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Edinburgh Reporter
2 hours ago
- Sport
- Edinburgh Reporter
Omer's roadmap for Grange
Omer Mahmud Khan has taken over as coach of the Grange women's cricket team knowing he doesn't need to look far to find role models for his charges. Two recent Grange players, Lucy Weston and Ellen Watson, are now playing for Leicestershire Foxes in the women's one day league in England. Omer says it is his goal to provide opportunities for others to follow in their footsteps while also targeting success in the fledgling Scottish Women's Premiership and national knock out cup which begins on a twenty:20 format in July. One of the most recognisable figures in East cricket – Omer played with Drummond Trinity from 2008-2016 before spending the next eight years at Kirkbrae (five as captain alongside three as chairman) he has committed his playing abilities to Boroughmuir this season as it one of the clubs most convenient for him – he says: 'I just completed my level 1 and 2 coaching qualifications with Cricket Scotland when the role at Grange came up. 'There is tremendous potential with around 50 females involved including teams for under-14 and under-16s. 'Some have been playing at Grange since aged four or five and it is such a great venue with a road map for players to follow the likes of Lucy and Ellen. 'With older players availability can be sporadic due to university commitments so my arrival while running the 12 week long Edinburgh Hub for a select group of under-16 boys under the MCC Foundation scheme is a good time to launch a recruitment drive at Grange. 'What we don't want to do is promote under-16's into the seniors just to be number fillers which can be discouraging. We need the up and comings to earn their places. 'Part of the overall challenge is improving awareness of the Women's Premier League but hopefully we play our part alongside Cricket Scotland's growth plan.' One of England's most decorated cricketers, Stuart Broad, is coming to Edinburgh's Assembly Rooms on 26 October as part of a UK wide tour. Stuart's roadshow will see him reflect on a career which yielded more than 600 Test wickets as well as a T20 World Cup and Ashes success. The Grange women's cricket team before their opening Scottish women's Premier League match against the combined Watsonian/Dumfries side. The Grange team comprised: E Wood, A Patwari, C Edwards, C Milburn, E Small, B Gull, I Sale, I Westwood, N Maxim, C Beddison, S Nayak. Like this: Like Related
Rhyl Journal
18 hours ago
- Sport
- Rhyl Journal
Jamie Overton set for spell on sidelines with broken finger
Overton dropped a sharp return catch from just his second delivery in the Windies' reply to England's 400 for eight and immediately sprinted to the dressing room clutching his right hand while grimacing. After some treatment, the fast bowling all-rounder returned and sent down five more overs, impressively claiming career-best ODI figures of three for 22, but he is now set for a short spell on the sidelines. Frustration for @JamieOverton 😫 Read more 👇 — England Cricket (@englandcricket) May 31, 2025 'Jamie Overton has been ruled out of the remaining Metro Bank one-day internationals and the Vitality IT20s against the West Indies due to a broken right little finger,' an ECB statement said. England will not draft in a replacement for the last two ODIs – on Sunday at Cardiff and Tuesday at the Kia Oval – or the three-match T20 series, which gets under way on Friday at Chester-le-Street. Injuries to Jofra Archer and Gus Atkinson saw them withdraw from the squad ahead of the ODI series, with Saqib Mahmood, Brydon Carse, Matthew Potts and Luke Wood England's remaining pace options. England confirmed they will make just one change to their XI at Sophia Gardens, where they can seal a first ODI series win since September 2023, as Potts replaces Overton. With the Windies skittled inside just 27 overs for 162 in Harry Brook's first match in full-time charge of England's limited-overs teams, Mahmood and Carse have been retained despite a quick turnaround. Mahmood was the standout bowler in Birmingham with three top-order wickets, including Windies captain and linchpin Shai Hope, but the 28-year-old feels time is running out to re-establish his Test credentials. An injury-plagued last few years brought on by a couple of stress fractures in his back means he has not featured under England's red-ball leadership of captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum. He had hoped to put himself in the shop window but his two Lancashire outings in the Rothesay County Championship brought only two wickets, not helped, he says, by the flat Emirates Old Trafford surfaces. Asked whether he has one eye on this winter's Ashes, Mahmood said: 'I'd have loved to but some of the pitches at the start of the season didn't really give me the best chance to try and get some wickets.' Lancashire's hierarchy have themselves bemoaned the strips they have played on at home after a dreadful start to the season that has left them a point above bottom place in Division Two, having been widely tipped for promotion. Mahmood, who signed a limited-overs contract with the Red Rose last year with a pay-as-you-play option in the championship, added: 'They prepared two concrete slabs – which isn't how I visualised it when I decided to play red-ball cricket at the start of the season. 'I'm just trying to do well here at the moment, who knows how that works. It was obviously good that I got some overs under my belt for Lancs, I felt pretty good after and I think after having a couple of big injuries, that was a big thing. 'I don't like jinxing it because as a fast bowler there's always something around the corner. But I've managed to string a lot of cricket over the last 12 months and I'm just happy about that.'
Wales Online
a day ago
- Wales Online
Undercover operation foils Just Stop Oil's plot to disrupt Manchester Airport
Undercover operation foils Just Stop Oil's plot to disrupt Manchester Airport Four members of the Just Stop Oil (JSO) movement were stopped by police before they could carry out their plan to cause 'chaos' during the busy summer period Indigo Rumbelow pictured on bodyworn footage when she was arrested (Image: GMP ) On an early August morning, a group of four set off for Manchester Airport. This is a familiar scene for many families heading off on their holiday, hopping into a taxi before sunrise to maximise their day at the final destination. But this group of four weren't looking forward to an afternoon by the pool or a dip in the sea. Their pre-dawn taxi ride was actually a covert operation by police officers who had been tipped off about the Just Stop Oil (JSO) scheme to target the airport and were swooping in just in time. The airport now estimates that the environmental activism group's plan would have impacted 'tens of thousands' of passengers. Had they not been intercepted on a Gatley street before reaching Ringway, the four protestors intended to breach the perimeter fence and glue themselves to the taxiway, reports the Manchester Evening News . For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here A plot by Just Stop Oil activists to disrupt flights at Manchester Airport could have caused 'chaos,' a judge said, potentially leaving families stranded in departure lounges at the height of the summer holidays. But the group's intention, the court heard, was to create widespread disruption and draw media attention to their cause. The attempt to target the airport marked a notable escalation in JSO's ongoing campaign of direct action, which the group recently announced would come to an end. Over the past three years, JSO protests have focused on demanding an end to new fossil fuel licensing, using civil resistance tactics that included blocking major roads, interrupting sporting events, and demonstrations at cultural landmarks. Some of those convicted had taken part in earlier protests. Daniel Knorr was one of two activists who entered the pitch during the 2023 Ashes test at Lord's, and was later convicted of aggravated trespass. Margaret Reid attempted to disrupt the World Snooker Championship the same year and was convicted of attempting to cause criminal damage. In the summer of 2023, airports across the UK were placed on high alert amid concerns over potential disruption. The following month, plans to target Manchester Airport came to light. Knorr and Reid, along with Indigo Rumbelow and Leonorah Ward, were intercepted by police in the early hours of August 5. They had travelled from the Midlands and were staying at an Airbnb in Gatley. Officers in unmarked vehicles stopped the group as they walked near the property at around 4:25am. Tools including wire cutters, angle grinders, and industrial superglue were recovered - items the prosecution said were intended for use in a planned protest on the airport taxiway. Police also seized mobile phones that were allegedly to be used to film and broadcast the demonstration. The protest did not go ahead, and all four were arrested. The group denied conspiring to cause a public nuisance but were found guilty following a trial. Sentencing them at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court, Judge Jason MacAdam told the defendants: 'This was a highly organised, planned and determined conspiracy. If it had been successfully executed, the evidence, which was either unchallenged or tested without success, demonstrated it would have for some time resulted in chaos not just at Manchester Airport, but to infrastructure around the airport and would have had a consequential effect on other airports.' He continued: 'The principle of deterrence when sentencing cases which are as serious as this is of particular relevance and importance… to prevent social unrest arising from the type of escalating illegal activity that all of you, affiliating yourselves with a cause, had become involved with.' Judge MacAdam also noted that their actions differed from those who engage in civil disobedience while accepting responsibility and legal consequences: 'The stance taken by you distinguishes you all from others who have chosen to follow the long and honourable tradition of civil disobedience on conscientious grounds.' Daniel Knorr, 22, and Leonorah Ward, 22, both of Second Avenue, Birmingham; Indigo Rumbelow, 30, of Anthill Road, Haringey; and Margaret Reid, 54, of Low Fellside, Kendal; were all convicted of conspiracy to intentionally cause a public nuisance following a trial. Rumbelow was jailed for two-and-a-half years, Knorr for two years, and Reid and Ward were both sentenced to 18 months. Following the sentencing, Assistant Chief Constable Chris Sykes of Greater Manchester Police said: 'This result is testament to all the hard-working officers across the force… we will always use the full resources of Greater Manchester Police to protect the public, prevent disruptions, and ensure people are brought to justice.' Detective Chief Inspector Tony Platten, the senior investigating officer, added: 'We know this disruption was deliberately planned to coincide with the height of the summer holidays… The group's actions demonstrated a complete disregard for the impact on the lives of those travelling via Greater Manchester, and I welcome the sentences handed down today.' Nicola Wells, Senior Crown Prosecutor for CPS North West, said: 'This was a targeted attack, at the height of summer, against one of the country's busiest airports… Whenever the right to protest crosses into criminality… we will not hesitate to prosecute these cases.' Article continues below Rad Taylor, director of Aerodrome Operations at Manchester Airport, said: 'What these individuals were planning would not only have caused significant disruption… but also a significant safety risk. The potential consequences of that do not bear thinking about.'
South Wales Guardian
a day ago
- Sport
- South Wales Guardian
Jacob Bethell hails Virat Kohli influence after starring role in first ODI
A perfectly-paced 82 off 53 balls on his home ground at Edgbaston was the standout of England's 400 for eight in a 238-run demolition of the West Indies on Thursday. The Metro Bank one-day series opener was Bethell's first England outing in three months as an injury to his left hamstring sidelined him for the Champions Trophy and his IPL commitments meant he missed last week's Test win over Zimbabwe. Bethell might have featured just twice for Royal Challengers Bangalore but he feels emboldened by the experience, having opened the batting both times with India superstar Kohli, who recently retired from Test duty. 'I can't think of a specific thing he said to me that I was like 'that's what I'm going to remember', but it was just an accumulation over the couple of months of chatting to him,' Bethell said. 'I think he quite enjoys the overseas boys because we're pretty chill around him, but he's definitely got whatever they say nowadays: 'aura'. It was pretty electrifying to walk out with him. He's got a certain intensity, he flips that switch on as soon as he crosses that line. 'It was just nice to speak to him off and on the field, away from cricket. It was cool to experience someone of his calibre and how he goes about doing things. '(The IPL) was a great experience and I've definitely taken a lot for my game. I feel like I'm a better player now than I was a couple of months ago.' Bethell being at the IPL spared England having to choose between him and Ollie Pope at number three against Zimbabwe but the issue remains on the table for India's forthcoming visit. There were no discussions around returning early to put himself in contention at Trent Bridge, where Pope quietened his critics with a fine 171 to earn captain Ben Stokes' backing. The absent Bethell was unwittingly the centre of attention as Stokes hinted the 21-year-old would return for the first Test against India at Headingley on June 20 – only to clarify he meant a comeback into the squad was more likely, hitting out at an 'agenda' against Pope. Bethell, who impressed in his debut Test series in New Zealand last December, was oblivious to the furore as he steers clear of social media. 'I was pretty far away to be honest,' Bethell said. 'I didn't really hear a lot of it until one of my friends messaged me and said the whole thing was going on, but I haven't really followed it.' Jacob Bethel is some talent .. Do not be surprised if he walks out at No 3 in the Test series versus India .. 👍 — Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) May 29, 2025 Ashes 2005-winning captain Michael Vaughan said on X 'do not be surprised' if England plump for Bethell in the blockbuster five-match series against India following his star turn in Birmingham. Bethell, though, is only focusing on Sunday's second ODI in Cardiff, where England could wrap up a first 50-over series win since just before the 2023 World Cup. 'Whatever happens, it will be, and when the time comes, it'll be fine,' Bethell added. 'I'm still trying to cement my place in this one-day side and the T20 side. If I get a chance in that Test side, I'll be looking to do the same. I'm just taking it game by game.'
Yahoo
a day ago
- Health
- Yahoo
New mum Sciver-Brunt was set to miss Windies series
England's Nat Sciver-Brunt was set to miss the ongoing West Indies series on maternity leave before being made captain, says her wife Katherine. Sciver-Brunt, 32, was named captain in April, a month after her son, Theo, who was carried by former England bowler Katherine, was born. Advertisement "Nat was entitled to four months' maternity leave, not being the birth mother," Katherine Sciver-Brunt told BBC Test Match Special. "She took three weeks of that because England wanted her back for this series. "That was a huge sacrifice because those first eight weeks are so hard. "No-one would usually go back after three weeks, and Nat was pre-arranged to not play in this tournament and come back for the India series [which starts on 28 June]." Theo was with Sciver-Brunt during the T20 series which concluded on Monday and the first one-day international on Friday in Derby, where Katherine was working as a commentator for the BBC. Advertisement The matches were England's first under the all-rounder and new coach Charlotte Edwards, who were appointed after Heather Knight and Jon Lewis were sacked amid the fallout from last winter's Ashes defeat. Katherine travelled alongside England while pregnant throughout the winter but remained at home during the Women's Premier League in February and March. Had she gone into labour while Nat was at the tournament in India, her wife would not have made it home in time for the birth. Nat is the first mother to play for England since Arran Brindle, who played her last international in 2014. Advertisement "There were talks of a stand-in captain coming in for this series and that was a hard question for England," Katherine Sciver-Brunt said. "But ultimately Lottie [Edwards] wanted Nat and I couldn't deny her that opportunity towards the back end of her career. "If I was unhappy or wasn't sure, Nat would not have done it. She is selfless in that way and that is why she makes such a good captain." Sciver-Brunt's comments come after the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced an update to its maternity policy on Friday. Previously England players were guaranteed their full salary for the first 13 weeks post-childbirth and a percentage thereafter but they will now receive 12 months' fully paid leave, plus an automatic contract extension and support with childcare and breastfeeding facilities. Advertisement County players will get six months' paid maternity leave plus the contract extension. Nat had egg freezing treatment last summer and said she would like to carry a baby after her cricket career. "When you talk about giving birth, it takes more than a year to get your body back into fitness and revert back to what you were," Katherine said. "You have worked so hard as a female to get to that point in your career and then you have to question stepping back and having to juggle starting a family. "Even deciding to extract and freeze your eggs, there is time that has to be taken out for that. Advertisement "If you are an exceptional athlete you often have a long career ahead of you, but not if you want to start a family. "Normalising this conversation and to inspiring people that it can be done, there needs to be more of that and I think it will happen."
