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Ben Stokes: England all-rounder to come out of ODI retirement for Cricket World Cup

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Ben Stokes’ return to the England one-day side for the defence of the World Cup will be confirmed on Wednesday.

Stokes, 32, will come out of retirement to be named in a 15-man squad for a four-match series against New Zealand in September.
Stokes was man of the match in the final when England won the World Cup for the first time in 2019.
The all-rounder retired from one-day internationals last summer, saying that playing three formats was unsustainable.
He continued to lead the England Test team and play in T20 internationals, starring in the final as England lifted the World Cup in the shortest format in Australia in November.
When asked in July if he would play in the 50-over World Cup, Stokes reiterated he was retired.
But in an interview with the Daily Mail, England white-ball coach Matthew Mott said captain Jos Buttler would approach Stokes over reversing that decision. A number of newspaper reports on Monday said Stokes was considering the request.
A quirk of the schedule means England have no Tests until they tour India for five matches between January and March next year.
Stokes had planned to use the gap to address a long-standing left-knee problem, which has severely limited his ability to bowl.
Therefore, his role at the World Cup could largely be as a specialist batter.
England will name their squad for the New Zealand ODIs, played between 8-15 September, at 10:00 BST on Wednesday. They will also name a strong 15-man party for four T20s against the Black Caps, beginning on 30 August.
Following the New Zealand series, England will play three ODIs against Ireland at the end of September. A separate squad for this will be named at a later date.
Because of that series’ close proximity to the beginning of the World Cup on 5 October, most of the first-choice players will be rested.
England begins their World Cup campaign against New Zealand in a repeat of the 2019 final.
Mott also said England might be willing to take a risk on the fitness of pace bowler Jofra Archer, who has been plagued by injuries since bowling the super over in the thrilling finale four years ago.
England’s World Cup squad will have a familiar feel, probably including nine of the squad that was successful on home soil in 2019.

බෙන් ස්ටෝක්ස්: එංගලන්ත තුන් ඉරියව් ක්‍රීඩකයා ක්‍රිකට් ලෝක කුසලානය සඳහා යළිත් එක්දින ක්‍රිකට් පිටියට

ලෝක කුසලානය සඳහා බෙන් ස්ටෝක්ස් එංගලන්ත එක්දින කණ්ඩායමට නැවත පැමිණීම බදාදා ස්ථිර වනු ඇත.

32 හැවිරිදි ස්ටෝක්ස් විශ්‍රාම ගැනීමෙන් පසු සැප්තැම්බර් මාසයේදී නවසීලන්තයට එරෙහිව පැවැත්වෙන තරග හතරකින් යුත් තරගාවලිය සඳහා 15 දෙනෙකුගෙන් යුත් සංචිතයකට නම් කරනු ඇත.
2019 වසරේ පළමු වරට එංගලන්තය ලෝක කුසලානය දිනූ විට අවසන් මහා තරගයේ වීරයා වූයේ ස්ටෝක්ස් ය.
තුන් ඉරියව් ක්‍රීඩකයා පසුගිය ගිම්හානයේදී එක්දින ජාත්‍යන්තර තරඟවලින් විශ්‍රාම ගියේ ආකෘති තුනක් ක්‍රීඩා කිරීම තිරසාර නොවන බව පවසමිනි.
ඔහු නොවැම්බරයේ ඕස්ට්‍රේලියාවේ පැවති විස්සයි විස්ස ආකෘතියෙන් එංගලන්තය ලෝක කුසලානය ඔසවද්දී අවසන් මහා තරගයට ක්‍රීඩා කල අතර ඔහු එංගලන්ත ටෙස්ට් කණ්ඩායමට නායකත්වය දෙමින් T20 ජාත්‍යන්තර තරගවලට ක්‍රීඩා කළේය.
ඔහු ඕවර 50 ලෝක කුසලානයට ක්‍රීඩා කරන්නේ දැයි ජූලි මාසයේදී ඇසූ විට, ස්ටෝක්ස් නැවත වරක් කියා සිටියේ තමා විශ්‍රාම ගත් බවයි.
නමුත් ඩේලි මේල් සමඟ සම්මුඛ සාකච්ඡාවකට එක්වෙමින් එංගලන්ත පුහුණුකරු මැතිව් මොට් පැවසුවේ නායක ජොස් බට්ලර් එම තීරණය වෙනස් කිරීම සඳහා ස්ටෝක්ස් වෙත පැමිණෙනු ඇති බවයි. සඳුදා පුවත්පත් වාර්තා ගණනාවක් පැවසුවේ ස්ටෝක්ස් ඉල්ලීම සලකා බලන බවයි.
ඔහුගේ පන්දු යැවීමේ හැකියාව දැඩි ලෙස සීමා කර ඇති දිගුකාලීන වම් දණහිසේ ගැටලුවක් නිසාවෙන් ලෝක කුසලානයේ ඔහුගේ භූමිකාව බොහෝ දුරට විශේෂඥ පිතිකරුවෙකු ලෙස විය හැකිය.

Football

Sri Lanka Women Face Formidable Nepal After Heavy Defeat to Uzbekistan | AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 Qualifiers

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Colombo, July 1 – The Sri Lanka Women’s Football Team is set to face a high-flying Nepal side on Wednesday, July 2 at 6:00 PM, in their second Group F fixture of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 Qualifiers. Both teams come into the match from very different ends of the performance spectrum, with Sri Lanka suffering a humiliating 10-0 defeat to Uzbekistan, while Nepal cruised past Laos with a dominant 9-0 victory.

This upcoming clash is not just a test of skill and strategy, but a reflection of each country’s football system, preparation, and investment in women’s football.

Nepal W 9-0 Laos W – Tactical Brilliance & Ruthless Execution

Nepal’s win over Laos was a showcase of tactical superiority, creative attacking play, and technical dominance.

Key Match Statistics:

  • Possession: 65% (Nepal) vs 35% (Laos)
  • Shots on Target: 15 (Nepal)
  • Total Shots: 24 (Nepal)
  • Shots Off Target: 9
  • xG (Expected Goals): 3.04 (Nepal)
  • Corners: 2
  • Fouls Committed: 8
  • Cards: 0

Nepal’s forward line was relentless, converting 15 of their 24 shots into direct goal-scoring opportunities. Despite having only two corners, they dominated through quick transitions, direct play, and high pressing. The clean disciplinary record and offside count of 3 reflect a well-coached and tactically aware squad.

Uzbekistan W 10-0 Sri Lanka W – Tactical Collapse & Lack of Structure

Sri Lanka’s opening match was a disaster from start to finish, exposing major gaps in fitness, coordination, and defensive strategy.

Key Match Statistics:

  • Possession: 30% (Sri Lanka)
  • Shots on Target: 0
  • Total Shots: 2 (0 on target)
  • Dangerous Attacks: 28 (Sri Lanka) vs 137 (Uzbekistan)
  • Yellow Cards: 1
  • Shots Faced: 14 on target (Uzbekistan)

The team failed to create a single meaningful chance throughout the match. With a dangerous attack rate nearly 5 times lower than Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka’s midfield was bypassed repeatedly. The defense looked overwhelmed, and the few offensive moves attempted were easily neutralized.

Sri Lanka vs Nepal – A Mismatch on Paper?

Comparing the two sides:

Key Metric Nepal (vs Laos) Sri Lanka (vs Uzbekistan)

Possession 65% 30%

Shots 24 2

Shots on Target 15 0

xG 3.04 Not Recorded

Fouls 8 1

Cards 0 1 Yellow

Nepal has shown they can control the game, create chances, and finish clinically. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, is still searching for basic team chemistry, structure, and rhythm. Unless major tactical changes are made, Sri Lanka could be heading into another one-sided contest.

Off-Field Crisis Continues: FFSL and Sports Ministry Silent

Behind these results lies a bigger concern—institutional failure. The Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL) has not conducted a single women’s tournament for years, and this national team was selected through a rushed trial process. With no league structure, development program, or competitive exposure, the players were thrown into an elite qualifier underprepared.

Even after the Sri Lanka U20 team faced a heavy defeat in the SAFF Championship, no structural reforms were announced. The Ministry of Sports continues to turn a blind eye to the collapse of football development, while officials use these international appearances to tick boxes rather than foster real progress.

Final Word

As Sri Lanka takes on Nepal, fans will be hoping for a response—not just on the scoreboard but in effort, organization, and pride. However, unless deep-rooted problems are addressed, these defeats will continue to expose the broken foundations of Sri Lankan women’s football

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Football

Uzbekistan Dominate Sri Lanka 10-0 in AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 Qualifiers

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Colombo, June 29 – The Sri Lanka Women’s National Football Team suffered a crushing 10-0 defeat at the hands of Uzbekistan in their opening fixture of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 Qualifiers, exposing not only the performance gap on the field but also the deep-rooted structural failures off it.

From kickoff, Uzbekistan showcased their superiority with relentless attacking football, scoring five goals in each half. The match statistics tell a story of complete dominance:

  • Shots on Target: 14 (Uzbekistan) vs 0 (Sri Lanka)
  • Possession: 70% (Uzbekistan) vs 30% (Sri Lanka)
  • Dangerous Attacks: 137 (Uzbekistan) vs 28 (Sri Lanka)

Sri Lanka managed only two shots in the entire match—none of which tested the opposition goalkeeper—while spending most of the game pinned back in defense.

However, beyond the scoreboard, this defeat highlights a more alarming truth: the lack of commitment to women’s football by local authorities. The Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL) has failed to organize a single women’s tournament domestically in recent years, and the squad selected for this major continental qualifier was chosen solely through a limited trial. There was no competitive platform or league for players to develop or prove themselves ahead of international duty.

This performance is not just a reflection of the players’ inexperience—it’s a direct consequence of administrative negligence. FFSL must take full responsibility for this embarrassing result, as it continues to send underprepared teams to international tournaments merely to safeguard its position, rather than genuinely investing in the development of Sri Lankan football.

Even more concerning is the silence from the Ministry of Sports. Despite the humiliating performances of the Under-20 team in the recent SAFF Championship and now the senior women’s team in the AFC qualifiers, no action has been taken, and no accountability has been demanded. The ministry’s indifference to these repeated failures raises serious questions about its role in ensuring sports governance and development in Sri Lanka.

As Sri Lankan football continues to struggle, it is clear that without structural change, genuine investment, and accountability, results like these will only continue.

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Dialog Schools Rugby League Week 4: Powerhouses Dominate as Rivalries Intensify

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The fourth week of the 2025 Dialog Schools Rugby League brought high-octane action across Colombo and Kandy, as traditional rugby giants asserted dominance while title ambitions sharpened. Here’s a round-up of the top matches that defined the week:

Trinity Outmuscles St. Joseph’s at CR & FC

Trinity College, Kandy, continued their unbeaten streak with a commanding 29-07 win over St. Joseph’s College, Maradana at the CR & FC grounds in Colombo. Trinity crossed the whitewash five times with 5 tries and 2 conversions, displaying explosive forward play and well-structured phases.

St. Joseph’s struggled to match Trinity’s physicality but managed a consolation try and conversion. At halftime, Trinity led 22-0, setting the tone early and maintaining control throughout.

Wesley Tames St. Peter’s in Tight Clash

At Havelock Park, Wesley College recorded a gritty 23-05 victory over St. Peter’s College. The Wesleyites scored 3 tries, 1 conversion, and added 2 penalties, proving their clinical edge under pressure.

St. Peter’s could only respond with a single try and failed to find rhythm. Wesley led 8-0 at the break and controlled territory effectively in the second half.

Isipathana Outguns Zahira in a High-Scoring Thriller

In one of the most entertaining matches of the weekend, Isipathana College edged out Zahira College 38-27 at Zahira Grounds. Isipathana scored 6 tries and 4 conversions, showcasing pace and creativity in attack.

Zahira fought back gallantly with 4 tries, 2 conversions, and a penalty, pushing the defending champions to the limit. At halftime, Isipathana led 26-8, and though Zahira launched a strong second-half rally, the Green Machine held on.

Royal Routs Vidyartha in Dominant Display

Royal College, Colombo, was at their clinical best as they overcame Vidyartha College, Kandy, 29-07 at the Royal Complex. The home side dotted down 5 tries and 2 conversions, demonstrating power rugby and slick handling.

Vidyartha managed a single converted try but struggled to contain Royal’s powerful forwards and rolling mauls. Royal led 12-7 at halftime before pulling away in the second half.

Looking Ahead

With teams like Trinity, Isipathana, and Royal continuing to impress, the Dialog Schools Rugby League 2025 is shaping up for a thrilling finish. Fans can expect tighter games and fierce battles as title dreams grow stronger.

Stay tuned with Sri Lankan Sports TV for full match reports, results, and exclusive school rugby coverage!

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