kkta Bisht and Georgia Wareham combined to bundle out DC to a below-par total.
In reply, RCB openers Smriti Mandhana and Danni Wyatt-Hodge put on their second century stand, having earlier done so for Southern Brave in the Hundred in 2021. Mandhana scored her fastest WPL half-century, off 27 balls, and Wyatt-Hodge peppered the off side with six fours out of her seven during her 42 off 33. By the time she fell in the 11th over, RCB needed only 35 off 55 and they cruised over the line in the 17th over.
Renuka landed DC the first big blow when Shafali Verma struck her first ball for the simplest of catches to mid-off for a golden duck. With Meg Lanning looking scratchy at the other end, just like she did against Shabnim Ismail two days ago, it was Jemimah Rodrigues who led DC in the powerplay. Rodrigues herself didn’t start too well – she survived a review on zero and took six balls to get off the mark – but she launched into the RCB attack at first sight of spin, gloriously lofting Ekta Bisht over the covers for a six. DC were also helped by plenty of byes and extras in the powerplay which Rodrigues combined with another six and two fours off VJ Joshitha in the sixth over to give DC their second 50-plus powerplay in as many games.
RCB, however, made inroads through the introduction of Georgia Wareham in the seventh over. Once Rodrigues missed a reverse sweep to be stumped in a flash by Richa Ghosh for 34 off 22, DC lost Lanning as well in the next over when the captain miscued Kim Garth to Ellyse Perry at deep-backward square leg. Annabel Sutherland soon launched Bisht for a big six on the leg side to show that DC weren’t going to be bogged down by the double blow but her attacking approach handed a catch straight to cover in Renuka’s second spell. New batter Jess Jonassen miscued Bisht to midwicket five balls later and DC had suddenly slipped from 60 for 1 to 87 for 5.
It could have been 95 for 6 had Kanika Ahuja not put down Marizanne Kapp at short fine leg and even 103 for 6 if the mix-up between Kapp and Sarah Bryce had not been followed by a fumble, also by Ahuja, but it did become 105 for 6 when Kapp holed out to long-off off a 69.2kph delivery from Bisht. Bryce chipped in with another useful cameo with a 23 off 19 that saw RCB past 125 but they needed a lot more to make a match out of this. Wareham handed them a double blow in the 18th over and Garth wrapped things up in the last over to finish with 2 for 19, while Renuka bagged 3 for 23 and Wareham 3 for 25.
Even with Kapp and Jonassen back in the XI after recovering from sickness, DC hardly posed any challenges for the RCB top order. Mandhana cashed in on the wayward lines from Kapp in the first over and turned the tide of her record against offspinners (she’s been out to them 10 times in the WPL) when she swept Minnu Mani for two fours in the third over. Wyatt-Hodge pierced the gaps square on the off side, especially against Shikha Pandey, for four fours in the powerplay.
At 57 for 0 in the powerplay, RCB’s asking rate was just over six an over. Even bowling changes didn’t work for DC. Both Jonassen and Annabel Sutherland were carted for fours by both batters in their first overs, and when the reliable Rodrigues dropped Wyatt-Hodge on 34 after Mandhana had collected back-to-back boundaries, the game was all but over.
Mandhana dispatched Kapp for six over midwicket and continued to attack Jonassen with lofted strokes on the off side to take her for 27 runs off 14 on the night. Even though both openers fell towards the end, Ellyse Perry and Ghosh ensured there were no jitters to seal the eight-wicket win and top the table.
Brief scores:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru Women 146 for 2 in 16.2 overs (Smriti Mandhana 81, Danni Wyatt-Hodge 42; Shikha Pandey 1-27, Arundhatti Reddy 1-25) beat Delhi Capitals Women 141 in 19.3 overs (Jemimah Rodrigues 34, Sarah Bryce 23, Annabel Sutherland 19; Renuka Singh 3-23,Kim Garth 2-19, Ekta Bisht 2-35, Georgia Wareham 3-25) by eight wickets
[Cricinfo]
Sports
St. Joseph Vaz’s remarkable rise culminates with promotion to top division

by Reemus Fernando
St. Joseph Vaz’s College Wennappuwa regained a spot in the top Division of the country’s premier Under 19 cricket tournament just a year after being demoted as they beat Lyceum International Wattala by 74 runs in the Under 19 Division II Tier ‘A’ cricket tournament semi-final at Hingurakgoda on Monday.
Chasing a target of 197 runs to win Lyceum were shot out for 122 runs as off-spinner Mathisan Fernando grabbed seven wickets to go pass the 50 wickets milestone for the season. Mathisan completed a match bag of eleven wickets.
St. Joseph Vaz’s were a totally transformed unit under the tutelage of Denuwan Rajakaruna this season. They recorded seven outright victories in the tournament proper to reach the knockout stage. The team captained by Shehara Fernando beat Dharmapala (by innings and 104 runs), St. John’s, Panadura (by an innings and 47 runs), Maris Stella Thimbirigaskatuwa (by 197 runs), Piliyandala Central (by ten wickets), Kalutara Vidyalaya (by innings and 22 runs), St. Peter’s Negombo (by innings and 11 runs) and Sri Devananda Ambalangoda (by 33 runs). The other tournament match against Lyceum ended in a first innings win. They eliminated Royal College Panadura in the quarter-final with an eight wicket victory before sealing the final sport and the Division I promotion with an outright win over Lyceum in the semi-final yesterday. Among the other impressive performances this season was their outright win against St. Sebastian’s College Katuneriya, a Division I team.

Himal Ravihansa has a
tally of 105 wickets.
The team’s only blemish this season was the outright defeat at the hands of Division I powerhouse St. Thomas’ College Matara.
Of the best performers for them this season leg spinner Himal Ravihansa stood out. He has passed the 100 wickets milestone in 12 matches.
Ravihansa has 105 wickets against his name now. His impressive tally includes 12 five wicket hauls. He has bagged more than ten wickets in a match on five occasions.
Randeer Dinesh is the Master in Charge of cricket of this transformed outfit.
Scores:
St. Joseph Vaz’s
172 all out in 78.1 overs (Shehara Fernando 26, Kavinda Rathnayaka 55, Savio Fernando 25, Eshan Mihiranga 48; Kavindu Kaushalya 3/48, Rasith Nimsara 3/53, Tharusha Ranasinghe 2/19) and 148 all out in 70.2 overs (Shehara Fernando 30, Induwara Jayasekara 20, Savio Fernando 23, Eshan Mihiranga 38; Kavindu Kaushalya 4/40, Tharusha Ranasinghe 5/50)
Lyceum Wattal
a 124 all out in 44.1 overs (Vinuth Thisaraka 24, Pravishka Nadeen 36, Rasith Nimsara 35; Himal Ravihansa 3/50, Thathnula Liyanage 2/20, Mathisan Fernando 4/20) and 122 all out in 41.3 overs (Tharusha Ranasinghe 44, Pravishka Nadeen 20; Mathisan Fernando 7/55)
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