Nature Exploring Diver: June 2019

Saturday, June 22, 2019

England suffer shock Cricket World Cup defeat against Sri Lanka-ICC 2019

ICC Men's Cricket World Cup, Headingley, Leeds

Sri Lanka 232-9 (50 overs): Mathews 85*, Wood 3-40, Archer 3-52

England 212 (47 overs): Stokes 82*, Root 57, Malinga 4-43

Sri Lanka won by 20 runs

England were strangled into a shock 20-run defeat by Sri Lanka that dented their hopes of reaching the World Cup semi-finals and breathed life into the tournament.

Chasing 233 on an increasingly difficult pitch, the hosts were smothered by a brilliant Sri Lanka bowling performance in a compelling contest at Headingley.

When Ben Stokes was joined by last man Mark Wood, England still needed 47, but Stokes clubbed 23 from eight deliveries to make a deafening crowd believe.

Wood, though, edged Nuwan Pradeep behind to leave Stokes stranded on 82 not out and England 212 all out.

They had earlier restricted Sri Lanka to 232-9, with Angelo Mathews' painstaking 85 proving to be a match-winning innings.

England stay third in the 10-team table, but their three most difficult group games - against Australia, India and New Zealand - are still to come.

Sri Lanka climb to fifth, only two points behind England, their unlikely hopes of reaching the semi-finals still alive.Root & Buttler fall to leave England in trouble

Before this match, there was the danger England, Australia, India and New Zealand would pull away to leave the elongated group stage nothing more than a procession towards the semi-finals.

On a sun-kissed day at Headingley, amid unbearable tension in front of a crowd fully invested in the action, Sri Lanka produced a display full of fight and spirit.

In doing so, they delighted their noisy pockets of fans that included a brass band that played non-stop, as well as injecting much-needed intrigue into the tournament.

At the same time, they have raised questions about an England side that hit a world record 25 sixes in demolishing Afghanistan at Old Trafford on Tuesday, but that failed to adapt to the difficult batting conditions in Leeds.

Some, like James Vince and Moeen Ali, fell in infuriating fashion, while Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler were fooled into playing across the slingy Lasith Malinga, who claimed 4-43.

Just like when their fielding cost them against Pakistan, England helped engineer their own downfall and, as it stands, will have to find at least one win from their remaining games if they are to make the last four.

Stokes left stranded

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Bairstow out lbw first ball

Although England were finding run-scoring tough against the probing Sri Lankan bowling, there was no panic while Joe Root was moving towards 57 in the company of Stokes.

When Sri Lanka called for a review that revealed Root was caught down the leg side off Malinga, England unravelled.

After Buttler was pinned, Moeen, playing his 100th ODI, brainlessly looked for his second successive six off Dhananjaya de Silva and was caught at long-off.

In his next over, the spinner had both Chris Woakes and Adil Rashid caught behind, while Jofra Archer holed out to long-off in a collapse of 4-16.

Through it all, Stokes remained, unflappable, but now having to farm the strike with only Wood for company.

He was dropped in the deep on 57, then launched back-to-back sixes to draw noise that rocked Headingley to its foundations.

However, he left Wood to face the final ball of Pradeep's 10-over spell. The number 11's poke nestled in the gloves of the wicketkeeper, and England were beaten.

Mathews crawls Sri Lanka to victory

While England were putting in an excellent display with the ball and in the field, Mathews crawled along, looking entirely like a batsman whose previous highest score in this tournament was just nine.

Only late on did he show any intent, but by that time he was rapidly running out of partners.

When Sri Lanka were 3-2 after winning the toss, the day could have been short, only for Avishka Fernando to sparkle for 49, including two sixes pulled off Archer.

After he uppercut Wood to third man, England spinners Moeen and Rashid bowled in tandem to suffocate Sri Lanka.

It was Rashid, looking back to near his best, who had Kusal Mendis well held by Eoin Morgan at mid-wicket and then, next ball, Jeevan Mendis caught and bowled

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Rashid takes two wickets in two balls as Sri Lanka struggle

Wood and Archer worked through the lower order, with Wood particularly impressive - his yorker to bowl Malinga was clocked at 93mph.

All the while, Mathews plodded on. At no point was he interested in playing the modern, ultra-aggressive one-day game, but he had the application to battle with both himself and the England bowlers.

Ultimately, he ground Sri Lanka to a memorable victory.

Monday, June 17, 2019

North Carolina boy whacks alleged robber with machete; injured suspect arrested after manhunt

An 11-year-old boy, who was home alone when three people broke into his family's North Carolina residence, turned the tables on the alleged criminals when he grabbed a machete and whacked one of them in the head, officials said.

Braydon Smith said he knew he didn't have time to think or be afraid.

"I grabbed my machete off my wall and went to hit him," he said in an exclusive interview with ABC station WTVD in Durham, North Carolina. "I knew I had to act in the heat of the moment."

But now the boy's family is demanding answers from the Orange County Sheriff's Office about how the alleged home invader slipped out of their grasp when he walked away from a hospital after being treated for injuries caused in the confrontation with Braydon, whom authorities described as a local youth baseball star and a "very tough kid."

"It was infuriating," Braydon's mother, Kaitlin Johnson, told WTVD. "This guy could have killed my child."

The suspect, Jataveon Dashawn Hall, 19, was arrested just after 1 p.m. on Sunday in Burlington, North Carolina, more than 40 hours after he was spotted on surveillance video walking out of the University of North Carolina Medical Center in Chapel Hill with his head heavily bandaged and wearing a hospital gown, authorities said.

The terrifying ordeal occurred Friday around 11 a.m. local time, when Braydon was alone in his home in Mebane, North Carolina, about 20 miles northwest of Chapel Hill.

Johnson, who lives in another state, was on the phone with her son when someone knocked on the front door of the Mebane house. Johnson told WTVD that she heard one of the intruders say the house was empty.

Sheriff's officials said that when the alleged robbers entered the house they discovered Braydon alone. Hall allegedly picked up a pellet gun he found in the house, took Braydon's phone and forced the boy into a bedroom closet before he and his accomplices allegedly proceeded to ransack the residence, according to a statement released by the sheriff's office.

"The juvenile, who is a star baseball player on several area teams, left the closet and was able to gain access to a machete. He entered the living room behind the intruder, swung the machete, and struck the man in the back of the head," the statement reads.

Braydon told WTVD he knew the pellet gun Hall took wasn't loaded, and so he did what his father had taught him to do if an intruder ever broke into their home: "If they come in the door, you let them have it."

Hall responded by kicking the boy in the stomach and knocking him against a couch, authorities said. But Braydon quickly scrambled to his feet and charged after Hall again, swinging the machete but missing.

"The intruder then kicked the child in the side of the head and turned to grab several items, including a television and a PlayStation. At this point, the intruder realized he was bleeding significantly from the machete strike. He dropped the electronics, exited the residence and all three suspects fled the home," according to the sheriff's office.

Braydon's mother said she managed to hear about 12 minutes of the confrontation on her phone, then called a relative in North Carolina, who in turn called 911.

"It was horrifying. There's no other way to put it," she told WTVD. "I didn't know that he [Braydon] would be OK."

Sheriff's deputies raced to the home and found Braydon safe. They quickly put out an all-points bulletin and alerted local hospitals to be on the lookout for the wounded suspect.

“Not only did this youngster thwart the larceny attempt, he created blood evidence that very well may lead to a conviction in this case,” Sheriff Charles Blackwood told reporters on Friday before Hall escaped. "This is a very tough kid who kept his wits about him. At the same time, I want to reflect that this youngster, his family, and indeed this community, are very lucky this event did not have a tragic ending for the child.”

In the interview with WTVD, Braydon shared a message to the alleged burglars: "You shouldn’t have done what you’ve done, and you’re better off to get a job than breaking into other people's house."