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Australia crashes out of T20 World Cup but Zimbabwe and New Zealand advance to Super 8s

PALLEKELE, Sri Lanka (AP) — Mitch Marsh’s injury-depleted Australia squad crashed out of cricket’s Twenty20 World Cup on Tuesday after Zimbabwe’s Group B game against Ireland was abandoned because of rain without a ball being bowled.

The no-result in Pallekele meant Zimbabwe qualified for the second stage of the tournament for the first time. It also ended the slim chance the 2021 champion Australia squad had of advancing after back-to-back group-stage defeats to Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka.

Seven teams have now qualified for the second round. Zimbabwe, which upset Australia on the weekend, will be in Group 1 along with defending champion India, West Indies and 2024 runner-up South Africa. Co-host Sri Lanka is in Group 2 with England, New Zealand and Pakistan or the U.S. team.

Earlier, Canada batter Yuvraj Samra’s exhilarating century proved in vain as New Zealand advanced to the Super 8s with an eight-wicket win in Chennai.

New Zealand’s resounding victory knocked 2024 semi-finalist Afghanistan out of the tournament.

Teenager Samra’s dream century

Samra’s 110 off 65 balls, which included six sixes and 11 fours, had earlier guided Canada to 173-4 after captain Dilpreet Bajwa won the toss and elected to bat.

The 19-year-old Samra, who gained international attention last year when he smashed a 15-ball half-century against Bahamas, became the first batter from an ICC Associate nation to score a hundred at the T20 World Cup.

“I manifested this moment ever since we qualified for the World Cup. Every single day I dreamed about scoring a hundred on this stage,” he said. “To do it here, in my first appearance (in Chennai), and as the youngest player in this World Cup – it’s truly a dream come true.”

Bajwa scored 36 and combined with Samra in 116-run first-wicket stand.

New Zealand struggled to stem the flow of runs and felt the absence of captain Mitchell Santner, who was ruled out of the game because of sickness after a “dodgy burger,” and fast bowler Lockie Ferguson.

Ferguson is on paternity leave but is expected to rejoin the team for the Super 8s. Samra had a reprieve when he was dropped, but not before he had raised his century off 58 deliveries, when the ball burst through the hands of James Neesham at long-off.

His belligerent knock ended in the final over when Phillips caught him at deep backward square leg at the second attempt.

In reply, Glenn Phillips (76 not out) and Rachin Ravindra (59 not out) led New Zealand to 176-2 in 15.1 overs on a perfect batting wicket as the Black Caps claimed their third win in Group D.

Finn Allen and Tim Seifert fell inside four balls in the power play before Phillips and Ravindra shared an electrifying 146-run partnership in just 12 overs.

Nepal ends with win

Nepal registered its third win in T20 World Cups when it beat Scotland by seven wickets in Mumbai. It was the last game for both teams which had already been eliminated from Group C.

Dipendra Singh Airee scored 50 not out off 23 balls with three sixes and four fours as Nepal finished with 171-3, securing victory with four balls to spare. Opener Kushal Bhurtel scored 43, including four sixes.

Earlier, medium pacer Sompal Kami picked 3-25 as Scotland posted 170-7, powered by opener Michael Jones’s 71 off 45 balls.

It was the third-highest successful run-chase for an Associate nation in tournament history and a first win for Nepal in 12 years at the T20 World Cup. It had earlier beaten Hong Kong and Afghanistan in 2014, but went winless in 2024.

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AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

Ryan Fox wins first career major at 2026 Open Championship

CNN
(CNN) — Ryan Fox took home the Claret Jug after draining a birdie putt on the 18th hole to win the 2026 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale on Sunday.The 39-year-old Fox beat out American Cameron Young to win his first career major title, becoming only the third New Zealander to win a men’s major golf championship.Fox came into the final hole tied with Young, after the 29-year-old finished the round at 6-under 64 a few hours before.The Kiwi powered his drive into the middle of the fairway and then set up the biggest putt of his golf career so far with an approach shot that landed about 12 feet from the pin.As the putt fell into the hole, the crowd in Southport, England, gave Fox a rousing ovation as he raised both arms in the air to celebrate the achievement.The putt capped off four birdies in the last six holes for Fox.Fox was at a loss for words while speaking to the NBC Sports broadcast after the win.“I don’t really know what to think at the moment. I’ve got a lot of people to thank. First of all, my family. My wife and kids are in Florida at the moment. I spoke to my kids last night and they said, bring back a trophy. I think that’s a pretty cool one to bring back for them,” Fox said. “My family back in New Zealand and all my supporters back there. I know it’s been a long night for them, but I’m glad it was worthwhile.”Fox finished with a 2-under 68 after trailing Sam Burns, who held a two-stroke lead coming into Sunday’s final round.Fox also becomes the third-oldest major winner in the last 10 years, trailing only Phil Mickelson at the 2021 PGA Championship and Tiger Woods at the 2019 Masters.“Just an unbelievable week. The golf course was fantastic. The English weather was fantastic. You guys out there were fantastic. The support was amazing. This is pretty cool. I’m sorry if I’ve forgotten anyone, but thank you very much,” Fox added.It is another disappointment for Young, who is still looking for his first career major title despite winning The Players earlier this year. Young finished one shot back of the win at the 2022 Open Championship at St. Andrews and held the lead heading into the final round at the Masters back in April.It is also another let down for Burns, another golfer looking for his maiden major win.The Louisiana State University alum came into the round ahead by two strokes but quickly lost it and went birdie-free for the final 12 holes.“(Fox) is a well-earned champion and hats off to him,” Burns said. “He did what he needed to do down the stretch and ultimately just came up a couple short today.”Defending champion Scottie Scheffler stayed within striking range throughout the round, but wound up with a 3-under 67 on Sunday to finish tied for fourth with Tommy Fleetwood.After a drama-filled tournament, Bryson DeChambeau finished tied for 14th while Rory McIlroy, who has been critical of the LIV Golfer all tournament long, ended tied for 40th.Fox’s journey to first major winFox’s road to his first career major title wasn’t the easiest. It came with many bumps and U-turns.While speaking to CNN’s Don Riddell ahead of the Desert Classic in Dubai in early 2025, Fox opened up about his mental health issues, including being an older rookie after spending years on the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour of Australia.“I think being a rookie at 37 years old on the PGA Tour was, I probably wasn’t quite prepared for what that was again,” Fox told CNN.“I knew all the golf courses, knew how to travel work, knew where to stay, and everything was new on the PGA Tour, and that was probably a shock to the system more than anything.”Fox comes from a lineage of athletes within his family tree, including his father, Grant Fox, who was a main kicker for the New Zealand national rugby team and his grandfather, Merv Wallace, a former New Zealand cricketer who later coached the national team.Fox spoke out on the “pressure” a golfer faces, mentioning the 2024 death of former PGA Tour golfer Grayson Murray, whose parents later confirmed it was death by suicide.“It can be a stressful life. It’s all performance-based. There’s a lot of pressure on – Looking after your mental health is really, really important, and having people to talk to and all of that is part of that,” Fox said.“It’s a shame it got to that point with Grayson that, you know, we’ve had to have those, those pretty tough conversations now, but it will help – hopefully it helps someone else in a similar situation going forward because we certainly don’t want to see it again.”CNN’s Kyle Tatelbaum and Don Riddell contributed to this reporting This write has been updated with additional reporting The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
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