Category News

Indore, ICC Women’s World Cup

New Zealand 231 (47.5 overs): Devine 85 (98), Mlaba 4-40

South Africa 234-4 (40.5 overs): Brits 101 (89), Luus 81* (114)

South Africa won by six wickets.

South Africa won the World Cup in Indore by six wickets after being humiliated by England.

The Proteas defeated New Zealand for 231 in their opening match of the tournament on Friday, skipping 69 and falling 10 wickets in a remarkable turnaround in fortunes.

Tazmin Brits, one of the ten South African players who recorded a single-figure score last week, hit a fantastic 101 in her fifth one-day international century in five innings and fifth this year.

Marizanne Kapp and Anneke Bosch both departed chasing a net run-rate boost, but Sune Luus, who combined for 159 for the second wicket with Brits, came in with 81 not out to seal a commanding victory. Marizanne Kapp and Anneke Bosch also left chasing a net run-rate boost, but Brits was bowled two balls after scoring her century with 47 runs.

In contrast, New Zealand’s bat, ball, and field skills were lacking.

Suzie Bates was out lbw to the first delivery when South Africa decided to bat, and they chewed up 48 dot balls in a timid powerplay.

Sophie Devine and Brooke Halliday set the tone with 86 from 75 balls through the middle, but Nonkululeko Mlaba, a left-arm spinner, took 4-40 after losing to Halliday in the 39th over, causing a collapse of seven wickets for 44 runs in 59 balls from 187-3.

Devine’s side later gave 19 wides and threw misfields, but her side were bowled for 85 in the 45th over, giving way to a big finish.

Only the top four of the group stages have progressed from the group stage, which leaves New Zealand, the T20 World Cup champions of last year, behind Australia, India, and England.

The turnaround of the British was exemplified by South Africa.

Last week, Linsey Smith was one of Linsey Smith’s three powerplay victims when she bowled in the fourth over.

Given that she was only allowed to start her innings with pace bowling, which was another odd New Zealand call, she had no chance to break three figures with her powerful drives, which were particularly eye-catching.

The 34-year-old is not the more recoiled batter in this XI, which is Laura Wolvaardt, the more elegant captain, but her run of form is stunning.

In her first 20 ODI innings, she did not record a century, but she has since recorded seven in 21 innings.

Brits is also the first woman to reach five ODI centuries in a calendar year, beating out Australian great Meg Lanning as the format’s fastest player with her 41st innings.

She said, “I’m not one for records, but when you mention Meg Lanning, I’m happy I’m above that.”

“I’m just trying to be as optimistic as I can and just backing myself.”

“I’m not a record-breaker, but I’m good as long as we win,” I said. I’m just trying to be as optimistic as I can and just backing myself.

Laura Wolvaardt, South Africa’s captain, said: “It was such an amazing turnaround and something we knew we were capable of after that first game. I’m glad we put that behind us and were able to bounce back.

“We will enjoy it tonight, but like the first game, we have to forget about it because cricket begins at zero and is a significant game for us [versus India].”

Sophie Devine, the skipper of New Zealand, said: “We got ourselves into a position to launch ourselves and then lost wickets, and it’s difficult to have a crack at the back end.”

Russell Martin does not leave Rangers with an infamous meme-worthy moment like some of his predecessors, such as arguing with fans in a bush or performing a headstand in a dugout.

But he will be remembered by many as a worse Ibrox boss than all of them – and arguably the club’s worst of all time.

Why? One, his 123-day reign is the shortest of any permanent Rangers manager. And, two, his win percentage of just 29% is by far the lowest in the club’s history.

With champagne dripping from his hair and a 2020-21 Scottish Premiership winner’s medal around his neck, then manager Steven Gerrard urged Rangers to “fix the roof while the sun is shining”.

Spoiler – the roof still ain’t fixed and the sun ain’t shining no more.

Rangers went through four managers – Gerrard, Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Michael Beale and Philippe Clement – in the following four years before getting to Martin.

The Govan side were a penalty shootout away from winning the Europa League under Van Bronckhorst, then won a Scottish Cup days later. He went with Rangers nine points behind Celtic the following season.

Beale and Clement both made positive starts before their reigns unravelled. Beale’s side were seven points adrift of Celtic when he was sacked. It was 13 for Clement.

Martin leaves Glasgow with Rangers nine off Celtic and 11 behind leaders Hearts after just seven league games.

Prior to 2012, Rangers had 13 managers in more than a century. In the past decade, they have burned through seven.

They support the view the 39-year-old is Rangers’ worst ever manager.

Albeit over a 123-day period, the shortest tenure of any first-team boss at Ibrox, Martin’s 29% win percentage is the lowest in the club’s history.

Paul le Guen managed 52% and Pedro Caixinha’s was 54%. Even Barry Ferguson’s interim spell had a win rate of 40%. Graeme Murty’s was 60% across his two caretaker stints. Clement (64%) and Beale (72%) are well clear.

As for Martin, it felt like each game came with a new low.

A 1-1 draw with Dundee in his second Premiership game marked the first time since 1989 that Rangers had failed to win their opening two league fixtures.

Losing to Hearts in September meant the Ibrox side had not won any of their first five league matches for the first time since 1978.

A 6-0 humiliation in Brugge, inflicting a 9-1 aggregate embarrassment, was a record-equalling European defeat.

And the 2-1 Europa League loss to Sturm Graz on Thursday ensured Rangers went a 23rd consecutive away game without a clean sheet. That is a new club record.

Even in victory there were serious red flags. Martin’s side faced an eye-watering 73 shots across four matches while progressing past Panathinaikos and Viktoria Plzen in Champions League qualifying.

The underlying numbers told us it was not sustainable. And so it proved.

In the Premiership, only two teams have scored fewer goals than Rangers this term. No team has had fewer clean sheets. They have only faced two shots fewer than St Mirren. They are on a negative goal difference.

Their expected goals (xG) rating of nine ranks them eighth, where they happen to be placed in the standings that really count.

Even with that evidence, Martin often said his team’s deficiencies were down to mentality issues and not tactics.

In the backdrop, Rangers’ board sanctioned a net spend of around £20m in the summer window. There have been suggestions that could mean the club spent close to £40m on incomings.

Rangers could take a leaf out of the book of their city rivals and turn to a previous manager to try to stabilise and bring back success.

That would be Gerrard, who has been out of work since ending an 18-month stint in Saudi Arabia with Al-Ettifaq.

The former Liverpool and England captain’s Ibrox reign was far from perfect, but he is the only man to have led Rangers to a top-flight title in the past 14 years.

The ex-Aston Villa boss was reportedly in the running for the Ibrox job in the summer, along with Davide Ancelotti, son of the great Carlo.

It seems the Ancelotti ship has sailed, though, with the former Real Madrid coach now at Botafogo, where he has won 10 of 22 games in his first job in management.

Sean Dyche’s name has also been mentioned by fans and bookmakers, which perhaps carries weight given his connection with Rangers sporting director Kevin Thelwell, whom he worked with at Everton.

There is some snobbery around the football the former Burnley boss looks to implement, but he would surely make Rangers a harder team to beat.

Then there is Derek McInnes, whose history at Ibrox is well documented. The former Rangers midfielder was targeted for the managerial position while Aberdeen boss but turned the role down.

Now leading the Premiership table with Hearts, would Rangers’ new ownership group be interested in the experienced 54-year-old?

But he will be remembered by many as the club’s worst manager of all time and the worst manager of Ibrox.

Why ? One is that no permanent Rangers manager has ever managed 123 days. And two more importantly, his win rate of just 29% is by far the lowest in club history.

When Rangers were urged to “fix the roof while the sun is shining,” with champagne dripping from his hair and a medal for the 2020 Scottish Premiership winner hanging around his neck.

Spoiler: The sun is no longer shining, and the roof is still unfixed.

Before moving to Martin, Rangers went through four managers: Gerrard, Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Michael Beale, and Philippe Clement.

Under Van Bronckhorst, the Govan side was one penalty shootout away from winning the Europa League, but they did so in the Scottish Cup a few days later. The following season, he led Rangers by nine points going into second place behind Celtic.

Before their tumultuous reigns came to an end, Beale and Clement both had positive beginnings. When he was sacked, Beele’s team were seven points adrift of Celtic. Clement received a 13 for him.

After just seven league games, Martin leaves Glasgow with Rangers nine points behind Celtic and eleven behind Hearts.

Rangers had 13 managers in more than a century before 2012. They have burned through seven in the last ten years.

They agree that the 39-year-old is the worst manager the Rangers have ever had.

Martin’s 29% win percentage is the club’s lowest in its history, despite being the shortest first-team manager at Ibrox over a 123-day period.

Pedro Caixinha’s percentage was 54%, while Paul le Guen’s was 52%. In Barry Ferguson’s interim spell, 40% of the vote was won. Graeme Murty’s overall score was 60% between his two interim stints. Clement (64%) and Beale (72%) are well clear.

Martin, you might recall, each game had a new low.

Rangers’ 1-1 draw with Dundee in his second Premiership game marked Rangers’ first consecutive defeat in their first two league games since 1989.

The Ibrox side had not won any of their first five league games since 1978 because of Hearts’ defeat in September.

A record-equalling European defeat came from a humiliating 6-0 humiliation in Brugge that resulted in a 9-1 aggregate embarrassment.

And Rangers won their 23rd straight away game without a clean sheet thanks to their 2-1 defeat to Sturm Graz on Thursday. That is a new club record.

Even after winning, there were significant red flags. In Champions League qualifying, Martin’s side defeated Panathinaikos and Viktoria Plzen in a record-breaking 73 shots in four games.

The numbers that underpinned it indicated that it was unsustainable. It proved to be true.

Only two Premiership teams have allowed just two goals this term over Rangers. There haven’t been any clean sheets for any team. Compared to St Mirren, they only faced two shots. They have a negative goal difference.

Their nine-goal expected goals (xG) rating places them eighth in the standings that really matter.

Martin frequently claimed that mentality issues and not tactics contributed to his team’s flaws despite that evidence.

In the end, Rangers’ board approved a net spend of about £20 million during the summer. According to some, the club might have spent close to £40 million on incomings.

Rangers could approach their city rivals in an effort to stabilise and resurrect success using a former manager’s advice.

Gerrard, who hasn’t been in work since leaving Al-Ettifaq for Saudi Arabia for 18 months, would be one of them.

The former England and Liverpool captain is the only player to have helped Rangers to a top-flight title in the last 14 years despite the fact that his Ibrox reign was far from ideal.

The former Aston Villa manager and Carlo Ancelotti’s son Davide were reportedly in the running for the Ibrox job in the summer.

However, it appears that Ancelotti’s ship has sailed, with the former Real Madrid coach working at Botafogo, where he has won 10 of his 22 games in his first managerial position.

Fans and bookmakers have also mentioned Sean Dyche, which may have significance given his association with Everton’s former teammate Kevin Thelwell.

The former Burnley manager would undoubtedly make Rangers a more difficult team to defeat despite the fact that there is some snobbery surrounding the football.

Derek McInnes is another renowned Ibrox player, whose past has been well documented. While Aberdeen manager, the former Rangers midfielder turned down the opportunity to become a manager.

Would the 54-year-old, who is currently leading the Premiership table with Hearts, be interested in the 54-year-old?

Cameron Norrie, a British player, was let down by teen sensation Learner Tien in the third round of the Shanghai Masters.

On another hot and humid evening, world number 33 Norrie defeated the American 7-6 (7-4), 6-3, 7-6.

After breaking free in the first set, Norrie returned and served for the opener before Tien regrouped to take the final tie-break.

Norrie then missed another two chances to break back after missing three break points early in the second set before losing his serve the following match.

This year, he has already defeated Medvedev twice, once in the semi-finals of last week’s China Open, where the Russian was forced to retire with cramps.

The 19-year-old advanced to the fourth round in Melbourne and defeated Lorenzo Musetti and Medvedev, both of whom finished in the top five this year.

Jannik Sinner, the second-ranked player in the China Open final, forced him to retire with a broken leg on Monday in Shanghai.

With a 6-3 7-6 (7-5), Medvedev looked to wrap up a difficult year by winning over Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

Alexander Zverev, the third-ranked player, lost to Arthur Rinderknech 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in a first-round match.

Rinderknech, who knocked him out of Wimbledon in the first round, has now defeated Zverev for the second time this year.

Zverev, a German who reached the Australian Open final at the start of the year, has had a disappointing season, winning just one title.

Zverev said, “My year has been terrible, I’m just playing terrible tennis all year.”

The Israel-Premier Tech team are to drop Israel from their name from next season.

The team were at the centre of several disruptions during last month’s Vuelta a Espana in Spain, as pro-Palestinian protests were staged over Israel’s war in Gaza.

The team said the past few months had been “an incredibly difficult period” but “recognised the need for change”.

They added: “With steadfast commitment to our riders, staff, and valued partners, the decision has been made to rename and re-brand the team, moving away from its current Israeli identity.

The Israel-Premier Tech squad, whose five British riders include four-time Tour de France champion Chris Froome, is Israeli-registered and owned by Israeli-Canadian property billionaire Sylvan Adams.

It was founded as Israel Cycling Academy in 2014 and has been sponsored by Canadian company Premier Tech since 2022.

Premier Tech said last month it expected Israel to be dropped from the name from the 2026 season.

Adams is to step back from his day-to-day role as part of the changes and will no longer speak on the team’s behalf.

The 66-year-old is closely associated with Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and has previously told BBC Sport he is a “self-appointed ambassador to Israel”.

There were several protests and disruptions during the three-week Vuelta, aimed mainly at the participation of the Israel-Premier Tech team, who stopped using their full name on their jerseys midway through the race.

The final stage, around Madrid, was cancelled following pro-Palestinian protests, which caused scuffles with riders and the course to be blocked in several places.

The team had their invitation to last weekend’s second-tier Giro dell’Emilia race in Italy revoked over fears the race could have been affected by similar disruptions.

President of the professional cyclists’ union Adam Hansen has said cutting races short may be the only way to deter protests.

World cycling governing body the UCI said it will continue to welcome Israeli athletes at its competitions despite calls for sporting boycotts.

After the United Nations commission of inquiry formally declared Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza – a claim Israel denies – there have been growing calls for the country to be suspended from international football competition.

The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

Matt Warwick – cycling reporter

This is a painful admission by the team and its owner Sylvan Adams that the presence of Brand Israel is causing unease in places such as elite sport.

Adams’ involvement in Israeli politics is well known, if not officially assigned. He supported Benjamin Netanyahu’s government on a trip to the White House to oversee the signing of an accord between Emirati nations and Israel during President Trump’s first term in 2020.

The team began largely thanks to Adams’ passion for cycling, and belief that the sport can bring communities closer together in parts of the world away from its European heartland. Indeed, a certain amount of new infrastructure at the recent Road World Championships in Rwanda came from Israeli investment.

But despite a few Grand Tour stage wins here and there, Israel-Premier Tech have found the pace hard going at times at the elite level, and can ill afford to lose sponsors such as Canada’s pesticide specialists Premier Tech.

The Israel-Premier Tech team are to drop Israel from their name from next season.

The team were at the centre of several disruptions during last month’s Vuelta a Espana in Spain, as pro-Palestinian protests were staged over Israel’s war in Gaza.

The team said the past few months had been “an incredibly difficult period” but “recognised the need for change”.

They added: “With steadfast commitment to our riders, staff, and valued partners, the decision has been made to rename and re-brand the team, moving away from its current Israeli identity.

The Israel-Premier Tech squad, whose five British riders include four-time Tour de France champion Chris Froome, is Israeli-registered and owned by Israeli-Canadian property billionaire Sylvan Adams.

It was founded as Israel Cycling Academy in 2014 and has been sponsored by Canadian company Premier Tech since 2022.

Premier Tech said last month it expected Israel to be dropped from the name from the 2026 season.

Adams is to step back from his day-to-day role as part of the changes and will no longer speak on the team’s behalf.

The 66-year-old is closely associated with Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and has previously told BBC Sport he is a” self-appointed ambassador to Israel”.

There were several protests and disruptions during the three-week Vuelta, aimed mainly at the participation of the Israel-Premier Tech team, who stopped using their full name on their jerseys midway through the race.

The final stage, around Madrid, was cancelled following pro-Palestinian protests, which caused scuffles with riders and the course to be blocked in several places.

The team had their invitation to last weekend’s second-tier Giro dell’Emilia race in Italy revoked over fears the race could have been affected by similar disruptions.

President of the professional cyclists ‘ union Adam Hansen has said cutting races short may be the only way to deter protests.

World cycling governing body the UCI said it will continue to welcome Israeli athletes at its competitions despite calls for sporting boycotts.

After the United Nations commission of inquiry formally declared Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza – a claim Israel denies – there have been growing calls for the country to be suspended from international football competition.

In response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in the deaths of about 1,200 people and the hostage of 251, the Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza.

Cycling reporter Matt Warwick

The team’s owner Sylvan Adams has painfully admitted that Brand Israel’s presence is causing unease in settings like elite sport.

Adams’ involvement in Israeli politics is well known, if not officially attributed. During President Trump’s first term in 2020, he backed Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration when he traveled to the White House to oversee the signing of an agreement between the Emirati countries.

Adams’ passion for cycling and belief that the sport can bring people together in places other than their European heartland were largely at the beginning of the team. In fact, Israeli investment contributed a significant amount to the recent Road World Championships in Rwanda.

Israel-Premier Tech can’t afford to lose sponsors like Canada’s Premier Tech, and despite a few Grand Tour stage victories occasionally, the pace is challenging at times at the elite level.