Here’s the full transcript of Hayley Matthews’ press conference before the Australia vs West Indies clash 

[Reporter:]

So the big match coming up, so how is the team gearing up for it and what are your expectations going into the match tomorrow?  So how are you preparing for it and how excited are you to play in the semifinals? 

[Hayley Matthews:]

Yeah, we’re really excited as a group. We certainly feel like coming up against OZ, we have nothing to lose, and that puts us in a position where we can be quite fearless going out there. It’s obviously been quite a journey to get here, but I think as a team we’re really proud of probably the way we’ve played so far, but still know that we haven’t been at our best, which gives us a lot of confidence knowing that we can still get a lot better.

[Reporter:]

You are one of the 3 players who was— I mean, who were there at the Eden Gardens in 2016. Of course, that’s when West Indies won the World Cup. So do you think that that game you will look to, think about before going into this particular game? 

[Hayley Matthews:]

Slightly. That was 10 years ago and a much different group. I also think the game was a lot different at that time. I feel like if we want to look back on any match, we could probably look back at the one in 2023 when we were in Aus. Feel like at the Oval, conditions might be pretty similar. We saw the game that England played the other day at home nicely. The wicket was coming on and the par score we feel is certainly going to be a lot higher than it was so far in the competition. But yeah, like I said, for us there’s nothing to lose. And coming up against a team like Aus who we know has a bunch of great players and superstars, we’re going to have to have somebody stand out and do something special, but also have a lot of different people from the team contribute. But I think when you look in our dressing room, we have a lot of match winners. We also have a lot of players, I think, who’ve got a lot of potential to play some really big roles that are probably a bit more unknown as well too, which works for us. 

[Reporter:]

You’ve played Australia a lot recently at home and then in a warm-up match. What have you learned from those encounters with them?

[Hayley Matthews:]

You can’t take your foot off the gas at any point in time, I think, especially when you’re bowling. They seem to come hard from ball one and have a mantra where they just want to keep going. I certainly feel as though that keeps you in play a lot when it comes to having the opportunity to possibly take wickets. But you’re going to have to hold on to your chances for sure and understand that at some point in the game a partnership likely will build. They’ve got a lot of really good players. But it’s about trying to, I guess, control the flow of the runs as much as possible and just try to build as much pressure as possible. Like I said, they’re going to keep coming every single time and you’re just going to have to kind of look to defend and hold things together until you get that breakthrough, I think. 

[Reporter:]

I suppose, people will be looking at Australia, especially after yesterday, and saying that they’re on an extreme roll. Do you feel— you have to feel that you can stop them, of course, but what do you feel needs to be done in order to stop such a powerful team? 

[Hayley Matthews:]

Yeah, we’re going to need big performances from big players. I think we’re certainly going to need a standout individual performance, I believe. But I think to beat a team like Australia, you still need more than one player, and we’re going to have to have our best players really stepping up to the plate tomorrow. I feel like players like Aliyah Alleyne, Jahzara Claxton, they’ve been great role players throughout the tournament. And I think with our stars alongside players like them really playing massive roles, we’re going to have to put together an all-round game as a group. I think I said multiple times that we haven’t had our best match yet. We haven’t had the likes of myself or Deandra Dottin in the runs really—  And that leaves a lot of room for improvement for us as a team. So hopefully we can see some of us stepping up a bit more and taking it to the Aussies. 

[Reporter:]

Do you expect Chinelle will be fully fit to bowl? 

[Hayley Matthews:]

Yeah, hopefully. I think not training today, but I think that’s purely a matter of just giving her an opportunity to rest and recover. But yeah, hopefully we get the chance to see her out there rearing and ready for tomorrow. 

[Reporter:]

And can you just talk about Aliyah a little bit? Like, she’s had a really good World Cup and I guess flies under the radar sometimes. Has she been working on anything in particular, or what have you seen change or improve? 

[Hayley Matthews:]

Yeah, Aliyah, she’s been really good this World Cup, and I feel like she’s a player that certainly improved over the last 6 to 7 months or so, especially with the ball. She’s shown bright sparks in the past. I think last year when we were at the qualifiers in Pakistan, she took a 4-for. That was some amazing bowling regardless of the opposition. I think she’s someone who really tends to want to step up during the big opportunities and the big moments. She has been working, I guess, on some change-ups, which I think has been really valuable this tournament, especially with the wickets probably being a bit better. But yeah, she’s certainly someone who’s made a big difference this World Cup. I think especially in that first match against New Zealand where she was able to take those wickets. And we haven’t even gotten the opportunity, I think, to see her properly with the bat yet as well too, where I also feel that she can make a real difference.

[Reporter:]

And personally, do you feel a lot of pressure on yourself as a high-performing captain?

[Hayley Matthews:]

Somewhat, yes, but I don’t think that’s anything abnormal. I certainly feel like I As a captain and as one of the, I guess, more renowned players in the team, I feel like that pressure is probably a bit deserved and just means that I want to do really well and I want to perform really well. On a big occasion like this, the semi-finals— we got to the semis last year— and yeah, I think to take it one step further would mean a whole lot to us as a group. I know we’ve got some older girls within the team who are really passionate about taking it all the way this World Cup, and we certainly feel like— we’re not like a lot of the other teams where we’re guaranteed a semifinal spot every single World Cup, so we certainly want to make the most of it when we get this opportunity. So personally, I want to be able to play well to help the team, and although I’ve been going really well with the ball, I still know that the team needs me there with the bat, and I want to be able to step up and perform.

[Reporter:]

So you just spoke about how you all are going into this match knowing that you all have nothing to lose, given that there’s Australia of course in front of you all. How different is it to approach a game like this mentally when you’re playing with this kind of a freedom in that sense, and allows, say, so many players in your team who are such free-flowing players, batters. And does that change the way you all prepare for it, or mentally does that leave you in a different space? 

[Hayley Matthews:]

I don’t think it necessarily changes the preparation as much. I just feel like when we step out onto that field, everyone’s expecting us not to win in a sense. And when you go into a game with people probably looking at you thinking that if you do win, it’s going to be a surprise, you certainly feel like you said, that you can just go there, be free. And I almost feel like a bit more of the pressure is on a team like Australia who are going to be expected to beat us, and if they don’t, it’ll probably be a massive disappointment for them. So even though we have a lot of care and a lot of passion and we want to win, we’re certainly not expected to, I think, by the masses, and that eases, I think, a bit of the pressure off of our shoulders. When it comes to expectations, I think. 

[Reporter:]

You’ve just said, nobody expects us to win, or people don’t expect us to win. How does that feel knowing that— I mean, it’s not just because it’s Australia, maybe it’s also, because of maybe West Indies not qualifying, whatever it is. Does it irritate you that people don’t expect that?

[Hayley Matthews:]

I mean, realistically, I think if you look at our T20 performances probably this year – some of it might be down to the way we have performed and I guess the disappointing results we would have had in the Caribbean. But at the same time, I feel like we kind of show up almost every single time we come to a World Cup. And I don’t know what it is within the group, if it’s the passion or the drive, but I certainly feel like there is a sense of loving to prove people wrong and knowing that, yes, we have to prove ourselves over and over, but I think it drives a lot of our players, and we try to use it as motivation and use it as fuel to just want to play harder and want to prove ourselves every single time. 

[Reporter:]

Do you think that when, as you said, that when people are not expecting you to win, do you think that that can channelize— I mean, as you said, is the extra motivation— do you think that that can bring the best out of your players? Like, some of your players are yet, as you said, that you have— you are yet to have your perfect game. As a team? 

[Hayley Matthews:]

Yeah, certainly. As a group, I think we love to take on the fight when we step onto that field, and I know every single person is geared up. It certainly feels like it’s the games where people don’t expect as much from us. And then we obviously had the game against Ireland the other day where it was the complete opposite. We were probably expected to win a bit easier as well, and I don’t want to say choke, but we choked up a little bit. But yeah, I think there is an added fire to us when people think we can’t get the job done. And I’m not just saying that. I think I see it amongst the group and even within the huddle before we step out onto the field. You can always sort of feel a different sense of energy when it is that people are doubting us. And I think we just relish in that a lot of the time.

[Reporter:]

Did you have a look at yesterday’s game, India-Australia, and are you surprised that India is not there in the semifinals at all? 

[Hayley Matthews:]

Yeah, I did have a look at the match yesterday. Certainly a tough group that they were in. Obviously South Africa being a team that’s been in the last 3 World Cup finals now, and Australia being the number 1 ranked team, it was always going to be hard, I think, to pick 2 out of the 3 teams to go through. Unfortunate for India not to be there, but at the same time, one team had to be out, And yeah, South Africa played really good cricket, Australia played really good cricket, and yeah, I guess India didn’t get the cup for it.

[Reporter:]

Haley, so did losing to Ireland really affect you? Not yourself personally, but as a team, was it quite bad afterwards, or how did you reflect on it?

[Hayley Matthews:]

Yeah, as a group, I think we were just disappointed. We didn’t want to have to depend on results to get to the semifinals, and I certainly think for the few hours before England— or before the result between England and New Zealand, we all felt a kind of way that we didn’t want to. Disappointed, probably hurt, like we let ourselves down a bit. But once again, now that we’re through, I could probably say that maybe it’s a blessing in disguise a little bit that we got to experience what that felt like then and there, and use that once again to kind of drive us. It’s certainly something that we did when we got knocked out from the qualifiers back in 2025, and we kind of let that pain motivate us, not in the matches but through our training over the next few months. And yeah, I know we certainly don’t want to let ourselves down like that again. I keep going back to it, but we’re a very, very passionate group and we care a lot. And yeah, when we let ourselves down like that, it certainly doesn’t feel good. So we want to stop that from happening as much as possible. 

[Reporter:]

Hails, a couple of the younger players have stepped up in the group stage matches. Now that you’re coming up against Australia, you’re saying that the bigger, more experienced names have to really step up. But what are you telling the younger ones who have been performing as they’re about to face a juggernaut that is Australia?

[Hayley Matthews:]

Yeah, enjoy it. These are the moments that they can go out and have their best time ever. I think when I think about something like that, I go back to when we just played Australia in the Caribbean and Ashmini Munisar bowled her first ball at Ellyse Perry. She got a leading edge, she jumped in the air with one hand and caught it and did a full 100-meter sprint to the boundary. That’s what it’s all about,. They obviously are coming up against people who they saw, I guess, ruling the cricket world a bit when they were a bit younger now. And I know they look up to a few of those players, but at the same time, I know it’ll mean so much to them if they can come up against them and perform really well too. So they’re definitely going to be out there gunning for them, I hope. And our young players, they’re full of passion and drive as well, so I know they’ll use that to their best advantage. 

[Reporter:]

Do you think this is probably one of your better performing World Cups in terms of having more players step up to the crease, if you want to use it as that, to contribute to the team’s success in the tournament? 

[Hayley Matthews:]

100%. 100%. I keep going back to it. I haven’t made a 50. Deandra Dottin hasn’t gotten runs. Chinelle Henry’s got a 1 score. Stefanie Taylor hasn’t gotten a 50. And we’re winning games, and that’s probably something that we haven’t seen in a very, very, very long time. So the fact that we have other people, and it certainly feels like we have a team collective getting the job done rather than one or two players pulling the weight, and like I keep saying, it certainly means that we have so much better that we can get if we do see some of our bigger players step up. So I think it’s just about us going out there and actually executing it and getting the job done. But it certainly leaves a scope for a lot of belief for us. 

[Reporter:]

You had a really long knock on the net today. Do you think your game is tomorrow for you to really get that score and get the West Indies over the line? 

[Hayley Matthews:]

Yeah, hopefully. I feel like tomorrow is a really big occasion, and I know the team depends on me a lot at the top of the order to not only set the tone but control the innings as well. And I certainly feel that as a group we’re at our best when I’m flowing well and some of the other senior players are flowing well in the middle. So it would be really special if I could have a big innings tomorrow. But yeah, at the same time, not taking away that if I don’t score runs we can’t win. However, I think tomorrow is set up for the perfect occasion for me to step up to the plate, hopefully.

Ben Stokes walks off the field after his final innings after announcing his international retirement on the fourth day of the third Test between England and New Zealand at Trent Bridge on June 28, 2026 in Nottingham, England. (Photo/Getty Images)

There is a special cruelty in the way Ben Stokes decided to retire. On the afternoon of the fourth at Trent Bridge, with the Test still in progress and tea time approaching, he announced that it would be his final match for England. Not at the end of a series, neatly wrapped up in a guard of honor and orchestral montage, but halfway through the story, which was the way he seemed to play most of his cricket. Wait a moment—wait a moment—and that moment was already gone.I have spent a large part of my adult life saying that Test cricket is dying, that five-day cricket is a colonial relic awaiting euthanasia as an attention-grabbing economy. And then along came a left-handed man, born in Christchurch and brought up in Cumbria, who almost single-handedly and certainly with a single mind decided that the patient would not go quietly. They called it Buzzball, after Koch, because the British always liked to name their revolutions after some safe antipodean. Yet it was Stokes who batted as if the scorecard was a personal affront, who declared that when sensible people will settle for survival, and who turned dead rubbers and lost causes into the only kind of cricket that interested him.Of course, there’s Headingley in 2019, because there always is. England were all out for 67 in the first innings, chasing 359, stumbling to 286 for 9, and had only Jack Leach, whose contribution was the equivalent of moral support in cricket. What happened next was less an innings than an argument with probability. Stokes won because, somehow, Stokes usually did. Leach’s solitary run has become one of the most famous singles in cricket history, while a man at the other end was determined to convince mathematics that he had underestimated his authority.

The numbers, while impressive, always felt a little inadequate. Over 7,200 Test runs, over 240 wickets before this final match was over, fourteen Test centuries, and a batting average that critics continue to talk about as if it settled an argument. This does not decide anything. Stokes was never a mediocre man. He was concerned with moments, and moments have an inconvenient habit of resisting arithmetic. 258 runs in Cape Town, the fastest Test 250 ever, tells you more about him than any spreadsheet. The mean is for actuaries. Stokes described, in the extreme, the farce, the impossible stories that grandparents tell to children who politely pretend they have never heard them before.

What I keep coming back to, however, is that the first part of his career did not look like a biography. There was Bristol, controversy, arrests, missing the Ashes, being stripped of the vice-captaincy, and a reputation that appeared beyond repair. Kolkata had Carlos Brathwaite, who sent four consecutive balls into the stands and with him, every comfortable assumption was that redemption from the game followed a straight line. For a while, Stokes became a cautionary tale of English cricket.That it re-established itself in its conscience is, perhaps, its greatest achievement. He spoke openly about mental health at a time when elite sports still considered the vulnerability an administrative error. He stepped away from the game indefinitely and in doing so tacitly gave others permission to do the same. He captained with a body that often appeared to be laced with surgery, stubbornness and belief in almost equal measure. Those are the innings that highlight reels rarely replay.And so he went, not at the end of the series, where tradition would have preferred him, but in the middle of the Test match, when tea was approaching and the result was unresolved. This is the most brilliant end to Ben Stokes that can be imagined. For more than a decade, he played as if the prospect was just another opponent to be defeated. Now they have decided to announce the end of the match even before it ends.Khuda Hafiz, Ben.There will always be a scoreboard and statistics in the fourth innings. It may take longer before he finds someone else who is willing to accept both as mere suggestions.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have officially unveiled the qualification blueprint for cricket’s historic return to action at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. Marking the game’s first appearance on the Olympic stage since 1900, the event featured the top 15-man teams competing in a compact, ultra-competitive Twenty20 format.

Only six nations will make the cut Ensuring a specific field for each men’s and women’s event, at the purpose-built cricket venue in Pomona. While the five spots are decided based on ranking and placement in major tournaments, the final ticket introduces a high-stakes wildcard: the first-ever ICC Olympic Qualifier in 2027.

men’s roadmap

For the men, the entire path depends heavily on the official ICC T20I rankings, making every single bilateral series and tournament over the next six months absolutely crucial.

A total of five automatic berths are available with a fixed ranking cut-off date of 31 December 2026. Here are details of the routes available for the men’s teams.

Route 1: Host Nation Section (1 place)

As the host country, the United States is eligible for automatic entry. However, it’s not a free pass.

As the host country, the United States is eligible for automatic entry, but the ICC has added a highly specific condition. The USA men’s team must touch the top 15 of the Official ICC T20I Rankings at any one point during the six-month period from June 30, 2026, to December 31, 2026.

Importantly, this is a limitation rather than a final deadline requirement. Because the rules state that they only have to finish in the top 15 “at any time,” the U.S. team could theoretically clinch its Olympic spot on the first day of the qualification window based on its current rank of 13th. Once that box is ticked, their ticket to Los Angeles is secure – even if they suffer a dip in form and fall out of the top 15 at the end of the year.

Route 2: Continental dominance through rankings (4th place)

To ensure global representation, the IOC mandated that Africa, Asia, Europe and Oceania must each have a guaranteed representative on the starting grid. These four places will go directly to the highest ranked eligible team from each respective continent at the deadline of 31 December 2026.

Looking at the current T20I ranking table, the race is as follows:

• Asia: India (ranked 1) is currently leading the world and is easily on course for automatic qualification.
• Europe: England (ranked 2) is in the top European position.
• oceania: Australia (Rank 3) is safely in the lead.
• Africa: South Africa (Rank 5) takes the lead as the top African country.

Route 3: ICC Olympic Qualifier 2027 (1st place)

The sixth and final spot in the tournament is reserved for the winner of a brand new, winner-take-all event. The ICC Olympic Qualifier 2027 will have an eight-team bracket.

The line-up for this tournament will consist of the next seven highest ranked teams globally that missed automatic continental qualification. Based on the current situation, giants like Pakistan (ranked 6) and New Zealand (ranked 4) will find themselves in a fierce wildcard battle if they lag behind their continental peers at the end of 2026.

West Indies Complexity

The West Indies cannot compete at the Olympic Games as a unified cricket board because they represent a composite group of Caribbean countries rather than a single National Olympic Committee (NOC).

To navigate this, the ICC has announced that if the West Indies men’s team finishes in the top eight of non-qualified teams by 31 December 2026, a separate Caribbean Qualifier event will be organised. The winning island region in that tournament will earn the right to represent the region at the global ICC Olympic Qualifier in 2027.

Women’s Roadmap: 4 Slot Lock

While the men’s grid is fully open, the women’s qualification process is already well underway. The ongoing ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 serves as the primary gateway, immediately filling four of the six Olympic slots.

Eligible teams: Australia, Great Britain (represented through England), India and South Africa have officially secured their tickets to Los Angeles.

How they did it: They booked their place at the T20 World Cup 2026 by finishing as the highest qualified teams from Oceania, Europe, Asia and Africa respectively, meeting the one-per-continent rule.

The United States women retain the same hosting privileges as the men, requiring a top 15 ranking spot to secure fifth place. If they miss out, the position defaults to the highest ranked non-qualified team on 1 March 2027. The women’s sixth and final spot will also be determined in an eight-team global qualifier tournament in 2027.

LA28 tournament format

Once the six teams are decided, the Olympic tournament will follow a different format. The six countries will be divided into two groups of three each. After a single round-robin group stage, teams would play two additional cross-pool fixtures against opponents who finished in different positions in the opposite group.

The top two teams in the overall multi-stage standings will advance directly to the gold medal match, while the third and fourth placed teams will face off in the bronze medal play-off.

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Less than 24 hours after Ireland secured a 2-0 T20I series win over India, head coach Henrique Malan has resigned from his role with immediate effect.Ireland took a 2-0 lead by defeating India by one run in the second T20 match on Sunday. This was Ireland’s first series win over India in any format. They had won the opening match against the reigning T20 World Champions by 34 runs a few days ago.Batting first, Ireland scored 154 runs for eight wickets in 20 overs. Despite Prince Yadav’s six on the last ball of the innings, India was out after scoring 153 runs for nine wickets.“Working with these players, staff and the wider Irish cricket community has been an absolute privilege. “My family and I have had a wonderful experience living here and we will look back fondly on our time involved in Irish cricket,” Malan said in a statement.“On the field, we can look back with great pride on our historic T20 World Cup win against England in Melbourne, our maiden Test win against Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi, maiden home Test win against Zimbabwe in Belfast, historic T20 series win on home soil versus India and direct qualification for the T20 World Cup through defeats to Pakistan, West Indies, South Africa as well as our consistent ability to challenge and defeat the top teams in the world.”Malan’s contract was due to run until early 2027, but the 45-year-old South African decided to leave early. Cricket Ireland said Malan believes the time is right for a new coach to take charge and prepare the team for qualification for next year’s ODI World Cup.Malan was appointed Ireland men’s head coach in January 2022 on a three-year deal, extendable to 2024. During his time in charge, Ireland qualified for three consecutive T20 World Cups in 2022, 2024 and 2026. One of the team’s biggest results came in Melbourne in 2022, where Ireland defeated eventual champions England.He also led Ireland during all three of the country’s Test victories, including their first Test win.Ireland will host Afghanistan for a five-match ODI series in August.

The timing was pure, immaculate Ben Stokes. Dropping an international retirement bomb midway through the fourth day of the series-deciding Test match against New Zealand at Trent Bridge is a script only he could have written. While the England and Wales Cricket Board issued the official announcement just 15 minutes before the tea interval, the 35-year-old was out on the field bowling continuously.

sudden nature of exit There was immediately intense speculation in the cricket world: had England’s charismatic captain been ousted by the hierarchy?

The suspicion was completely logical. Stokes recently returned to the team being set up for the second test At The Oval on disciplinary grounds. The ECB and the cricket regulator have launched an investigation into his late-night celebrations after England’s victory in the first Test at Lord’s. Although he was eventually cleared of any serious wrongdoing and reinstated to Trent Bridge, rumors arose that the governing body were preparing to punish his captain, causing a major rift.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the news broke, Stokes directly addressed the conspiracy theories and clarified that it was solely his choice. He denied that the disciplinary action or missing the match at the Oval had a direct, causal impact on his decision to end his illustrious 15-year international career.

Instead, Stokes revealed that the roots of his departure stretch much further back, originating during the painful 4-1 Ashes defeat in Australia last winter.

“The Lord’s Test for me was something that brought back negative feelings about where I was in my career,” Stokes said.

“Since getting home I’ve worked very hard to get things right, or at least I thought I was. I put a lot of time and effort into doing that and I burned myself out.”

‘It’s never easy with me, is it?’

Although he insisted that the board did not force him, the all-rounder admitted that the recent nightclub controversy and the subsequent media storm has added fuel to the already burning fire. He described an exhausting week at Lord’s, followed by a poignant moment sitting next to his long-time partner Joe Root in the dressing room, where the reality of his mental exhaustion became undeniable.

“There was preparation for how things were throughout the week at Lord’s and then another moment when I sat next to Joe Root in the dressing room,” he said.

“Obviously another scenario happened that added to it. It’s never easy for me, is it? It was an unfortunate situation to be involved in over the last two weeks.”

Interestingly, being left out of the England team for the second Test actually gave him the final clarity he needed. Sent back to play for his county team, DurhamStokes experienced a sudden, unexpected liberation from the stifling pressure of the international fishbowl.

“Coming back to Durham, when I wasn’t playing the second Test, it gave me a new lease of life to the game, but unfortunately I couldn’t get that feeling back this week,” Stokes confessed. “Right now I’m buzzing, but there have been moments this week that have been really hard and it all adds up.”

Before the public announcement, Stokes gathered his teammates in the dressing room and asked them to put emotions aside for a final effort to win the match.

He openly described his decision as selfish but necessary, acknowledging that his current central contract was due to run until the summer of 2027.

“It may seem quite selfish but this decision is really the best thing for me right now,” he said.

“I hope this is the best thing for the team moving forward, but I also hope it keeps me loving this game that has given me so much.”

Ultimately, before the job completely took away his love for the game, Stokes decided to leave on his own terms. He left international cricket as a two-time World Cup winner and a great defender in big matches, leaving a void in the English game that will be difficult to fill.

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Vaibhav Suryavanshi (Photo ANI)

MUMBAI: Young batting sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s wait for his first India cap continued on Sunday as he was left out of the playing eleven for the second T20I against Ireland in Belfast, while the Indian team management stuck to its decision of playing opener Sanju Samson, India’s 2026 T20 World Cup hero, and explosive Abhishek Sharma, who scored 34 against the hosts in the opening T20I on Friday. Had scored a half-century in a spectacular defeat.India’s decision to keep the 15-year-old wonderboy of world cricket on the bench for the time being has sparked debate. Former England off spin legend graeme swann He feels that if he is left out, the destructive opening batsman from Bihar and Rajasthan Royals, described as a “generational talent”, would immediately make his India debut.“Well, if I was the Indian captain or coach, I would have included him immediately. I have said this, I am a big fan of Vaibhav. He is a generational talent and I would say get him in as soon as possible. The way he played in the IPL this year, starting last season and performing incredibly well, again everyone’s heads turned and wondered, who is this kid? I think there was an expectation that his performance this season would decline, drop off. Whatever it was, he got better and better. And that little blip in the middle of the IPL, one or two games where people thought, ‘Oh, if we bowl all the way there’s a weakness there.’ And he got him out with yorkers a few times. He got few marks. He adapted quickly and then scored at a breakneck pace in the next few innings. I think he’s a once in a generation talent, a generational talent that comes along. And I think the sooner India plays him, the sooner they expose him to international cricket. There is no reason why he can’t be the best player in the world for the next 15 years. I think he’s very good,” Swann said in a conversation on Sunday.Batting strongly for Suryavanshi’s inclusion, Swann said he was doing so “keeping in mind the logic of leaving out someone who doesn’t necessarily deserve to be left out,” simply because “Suryavanshi has done better than all of them in the IPL.”“Of course, I understand the sensibilities of singling him out and excluding someone who doesn’t necessarily deserve to be removed. And that’s where India have a bit of a problem at the moment, because when you look at the first XI, you look at the batting lineup, there’s really no one about whom you would say, okay, they deserve to be dropped based on performance. You could argue that, well, Suryavanshi has done better than most of them in the IPL. Let’s face it, their stats don’t lie. He hit more sixes than Chris Gayle. He scored more runs at a better rate than anyone. So, I will build an attack, a batting order around him. And yes, someone will miss out and it will be difficult for them after winning world trophies and everything like that and then potentially missing out. But if you can find a way to get him in and expose him, he can hit the best bowlers in the world all over the park and destroy them. We saw that.Swann cited Suryanshi’s brutal attack on Australian fast bowler Pat Cummins, who gave away 0-64 in four overs during his explosive innings of 97 off 29 balls in Eliminator 1 at IPL-2026 in New Chandigarh to strengthen his point about the exceptional batting skills of the left-handed opener. “The game that stood out for me was against Pat Cummins. He absolutely destroyed Cummins, who is one of the best bowlers on the planet. You know, he has blindsided almost every batsman in world cricket and Suryavanshi really treated him like a net bowler. It was incredible to see for the first time (as a commentator). So, the hype about him is real and it is really deserved.”Swann revealed that there were high expectations for Suryavanshi ahead of the five-match T20 series between India and England, which begins in Durham on July 1.“I go to my golf club in England. And they say, ‘Who is this kid? Have you seen him play?’ This does not happen. People don’t often talk about Indian cricket at Wollaton Park Golf Club. They moan about English cricket! But when I am coming to play golf and people are saying who is this kid who is playing for Rajasthan (Royals)? And who is this kid to destroy our Under-19 team (Suryanshi played a match-winning inning of 175 runs off 80 balls in the 2026 Under-19 World Cup final in Harare on 6 February this year)? It’s exciting to me,” Swann said.‘Washington is a very good bowler’There have been concerns about the form and utility of off-spinner Washington Sundar, who gave 0-19 an over and was out for nine in the first T20I against Ireland and was dropped on Sunday, but Swann, who took 255 wickets in 60 Tests @29.96, praised Sundar’s abilities.“Washington is a very good bowler. For the record, I think he can easily become a world-class spinner in all three formats (of the game). I was very impressed with the way he bowled in the recent Test and (ODI) series against Afghanistan. His seam presentation is exceptional, and the way he controls his line and length is really good. He uses his height well. He gets that flow. Spinners who get the drift and let the ball come laterally in the air are good and you can’t really coach them out, Swann said.Swann felt that Sundar was an asset due to his batting ability and backed the player to perform well in the upcoming white-ball series in England.“He is an all-rounder. So, a lot of the time for India, he will save games coming later as a batsman. And he scored a good (match-saving) century in a Test in England (in Manchester last year). He is a very good fielder, we know that. But if you can bat and bowl, at the end of the day you are a great option for your captain and coach. He is a good cricketer, and will do well in England. England In bowling, it is all about using spin. This white Kookaburra ball can really turn England. And with the lack of pace, you can be very effective as a spinner, stopping the pace, catching people in the deep, trying to hit people against the spin. So I am predicting a good series for Washi,” Swann concluded.(Watch India Tour of England 2026 – England vs India – 1st T20I on July 1, 2026 at 10:00 PM IST on Sony Sports Ten 1 SD & HD, Sony Sports Ten 3 SD & HD (Hindi), Sony Sports Ten 4 (Tamil, Telugu, Kannada), Sony Sports Ten 5 SD & HD, Sony Max).

There is a special kind of cruelty reserved for knockout football. You can defend for 90 minutes, throwing bodies in front of every shot, dodging wave after wave of attacks and still accomplish nothing. South Africa found this out the hardest way when their inspiring World Cup campaign came to a heartbreaking end against Canada.

For almost the entire evening in Los Angeles, Bafana Bafana refused to bow down. He frustrated, blocked, tackled and scrambled through relentless Canadian pressure, pulling off the first round of the 2026 Round of 32. FIFA World Cup Right up to the edge of extra time.

Then, with seconds remaining, Stefan Eustaquio finally got the breakthrough.

South Africa vs Canada, FIFA World Cup 2026: highlighted

The Canada captain struck deep into stoppage time to seal a dramatic 1–0 victory that ended South Africa’s dream, while Jesse Marsh’s side were sent to the Round of 16 for the first time in their history. Having already broken new ground by reaching the knockout stages, Canada has now taken another big step forward, an extension of the country’s best-ever World Cup campaign.

For South Africa it was heartbreaking but also immensely proud. Hugo Bruce’s team left the tournament having earned praise throughout the football world, and their defensive resilience against one of the most dangerous attacking sides of the tournament only reinforced why they had become one of the stories of the competition.

Canada enjoyed almost all the starting points but repeatedly faced the yellow wall.

Whenever Jonathan David, Tajon Buchanan or Tani Oluwaseyi found a place, another South African shirt appeared. Ronwen Williams was once again superb between the posts, calmly dealing with crosses and making several important saves. In front of them, Aubrey Modiba produced one of the moments of the tournament with a sensational goal-line clearance to deny Moises Bombito, before Simphiwe Mbokazi followed it up with an outrageous last-ditch block to prevent Jonathan David from almost certain scoring.

Those interventions were not isolated moments either. Khuliso Mudau, Nkosinathi Sibisi and Siyabonga Ngezana defended with remarkable discipline as South Africa’s compact size took every inch of space out of Canada’s attack.

The longer the game remained goalless, the stronger the confidence among the traveling South African supporters grew.

Davis changed the script

Canada continued to dominate but lacked the edge to convert control into goals.

Jesse Marsh eventually decided to give up gambling. Promise David was introduced to freshen up the front row before the biggest excitement of the night came when Alphonso Davies finally entered the tournament.

The Bayern Munich captain missed the entire group stage due to injury, but his arrival immediately transformed the Canadian attack.

Suddenly South Africa’s defensive block had to be widened. Mudeau was repeatedly pulled out of position, gaps began to appear in central areas and the Canadian attacks gained far more pace and purpose.

Still, Bafana somehow survived.

Williams denied David again, Mbokazi continued to throw himself into challenges and every clearance was celebrated like a goal. When five minutes of stoppage time was shown, extra time seemed almost inevitable.

Until it wasn’t.

With virtually the final attack of the match, Stephen Eustakio finally provided the moment Canada had spent all evening looking for, drawing home a thunderous celebration and finally breaking down the South African resistance.

History continues for Canada

The final whistle brought two completely different emotions.

The Canadians were breathing a sigh of relief after escaping a defensive masterclass that threatened to take them for more than 90 minutes. South Africa’s players collapsed on the field despite knowing that they had been forced into extra time.

It was a cruel end to an excellent defensive performance, but it should not detract from what Bafana Bafana have achieved throughout this tournament. Williams, Modiba, Mbokazi and the entire back line turned survival into an art form for almost the entire evening, before a final miss proved decisive.

Meanwhile, another page of history has been written for Canada.

They had already recorded their best performance in a World Cup by progressing from the group stage. Now Jesse Marsh has also guided them to their first knockout win, with confidence continuing to grow in a team who look increasingly comfortable on the biggest stage.

Their reward is a round of 16 meeting with the winners of Netherlands vs Morocco. Whoever comes out of that match will know that they are facing a Canadian team that is still making history.

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South Korea head coach Hong Myung-bo resigned on Sunday after the team’s disappointing performance in the FIFA World Cup group-stage, ending his second stint in charge of the national team. The announcement was made at the team’s training camp in Guadalajara after South Korea failed to advance to the knockout round as one of the best third-place teams of the tournament.

Hong took full responsibility for his early exit and apologizedHe told supporters that despite a promising start to the campaign, it was a major disappointment.

“I want to sincerely apologize to the citizens who have loved Korean football and have always supported the national team,” Hong said, quoted by Reuters.

He said, “Today, I would like to step down as head coach of the South Korean national football team. Accepting this role was never an easy decision for me. However, once I made this decision, I did not consider any other reason. I believed that my only job was to fulfill the responsibility assigned to me to the end. I failed to deliver the results expected by the public. The responsibility rests entirely on me.”

Hong was appointed in July 2024 as the long-term successor to Juergen Klinsmann, who led South Korea to its 11th consecutive World Cup. Expectations were high from a team led by captain Son Heung-min and featuring key players Like Lee Kang-in and Kim Min-jae. South Korea started their campaign with a 2–1 win over the Czech Republic, but consecutive defeats against Mexico and South Africa left them on the brink of elimination. Their fate was sealed when Congo’s 3–1 win over Uzbekistan confirmed their exit from the tournament.

President Lee criticizes team formation after shock exit

The early elimination caused a strong reaction in South Korea, with President Lee Jae Myung sharply criticizing the national team leadership and football administration.

“As a former honorary professional football club president and a member of the Red Devils at heart, I feel not only surprise but deep shock at this unexpected result,” Lee said in a statement on his social media account.

He questioned the decision-making structure behind Hong’s appointment, saying, “Once again, it has been proven that personnel decisions determine everything. If loyalty and factionalism are given more importance than merit and an incompetent person is appointed as the leader, the outcome is as predictable as fire.”

The President also called on the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to review the national team’s performance and broader football administration.

Lee said, “I sincerely apologize to the public for the deep disappointment caused by this absurd situation. We will move quickly to reform sports governance to ensure that this does not happen again.”

Hong’s resignation marks another painful World Cup campaign for South Korea, which also oversaw a group-stage exit at the 2014 edition in Brazil. Despite 11 consecutive World Cup appearances and reaching the semi-finals as co-hosts in 2002, the latest failure has intensified scrutiny on the direction of South Korean football.

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Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues join in for sharp glances (screengrabs)

New Delhi: India must win the Women’s T20 World Cup against Australia, but emotions were running high among close friends. Smriti Mandhana And jemima rodrigues They were involved in a heated exchange after an expensive mix-up.Openers Smriti Mandhana (38) and Shafali Verma (34) gave a solid start to India by making a partnership of 66 runs. However, after Shafali was dismissed, a communication error between Mandhana and Jemimah led to the former being run out at a crucial stage of the innings.The incident occurred in the 12th over when Jemima played a reverse sweep towards short third man off the bowling of Georgia Wareham. Mandhana called for a quick single and got set immediately, but Jemimah was watching the ball and did not respond in time. Australia immediately took advantage of the opportunity and Mandhana was run out after a direct throw reached the bowler.As soon as Mandhana returned to the pavilion, both the players looked disappointed and started expressing anger at each other. Watch:Although Mandhana later apologised, the incident briefly led to a tense situation between the two teammates, who share a close bond off the field.

‘It’s part of the game. We moved forward very fast’: Mandhana

Despite middle-order struggles, the captain Harmanpreet Kaur Played a sensational innings and scored 56 runs in just 27 balls, taking India to 170/4. Her explosive batting in the final over, which included three consecutive sixes off Australian captain Sophie Molineux, helped India score 36 runs in the last two overs.Reflecting on the innings and run-out, Mandhana downplayed the incident. She said, “Yeah, I mean, it happens. It’s part of the game. We moved on too quickly.”With their semi-final hopes hanging in the balance, India will now look to defend a competitive total against the six-time champions.