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The Men’s 100: Roy, Overton star as Southern Brave seal fourth spot in thriller
In the last game of the group stage, Welsh Fire could have climbed as high as fourth in the table with a win against Southern Brave in Southampton but defeat left them rock bottom, joining their women’s team in ending up with the wooden spoon.
In the end it was Southern Brave, with Jason Roy (70 off 39) rolling back the years, who ended up in that fourth position, after a game that was all about playing for pride, the top three positions in the table all having been decided days ago.
Fire chose to field and with the Brave at 10 for 2 off 14 balls, the Welsh side were delighted with their start. But Roy was at his belligerent best, counterattacking brilliantly, twice hitting successive sixes to get himself going and bringing up his 50 from 30 balls. David Payne (2 for 17) used his smarts to do for him in the end but despite 30 from 21 from Leus du Plooy, it took a rambunctious finish from Craig Overton and Jordan Thompson to take the home side up to an impressive looking 167 for 7.
In reply, Overton took two scalps in the first five balls, one of them the big wicket of Steve Smith, snapped up by Roy at extra cover. With the score at 24 for 3 after the Powerplay, the Fire’s hopes seemed all but extinguished. And when Tom Abell went, with 117 needed from 59, it was a tall order but Tom Kohler Cadmore and Welsh starlet Ben Kellaway soaked up the pressure and then exploded, hitting shots all around the ground to bring the Fire right back into things.
Kohler-Cadmore matched Roy in striking a brace of successive sixes and Kellaway lost nothing by comparison, the two combining for 81 in 39 balls and leaving the match in the balance.
In an innings where 40 overs of spin had gone for 85 runs, it was left to seamers Thompson and Tymal Mills to bowl the last 20 with 36 needed and their death bowling skills were evident, with a succession of yorkers and slower balls. It came down to 18 from 5 and a no ball and a slugged six made the Fire favourites, but then Thompson bowled Kohler-Cadmore (84 off 46) to leave seven needed off two, then six of off one. Another nailed yorker was enough to see the Brave home.
Meerkat Match Hero Overton said: “It was great to get across the line; we haven’t quite put in the performances this year so it’s good to finish with a win. It was about doing the basics; it swung a bit and the way the boys finished off was great.
“The boys have been awesome; the group has been similar for the last three of four years and it’s nice to get back together. We didn’t quite perform how we would have wanted but that’s the way it goes sometimes.”
Brief scores:
Southern Brave [Men] 167 for 7 in 100 balls (Jason Roy 70, Leus du Plooy 30, Jordan Thompson 16*, Craig Overton 18*; David Payne 2-17,Riley Meredith 2-50, Ben Kellaway 1-35, Josh Hull 1-24) beat Welsh Fire [Men] 163 for 6 in 100 balls (Tom Abdell 20, Tom Kohler-Cadmore 84, Ben Kellaway 33; Craig Overton 3-22, Jordan Thompson 2-29, James Coles1-45) by four runs
[Cricinfo]
European leaders, including in France and Germany, have announced they are working on a plan in the event the United States follows through on its threat to take over Greenland as tensions soar.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told France Inter radio on Wednesday that while nations want to act if the US moves to seize Greenland from an ally, Denmark, they want to do so “together with our European partners”.
“I myself was on the phone with the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio yesterday. He discarded the idea that what just happened in Venezuela could happen in Greenland,” Barrot said.
On Saturday, the United States – using fighter jets, attack helicopters, and special forces – abducted Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro, bringing him to New York City to be tried for alleged drug trafficking.
US President Donald Trump’s decision to greenlight the abduction of Maduro led to widespread condemnation and fear that Greenland, which the president has previously said should be part of Washington’s security apparatus, could be forcibly taken.
But since then, European allies have rallied behind Greenland’s sovereignty, saying the country belongs to its people.
Johannes Koskinen, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Finland’s parliament, called for the issue to be raised within NATO.
“[Allies should] address whether something needs to be done and whether the United States should be brought into line in the sense that it cannot disregard jointly agreed plans in order to pursue its own power ambitions,” he said.
Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and his Greenlandic counterpart, Vivian Motzfeldt, requested an urgent meeting with Rubio to discuss the situation.
“We would like to add some nuance to the conversation,” Rasmussen wrote in a social media post. “The shouting match must be replaced by a more sensible dialogue. Now.”
Denmark has warned that any move to take Greenland by force would mean “everything would stop”, including NATO and 80 years of close security links.
Greenland’s government will join a meeting between Rubio and Danish officials next week following renewed US claims on the Arctic island, its foreign minister said on Wednesday.
The European Union will support Greenland and Denmark when needed and will not accept violations of international law no matter where they occur, European Council President Antonio Costa said.
“On Greenland, allow me to be clear: Greenland belongs to its people. Nothing can be decided about Denmark and about Greenland without Denmark or without Greenland,” Costa said in a speech.
“The European Union cannot accept violations of international law – whether in Cyprus, Latin America, Greenland, Ukraine, or Gaza. Europe will remain a firm and unwavering champion of international law and multilateralism.”
Greenland – the world’s largest island, with a population of 57,000 people – is located between Europe and North America. Since 2019, during Trump’s first term, the president has raised the idea of controlling Greenland, saying it would benifit US security.
So far, Trump has not ruled out using force to take the island.
Rubio told reporters on Wednesday that Trump’s intention is to buy Greenland. “That’s always been the president’s intent from the very beginning.”
House US House Speaker Mike Johnson said he hasn’t heard talk of sending the military into Greenland and the US is “looking at diplomatic channels”.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump and his national security team have “actively discussed” the option of buying Greenland.
“He views it in the best interest of the United States to deter Russian and Chinese aggression in the Arctic region. And so that’s why his team is currently talking about what a potential purchase would look like,” Leavitt told reporters.
Neither Leavitt nor Rubio ruled out the use of force. But Leavitt said, “The president’s first option, always, has been diplomacy.”
[Aljazeera]
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Landslide early warnings issued to the Districts of Badulla, Kandy, Matale and Nuwara Eliya
The Landslide Early Warning Center of the National Building Research Organisation [NBRO] has issued landslide early warnings to the districts of Badulla, Kandy, Matale and Nuwara Eliya for the next 24 hours commencing at 1200hrs today [08]
Accordingly
LEVEL II AMBER landslide early warnings have been issued to the Divisional Secretaries Divisions and surrounding areas of Ududumbara in the Kandy District, Wilgamuwa in the Matale District, and Nildandahinna and Walapane in the Nuwara Eliya District.
LEVEL I YELLOW landslide early warnings have been issued to the Divisional Secretaries Divisions and surrounding areas of Meegahakiwula, Welimada, Kandaketiya, Lunugala, Badulla, Passara, Uva Paranagama and Hali_Ela in the Badulla District, Ambanganga Korale in the Matale District, and Mathurata and Hanguranketha in the Nuwara Eliya District.
Greenland allies vow action if Trump moves to seize world’s largest island
Landslide early warnings issued to the Districts of Badulla, Kandy, Matale and Nuwara Eliya
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