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Vanquished Australia eye winning end to dreadful World Cup campaign

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Steve Smith flew all the way to Sri Lanka as a replacement player, so he's likely to get a go [Cricbuzz]
In an alternate world, Australia would have been running final system checks in their last group game against Oman on February 20 before stepping into the world of Super Eights with a favourites tag in tow. But reality hasn’t matched the lofty pre-tournament expectation, and has them packing bags and bracing themselves for a damning introspection.

It’s jarring to see Australia being left behind in a white-ball World Cup – a blot in their enviable, unmatched heritage. But that said, they’ve failed to make the semis of five of the last six T20 World Cups – a complete reversal in fortunes from the 50-over tournament.

Amid accusations of not taking it too seriously, losing key players to injuries and retirement and a sharp assessment from Ricky Ponting,  a former World Cup winner from their shores, Mitchell Marsh & Co. have to drag themselves to the middle one last time before being homeward bound. You could argue there’s nothing riding on this game other than serving another reminder of Australia’s fallacies and you’d be right. But Australia will want to believe that a win as a final act brings some peace with it, and the consolation of finishing third – just outside of the two qualifiers.

Oman, meanwhile, got to Sri Lanka in search of a memorable evening at the very least where they could upset the apple-cart. They’ve gone 0 for 3 so far, but there will be murmurs in their camp of setting out in search of it again, against the vulnerable former champions.

There’s predicted thunderstorms one hour into the fixture. If rain stays away, there should be big runs on offer. The only other 7 pm start here saw Australia post 181 and Sri Lanka chase it down with two overs to spare.

Steve Smith flew all the way to Sri Lanka as a replacement player, so he’s likely to get a go in the final game of the tournament for the Aussies.

Oman made a couple of changes in the last two fixtures without success. Shakeel Ahmed went in and out of the side in the three games, but picked three wickets against Ireland and should keep his place. Jatinder might look at giving top-order batter Karan Sonavale another go.

Australia Probable XI: Mitchell Marsh (c), Steve Smith, Cameron Green, Tim David, Josh Inglis (wk), Marcus Stoinis, Matt Renshaw, Cooper Connolly, Xavier Bartlett, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa

Oman Probable XI: Aamir Kaleem, Jatinder Singh (c), Hammad Mirza, Ashish Odedara/Karan Sonavale, Mohammad Nadeem, Jiten Ramanandi, Vinayak Shukla (wk), Nadeem Khan, Sufyan Mehmood, Shah Faisal, Shakeel Ahmed

[Cricbuzz]



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Agha calls for ‘sportsman spirit’ after controversial dismissal

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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]

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

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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]

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Bahrain & Saudi Arabia Grands Prix to be cancelled

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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)

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