Sports

England’s spinners and Jones star in Women’s World Cup win over New Zealand

Published

6 hours ago

October 26, 2025

Former champions England produced a textbook all-round performance to crush New Zealand by eight wickets in their final Women’s World Cup league game in Visakhapatnam on Sunday.

The win catapulted England to second place in the table with 11 points, just below defending champions Australia. They will meet South Africa in the semi-finals.

With qualification for the last four already assured England used the occasion to fine-tune their arsenal, particularly their spinners, who were on the money from the word go.

The spin quartet of Linsey Smith, Charlie Dean, Alice Capsey and Sophie Ecclestone spun a web around the White Ferns, sharing seven wickets to trigger a collapse.

New Zealand, cruising at 89-1, lost Amelia Kerr and Georgia Plimmer in successive deliveries and from there it was a procession.

The last five wickets tumbled for just 13 runs as the Kiwis were bundled out for 168 in under 39 overs, their lowest total of the tournament.

“We wanted to put in a good performance. Really happy with that effort and we take lot of confidence heading into the semis,” said England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt.

The only cloud in England’s otherwise sunny afternoon was Ecclestone’s shoulder injury. The world’s top-ranked bowler claimed the prized wicket of Brooke Halliday before leaving the field after just four deliveries.

England will be sweating on her fitness as the business end of the competition looms.

Her exit gave part timer Sophia Dunkley a rare trundle and with England already boasting an array of finger spinners, her wrist spin added another string to their bow.

England were rarely tested during run chase. Tammy Beaumont and Amy Jones put on 75 for the first wicket and Jones then joined hands with skipper Heather Knight in a 83-run stand as England cantered home with 124 balls to spare.

Jones finished unbeaten on 86, her 16th half-century in WODIs, reaching the landmark with a towering six off Suzie Bates and sealing victory with a silken cover drive.

It was an emotional afternoon for New Zealand great Sophie Devine, who bowed out of WODIs after a stellar career.

Though she failed to make a mark with the bat, she leaves as the nation’s third highest run getter (4,279) and second highest wicket taker (111). Both teams formed a guard of honour for the departing legend.

The White Ferns finish a disappointing sixth in the table, with just one win to their name, two of their Colombo fixtures having been washed away by rain.

“Really wanted to go on a high, but today’s performance was disappointing.
I am humbled to have played for my country for 19 long years. We came with lot of hopes but we weren’t good enough,” Devine said.

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Babar Azam picked as Fakhar Zaman’s replacement for South Africa T20Is, says Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson

Published

7 minutes ago

October 26, 2025

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After staying out of favour in the Twenty20 International format for Pakistan’s last five assignments, former skipper Babar Azam was picked for the upcoming three-match series against South Africa only after Fakhar Zaman’s decided to skip it, white-ball head coach Mike Hesson said on Sunday.

Since Hesson took over the role in June, Babar hasn’t featured for Pakistan in T20Is with the national side playing series against Bangladesh, the West Indies and a tri-nation series followed by the Asia Cup during that period.

Hesson had cited the right-hander’s low strike-rate as the reason for his absence. But Babar’s selection for the series, which starts in Rawalpindi on Tuesday raised suggested a change of mind for the coach before the New Zealander clarified it.

“I certainly endorse his selection,” Hesson said of Babar while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of Pakistan’s training session at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. “We’ve sent him (Fakhar) back to first-class cricket after a conversation with him.

“He wanted to focus on improving his technique for one-day cricket, so we gave him a bit of a break from T20s. That’s created an opportunity for another top-order player.”

Hesson confirmed that Babar will take the number three spot instead of the batter’s preferred opening position, where he flourished for Pakistan for a substantial period before eventually falling in form and then out of favour.

The coach, however, has expectations from Babar to make a strong comeback and suggested he saw him in Pakistan’s plans for the T20 World Cup, which is set to be held in February-March next year in India and Sri Lanka.

“It’s a great chance to have Babar back,” said the coach. “He’s likely to bat at number three, a role I’m confident he’ll perform well in.

“It also gives our squad some flexibility ahead of the [T20] World Cup.”

‘Haris needs to work’

Babar’s unexpected return also coincided with the axing of wicket-keeper-batter Mohammad Haris from the Pakistan squad even after he received ample backing from the team management across Hesson’s tenure so far.

The 24-year-old proved his mettle with a century against Bangladesh back in June but gradually lost form amid frequent change of batting positions.

Hesson believed Haris needed to go back to the drawing board to fix his issues.

“Haris has had a number of opportunities recently, and he’d be the first to admit he hasn’t made the most of them,” he said. “But he’s still young and developing, so I wouldn’t say his career is over.

“He needs to work on his decision-making with the bat. Even in domestic T20s, he averages around 17, similar to international cricket, so that’s an area for improvement.”

Haris has been replaced by Usman Khan — who last year gave up on a career in the United Arab Emirates to play for Pakistan before being eventually dropped. He emerged out of nowhere and Hesson said he sees the right-hander, who keeps wickets as well, as a good player of spin.

“We see our wicket-keeper batting more through the middle rather than at the top, especially with spin being such a big factor in Sri Lanka during the World Cup. That’s why Usman has been given this opportunity.”

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FIFA announces new ASEAN Cup for Southeast Asia

Published

2 hours ago

October 26, 2025

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A new tournament, the FIFA ASEAN Cup, will be launched as part of an agreement between FIFA and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), aimed at boosting the development of football across the region.

The announcement was made during the 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday, where FIFA President Gianni Infantino and ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn signed a renewed Memorandum of Understanding.

The tournament will bring together national teams from all ASEAN member states in a format inspired by the Arab Cup, which was first organised by FIFA in 2021.

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“This will be a great addition to the regional football calendar,” Infantino said.

“Through the FIFA ASEAN Cup, we are uniting countries together, and this competition will be a huge success as it will help boost national team football in the ASEAN region and support the development of our sport across all of Southeast Asia.”

World football’s governing body will work with regional stakeholders including the Asian Football Confederation, the ASEAN Football Federation, and the relevant FIFA member associations to finalise the tournament’s format.

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