George Munsey’s mammoth innings of 191 for Scotland – a record by a player from an associate nation – proved to be not enough as the Netherlands pulled off the highest chase in Cricket World Cup League 2 history.
Max O’Dowd struck 158 of his own in Dundee, including a six down the ground to clinch victory, as the visitors went past Scotland’s 369-6 with four wickets to spare in a dramatic final over.
The tally of 374-6 equalled the Dutch record score for a one-day international and was the highest chase ever by an associate nation.
Safyaan Sharif became Scotland’s all-time leading wicket-taker in ODIs as he took 3-62, but it was to be to no avail as the Dutch, sitting second in the table behind the United States, stretched their lead over their third-top hosts to four points.
He surpassed the previous best of 175 scored by Calum MacLeod in 2014 and now has more than 5,000 runs for Scotland in all formats.
The 32-year-old left-hander looked all set to carry his bat for a double century but was bowled by Vivian Kingma in the 49th over from the 150th ball he faced.
Matthew Cross, filling in for the ill Richie Berrington as captain, pitched in with 59 runs.
There was also a late cameo from Michael Leask, who hit three sixes on his way to an unbeaten 28 from 14 deliveries as Scotland finished on 369-6, their third highest ODI total.
Sharif took his 259th international wicket in all capped matches when he removed Dutch opener Michael Levitt for 44.
The 34-year-old, who made his ODI debut in 2011, then combined with Munsey to reduce the visitors to 75-2.
However, Teja Nidamanuru, with 51, and Noah Croes, with his own half-century, kept the scoreboard ticking until O’Dowd ensured victory with a thumping six with four balls to spare.
The Air India flight 171 was bound for Gatwick Airport when it crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad on Thursday, with a DanceX star feared to be among the fatalities
Dance X star Jamie Greenlaw-Meek is feared to be among the fatalities from the Air India crash (Image: BBC)
A British dancer and yoga teacher who took part in a BBC One competition is among the feared casualties of the fatal Air India crash today. The India flight 171 was en route to Gatwick Airport when it tragically plummeted shortly after departure from Ahmedabad.
Jamie Greenlaw-Meek – who appeared on BBC One reality contest Dance X – and his partner are feared to have been on board the flight. Hosted by Ben Shephard, the series saw two teams of male and female dancers compete to form a new dance group under the guidance of Arlene Phillips and Bruno Tonioli.
The couple posted an Instagram video via The Wellness Foundry account just before their journey
Jamie made it as a finalist on the show, but was eliminated in the second episode by Arlene and Bruno. Following his time on the series, Jamie became a seasoned dance and yoga mentor.
After the show, Jamie went onto found The Wellness Foundry located in the capital alongside his spouse Fiongal Greenlaw-Meek, who is also believed to have been aboard the plane.
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The couple posted an Instagram video via The Wellness Foundry account just as they were about to set foot on their Air India journey.
In the clip, Fiongal can be heard stating, “We are in the airport, just boarding. Goodbye India.” Adding to the farewell, Jamie proclaimed, “Goodbye India, ten-hour flight back to England.”
Jamie (second from the right) took part in DanceX(Image: PA)
Fiongal also quipped lightheartedly later in the footage, saying, “We’re going back happily, happily, happily calm.”
Not long after take-off, the Boeing 787, carrying over 240 passengers, crashed, as confirmed by authorities. The AAIB has announced the dispatch of UK experts to India to assist with the ensuing investigation.
Former This Morning editor Martin Frizell paid tribute to the former guest who is thought to have died in the Air India crash.
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Martin, who had been the editor of the ITV show until he stepped down earlier this year, paid tribute in a post on Instagram this afternoon.
He included a photo of Fiongal alongside hosts Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley in the studio. Martin wrote in the caption that he had a “vibrancy” and “sheer enthusiasm” when he had featured as a guest on the show back in January.
Martin wrote: “So so sad to hear that Fiongal Greenlaw Meek and his partner are reported to be among the passengers and crew killed today on board the Air India flight bound for Gatwick. I remember his visit to the studio in January, he was passionate about auras and although I’m a sceptical sort his vibrancy and sheer enthusiasm won folk over.”
He continued: “And I know for a fact that he hoped to use his appearance on This Morning to build his Wellness brand, he had a great future ahead of him. Thoughts are with his family and friends and those of his partner Jamie.”
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Rory McIlroy found Oakmont Country Club a bruising challenge as only five players from round one’s morning wave ended under par at the US Open.
Masters champion McIlroy had started well and was two under through nine holes, but then unravelled with four bogeys and a double bogey as he posted a four-over 74.
JJ Spaun, who McIlroy beat in a play-off to win The Players Championship in March, leads the way on four under. The American had four birdies in his opening eight holes and his is the only bogey-free round halfway through day one.
South Africa’s Thriston Lawrence is one behind Spaun after taking 67 shots on the notoriously difficult Pennsylvania course which is hosting a record-extending 10th US Open.
South Korea’s Kim Si-woo is at two under, while Belgium’s Thomas Detry, who was three under after nine, bogeyed his final hole to end on one under, alongside American Ben Griffin.
Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre said his level-par round of 70 was “in the top 10 that I’ve played”.
“That’s almost as good as I’ve got,” he told BBC Sport.
“I’ve never played a golf course as hard. Every shot is on a knife edge.”
Defending champion Bryson DeChambeau was “disappointed” with how he played despite conceding “it was a brutal test”. The American was level par after 11 holes, but a run of three bogeys in five saw him post a 73.
“This golf course can come up and get you pretty quick and it got me,” he added. “I’ve just got to get the putting a bit more dialled and I’ll be right there because three over could have easily been two under.”
His playing partner Xander Schauffele – the world number three – birdied the final two holes as he shot a 72.
Oakmont tests McIlroy after bright start
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Last time the US Open was held here in 2016, only four players broke par and in 2007, the winning score by Angel Cabrera was at five over.
While not quite that penal yet, this tournament does look like living up to its self-proclaimed billing as “the toughest test in golf”.
There were more than double the number of bogeys to birdies on the first morning and, with the course drying out, greens getting faster and the wind yet to bare its teeth, it promises to get harder.
World number two McIlroy has been in indifferent form since completing the career Grand Slam at Augusta National in April but serenely navigated the first half of his round.
He also struck the longest drive of his season, a mammoth 392 yards at the 12th (his third).
But Oakmont bit back on his second nine.
Driving the ball into the five-inch deep rough off the par-five fourth fairway, he needed three shots to escape and only a remarkable 30-foot putt limited the damage to a bogey.
Further shots went at his 15th and 16th holes before a first taste of the behemoth par-three eighth – playing at 276 yards – cost him a double bogey.
McIlroy has finished runner-up in the past two US Opens – in heartbreaking fashion last year after missing two short putts when leading in the closing stages – and has finished in the top 10 for six straight appearances.
Spaun maintains upward progress
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Beyond threatening the biggest win of his career at TPC Sawgrass in the PGA Tour’s flagship tournament earlier this year, world number 25 Spaun has three other top-10 finishes so far this season.
Starting at the 10th tee, he particularly excelled on the greens, kicking off with a 20-footer for birdie and later making three clutch par putts from more than 10 feet to keep his card clean.
“I’m trying to feel like I have nothing to lose,” said Spaun, whose best finish at a major is joint 23rd at the 2022 Masters.
Lowry struggles despite eagle
Jordan Smith, who came through qualifying at Walton Heath, Surrey in May, put together a solid round to be the leading English player from the morning wave, although bogeys on his final two holes saw him finish at two over par.
He is level with Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg who had a rocky finish with four bogeys in his closing five holes.
Tommy Fleetwood and Matt Fitzpatrick battled to four over, while fellow Englishman and 2013 champion Justin Rose closed with a double bogey in his 77.
Protesters took to the streets of Kenya’s capital Nairobi to express their fury over the death of a blogger arrested by police last week, as the country’s police watchdog reported that 20 people had died in custody over the last four months.
Police used tear gas to disperse crowds gathered close to the capital’s parliamentary building on Thursday to protest against the death of Albert Ojwang, a 31-year-old blogger arrested in the western town of Homa Bay last week for criticising the country’s deputy police chief Eliud Lagat.
Police had initially said Ojwang died “after hitting his head against a cell wall”, but pathologist Bernard Midia, part of a team that conducted an autopsy, said the wounds – including a head injury, neck compression and soft tissue damage – pointed to assault as the cause of death.
On Wednesday, President William Ruto admitted Ojwang had died “at the hands of the police”, reversing earlier official accounts of his death, saying in a statement that it was “heartbreaking and unacceptable”.
Kenyan media outlets reported on Thursday that a police constable had been arrested over Ojwang’s death.
Reporting from the protests in Nairobi, Al Jazeera’s Malcolm Webb said that Ojwang, who wrote about political and social issues, had posted online about Lagat’s alleged role in a “bribery scandal”, in which the deputy police chief had already been implicated by a newspaper investigation.
“It’s angered people that he was detained for that, and then days later, dead in a police station,” said Webb, who added that people were calling for Lagat to be held to account, and “persisting in throwing stones at the police in spite of one volley of tear gas after the next being fired at them”.
Finance bill protests: one year on
The case has shone a light on the country’s security services, who have been accused of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances for years.
On Thursday, Independent Policing Oversight Authority chairperson Issak Hassan told lawmakers that there had been “20 deaths in police custody in the last four months”.
The authorities are now conducting an official investigation into Ojwang’s death.
On Wednesday, Inspector General Douglas Kanja apologised for police having previously implied that Ojwang died by suicide, telling a Senate hearing: “He did not hit his head against the wall.”
Ojwang’s death comes almost a year after several activists and protesters were killed and taken by police during finance bill protests – many are still missing.
The rallies led to calls for the removal of Ruto, who was criticised for the crackdown.
At least one person has been killed during an overnight Israeli raid in the southwestern Syrian town of Beit Jinn.
In a statement on Thursday, Syria’s Ministry of Interior said the repeated “provocations” from the Israeli army were a “blatant violation of the sovereignty of the Syrian Arab Republic”.
“These practices cannot lead the region to stability and will only result in further tension and turmoil,” the ministry said.
It added that seven people were abducted, and Israeli soldiers fired directly at villagers, killing one person.
According to Al Jazeera Arabic, the family of the person killed said he had been suffering from a mental disability and was shot when he tried to intervene and stop Israeli forces.
Syria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates called on the international community to “take decisive steps to stop these recurring attacks”.
Earlier, the Israeli army said that its soldiers from the Alexandroni Brigade had carried out an overnight operation to arrest “several” alleged Hamas members.
According to the army, those arrested were planning “multiple terror plots” against Israel and its troops in Syria and confiscated weapons and ammunition.
Those detained were reportedly transferred to Israel for further investigation.
The latest attacks come just days after Israel struck Syria and claimed to have killed an alleged Hamas member in the same area.
Israel has dramatically escalated its attacks in Syria since the fall of former President Bashar al-Assad in December, illegally occupying more territory in southern Syria and carrying out a series of strikes in the country.
Israel reduced its attacks after the United States lifted sanctions on Syria in mid-May, and US President Donald Trump met Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
But Israeli attacks have increased in recent days, after Israel claimed last week that two rockets had been launched from Syria towards the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
Israel illegally seized the southern Golan Heights in 1967 and later annexed it in 1981, in a move unrecognised by the United Nations.
But the two projectiles, which fell into an open area, according to the Israeli military, led to Israeli strikes on Syria.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said that the government viewed al-Sharaa, who led the sudden operation that deposed al-Assad, as “directly responsible” for that attack.
Since taking over, al-Sharaa has repeatedly said that Syria does not want to get involved in a conflict with its neighbours and has urged international pressure on Israel to stop its attacks.
Earlier in June, the new United States special envoy to Syria, Thomas Barrack, proposed a “non-aggression agreement” as a bridging starting point to begin talks between the two rivals.
The Beach Boys are known for their catchy tunes, but one of their most popular songs continues to baffle fans who are still trying to make sense of its meaning
Some fans of The Beach Boys are just finding out the meaning behind one of their iconic songs(Image: Getty)
The Beach Boys, with their unforgettable anthems, have long been revered as one of the greatest bands in history. Their music has captured hearts worldwide, and their hit-laden repertoire continues to be celebrated by fans across generations.
Tragically, the music world is mourning the loss of Brian Wilson, the iconic leader and creative genius behind The Beach Boys. Known for crafting classics such as “Surfin’ USA”, “Good Vibrations” and “God Only Knows”, his influence on the industry is undeniable. However, amidst their collection of hits lies a track that still puzzles many: Sloop John B. The mystery of this song was recently brought into focus on Quora, where someone posed the question: “What is The Beach Boys song ‘Sloop John B’ about?”
The array of answers showcased the song’s ability to evoke both simple and deep interpretations among listeners. Fans flocked online to share their thoughts, revealing a spectrum of meanings attributed to the enigmatic tune.
Despite the varied opinions, it’s clear that “Sloop John B” continues to intrigue and puzzle listeners even now.
The music world is mourning the loss of Brian Wilson(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
One critic mused: “‘Sloop John B’ is a traditional folk song that was popularised by The Beach Boys in their 1966 album Pet Sounds. The song tells the story of a group of sailors on a small boat, the Sloop John B, who experience a series of misfortunes during their voyage.”
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Another voiced their take, adding: “A sloop is a single-masted sailing vessel. The song is about a sailing voyage gone horribly wrong. According to the protagonist, it is the worst sailing trip he’s ever been on and he just wants to go home.”
While yet another contributed: “A sloop is a fishing boat. The song is basically about a boat called the John B, which is on a particularly disastrous trip. It’s actually an old Bahamian folk song which has also gone by the titles ‘I Want to Go Home’ and ‘The Wreck of the John B’.”
What’s the real meaning behind Sloop John B?
This foot-stomping number spins the yarn of a bedlam-filled ship so rife with anarchic behaviour and inebriation that our chief narrator is desperate to disembark and scuttle back ashore. Yet behind its catchy tune lies a weightier story.
The song’s original title of “The John B. Sails” first emerged in print within the pages of British scribe Richard Le Gallienne’s 1917 tome “Pieces of Eight.”, later to be serenaded across the Atlantic in American wordsmith Carl Sandburg’s 1927 volume of melody, The American Songbag, American Songwriter notes.
“John T. McCuteheon, cartoonist and kindly philosopher, and his wife Evelyn Shaw McCuteheon, mother and poet, learned to sing this on their Treasure Island in the West Indies,” he detailed in his notes on the song. “They tell of it, ‘Time and usage have given this song almost the dignity of a national anthem around Nassau’.”
In 1958, The Kingston Trio, often credited with reinvigorating the classic folk tune, recorded a rendition titled “(The Wreck of the) John B” for their debut album. Following this, numerous artists including Johnny Cash (1969), Lonnie Donegan (1960) and Jimmie Rodgers (1960) released their own interpretations.
During a recording session in 1965, Beach Boys member Al Jardine had an idea. He “had been studying the song at home, and from my early experiences as a fan of the Kingston Trio, I thought that it would be a great song for us to do.”
Over time, there has been speculation about the song’s authenticity, with some suggesting it was composed for the tourism industry. However, it is believed to narrate a true tale.
Reports suggest that a 19th-century vessel named after Captain John Bethel did exist.
It is said that he constructed and sailed the ship until its unfortunate wreck, which could explain why some renditions are titled “The Wreck of the John B”. Nevertheless, it remains unconfirmed whether the ship mentioned in the song refers to his vessel.
The tale of the Beach Boys’ legendary Brian Wilson at his piano unfolds as bandmate Al Jardine began toying with a chord sequence, recounting to American Songwriter: “I said, ‘Remember this song?’ I played it.”
Initially, Wilson was less than enthusiastic. “He said, ‘I’m not a big fan of the Kingston Trio.’ He wasn’t into folk music. But I didn’t give up on the idea,” Jardine shared.
Jardine persisted, tweaking the chords to suit the Beach Boys’ iconic style, and confidently stated: “I figured if I gave it to him in the right light, he might end up believing in it.”
Continuing his musical tinkering, Jardine revealed: “So, I modified the chord changes so it would be a little more interesting.”
Wilson then took over, crafting the melody and adding commercial flair. After months of work, they recorded the vocals, with Brian and Mike Love leading the way.
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The group felt the song needed a rock edge to hit home on the radio. This very track premiered as the lead single from their album Pet Sounds and soared to No.3 on the Billboard Hot 100.
