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Women’s ODI World Cup at four Indian venues and Colombo

Published

10 months ago

2025/06/3

Priyan

Australia are the reigning Women's ODI World Cup champions [Cricinfo]

The 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup will be played from September 30 to November 2 in Bengaluru, Guwahati, Visakhapatnam and Indore in India, with Colombo in Sri Lanka as a neutral venue.

Though the full schedule is yet to be released by the ICC, it’s likely that all of Pakistan’s league games will be in Colombo according to the hybrid model agreed by the BCCI and PCB. The need for this arrangement arose due to strained relations between the two countries and India playing their 2025 men’s Champions Trophy matches in Dubai instead of in the host country Pakistan. The PCB in turn said Pakistan would not travel to India for future tournaments.

The 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup opener involving India will be played in Benglauru, which will also host the second semi-final on October 30. The first semi-final will be played in Guwahati or Colombo, depending on whether Pakistan qualify. The final on November 2 will be held in either Bengaluru or Colombo for similar reasons.

New Chandigarh, which was earlier in the running to host matches, including the final, was dropped from the list of venues. ESPNcricinfo understands the BCCI received internal feedback raising concerns over India potentially playing a final at a venue where they haven’t played a single international fixture.

Bengaluru, in contrast, has regularly hosted games and has attracted strong crowds for international matches as well as the Women’s Premier League.

India are hosting the Women’s ODI World Cup for the first time since 2013. They also hosted the Women’s T20 World Cup in 2016. The format for the 2025 tournament will be the same as in 2022, with each of the eight teams playing the other in a round robin format, with the top four making the semi-finals. A total of 31 matches will be played.

Australia, England, New Zealand, South Africa and Sri Lanka, apart from hosts India, qualified directly for the tournament. The last two spots were taken by Pakistan and Bangladesh at the Women’s World Cup Qualifiers in Lahore earlier this year. The tournament will not feature West Indies, who narrowly missed out on net run rate to Bangladesh.

The Oval, Lord’s to host 2026 Women’s T20 WC semis and final

The 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup in England will begin on June 12 at Edgbaston, Birmingham and end on July 5, with the final at Lord’s. The semi-finals will be played at The Oval on June 30 and July 2.

The tournament will include 12 teams, more than any of its previous editions and up from 10 last year. It comprises 33 matches in 24 days at seven venues, the other four being Manchester, Leeds, Southampton and Bristol.

England, Australia, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, West Indies and defending champions New Zealand have already qualified for the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup. The remaining four teams will be decided at a qualifying tournament next year.

[Cricinfo]

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Trump at a crossroad in US-Israel war with Iran

Published

2 hours ago

2026/03/22

Priyan

Three weeks after the joint US-Israeli war against Iran began, the conflict has reached a fuzzy state of mixed messages and uncertainty, with Donald Trump’s public comments often seemingly contradicted by realities on the ground.

The war is “very complete, pretty much”, Trump has said, but new American ground forces – including a Marine expeditionary unit – are moving into the region. It is “winding down”, but US and Israeli bombing and missile strikes on Iranian targets continue unabated.

Opening the Strait of Hormuz, the geographic choke point through which 20% of the world’s oil export travels, is a “simple military manoeuvre”, but for now only Iranian-approved ships are transiting the waters.

The Iranian military is “gone”, but drones and missiles are still striking targets in the region and targets have extended as far as the joint US-UK base on Diego Garcia.

In a Friday evening Truth Social post published while he was flying from Washington to his Florida resort for the weekend, the US president provided a numbered list of American military objectives for the Iran war, which he said the US was “getting really close” to fulfilling.

The items, comprising his most detailed statement on the subject since the war began, included degrading or destroying Iran’s military, its defence infrastructure and its nuclear weapons programme, as well as protecting American allies in the region.

Not included was the goal of securing the Strait of Hormuz, which Trump said should be the responsibility of other nations that are more dependent on oil exports from the Gulf. The president has frequently noted that the US is a net exporter of energy and does not rely on oil from the Middle East – although such a view glosses over the global nature of the fossil fuel market, where price fluctuations directly impact the price at American gas pumps.

Trump’s Truth Social post also made no call for Iranian regime change. Gone are any references to approving the nation’s next leader or “unconditional surrender”, which Trump had insisted on in the early days of the war.

In Trump’s latest outline of his objectives, it is possible that the US could end its operation with Iran’s current anti-American leadership in power, its oil exports still flowing and its ability to assert some measure of control over the Strait of Hormuz intact.

If that is an unappealing resolution to a war that the president and his aides have said began with the 1979 Iran Revolution and that they would finish, there is an alternative route that involves the US ground forces presently on the way to the Middle East region.

Just over a week ago, US media reported that a Marine expeditionary unit, with about 2,500 combat soldiers and supporting ships and aircraft, had been dispatched from Japan to the Middle East, which it should reach in the coming days. Another Marine force of similar size recently departed its base in California with its arrival expected in mid-April.

Military analysts have suggested that the US could be planning to capture Kharg Island. an 3-sq-km (8-sq-mile) slice of land that contains Iran’s primary oil export terminal. Doing so could, in theory, cut off the nation’s oil shipments, depriving the nation of much-needed revenue and forcing it to make greater concessions to the Americans in exchange for an end to hostilities.

Trump on Friday said that he wasn’t sending ground troops to Iran, but added: “If I were, I certainly wouldn’t tell you”. Clarity, it seems, is not his intention.

The threat of such a move prompted Iran’s state media to report on Saturday that any attack on Kharg Island would lead Iran to cause “insecurity” in the Red Sea, another key global shipping transit point, and “set fire” to energy facilities throughout the region.

Iran’s warning underscores the dangers that would accompany a US escalation that further exposes American military forces to Iranian reprisals.

Earlier this week, US media reported that the Trump administration was preparing to ask Congress for $200bn (£150bn) in emergency funding for the ongoing Iranian military operation. Such a request would suggest that, far from winding down, the White House is preparing for a long, expensive fight.

The initial reaction from Congress, including from Trump’s Republican allies, was cautious at best.

“We’re talking about boots on the ground. We’re talking about that kind of extended activity,” said Republican Congressman Chip Roy of Texas.

“They have got a whole lot more briefing and a whole lot more explaining to do on how we’re going to pay for it, and what’s the mission here.”

The so-called “fog of war” doesn’t just cloud the thinking of military planners, it also affects the perception of politicians and the public.

The Iran war, it seems, is at a pivot. But which direction it takes from here is a puzzle.

(BBC)

Latest News

Heat Index likely to increase up to ‘Caution level’ at some places in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern and North-western provinces and in Anuradhapura, Monaragala, Mannar and Vavuniya districts

Published

3 hours ago

2026/03/22

Priyan

Warm Weather Advisory
Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre of the Department of Meteorology
at 3.30 p.m. on 21 March 2026, valid for 22 March 2026.

Heat index, the temperature felt on human body is likely to increase up to ‘Caution level’ at some places in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern and North-western provinces and in
Anuradhapura, Monaragala, Mannar and Vavuniya districts.

The Heat Index Forecast is calculated by using relative humidity and maximum temperature and this is the condition that is felt on your body. This is not the forecast of maximum temperature. It is generated by the Department of Meteorology for the next day period and prepared by using global numerical weather prediction model data.

Effect of the heat index on human body is mentioned in the above table and it is prepared on the advice of the Ministry of Health and Indigenous Medical Services.

ACTION REQUIRED
Job sites: Stay hydrated and takes breaks in the shade as often as possible.
Indoors: Check up on the elderly and the sick.
Vehicles: Never leave children unattended.
Outdoors: Limit strenuous outdoor activities, find shade and stay hydrated.
Dress: Wear lightweight and white or light-colored clothing.

Note:
In addition, please refer to advisories issued by the Disaster Preparedness & Response Division, Ministry of Health in this regard as well. For further clarifications please contact 011-7446491.