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Wyatt, Sciver-Brunt bat England to 1-0 lead
Danielle Wyatt served a timely reminder of her destructive abilities ahead of the second WPL auction, coming up over the weekend, with a match-winning 75 off just 47 balls to set up a 38 run victory for England at the Wankhede on Wednesday (December 6). Put in to bat, the visitors recovered remarkably well after twin strikes in the opening over through a 138-run stand between Wyatt and Nat Sciver-Brunt (77 off 53 balls) to post an imposing total of 197/6. Shafali Verma’s valiant fifty, amidst regular strikes, could only take India to 159/6 in reply.
India couldn’t have asked for a better start with the ball and they had their leader of the pace-attack to thank for it. Renuka Thakur struck twice in her first over on international comeback from back injury. Sophia Dunkley chopped one on early, and the pacer then sent the destructive Alice Capsey’s off-stump cartwheeling off the very next delivery to reduce England to 2/2 inside five balls. That, however, would be the only brief moment of dominance the home team experienced for the next 14 overs.
Wyatt, Sciver-Brunt to the rescue
The pair first consolidated and then accelerated, helping England claw back and take the strike-rate upto nearly 9.5 for the remainder of their innings. Of course it helped that India were sloppy in their fielding as well as their catching. Sciver-Brunt, no fresher to such precarious situations, led the way as she took on both her Mumbai Indians’ teammates Saika Ishaque and Pooja Vastrakar to take England past the 50 mark in the seventh over.
Wyatt, playing her landmark 150th T20I, didn’t spare the debutant spinner either, getting a move on with back-to-back fours to welcome her back into the attack after PowerPlay. The off-spinners were shown no mercy either, with Deepti Sharma leaking 20 in her first two and Shreyanka Patil only marginally better at 19. Wyatt raised the 100 for the partnership and her 13th T20I fifty with a six straight down the ground in the 12th over, while Sciver-Brunt caught on in the next, getting to the milestone in just 36 balls.
Put under pressure right away, Ishaque redeemed herself with the crucial breakthrough India had grown desperate for. A tossed up delivery tempted Wyatt into stepping way out of her crease, only to be beaten by flight and Richa Ghosh was quick to whip the bails off. The England captain was in and out in a jiffy, with the other Indian debutant uprooting the offstump of her RCB teammate for a maiden international wicket. But Sciver-Brunt frustrated Vastrakar, and India, bit more with a hat-trick of boundaries to move into her 70s. A last-minute change of plans from India saw them bring back their most economical bowler for the penultimate over, and Thakur bagged her third when she got Sciver-Brunt to nick one off to the keeper. Amy Jones’ nine-ball cameo of 23 however ensured England finished with an expensive 16-run final over.
Returning with the ball in hand, Sciver-Brunt continued to hurt India when she pegged back Smriti Mandhana’s stumps off just her second delivery to curtail the home team’s brisk start. Freya Kemp did one better, striking on her very first ball to get Jemimah Rodrigues nicking behind. If India managed to finish their PowerPlay with a fifty on the board already, it was courtesy Verma and her half a dozen boundaries by then as she took on the English speedster Mahika Gaur as well as their experienced vice-captain.
Kemp may have started well but leaked 30 in her next 11 deliveries and Harmanpreet Kaur hammered 23 of those, three boundaries and a six included. However, England threw the ball to Sophie Eccelstone who ended the Indian captain’s cameo prematurely. Harmanpreet ended up dragging an inside edge onto the sticks, failing to capitalise and falling for 26. Barring a few flashes of genius here and there, India never looked in the chase. Ghosh too promised to inject some impetus with a six and a four inside the first-four balls she faced but was eventually outfoxed by a slower one from Sarah Glenn, holing out to long-on on 21. That pushed India’s asking rate up to 14.8 for the final five overs, and half-centurion Verma became Ecclestone’s second scalp soon after, in her attempt to go big. The wicket doused whatever slim hopes India harboured as England marched to a fairly comfortable 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Brief scores:
England women 197/6 in 20 overs (Nat Sciver-Brunt 77, Danni Wyatt 75; Renuka Thakur 3-27) beat India women 159/6 in 20 overs (Shafali Verma 52; Sophie Ecclestone 3-15) by 38 runs
The U.S. Embassy in Colombo welcomed the U.S. Sports Envoys to Sri Lanka, former National Basketball Association (NBA) and Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) players Stephen Howard and Astou Ndiaye, from June 8 through 14.
The Public Diplomacy section of the U.S. Embassy said that it would launch a weeklong basketball program intended to harness the unifying power of sports, made possible through collaboration with Foundation of Goodness and IImpact Hoop Lab.
While in Sri Lanka, Howard and Ndiaye, both retired professional basketball players, will conduct a weeklong program, Hoops for Hope: Bridging Borders through Basketball. The Sports Envoys will lead basketball clinics and exhibition matches and engage in leadership sessions in Colombo and Southern Province for youth aged 14-18 from Northern, Uva, Eastern and Western Provinces, offering skills and leadership training both on and off the court. The U.S. Envoys will also share their expertise with the Sri Lanka Basketball Federation, national coaches, and players, furthering the development of basketball in the country. Beyond the clinics, they will collaborate with Sri Lankan schoolchildren to take part in a community service project in the Colombo area.
“We are so proud to welcome Stephen and Astou as our Sports Envoys to Sri Lanka, to build on the strong people-to-people connections between the United States and Sri Lanka,” said U.S. Ambassador Julie Chung. “The lessons that will be shared by our Sports Envoys – communication, teamwork, resilience, inclusion, and conflict resolution – are essential for leadership development, community building, equality, and peace. The U.S. Sports Envoy program is a testament to our belief that sports can be a powerful tool in promoting peace and unity.”
SJB Colombo District MP Mujibur Rahuman in parliament demanded to know from the government the reasons for CEB suspending the leave of all its employees until further notice from Thursday.
MP Rahuman said that the CEB has got an acting General Manager anew and the latter yesterday morning issued a circular suspending leave of all CEB employees with immediate effect until further notice.
“We demand that Minister Kanchana Wijesekera should explain this to the House. This circular was issued while this debate on the new Electricity Amendment Bill was pending. There are many who oppose this Bill. The Minister must tell parliament the reason for the urge to cancel the leave of CEB employees,” the MP said.However, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena prevented Minister Wijesekera responding to the query and said that the matter raised by MP Rahuman was not relevant.
The Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM) successfully concluded the 8th Annual CIPM Symposium, which took place on 31st May 2024. Themed “Nurturing the Human Element—Redefining HRM in a Rapidly Changing World,” the symposium underscored the pivotal role of human resource management (HRM) in today’s dynamic global landscape. Since its inception in 1959, CIPM has been dedicated to advancing the HR profession through education, professional development, and advocacy, solidifying its position as Sri Lanka’s leading professional body for HRM.
Ken Vijayakumar, the President of the CIPM, graced the occasion as the chief guest. The symposium commenced with the welcome address by the Chairperson, Prof. Arosha Adikaram, followed by the Web Launch of the Symposium Proceedings and Abstract Book by the CIPM President. The event featured distinguished addresses, including a speech by Chief Guest Ken Vijayakumar, President of CIPM, and an address by Guest of Honor Shakthi Ranatunga, Chief Operating Officer of MAS Holdings Pvt. Ltd., Sri Lanka.
The symposium also featured an inspiring keynote address by Prof. Mario Fernando, Professor of Management and Director of the Centre for Cross Cultural Management (CCCM) at the University of Wollongong, Australia.
Vote of Thanks of the inauguration session was delivered by Dr. Dillanjani Weeratunga, Symposium Co-chair.
The symposium served as a comprehensive platform for researchers to present their findings across a wide range of critical topics in HRM. These included Cultural Diversity and Inclusion, Talent Development and Retention, Ethical Leadership and Corporate Social Responsibility, Adapting to Technological Advancements, Mental Health and Well-being at Work, Global Workforce Challenges, Employee Empowerment, and Reskilling and Upskilling.
The plenary session was led by Prof. Wasantha Rajapakse. Certificates were awarded to the best paper presenters during the valedictory session, followed by a vote of thanks delivered by Kamani Perera, Manager of Research and Development.
The annual symposium of CIPM was a truly inclusive event, attracting a diverse audience that spanned undergraduates, graduates, working professionals, research scholars and lecturers. This widespread interest highlights the symposium’s significance in the field of HRM, offering a unique opportunity for everyone to network and learn from scholarly brains.The CIPM International Research Symposium was sponsored by Hambantota International Port, Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT), E B Creasy & Co. PLC, and Print Xcel Company.
US sports envoys to Lanka to champion youth development
Rahuman questions sudden cancellation of leave of CEB employees
