All-rounder Ben Stokes delivered with bat and ball when it mattered most as he helped England beat Sri Lanka in Sydney and secure qualification for the T20 World Cup semi-finals.
Stokes opened the bowling and took 1-24 from his three overs, while excellent death bowling from Mark Wood (3-26) and Sam Curran helped restrict Sri Lanka to 141-8 on a slow pitch. He then hit a gutsy unbeaten 42 as England sealed a tense four-wicket win on Saturday.
England needed to win to make the last four from Group 1 alongside already-qualified New Zealand, and they achieved the feat with two balls to spare.
Australia had needed a Sri Lanka upset to keep alive their chance of progressing but those hopes looked to have been dashed when Pathum Nissanka was dismissed for 67 in the 16th over of the innings.
Nissanka clubbed Stokes for the first of his five sixes from the second ball of the innings and by the end of the 15th over Sri Lanka were 116-3 and looking good for a decent score at a ground where chasing can be hard.
Spinner Adil Rashid had Nissanka caught at the long on boundary by substitute fielder Chris Jordan to take his first wicket of the tournament and Sri Lanka fell apart, scoring 25 for five over the last five overs.
Openers Alex Hales and Jos Buttler put on 75 for the first wicket before the England captain was dismissed for 28 by Chamika Karunaratne's fine diving catch at deep midwicket off the bowling of Wanindu Hasaranga.
Hasaranga removed Hales caught and bowled for 47 soon afterwards before Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone and Moeen Ali followed cheaply to leave England wobbling on 111-5 in the 15th over.
Stokes, batting at three after Dawid Malan tweaked his groin during Sri Lanka's innings, was averaging 10.25 with the bat in five matches since his T20 recall but was once again England's saviour.
Stokes found the gaps and ran hard to finish unbeaten on 42 off 36 balls before Chris Woakes' cut for four got England over the line with four wickets and two balls to spare in a nail-biting finish.
"Didn't enjoy that match, how close it was," admitted skipper Buttler. "We just had to find a way to win that game.
"These situations are built for him [Stokes]," he added. "He can play a lot of roles for us in this T20 setup."
Man-of-the-match Rashid, whose spin kept Sri Lanka's batsmen at bay, was also full of praise for Test skipper Stokes.
"It was a tight game, it happens in T20 cricket," he said. "They bowled well and created pressure but Stokesy played magnificent so we got over the line."
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sept 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Grand slam winners since July 2003
Who has won major titles since Wimbledon 2003 when Roger Federer won his first grand slam
Roger Federer 19 (8 Wimbledon, 5 Australian Open, 5 US Open, 1 French Open)
Rafael Nadal 16 (10 French Open, 3 US Open, 2 Wimbledon, 1 Australian Open)
Novak Djokovic 12 (6 Australian Open, 3 Wimbledon, 2 US Open, 1 French Open)
Andy Murray 3 (2 Wimbledon, 1 US Open)
Stan Wawrinka 3 (1 Australian Open, 1 French Open, 1 US Open)
Andy Roddick 1 (1 US Open)
Gaston Gaudio 1 (1 French Open)
Marat Safin 1 (1 Australian Open)
Juan Martin del Potro 1 (1 US Open)
Marin Cilic 1 (1 US Open)
Muslim Council of Elders condemns terrorism on religious sites
The Muslim Council of Elders has strongly condemned the criminal attacks on religious sites in Britain.
It firmly rejected “acts of terrorism, which constitute a flagrant violation of the sanctity of houses of worship”.
“Attacking places of worship is a form of terrorism and extremism that threatens peace and stability within societies,” it said.
The council also warned against the rise of hate speech, racism, extremism and Islamophobia. It urged the international community to join efforts to promote tolerance and peaceful coexistence.
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The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
