Sports
USA and Canada claim 4x100m upsets on dramatic penultimate day in Oregon
On paper, Jamaica’s women’s 4x100m team looked unbeatable. The US squad shredded those predictions, using better teamwork to win the gold medal at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22.Similarly, the Canadian team claimed an upset in the men’s 4x100m on Saturday (23), as Andre De Grasse anchored the quartet to gold ahead of USA.
On a day of 4x100m surprises, there was also a second world javelin title for Anderson Peters, Pedro Pichardo added world gold to his Olympic triple jump title, Gudaf Tsegay took the 5000m title and Emmanuel Korir kicked to 800m victory.
In the women’s 4x100m final, as Twanisha Terry held off a hard-charging Shericka Jackson on the home stretch, the crowd at Hayward Field produced the loudest roar in nine days of competition.
“It was not expected of us today and I am glad we pulled it through,” said Melissa Jefferson, who ran the first leg for USA.
She added that she and her teammates “have a lot of confidence in ourselves and I knew we would show the world what we are capable of.”
The US team ran a world-leading 41.14, the second-fastest ever at a World Championships, with Jamaica clocking 41.18. They reversed positions from the Tokyo Olympics, where Jamaica claimed the gold and the US won the silver.
“The race was electrifying,” said Terry. “You heard the stadium. The stadium went crazy. We just brought it home.”
The US won its eighth gold medal and 13th overall in the event after placing third in 2019.
Jamaica, which captured its 16th medal, not only fielded the three world and Olympic medallists in the 100m, but in Elaine Thompson-Herah, the nation had the fastest woman alive in the 100m. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is the five-time and reigning world champion in the 100m and Jackson is the fastest woman alive in the 200m. They had five individual medals from this World Championships between them.
Kemba Nelson, the leadoff leg, was the 60m champion for the University of Oregon in 2021 and running on her home track.The members of the US team, by comparison, had no hardware to show from their individual events in Eugene. Jefferson was eighth in the 100m, Abby Steiner placed fifth in the 200m, Jenna Prandini did not reach the final in the 200m and Terry did not make the 100m final.But the US team had experience from the preliminary round, with Steiner replacing Aleia Hobbs as the only difference in team composition. For Jamaica, Nelson was the only carryover.
“Of course, we wanted to win,” said Thompson-Herah. “But we are glad for the silver tonight and we cannot complain.”
Fraser-Pryce won her third medal in Eugene — one gold and two silvers — for a total of 14 World Championships medals, tying compatriot Usain Bolt.
Germany won its first medal since 2009 in the 4x100m, clocking 42.03, while Nigeria placed fourth with an African record of 42.22.Dina Asher-Smith pulled up with an injury ahead of the final hand-off for Great Britain, the team going on to finish sixth.With a better final handoff and a determined De Grasse, Canada reclaimed the top spot on the men’s 4x100m podium for the first time since 1997.
“It’s not on home soil, but it felt like it,” De Grasse said of the cheering Canadians who came down for the World Championships.
The tight-knit Canadian quartet, who have grown up together in the sport, clocked a world-leading 37.48, with De Grasse running a final leg of 8.79 to keep Marvin Bracy-Williams-Williams of the US in his rear-view mirror. The US ran 37.55, with Great Britain taking the bronze in 37.83.
Aaron Brown led off for Canada, followed by Jerome Blake, Brendon Rodney and De Grasse. The US had a formidable team of Christian Coleman, the 2019 world 100m champion, two-time world 200m champion Noah Lyles, Elijah Hall and Bracy-Williams, who was second in the 100m. Fred Kerley, the world 100m champ, suffered an injury in the 200m and was not available for the relay.
“When Andre got (the baton) with the lead,” said Brown, “there’s no way they are going to catch him.”
However, De Grasse, who has struggled with injuries and Covid-19 this season, said he was tightening up a little bit. “I was hoping not to get caught,” he said.With a semifinal exit in the 100m and withdrawal from the 200m, the Olympic 200m champion said it was an advantage to have fresh legs instead of running six races.Bracy-Williams said the US had a “few things to clean up” on the exchanges. “Mine was not very good and that may have cost us the race,” he said. “Nonetheless, we got a medal, got the stick around. We will win next time.”
And after failing to make the final at the Tokyo Olympics, the US appreciated a medal of any kind. De Grasse’s victory brought some joy to his household after his partner, defending world champion Nia Ali, crashed out of the 100m hurdles heats.
(worldathletics.org)
The first truly heavyweight clash of this expanded T20 World Cup format comes freighted with both history and subplots. A rematch of the 2010 World T20 final at Kensington Oval, the match pits Jos Buttler’s defending champions – who are aiming to become the first team to retain the trophy – against the Australian winning machine, victors at the 2021 edition and current world title-holders in Test and ODI cricket. And that’s before you throw in the Ashes for afters.
Already there is added pressure on England, after the rain in Bridgetown led to a share of the points in their opener against Scotland (and that having conceded 90 runs from 10 overs without taking a wicket in a tepid bowling display). Lose to their oldest rivals and it will leave their Super 8 prospects open to being waylaid by the perils of net run-rate calculations, or worse.
The Scotland match was the third abandonment in five suffered by England, after a rain-affected home series against Pakistan, which has clearly hampered their readiness for this campaign after almost six months without playing T20 together. It does not take much for a side to click in this format – and England looked in decent shape when they did get on the field against Pakistan – but Buttler will be anxious for things to go their way on Saturday, if only to avoid further questions referencing the team’s disastrous ODI World Cup defence last year.
Australia, under the laidback leadership of Mitchell Marsh would love nothing more than to add to the English sense of jeopardy – having helped bundle them out of the tournament in India on the way to taking the crown. Their head to head record is less impressive in T20 however, with England having won six of the last seven completed encounters, as well as that 2010 final.
Despite a wobble with the bat, Australia avoided mishap against Oman earlier in the week, the experience of David Warner and Marcus Stoinis shining through in difficult batting conditions. Surfaces in the Caribbean – not to mention those games staged in the USA – have already had teams scratching their heads; rather than the “slug-fest” England had prepared for, following a high-scoring tour of the Caribbean in December, it looks as if boxing smart may be the way to go.
Speaking of Warner, this could be the last time he faces up against England in national colours – and another match-winning contribution would likely reduce the chances of them meeting again in the knockouts. On the other side of the card is Jofra Archer, fresh from an emotional maiden outing at Kensington Oval and ready to take on Australia for the first time in any format since 2020. Can Mark Wood fire up England’s campaign, as he did during last summer’s Ashes? Will Pat Cummins be back to harass the old enemy once again? Seconds out, it’s almost time to rumble.
Cummins is set to return after being rested for the Oman game, which saw Mitchell Starc leave the field with cramp. Starc is understood to be fine and could keep his place – which would likely see Nathan Ellis miss out. Marsh is still not fit to bowl, with Australia likely to continue with the allrounder combination of Stoinis and Maxwell to give them cover.
Australia (probable XI): David Warner, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (capt), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Josh Inglis (wk), Tim David, Pat Cummins, Nathan Ellis/Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
The one change England may consider is Reece Topley coming in for Wood, with the expectation that there will be some rotation among the seamers through the course of the tournament.
England (probable XI): Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (capt & wk), Will Jacks, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley/Mark Wood
[Cricinfo]
Once is coincidence, twice is a clue, and three times is proof.
To paraphrase Agatha Christie, that is the narrative around South Africa’s meeting with Netherlands at this T20 World Cup.
The Dutch beat South Africa at the 2022 tournament and ended their semi-final hopes in a match where South Africa appeared to be sleep walking, and then beat them again at the 2023 ODI World Cup, where they exposed South Africa’s vulnerability in the chase. If they to do the treble, not only will Netherlands take the lead in Group D, but they will offer conclusive evidence of the threat they pose to Full Members, especially South Africa.
Of course, it will take some doing after South Africa’s opening performance against Sri Lanka, where they reduced their opposition to their lowest T20I total and chased it down in fairly straightforward fashion thanks to the most stable middle-order of their white-ball era. In Aiden Markram, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller, South Africa have bankers and big-hitters and, for this match, they also have the advantage of experience. They’ve already played at Eisenhower Park, and have first-hand knowledge that run-scoring doesn’t come easily;Klassen said they are prepared to use their “cricket brains” and play “smarter cricket”.
But the conditions could be good news for Netherlands, who are not naturally a line-up of big hitters and build their innings on a foundation of turning ones into twos. In other words, they tend to take a slightly more conservative approach to batting, which may work well here, but they’ll be wary of the uneven bounce of the surface and will have to come up with plans to counterattack especially against South Africa’s seamers. Their own bowlers were exemplary in Dallas and will look to build on that performance against a line-up that will likely be more proactive than Nepal’s, but who they have managed to keep quiet not once, but twice in the past. Third time’s the charm, they say.
Anrich Nortje’s stunning return to form against Sri Lanka means South Africa may not have to tinker with the bowling combination, and Gerald Coetzee and Tabraiz Shamsi may have to wait their turns to get a game. The batting line-up should be unchanged, with no space for Ryan Rickelton yet.
South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markam, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Ottneil Baartman, Anrich Nortje
Conditions in New York may tempt Netherlands to include an extra seamer and they have Kyle Klein in their squad. But it could come at the expense of a shortened batting line-up and they may not want to risk that.
Netherlands: Michael Levitt, Max O’Dowd, Vikramjit Singh, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Scott Edwards (capt, wk), Bas de Leede, Teja Nidamanuru, Logan van Beek, Tim Pringle, Paul van Meekeren, Vivian Kingma
[Cricinfo]
Nuwan Thushara’s last over brought Sri Lanka screaming back into the match,as he first bowled Rishad Hossain, and then nailed Taskin Ahmed in front of the stumps with a pinpoint swinging yorker. This left Bangladesh eight wickets down, with 12 runs still to get.
However, the experienced Mahmudullah was at the crease for Bangladesh, and despite some further nervy moments, pushed Bangladesh across the line off the last ball of the 19th over.
But this was a match chiefly decided by Bangladesh’s own outstanding bowling. Mustafizur Rahman was the best among them, using shorter lengths and his cutters efficiently, to claim figures of 3 for 17. Rishad Hossain’s three-for through the middle overs also kept Sri Lanka quiet.
Mustafizur was instrumental in Sri Lanka’s downward spiral through the middle overs, which culminated in a crash-and-burn end. Ultimately, their inability to find boundaries, or even rotate strike against good Bangladesh bowling resulted in their downfall. A score of 125 for 9 always seemed poor on a decent pitch, even if their bowlers made a match of it in the end.
Brief scores:
Bangladesh 125 for 8 in 19 overs (Towhid Hridoy 40, Litton Das 36; Dhanajaya de Silva 1-11, Nuwan Thushara 4-18, Wanidu Hasaranga 2-32, Matheesha Pathirana 1-27) beat Sri Lanka124 for 9 in 20 overs (Pathum Nissanka 47, Dhananjaya de Silva 21; Tanzim Hasan Sakib 1-24, Taskin Ahmed 2-25, Mustafizur Rahman 3-17, Rishad Hossain 3-22) by two wickets
[Cricinfo]
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