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Bangladesh boycott T20 World Cup as ICC replace them with Scotland

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Scotland captain Richie Berrington

Bangladesh will boycott next month’s men’s T20 World Cup and have been replaced by Scotland.

Scotland, ranked 14 in the world, have been called up by the International Cricket Council (ICC) by virtue of being the highest-ranked team not already at the tournament and will take Bangladesh’s place in Group C.

Bangladesh had asked for their games to be switched from India citing safety concerns amid growing tensions between the countries and demanded to play them in Sri Lanka, which is co-hosting the tournament, instead.

This week the ICC rejected Bangladesh’s request, saying there was an “absence of any credible security threat” before the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) subsequently reaffirmed its position.

In a statement released on Saturday, the ICC said it had “engaged with the BCB through multiple rounds of dialogue conducted in a transparent and constructive manner”.

The ICC board said the BCB was given a final 24 hours to confirm its team would travel to India.

That deadline has now passed and ICC officials decided to press ahead with an alternative plan to invite Scotland to participate instead.

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“In light of these findings, and after careful consideration of the broader implications, the ICC determined that it was not appropriate to amend the published event schedule,” the statement added.

The ICC also said it was keen not to establish “precedents that could undermine the neutrality and fairness of ICC events”.

Cricket Scotland officials had been closely monitoring developments for the past few weeks and it is understood that internally they have taken some operational steps to prepare for this scenario.

Scotland’s players were already back in training as they had been preparing for a one-day international tri-series with Namibia and Oman in Windhoek in March.

Nevertheless it will be a tight turnaround for Scotland’s players to obtain visas to enter India with their first match scheduled to be on the opening day of the tournament, against West Indies in Kolkata on 7 February.

Also in Scotland’s group are England – who they face in Kolkata on 14 February – plus Italy and Nepal.

A fourth-place finish at last summer’s Europe Qualifier had looked to have cost Scotland a place at the 2026 T20 World Cup as the Netherlands and Italy secured the two spots on offer for the region.

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Zimbabwe withdrew from the 2009 T20 World Cup – then known as the World T20 – in England for political reasons and were replaced by Scotland who were the ‘next best’ team in a pre-tournament global qualifying event.

But with qualifying for T20 World Cups, which were expanded to 20 teams in 2024, now done on a regional basis it is not quite so straightforward and this was a discretionary decision by the ICC based on rankings.

Trudy Lindblade, Cricket Scotland chief executive, said: “We are grateful to the ICC for extending this invite. This is an exciting opportunity for Scotland’s players to compete on the global stage in front of millions of supporters.

“We also acknowledge this opportunity has arisen out of challenging and unique circumstances.

“Our squad have been training for some weeks in preparation for upcoming tours and are now preparing to arrive in India imminently to acclimatise to local conditions.”

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Commonwealth Games: Megan Keith claims bronze for Scotland in 5000m infront of 100-year-old grandad

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Megan Keith

Given Keith herself was a tad surprised she scooped up a medal here, her grandad’s take on the event ought to be a good one.

The 10,000m is her preference, but the longer distance final did not go to plan on Monday and she finished seventh.

The Inverness athlete said she was faced with the ‘can Megan win a medal?’ talk earlier this week, but with that weight of expectation lifted – combined with experience of the home crowd and “the help of two other Scots in the race” – she was freed from the shackles to soar to a classy and courageous run.

“If you look at Monday on paper, that was pretty disappointing,” the 24-year-old added.

“I don’t think you’d put me in the running for a 5km medal since the 10km is normally closer to being my strength, so that definitely helped, the removal of that pressure.

“I think I knew if I felt horrendous and dropped out or fell off the pace again it wouldn’t really matter so I may as well shoot my shot.”

And shoot she did. Biding her time in the middle of the congested pact, Keith made her move with four laps to go, weaving past early pacesetters from Kenya and Uganda.

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She was afforded a bit of breathing space with two hurls around the track to go. But as expected, the exceptional Australian duo of Rose Davies – who made it a double gold at these Games with her 10km – and Jessica Hull, the 1500m Olympic silver medallist, entered another gear in the final lap.

While the cameras focused on the tremendous tussle between the pair in the matching yellow vests, the majority of the crowd had their eyes a wee bit further back, bawling at Keith on the final stretch.

She was home safe and sound. And swiftly searching for a saltire.

Once that was draped over her shoulders, and she’d caught up with fellow Scots Eloise Walker and Laura Muir, who finished 15th and 16th respectively, she was darting back around the track – the wrong way, this time – in search of her grandad.

He was eventually found for a quick hug, but a bigger debrief – and the declaration, surely, that this topped any other Scotstoun occasion – is still to be had.

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Commonwealth Games 2026: England netball team beat South Africa to reach semi-finals

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Fran Williams and Olivia Tchine, wearing England's red netball jersey, celebrate after beating South Africa to reach the semi-final by jumping in the air and hugging each other

England’s netballers reached the Commonwealth Games semi-finals after producing a pulsating comeback to beat South Africa 58-54.

With both sides tied on six points but the Roses ahead of the Proteas on goal average in pool A’s second spot going into the game, England had to avoid defeat to progress.

Elmere van der Berg was in fine form early on to fire South Africa into a six-goal lead at the end of the first quarter with 16 of her nation’s 17 goals, leaving England facing an uphill task.

But some excellent and aggressive defensive work by second-quarter substitute Halimat Adio helped England spring multiple counter-attacks to claw their way back to just 29-28 down at the halfway stage.

The Roses started to take control in the third quarter, opening up a seven-goal lead at one stage before the Proteas netted three times in quick succession to go into the final 15 minutes 43-39 behind.

Both sides then went blow for blow in a compelling final quarter with 15 goals apiece, but 2018 champions England held on to ensure they maintained their record of qualifying for every Commonwealth Games semi-final since the inaugural netball event in 1998.

England will face New Zealand in the last four on Saturday, while South Africa’s wait for a first semi-final since 1998 goes on.

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Fifa World Cup: Uefa to boycott tournament if Gianni Infantino’s investment plans go through

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Spain celebrate winning the  men's World Cup

In a statement released after Thursday’s meeting, which was held virtually and chaired by president Aleksander Ceferin, Uefa said it and its 55 member associations “stand as one”.

“We unanimously and unequivocally reject Fifa’s proposal to transfer ownership interests in the World Cup and other Fifa competitions to private investors,” it said.

On Wednesday, Uefa had accused Fifa of using football “to enrich themselves and their friends”.

Its statement on Thursday was even more damning, calling it “irresponsible and indefensible that a proposal of such significance for football was conceived in secret” and “without any meaningful consultation” with those who steward the game.

It added: “This is not merely a profound failure of leadership, but an abdication of Fifa’s duty as the custodian of world football.

“National associations around the world are now presented with an ultimatum: accept the irreversible capture of football’s greatest competitions or bear the consequences.

“This is not a ‘democratic decision’, but governance by intimidation – an act of coercion unworthy of an institution entrusted with the stewardship of the global game.”

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While Uefa only accounts for a quarter of Fifa’s membership, it does include most of the world’s most successful teams.

Six of the eight quarter-finalists – including winners Spain – at this summer’s World Cup were European. In the 2022 and 2018 editions, the figures were five and six respectively.

Of the 23 World Cups to have taken place to date, 13 have been won by European countries.

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