UK News
Russian warship fires warning shots near UK-registered yacht in Channel
BBC News understands the yacht had drifted towards the Admiral Grigorovich, a Russian frigate which has been operating in the Channel.
Source link
UK News
England v Ireland: Women’s T20 Cricket World Cup 2026 – live | Women’s T20 World Cup 2026
Key events
11th over: Ireland 59-5 (Paul 1, Tector 0 ) Dean teases Tector, who can’t get her away. A single and a wide is the best Ireland can take. Cat and mouse now, though the kids in the crowd waving flags don’t seem to mind.
10th over: Ireland 57-5( Paul 0, Tector 0 ) Yet again the bowling change works, this time Gibson gets rid of the insatiable Prendergast, who was looking hungry for runs.
WICKET! Prendergast b Gibson 26 (Ireland 57-5)
Leans back to cut with heavy boots and can only chop the ball into her stumps, in a celebration of flashing bails
9th over: Ireland 53-4 ( Prendergast 22, Paul 0) Oooo nearly a two-wicket over – as Paul chips in the air first ball and the ball just falls short of a running, diving NSB at short extra cover
WICKET! Stokell st Jones b Ecclestone 9 (Ireland 53-4)
Stokell advances, but it is a quicker ball from Ecclestone and a legside Jones picks off the bails.
8th over: Ireland 50-3 ( Prendergast 20, Stokell 8) Time for some Freya Kemp. Lovely rhythmic run-up. Stokell goes for a big swing but misses and Amy Jones, right up to the stumps collects. But she does make contact next ball, shovelling through the covers and Linsey Smith does a drowning frog impression and lets the ball run past her to the rope.
7th over: Ireland 43-3 ( Prendergast 19, Stokell 2) Prendergast has her eye in and isn’t going to hang around. She bends her knees and zips four immediately through backward square. She picks up a single and then Stokell can’t get away the last three balls.
6th over: Ireland 38-3 ( Prendergast 14, Stokell 2) Ecclestone’s first ball is cut for four, just beating a chasing Bell. The third ball is lofted straight, with perfect head movement for four more. Prendergast showing just why she’s such a danger. And that’s the end of the power play.
5th over: Ireland 25-3( Prendergast 3, Stokell 0) A wicket maiden to start for Charlie Dean.
WICKET! Dalzell c Kemp b Dean 14 ( Ireland 25-3)
Ireland! Calm down. Dalzell goes to drive, gets an edge and Kemp takes the catch at extra cover.
4th over: Ireland 25-2 ( Dalzell 14, Prendergast 3) Dalzell goes on the attack, dances to the ball and envelopes four through long off. Smith looks unbothered. A handful of singles.
3rd over: Ireland 17-2 ( Dalzell 8, Prendergast 1) Lewis can’t believe what she’s done, throws her head back in frustration. Dalzell had previously sailed four through midwicket.
WICKET! Lewis c Knight b Bell 0 (Ireland 16-2)
The sweep breaks Irish hearts again! Lewis shimmies past off stump and plumps for a flick-sweep, it sounds sweet but she picks out Knight at short fine leg who leaps into the air and holds on.
WICKET! Hunter b Smith 6 (Ireland 8-1)
Hunter wants to get bat on ball, drops to sweep, misses and the ball skids into her off stump. Smith clutches her fists to her body in celebration.
2nd over: Ireland 8-1 ( Dalzell 1, Lewis 0) Linsey Smith at the other end, collar up, hair in her familiar bun. Dives to collect off her own bowling. Dalzell is off the mark, looping the ball high, but just safe, then Hunter makes the bad decision to sweep.
Play! This will be a 20 over match just with a shorter interval
1st over: Ireland 6-0 ( Hunter 5, Dalzell 0) Lauren Bell stands with hands on her hips at the top of her mark waiting for the signal to run in. One slip waits – and 20 year old Hunter brushes the first ball down to the rope. A wide follows, a single and four dots.
Some belting singing from the Irish and English teams, and the
Hello Gaz Boardman. “Apologies if this has been asked before. I was watching the highlights from England’s first game during the rain break. I was wondering why Kemp’s 3 wickets in 1 over isn’t classed as a hat trick? The current 3 wickets in 3 balls could be regarded as a perfect hat trick…? Also I know sports fans love fans from other sports butting in and making suggestions to change things…”
Gaz, what are you saying?! I can hear the sound of teeth gnashing all round the country.
The anthems are on the way, and it looks like a good crowd sitting in the Southampton amphitheatre. I know a lot of people don’t love this ground, but I’m a fan. Lewis and Sciver-Brunt lead out the mascots, and the teams.
Ireland XI: Amy Hunter (wk), Alana Dalzell, Gaby Lewis (c), Orla Prendergast, Rebecca Stokell, Leah Paul, Alice Tector, Arlene Kelly, Louise Little, Cara Murray, Aimee Maguire.
Tash Farrant says Amy Hunt and Orla Predergast are England’s most wanted.
England XI: Wyatt-Hodge, Jones (wk), Sciver-Brunt (c), Capsey, Knight, Kemp, Gibson, Dean, Ecclestone, Smith, Bell.
England are unchanged.
England win the toss and will bowl
Nat Sciver Brunt:“We’ve seen some really good chases at this ground and are looking forwad to seeing how it goes. We showed great composure in the first match.” They are unchanged from the opening game against Sri Lanka.
The sports minister Steph Peacock has been at Southampton today as part of a taskforce looking to grow women’s sport.
7.15 toss – reduced overs 7.35 start
Lauren Bell loves bowling here, Danni Wyatt Hodge loves batting here. Hopefully they get their chance today.
Pitch inspection at 7pm
The covers are off. Nasser Hussain and Tash Farrant say that fielding will be crucial in these slippery conditions.
It’s stopped raining at Southampton and the players are doing vigorous warm-ups. Still a bit away from the toss though I think.
”We’re a team of staff from England Netball volunteering at the game volunteering as flag bearers,” writes Jodie Anthony. “We wanted to use our volunteering day to advocate for our fellow women’s sport and be part of the excitement of the T20 World Cup. It was much sunnier when we walked the flags out for the first game.”
That is so lovely to see! I can’t upload the photo you sent at the moment but I will continue prodding at the buttons.
Stories of women’s cricket in Scotland wanted!
With the support of Cricket Scotland, Fiona Reid and Bunny Warren are trying to find hidden stories of women’s cricket in Scotland from the last 150 years. If you have any tucked up your sleeve, please do contact them at Fiona.Reid@bayfirth.co.uk . Find out more here
Update – still raining.
Rain
The weather is not currently playing ball. “Full covers on,” says Raf. “The crowd has retreated under shelter.Should pass fairly quickly but we may get a delayed start.”
Raf is in position at Southampton – though she has provided no reports of any fancy cheescake yet. “Hello! I’m currently watching the end of a fascinating NZ v Sri Lanka contest. The ground is about half full at the moment – they’re expecting almost 10,000 people in for the England game.”
And in fact Sri Lanka have just won a thriller by five wickets, with two balls to spare.
Preamble
Good evening! Let’s get stuck in – England’s second match of the tournament after their dicing of Sri Lanka, and Ireland’s second after losing rather disappointingly to Scotland by 40 runs. They’ll be keen to give England a run from their money today, with much depending on Orla Prendergast, the talented all rounder who plays as the overseas for the Blaze , especially as former captain Laura Delany is missing the whole tournament through injury.
The toss is at 6pm – do send me a message if you’re at Southampton, or if you’ve got any thoughts on what’s going on – I’d love to hear from you.
UK News
EU and UK announce summit to discuss ‘reset’ in post-Brexit relations | European Union
The EU and the UK have announced they will hold their next summit to discuss the “reset” in relations between London and Brussels on 22 July.
The summit, which will be held in Brussels, has been delayed several times, with talks over a youth mobility scheme allowing under-30s to work, travel or study in each other’s country deadlocked in recent weeks, fuelling speculation the summit would be postponed until the autumn.
António Costa, the president of the European Council, confirmed the date at the G7 meeting in Evian on Tuesday.
“Close EU-UK cooperation is essential for our shared European security, resilience and prosperity,” he said. “We are working closely together to make our upcoming second summit on 22 July a success.”
The UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, who could be facing a leadership challenge after this Thursday’s Makerfield byelection, said: “My Labour government is delivering on our promise to reset our relationship and put Britain at the heart of Europe.
“Together we will tackle the cost of living, boost jobs and create opportunities for young people.”
The head of pro-EU campaign group Best for Britain, Naomi Smith, said “whoever is in No 10 in July must recognise the increasing importance” of the bloc, and that even “signalling an intention to pursue membership” would help generate the political will to underpin rejoining.
The summit was originally supposed to take place in May but delays over the youth mobility programme pushed it back to the end of June, then early July.
Up until the last two weeks, senior EU diplomats expressed disappointment that the “momentum is being lost” in the “reset” that Starmer has so often promised since he took office in 2024.
Other key topics on the agenda are a food and farm produce trade agreement that will see red tape and physical checks on exports into the EU removed, with the UK agreeing to align with the bloc’s standards.
The sanitary and phytosanitary agreement is already agreed in part, with the UK recently unveiling some of the checks that would be removed, allowing food producers time to prepare for the implementation of the deal, probably next summer.
Talks are also progressing on an emissions trading system, which will allow the UK to align with the EU’s trading rules involving penalties for those products with high carbon emissions.
However, the UK’s resistance to some of the EU’s demands in a youth experience programme, including a restoration of the pre-Brexit home tuition fees for EU students, is thought to have held up the summit.
EU diplomats have warned there would be no summit without a youth experience programme, one of the few EU red lines in the reset negotiations.
UK News
UK will play full part in reopening Strait of Hormuz, Starmer says
The prime minister says the UK is working with other countries on a plan to protect vessels in the key waterway.
Source link
-
Crime & Safety4 weeks agoWhat happens to Halifax customers if Lloyds makes changes?
-
Oxford News4 weeks agoActor steps down from major role in new Harry Potter series
-
Crime & Safety4 weeks agoOxfordshire bridge closure comes as management ‘weaknesses’ found
-
UK News4 weeks agoBurnham seeks to calm markets by committing to fiscal rules
-
UK News4 weeks agoGlass deposit scheme 'risks major problems' for retail industry
-
UK News4 weeks agoEx-minister Shapps quits aerospace firm over rule concerns
-
Crime & Safety4 weeks agoRyan Bridge speaks of London arrest after Oxford incident
-
Crime & Safety4 weeks agoOxfordshire man accused of sexual offences 40 years ago
