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The Women’s 100: Superchargers bank second place ahead of Eliminator with Spirit
In the battle to reach The Hundred Eliminator this Saturday – with Southern Brave having already secured their spot in The Hundred Final – it was the Northern Superchargers who came out on top at Headingley as Manchester Originals, targeting the huge score that would have significantly bumped up their run rate, ended up being bowled out for just 94, a score that the Superchargers knocked off with ease to win by eight wickets and ensure second place.
With the runners-up in the table going through to the final in the event of an Eliminator wash-out, the Superchargers will be pleased with their afternoon’s work, their win guaranteeing them that second spot and ensuring London Spirit would join them in the Eliminator.
Electing to field first, Hollie Armitage’s side saw Beth Mooney get off to a flyer but once she had gone for 20 off 13, the rest of the innings was something of a procession.
Kate Cross put the disappointment of her non-selection for England’s World Cup squad behind her, showcasing the enduring qualities of line and length in conceding just six runs from her 15 deliveries.
Annabel Sutherland also starred with 3 for 15, while Nicola Carey took 2 for 13, both off their full allocation. Only Alice Monaghan sparkled, her 26 in 17 balls containing the innings’ only two sixes.
Faced with the nigh-on impossible task of restricting the Superchargers to 38 in order to finish in third place or 35 to claim second, the Originals tried hard but the task was simply too great.
Those two targets came and went as Alice Davidson-Richards went on the charge, hitting 30 off 18 with six boundaries, before she hit the competition’s quickest bowler Lauren Filer to Deandra Dottin on the edge.
Sutherland (30* off 17) carried on attacking, hitting Dottin down the ground exquisitely for four then six, Phoebe Litchfield (26* off 20) at the other end working the gaps and unfurling the occasional well-timed sweep and pull shot.
The result was beyond doubt well before the end as the Australian pair eased to victory by eight wickets with 35 balls to spare.
The Meerkat Match Hero Annabel Sutherland said: “It feels great. Hopefully we can carry that momentum into the next two games. We love it at Headingley and I guess it shows in the results we’ve got here.
“Everyone’s really keen for Saturday, and hopefully we will put our best foot forward. We honestly just have a blast out there. We really enjoy each other’s company. It’s a great tournament, lots of fun.”
Brief scores:
Northern Superchargers Women 96 for 2 in 65 balls (Annabel Sutherland 30*, Alice Davidson-Richards 30, Phoebe Litchfield 26*; Sophie Ecclestone 1-39, Lauren Filler 1-16 ) beat Manchester Originals Women 94 in 95 balls (Beth Mooney 20, Deandra Dottin 11, Alice Monaghan 26; Grace Ballinger 1-21, Kate Cross 1-06, Linsey Smith 1-30, Annabel Sutherland 3-15, Nicola Carey 2-13) by eight wickets
[Cricinfo]
Peru’s Congress has voted to appoint former judge and left-wing lawmaker Jose Maria Balcazar as interim president, replacing the right-wing leader Jose Jeri a day after his removal.
Wednesday’s vote ushers in Peru’s ninth president in a decade. Balcazar’s term, however, will be short.
In just 53 days, on April 12, the country will head to the ballot box to vote for a new president. If no candidate gains more than 50 percent of the vote, a run-off will be held in June.
Traditionally, Peru’s president-elects are inaugurated on the country’s Independence Day in late July. That ceremony will mark the end of Balcazar’s leadership.
Balcazar’s short tenure is the latest sign of turbulence in Peru’s government. Of Peru’s last eight presidents, four have been impeached and removed from office, and two have resigned before their term’s end.
The last president to serve a complete term was Ollanta Humala, whose presidency ended in July 2016.
Balcazar’s ascent to the presidency, however, was marked by its own turmoil. In an initial round of voting, centre-right lawyer Maria del Carmen Alva, 58, and Balcazar, 83, came out ahead, with 43 and 46 votes respectively.
But they both fell short of the 59 votes needed to be president, so another round of voting was announced. The left-wing party Together for Peru, however, decided to boycott the second round.
Balcazar ultimately won after a tally of the 113 congressional votes cast. He received 60 votes.
The prospect of Balcazar’s victory in the vote sparked outrage and frustration among some right-wing politicians, who denounced him on social media.
(Aljazeera)
Rescue teams combing through the backcountry of California’s Lake Tahoe region say they have found the bodies of eight skiers who went missing in an avalanche on Tuesday.
The search for a final missing skier continues but that person is presumed dead, Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon said at a news conference on Wednesday.
Officials said one of the deceased was the spouse of someone on one of the search-and-rescue teams, making continued rescue efforts “challenging emotionally”.
Fifteen skiers were reported missing on Tuesday after a “football-field” sized avalanche came barreling down in the Castle Peak area around 11:30 PST (19:30 GMT). Six have been rescued.
“I want to offer my condolences to the family in this very trying time,” Placer County Sheriff Wayne Woo said on Wednesday.
The bodies of the eight dead skiers are still trapped in the snow and can’t yet be recovered due to “pretty horrific” conditions, officials said.
Since the avalanche, another 3ft (.9m) of snow has fallen on the area, Tahoe National Forest supervisor Chris Feutrier said.
“The hazard remains high,” he said.
Once the bodies are recovered, they will be transported to the Placer County morgue.
Families of the deceased have been notified. Authorities have not yet released any of their names.
Officials say the victims are seven women and two men.
Sheriff Woo said the rescue operation was a joint effort involving two teams and roughly 50 crew members who had to traverse “extreme weather conditions” using specialised equipment.
At 17:30 local time on Tuesday, search teams arrived to an area roughly two miles (3.2km) from where survivors were sheltering in make-shift tents, and had to ski in from there.
Two of the six survivors had to be carried back and “could not walk because of the injuries they sustained during the avalanche”, Sheriff Moon said. They were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Among the survivors, one was a guide and five were clients of the Blackbird Mountain guided tour.
The entire ski group consisted of a mix of 11 recreational skiers and four ski guides.
The avalanche on Tuesday occurred as they were making their way back at the end of a three-day trip.
California Governor Gavin Newsom’s office said in a post on X that state authorities were “co-ordinating an all-hands search-and-rescue effort” with local emergency teams.
Conditions on Wednesday remained dangerous, multiple officials said, with Woo describing the climate as “treacherous”.
“Avoid the back country,” he said. “Please allow us to focus all of our resources on continuing to recover these bodies for the family and bring them home.”
The avalanche that trapped the skiers was rated as a D2.5 on a destructive potential scale of D1 to D5, according to the Sierra Avalanche Center, which would mean it was over half a mile in length and would have a deposit of around 6.5ft (2 metres).
The Boreal Mountain Ski Resort, which is near where the accident occurred, has reported over 30in (76cm) of snowfall since Tuesday.
The resort decided to close on Tuesday because of high winds and low visibility.
The storm has also closed several highways, including Interstate 80 and Highway 50.
[BBC]
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Advisory for low pressure area in the Southwest Bay of Bengal to the south-east of Sri Lanka
Advisory for low pressure area in the Southwest Bay of Bengal to the south-east of Sri Lanka.
Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre of the Department of Meteorology at 03.00 pm on 18 February 2026
Multiday boats fishermen and naval community are warned that the low-pressure area still persists over the Southwest Bay of Bengal to the south-east of Sri Lanka. Under the influence of this system, heavy showers or thundershowers, Strong winds about (50-60) kmph, and rough or very rough seas can be expected in these sea areas.
The Meteorological Department is constantly monitoring the behavior of the system.
The naval and fishing communities are requested to be attentive to the future forecasts and bulletins issued by the Department of Meteorology in this regard.
Peru appoints Jose Maria Balcazar as president, ninth leader in a decade
Ambassador of Switzerland to Sri Lanka pays courtesy call on PM
Suspected carbon-monoxide leak kills at least 30 miners in Nigeria, witnesses say
Eight skiers found dead after California avalanche
Advisory for low pressure area in the Southwest Bay of Bengal to the south-east of Sri Lanka
Showers will occur at times in the Northern , North-central, Central, Uva and Eastern provinces and in Hambantota district
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
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