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England sign off with big win, qualify for Champions Trophy 2025
England brought down the curtains on their immensely forgettable World Cup campaign with the kind of batting performance that brought them success at the highest stage four years ago.
In what was also perhaps Ben Stokes’s last ODI innings, he fittingly led the way with a 76-ball 84 and consolidated on Jonny Bairstow’s tone-setting fifty to push England to 337 for 9. Pakistan had to chase that down in 6.4 overs to pip New Zealand to the semifinal spot, which they expectedly didn’t. Instead, their campaign came to an end in opposite fashion as they crashed and burned their way to 244 all out in 43.3 overs. With that win, England secured their qualification for the 2025 Champions Trophy, to be played in Pakistan.
Stokes’s knock came in the company of Joe Root, who too got a half-century. The former captain had started the tournament with knocks of 77 and 82 against New Zealand and Bangladesh respectively, but has since endured an underwhelming run of scores until Saturday, where he and Stokes rebuilt England through the middle-overs after Pakistan found two key breakthroughs.
Stokes made Shaheen Afridi pay a hefty price for putting him down off his own bowling as he led the way in England’s aggressive batting in overs through 21 to 30. By the 34th over, he got his third successive fifty and looked set to sign off with a hundred, even as he seemed to struggle with his mobility. Root was also fairly brisk to reach his half-century as they dragged England from 108 for 2 in the 19th over to 240/2 in 40 overs.
Afridi put a dent on England’s progress by dismissing both in the space of two overs. First, he cleaned up Stokes with a hint of reverse swing on a full ball and then flummoxed Root with a slower one. Yet, this wasn’t the breather Pakistan were hoping for as Jos Buttler and Harry Brook threw their bats around for short cameos as England added 97 off the last 10 overs.
Pakistan came out for the chase with their backs completely against the wall, as they had an impossible qualification scenario to pip New Zealand to the semifinal spot. If that wasn’t already out of question, Pakistan made a wobbly start as David Willey got one to swing back into Abdullah Shafique and trapped him lbw in the first over. Pakistan’s top-order hope for big, quick runs – Fakhar Zaman – became Willey’s second wicket in the third over when he tamely hit to Stokes at mid-off. Shortly, New Zealand were officially confirmed to keep the fourth spot and meet India in the first semifinal on November 15 as Pakistan limped to 30/2 in 6.4 overs.
Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan were slow in rebuilding the chase, and could only go as far as the 14th over. That’s when Pakistan captain’s poor World Cup came to a close as he hit one ball from Gus Atkinson to Adil Rashid at short mid-wicket. The prospect of another partnership was thwarted in the 23rd over, after which Pakistan were in complete free-fall. It came with Rizwan giving Moeen Ali the charge for a big shot and missing it completely to get bowled. 100 for 4 soon became 126 for 5 when Saud Shakeel couldn’t get his head around an Adil Rashid googly. From this position, Agha Salman counter-attacked but there wasn’t enough batting firepower in the middle and lower-order to support his endeavours.
Iftikhar Ahmed and Shadab Khan fell to spin for single-digit scores, reducing Pakistan to 150 for 7 in the 32nd over, after which Willey got to his 100th ODI wicket in his last appearance for England with the dismissal of Salman for 51. Shaheen Afridi struggled to read Rashid’s googlies but hung around enough to make 25 off 23. He was trapped leg before by Gus Atkinson that left Pakistan on the brink at 191 for 9 in the 38th over. The scenes that followed evoked chuckles even from the Pakistan dugout as the final-wicket pair of Mohammad Wasim Jr. and Haris Rauf swung their bats around with unexpected success, hitting four sixes and five fours between them in a 53-run stand. Rauf hit a 23-ball 35 with 30 of those coming in fours and sixes. In his attempt to add another to that tally, he holed to Stokes at long-on.
Brief Scores:
England 337/9 in 50 overs (Ben Stokes 84, Joe Root 60; Haris Rauf 3-64) beat Pakistan 244 in 43.4 overs (Agha Salman 51, Babar Azam 38; David Willey 3-56, Adil Rashid 2-55) by 93 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
