Latest News

Jacks the star as England qualify for Super Eights with nervy win

Published

4 weeks ago

2026/02/16

Priyan

Will Jacks smashed 53 not out off 22 balls [Cricinfo]

At least there is no danger of England peaking too early. This latest nervy win over Associate opposition – punctuated by a heavy defeat to West Indies – ensured their progress from Group C, but Harry Brook’s side will have to play far better than this to stand a chance of becoming the first team to win the men’s T20 World Cup three times.

Italy ran them far too close for comfort at Eden Gardens, eventually bowled out for 178 in pursuit of 203. They were 1 for 2 after Jofra Archer’s first over, but destructive innings from their Australian-born allrounders Ben Manenti and Grant Stewart – who hit 11 sixes between them – made England sweat throughout the second innings.

For the second time in four matches, England were indebted to a fine hand from Will Jacks at No. 7. Against Nepal, Jacks launched 38 not out off 19 balls – including three final-over sixes – in a four-run win; against Italy, he belted the fastest half-century by an England player at a T20 World Cup, an innings that proved vital in another tight defence.

They had stumbled to 105 for 5 when Jacks walked in, England’s top order again misfiring after Brook had won his fourth toss of the tournament and chosen to bat. But thanks to Jacks – and with help from Sam Curran and Jamie Overton – England thrashed 78 runs off the final five overs, leaving Italy with an imposing target to chase.

It looked miles off at 22 for 3, but Manenti and Justin Mosca added 92 for the fourth wicket to keep Italy in the hunt. Both men fell in quick succession during a collapse of 4 for 24 through the middle overs, but Stewart’s late blows – including consecutive sixes during a 21-run Adil Rashid over – took the game deep.

That left Italy needing 30 off the final two overs – an equation that looked possible if Stewart could land a few more blows off their seamers. But he sliced Curran to short third to end the game as a contest, before Overton struck twice in the final over to seal England’s passage to Sri Lanka for the second phase.

Brief scores:
England 202 for 7 in 20 overs (Phil Salt 28, Jacob Bethell 23, Will Jacks 53*, Tom Banton 30, Harry Brook 14, Sam Curran 25, Jamie Overton 15; JJ Smuts 1-24, Ali Hasan 1-37, Grant Stewart 2-51, Crishan Kalugamage 2-41, Ben Manenti 1-37 ) beat Italy 178 in 20 overs (Ben Manenti 60, Grant Stewart 45, Justin Mosca 43, Harry Manenti 12, Jaspreet Singh 12; Jofra Archer 2-35, Jamie Overton 3-18, Will Jacks 1-34, Adil Rashid 1-43, Sam Curran 3-22) by 24 runs

[Cricinfo]

All News Advertisement

Latest News

Agha calls for ‘sportsman spirit’ after controversial dismissal

Published

17 hours ago

2026/03/14

Priyan

Salman Agha reacted furiously after his controversial dismissal [BBC]

Salman Ali Agha said that he would have done things ‘differently”, after Mehidy Hasan Miraz ran him out in controversial circumstances in the second ODI in Dhaka.

Agha, who made 64 from 62 balls, had been backing up at the non-striker’s end when Mohammad Rizwan drove the ball back towards him. He was still out of his ground as Mehidy swooped round behind him in an attempt to gather, and Agha had appeared ready to pass the ball back to the bowler before Mehidy reached down to grab it first and throw down the stumps.

Agha reacted furiously to the dismissal, throwing his gloves and helmet down in disgust at the decision. However, he later came to the post-match press conference, ahead of captain Shaheen Shah Afridi and player of the match Maaz Sadaqat, to clear the air.

“I think sportsman spirit has to be there,” Agha said. “What he [Mehidy] has done is in the law. I think if he thinks it’s right, it’s right, but if you ask me my perspective, I would have done differently. I would have gone for sportsman spirit. We haven’t done this [type of thing] previously, we would never do that in the future as well.”

Agha explained that he had been trying to pick up the ball to give to Miraz, thinking it was likely to have been called dead. “Actually, the ball hit on my pad and then my bat,” he said. “So I thought he can’t get me run-out now, because the ball already hit on my pad and my bat.

“I was just trying to give him the ball back. I was not looking for the run or anything like that, but he already decided [to make the run-out].”

Agha however regretted his angry reaction. “It was just heat-of-the-moment kind of stuff,” he said. “If you ask me what would I have done, I would have done things differently. But it was everything, whatever happened after that, it was in the moment.”

He was also involved in a robust exchange with Bangladesh wicketkeeper Litton Das, though he didn’t divulge many of the details.

“I can’t remember what I was saying and I can’t remember what he was saying,” he said. “I’m sure I wasn’t saying nice things, and I’m sure he wasn’t saying nice stuff as well. But it was just heat of the moment, so we are fine.

Asked if he had patched things up with Mehidy, Agha said: “I haven’t yet, but don’t worry, I’ll find him.”

Pakistan won the match by 128 runs via the DLS method.

[Cricinfo]

Latest News

US embassy in Baghdad hit by strike as Trump says military targets ‘obliterated’ on Iran’s key oil island

Published

18 hours ago

2026/03/14

Priyan

The US embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, has been hit by a missile – video shows fire and smoke rising in the aftermath.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump says “every military target” on Iran’s key oil island has been “totally obliterated”, but there was no damage to oil infrastructure.

Kharg Island is a tiny but strategic terminal in the northern Gulf, 22 miles off the coast of Iran In response, Tehran warns oil and energy infrastructure belonging to firms that co-operate with the US will be “turned into a pile of ashes” if Iran’s energy facilities are attacked

Elsewhere in the Middle East: Israel and Iran both warn of fresh attacks, and at least 12 medical staff have been killed in an Israeli strike in Lebanon

Meanwhile, more US Marines and warships are expected to be deployed to the Middle East, two officials tell BBC’s partner CBS News

[BBC]

Latest News

Bahrain & Saudi Arabia Grands Prix to be cancelled

Published

1 day ago

2026/03/14

Priyan

The grands prix in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were scheduled for next month (BBC)

The Bahrain and Saudi Arabia Grands Prix that were scheduled for next month are set to be cancelled as a result of the war in the Middle East.

A formal decision to call off the races has not yet been made but is expected before the end of the weekend.

Freight would need to start being shipped to the Middle East in the coming days. With no sign of the conflict between the US/Israel and Iran coming to a conclusion, holding the races would put personnel at too great a risk.

Neither event will be replaced, with the season being cut to 22 grands prix and F1 taking a commercial hit of more than £100m, given Bahrain and Saudi Arabia pay two of the highest hosting fees.

The race in Bahrain was scheduled to be on 12 April with Jeddah the following weekend.

Consideration was given to holding events at Portimao in Portugal, Imola in Italy or Istanbul Park in Turkey.

But it was accepted that the time to organise a race at any of those locations was too short, and there was little chance of securing a hosting fee.

The decision will mean there is a five-week break between the Japanese Grand Prix on 29 March and Miami on 3 May.

(BBC)