Strongman Samson takes India past West Indies to set up England semi-final
For the third time in three T20 World Cups, England will meet India in the semi-finals, after the co‑hosts beat West Indies in what was in effect a quarter-final on Sunday night to seal their place in the final four and eliminate their opponents.Sanju Samson, who lost his place in the side on the eve of the tournament but who was recalled after India’s humbling Super 8s defeat by South Africa, dramatically rediscovered his touch, batting through the innings to finish unbeaten on 97.Chasing 196, the co-hosts looked in control with the 31-year-old at the crease and fittingly it was Samson who struck the winning runs, lifting his 50th delivery over mid-on to seal victory by five wickets, with four balls remaining.After West Indies were put in to bat Roston Chase, opening for the first time in Twenty20 internationals, powered the start of their innings in partnerships of 68 off 53 with Shai Hope, and 34 off 16 with Shimron Hetmyer – the latter pairing ended when Jasprit Bumrah dismissed both in a single over – while Jason Holder and Rovman Powell added 76 off the last 35 balls.But they were undermined by Hope’s pedestrian innings of 32 off 33 and by a series of fielding errors, including three dropped catches.
India and England will meet in Mumbai on Thursday knowing that in the past two tournaments the team that came out on top in their encounters have gone on to win the title, with the English prevailing in Adelaide in 2022 and losing in Guyana two years ago.The other semi-final, to be played on Wednesday, will be between New Zealand, runners-up in England’s Super 8s group, and South Africa, who sealed top spot in theirs by defeating Zimbabwe by five wickets in Delhi.The teams also met in the first group stage, with South Africa prevailing on that occasion by seven wickets to continue their 100% record against the Black Caps in five encounters at the T20 World Cup, though before this tournament they had not met in 12 years.So the weekend finishes with us finally knowing not only who will face each other in the semi-finals, but where those games will be played.The possibility of a semi‑final, and potentially also the final, being relocated to Colombo was extinguished when Pakistan, who needed to beat Sri Lanka emphatically on Saturday, won by only five runs, but uncertainty about the fixtures was such that tickets went on sale only last Tuesday.
At the same time, and at less than two weeks’ notice, sales were also launched for two finals in two countries.England completed their last Super 8s fixture on Friday and then, despite results in the first two rounds of games in the other group coming as close as possible to a definitive answer, were forced to spend two days hanging around in Colombo waiting for confirmation on where their semi-final would be played.This uncertainty was extended by the International Cricket Council’s decision not to schedule the final round of fixtures in each group simultaneously, which would not only have had greater sporting integrity but could have allowed all four to be played on the same day.Instead each had its own primetime broadcast slot, stretching them over three days.It may irritate some that India had the advantage of knowing that only a reunion with Pakistan could have diverted their semi-final from Mumbai, but not every aspect of co‑hosting has been to their benefit.
To satisfy their fans they have played their first seven games in six cities, whereas of the other semi-finalists England have played in four, New Zealand three and South Africa two.Should they reach the final, the Proteas will have played six of nine games in the venue that will host the final, the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, and if India really wanted to skew things in their favour those are the fixtures they would have wanted.For those watching the tournament on television, the complexity of these arrangements has made little difference, but for those on the ground, required to make arrangements to be in two or even three cities simultaneously before cancelling all but one, the organisation of the tournament must seem absurd and inexplicable, and its implications costly.Likewise for the hoteliers in the host cities who will be dealing with thousands of last-minute cancellations and for those required to arrange staffing, policing and catering of games that will never go ahead.In five years, India will co-host a 50‑over World Cup with Bangladesh and they can all do it again.
Seth Meyers on Team Trump’s Iran threats: ‘These guys speak like they’ve been hit on the head’
On Thursday night, late-night hosts remarked on the Jeffrey Epstein investigations, the threat of a US attack on Iran and Donald Trump nominating a wellness influencer as the next US surgeon general.Meyers focused on the president’s criticisms of a landmark 2015 deal between Iran and world powers in which the country agreed to curb their nuclear program. “I’ve been making lots of wonderful deals, great deals,” Trump said. “That’s what I do. Never in my life have I seen any transaction so incompetently negotiated as our deal with Iran
‘You’re sweet – and I’m old!’: Billy Porter and Sam Morrison on teaming up for a comedy about love and death
The Emmy-winning singer and actor was so struck by the standup’s autobiographical one-man show Sugar Daddy that he signed on as producer. The pair discuss ‘bears’, blood sugar and bridging the divides between generations of gay menSugar Daddy is a one-man show about “love, grief and insulin” by the 31-year-old standup Sam Morrison. An autobiographical monologue that turns tragedy into comedy, it tells of how Morrison fell in love with Jonathan, who was 24 years his senior, after meeting him at a gay bear festival in Provincetown, Massachusetts. In 2021, two and a half years into their relationship, Jonathan died from Covid.For the last four years, Morrison has been performing Sugar Daddy around the world; next month he brings an updated version to London’s West End
‘Seems I’m not dead’: Magda Szubanski says she is in remission after treatment for stage four cancer
Magda Szubanski has revealed the “fantastic news” she has finished chemotherapy and is in remission from a rare, aggressive cancer she was diagnosed with nine months ago.Wishing her fans a “Happy Mardi Gras” in a video on Instagram on Friday, Szubanski said: “I wanted to share the fantastic news, which is that I’ve completed chemo, and I am now in remission. So phew, big relief.“It’s not a cure, but because I’ve got a good remission, that hopefully means that I will … keep the cancer at bay for a good long time.”In May the 64-year-old actor and comedian said she had stage four mantle cell lymphoma, an uncommon and aggressive form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and said she had shaved her head ahead of treatment
‘The sky’s the limit’: Newcastle Art Gallery unveils its ‘divisive’ $48m expansion with a blockbuster opening show
On Friday night, the Newcastle Art Gallery (NAG) is throwing open its doors and filling the road and park with giant fluffy doughnuts, live music, dancing and art in a free-for-all street party – themed “industrial disco” – that has been 16 years in the making.For the NAG team, and Novocastrians more broadly, this is a significant moment, marking the long-awaited completion of the $48m gallery expansion project, which went from being “very divisive” in the community to something that’s generating “a remarkable buzz and excitement,” according to Jeremy Bath, the CEO of Newcastle city council.Now the largest public gallery in NSW outside of Sydney, it opens with the major exhibition Iconic Loved Unexpected, displaying 500 artworks from its 7,000-strong collection. Displayed over the 13 gallery spaces (eight of which are new, in a floor space that’s more than double that of the 1997 building), it’s a star-studded showcase of the gallery’s $145m collection, including Australian greats Emily Kam Kngwarray, John Olsen, Margaret Preston, Brett Whiteley, Daniel Boyd and Margaret Olley.It’s the headliners who will draw the crowds, but the gallery – led by the NAG director, Lauretta Morton – has been intentional in championing lesser-known local artists, too
Dead-end boys and West End girls: Lily Allen’s greatest songs – ranked!
Ahead of her UK tour and her three nominations at this weekend’s Brit awards, we appraise Allen’s sharp, candid songcraftThe final track of West End Girl is as close as the album’s break-up saga comes to conciliation, which isn’t terribly close (there’s a glancing lyrical reference to fault on both sides). But in its dreamy trip-hoppy backing and the sweetness of its melody lurks something else: a sense of closure.“I ripped off the chorus … and can’t be bothered with the paperwork,” shrugged Allen of Who’d Have Known’s distinct similarity to Take That’s Shine. They let her use it anyway, and understandably so: Who’d Have Known is an entirely lovely drawing of a relationship in its early stages, that seems to gently glow with possibilities.A genuinely great song from Allen’s flawed third album Sheezus, Our Time neatly captures a sense of here-comes-the-weekend anticipation
Sport for young people wins sustained investment – why not the arts? | Letter
Your article (‘A safe space to come and just be’: the longed-for radical utopian return of Britain’s youth clubs, 19 February) powerfully captures what is at stake in the slow erosion – and urgent renewal – of youth provision across the country.Against that backdrop, the launch of the Young Creatives Commission could not be more timely. For too long, access to arts and culture has been shaped by postcode and privilege. Creative subjects have been progressively squeezed out of state schools, while youth clubs, local theatres and grassroots arts organisations have weathered years of funding cuts. The consequences are stark: millions of young people, particularly those from working-class and underrepresented backgrounds, are excluded from opportunities that build confidence, support wellbeing and develop employable skills
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