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WWC 2025: Rain, redemption and a race for the semis: Sri Lanka face South Africa in crucial Colombo clash
There is hardly a conversation around Colombo these days that doesn’t involve the weather, and in the context of this World Cup, the rains have certainly played no small part in shaping the trajectories of a few of the sides.
Pakistan notably suffered the most cruel fate, as a historic win over England was snatched away from them on Wednesday evening following a washout. Sri Lanka, however, have been on both sides of the coin. Against New Zealand, a spirited late charge led by Nilakshika de Silva left them buoyant at the break only for rain to spoil a potential victory charge, but against Australia those same rains ensured a point in what would have been Sri Lanka’s toughest match this tournament.
It’s meant that having faced arguably the four most challenging opponents at this tournament – India, Australia, England and New Zealand – in their first four matches, Sri Lanka have come away with two points despite having yet to register a win. It also means that with their remaining matches against sides they would have been more confident at taking on, Sri Lanka will know that a win on Friday will put them in with a very real chance of making an unlikely late semi-final dash.
South Africa have looked every bit the dark horses they have been touted as. Following a chastening opening game defeat to England, they’ve won three on the bounce, most notably taking down India. And a win in Colombo will take them to eight points on the table, and see them have one foot in the semi-finals with two further games to play.
But while the head-to-head record between South Africa and Sri Lanka in WODIs seems fairly one-sided – 16 wins and six defeats in favour of South Africa – their more recent record speaks towards a far more evenly matched contest with their past five matches since the start of 2024, seeing shared spoils at two wins apiece.
Two of those games came at the R. Premadasa earlier this year, with each side winning one, so while this will be South Africa’s first game in Colombo at this World Cup, separating these two units might very well come down to the toss of a coin – or indeed the weather gods.
In six WODIs batting first at the Khettarama, Sri Lanka has crossed the 200 mark just twice – once in 1999 and once on Tuesday against New Zealand. Tuesday was also the first time they posted a first-innings total above 250 at the venue, a feat that would not have been possible if not for Nilakshika Silva‘s blazing 55 off 28. Silva’s late career renaissance has seen her average 44.50 with a strike rate of 84.89 since the start of 2024, all while mostly batting at number six. Her 534 runs also makes her Sri Lanka’s third-most prolific batter behind Chamari Athapaththu and Harshitha Samarawickrama, during this period.
Laura Wolvaardt has grown into this tournament. After poor showings against England and New Zealand, she played a pivotal role in their defeat of India before again providing a stable start in a chase against Bangladesh. This might not be particularly pleasing news to those of Sri Lankan persuasion, as Wolvaardt has long been a problematic opponent. In 10 WODIs against Sri Lanka, Wolvaardt has 546 runs at a staggering average of 91 and strike rate of 80.88. What’s more she’s been dismissed just six times over that period – a feat made more impressive as she opens the batting.
Sri Lanka changed up their bowling lineup in the previous game, but were unable to test it. With their batting finally clicking, it’s likely they name an unchanged XI.
Sri Lanka (probable): Chamari Athapaththu (capt), Hasini Perera, Vishmi Gunaratne, Harshita Samarawickrama, Kavisha Dilhari, Nilakshika de Silva, Anushka Sanjeewani (wk), Piumi Wathsala, Sugandika Kumari, Malki Madara, Inoka Ranaweera
There is something to be said for not changing a winning combination. So there might be not much by way of experimentation this game.
South Africa (probable): Laura Wolvaardt (capt), Tazmin Brits, Anneke Bosch, Annerie Dercksen, Marizanne Kapp, Sinalo Jafta, Chloe Tryon, Nadine de Klerk, Masabata Klass, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Tumi Sekhukhune
[Cricinfo]
Rescue workers are racing to find dozens of people still missing following a landslide at a landfill site in the central Philippines that occurred earlier this week, an official has said.
Mayor Nestor Archival said on Saturday that signs of life had been detected at the site in Cebu City, two days after the incident.
Four people have been confirmed dead so far, Archival said, while 12 others have been taken to hospital.
Conditions for emergency services working at the site were challenging, the mayor added, with unstable debris posing a hazard and crew waiting for better equipment to arrive.
The privately-owned Binaliw landfill collapsed on Thursday while 110 workers were on site, officials said.
Archival said in a Facebook post on Saturday morning: “Authorities confirmed the presence of detected signs of life in specific areas, requiring continued careful excavation and the deployment of a more advanced 50-ton crane.”
Relatives of those missing have been waiting anxiously for any news of their whereabouts. More than 30 people, all workers at the landfill, are thought to be missing.
“We are just hoping that we can get someone alive… We are racing against time, that’s why our deployment is 24/7,” Cebu City councillor Dave Tumulak, chairman of the city’s disaster council, told news agency AFP.
Jerahmey Espinoza, whose husband is missing, told news agency Reuters at the site on Saturday: “They haven’t seen him or located him ever since the disaster happened. We’re still hopeful that he’s alive.”
The cause of the collapse remains unclear, but Cebu City councillor Joel Garganera previously said it was likely the result of poor waste management practices.
Operators had been cutting into the mountain, digging the soil out and then piling garbage to form another mountain of waste, Garganera told local newspaper The Freeman on Friday.
The Binaliw landfill covers an area of about 15 hectares (37 acres).
Landfills are common in major Philippine cities like Cebu, which is the trading centre and transportation gateway of the Visayas, the archipelago nation’s central islands.
[BBC]
US President Donald Trump has asked for at least $100bn (£75bn) in oil industry spending for Venezuela, but received a lukewarm response at the White House as one executive warned the South American country was currently “uninvestable”.
Bosses of the biggest US oil firms who attended the meeting acknowledged that Venezuela, sitting on vast energy reserves, represented an enticing opportunity.
But they said significant changes would be needed to make the region an attractive investment. No major financial commitments were immediately forthcoming.
Trump has said he will unleash the South American nation’s oil after US forces seized its leader Nicolas Maduro in a 3 January raid on its capital.
“One of the things the United States gets out of this will be even lower energy prices,” Trump said in Friday’s meeting at the White House.
But the oil bosses present expressed caution.
Exxon’s chief executive Darren Woods said: “We have had our assets seized there twice and so you can imagine to re-enter a third time would require some pretty significant changes from what we’ve historically seen and what is currently the state.”
“Today it’s uninvestable.”
Venezuela has had a complicated relationship with international oil firms since oil was discovered in its territory more than 100 years ago.
Chevron is the last remaining major American oil firm still operating in the country.
A handful of companies from other countries, including Spain’s Repsol and Italy’s Eni, both of which were represented at the White House meeting, are also active.
Trump said his administration would decide which firms would be allowed to operate.
“You’re dealing with us directly. You’re not dealing with Venezuela at all. We don’t want you to deal with Venezuela,” he said.
The White House has said it is working to “selectively” roll back US sanctions that have restricted sales of Venezuelan oil.
Officials say they have been coordinating with interim authorities in the country, which is currently led by Maduro’s former second-in-command, Vice-President Delcy Rodríguez.
But they have also made clear they intend to exert control over the sales, as a way to maintain leverage over Rodríguez’s government.
The US this week has seized several oil tankers carrying sanctioned crude. American officials have said they are working to set up a sales process, which would deposit money raised into US-controlled accounts.
“We are open for business,” Trump said.
On Friday, Trump signed an executive order that seeks to prohibit US courts from seizing revenue that the US collects from Venezuelan oil and holds in American Treasury accounts.
Any court attempt to access those funds would interfere with US foreign relations and international goodwill, the executive order states.
“President Trump is preventing the seizure of Venezuelan oil revenue that could undermine critical US efforts to ensure economic and political stability in Venezuela,” the White House wrote in a fact sheet about the order.
The US and its partner forces have carried out large-scale strikes against Islamic State (IS) group targets in Syria, the US Central Command (Centcom) has announced.
US President Donald Trump directed the strikes on Saturday, which are part of Operation Hawkeye Strike, in retaliation to the IS group’s deadly attack on US forces in Syria on 13 December, Centcom wrote on X.
The strikes were conducted in an effort to combat terrorism and protect US and partner forces in the region, according to Centcom.
“Our message remains strong: if you harm our warfighters, we will find you and kill you anywhere in the world, no matter how hard you try to evade justice,” Centcom said.
The US and its partner forces fired more than 90 precision munitions at more than 35 targets in an operation that involved more than 20 aircraft, an official told CBS News, the BBC’s US partner.
The official added that aircraft including F-15Es, A-10s, AC-130Js, MQ-9s and Jordanian F-16s had taken part in the strikes.
The location of the strikes and the extent of any casualties is not yet clear.
“We will never forget, and never relent,” Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote on X on Saturday in reference to the military action.
The Trump administration first announced Operation Hawkeye Strike in December after an IS gunman killed two US soldiers and a US civilian interpreter in an ambush in Palmyra, located in the centre of Syria.
“This is not the beginning of a war – it is a declaration of vengeance,” Hegseth said when announcing the operation in December.
“The United States of America, under President Trump’s leadership, will never hesitate and never relent to defend our people.”
Prior to the latest strikes on Saturday, US forces killed or captured nearly 25 IS group members in 11 missions between 20 December and 29 December as part of Operation Hawkeye Strike, Centcom said.
In the operation’s first mission on 19 December, US and Jordanian forces carried out a “massive strike” against the IS group, deploying fighter jets, attack helicopters and artillery to strike “more than 70 targets at multiple locations across central Syria”, according to Centcom.
That operation, it said, “employed more than 100 precision munitions” targeting known IS infrastructure and weapons sites.
[BBC]
GENERAL WEATHER FORECAST FOR NEXT 36 HOURS
National Communication Programme for Child Health Promotion (SBCC) has been launched. – PM
Level I landslide early warnings issued to the Districts of Badulla, Kandy, Matale and Nuwara-Eliya extended
Rescuers race to find dozens missing in deadly Philippines landfill collapse
Trump seeks $100bn for Venezuela oil, but Exxon boss says country ‘uninvestable’
US military strikes Islamic State group targets in Syria, officials say
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
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