batter

Simon caps a Pacific season of record-breaking intensity, as deadly storms wreak havoc from Hawaii to Mexico.

At least two people have died in Mexico after Hurricane Simon and former tropical storm Rachel brought torrential rain and catastrophic flooding to Pacific coast communities.

At a Monday news briefing, Guerrero Governor Evelyn Salgado confirmed that a 71-year-old man had died during Hurricane Simon after a retaining wall collapsed under the weight of intense precipitation.

According to the Guerrero-based news agency IRZA, the man, identified by his family as Albino Moreno Jimenez, had been feeding his animals on the western outskirts of Chilpancingo when a wall came crashing down on him.

A second death was announced later in the day in the state of Baja California along Mexico’s western coast. There, Governor Marina del Pilar said that a young girl had died from the effects of what was once Hurricane Rachel, which peaked in early October as a Category 3 storm.

At least 10 more people remain missing in Baja California, according to the governor. Eight were reported missing in the city of Ensenada, on the Pacific coast, and two in the fishing town of San Felipe on the Gulf of California.

The figures remain preliminary, with local newspaper La Jornada reporting a higher death toll of two in Baja California and 11 missing.

Death toll expected to rise

Rachel made landfall in the Mexican state as a post-tropical cyclone, and its remnants have travelled north through southern California in the southwestern United States.

Hurricane Simon, meanwhile, has churned off the coast of Mexico since the weekend. By late Monday morning, it had weakened from a powerful Category 4 storm to a Category 2.

Its maximum sustained winds had slowed slightly to around 155km/h (100mph), according to the US National Hurricane Center. Its centre was about 115km west-southwest of Cabo Corrientes, a cape in the state of Jalisco, drifting west at 3km/h.

Forecasters predict Simon could make landfall on Thursday or Friday. Hurricane warnings remain in effect for western Mexico, which is vulnerable to landslides and deadly surf conditions as a result of the storm.

Experts warn the death toll from both storms could rise, and officials have called on residents to exercise caution amid the devastation wrought by downed trees, high winds and floodwaters.

The Spanish newspaper El Pais reported the death of a cliff diver, Juan Patines, who was killed in Mazatlan, the northwestern state of Sinaloa, after jumping into the sea on Saturday night.

According to Mexican media, the heavy surf hampered his efforts to return to shore amid dangerous coastal conditions associated with Hurricane Simon. Local authorities later halted cliff-diving at the site due to hazardous sea conditions.

Officials have yet to confirm whether his death was directly linked to Hurricane Simon.

A record Pacific storm season

Rachel and Simon have battered Mexico’s western coast as part of an extraordinary stretch of hurricane activity across the Pacific.

The northeastern and central Pacific Ocean has experienced a record storm season this year, fuelled in part by the El Nino weather phenomenon, which results in warming waters in parts of the region. Twenty-one named storms have been recorded in the Pacific so far.

On Sunday, Simon tipped the region to a historic high for accumulated cyclone energy (ACE), a metric of the combined strength and longevity of tropical storms. This year has already surpassed the previous high set in 2018.

The US island chain of Hawaii has been among the hardest-hit places. In August, Hurricane Lala unleashed ruinous flooding on Hawaii’s Big Island as a Category 1 storm, killing a 93-year-old woman and destroying some 100 homes, according to state officials.

A few weeks later, Hurricane Lowell, a Category 4 hurricane at its peak, struck the Hawaiian islands of Kauai and Niihau, where powerful winds, storm surge and flooding overwhelmed towns and roads.

Roughly 90 percent of Kauai’s power customers were plunged into darkness as a result of electricity outages. At least two deaths were linked to Lowell.

In late September, Hurricane Nolo brought another round of flooding and landslides to the Hawaiian islands, though it did not make landfall.

India batter Harmanpreet Kaur has left her role as national team captain across all three formats of international cricket.

Harmanpreet led India in five Tests, 51 one-day internationals and 155 T20 internationals and took her country to their first global title, winning the 50-over World Cup last year.

The 37-year old last captained her country on 22 September, when she helped secure a second successive Asian Games title against Sri Lanka.

She will be replaced by opener Smriti Mandhana, who has already skippered the side in limited-overs games.

In a post on Instagram, external, Harmanpreet said she was leaving the India side in a “good place” and that she’s now “ready to play for the love of the game again”.

“This is not an easy decision,” Harmanpreet wrote. “It carries years of memories, emotions, sacrifices, and moments that will stay with me for the rest of my life.

“I have given everything I had to this team and to Indian women’s cricket – my blood, my sweat, my time, and many times, a part of my own game and personal ambitions.

“There were moments when I had to put my individual performance, my own growth, and what I wanted for myself aside, because I believed the team had to come first.

“As a captain, I have had to make difficult decisions. Decisions that were not always understood, not always easy, and sometimes came at a personal cost. But every decision I made was with one intention – to make this TEAM better and to give other players the opportunity to grow, believe in themselves and become the best versions of themselves.”

Harmanpreet, who first captained India in 2012, led her side to victory in the one-off Test against England at Lord’s in July.

However India exited the T20 World Cup in the group stage earlier in the month, failing to reach the semi-finals for the second successive edition of the tournament.

Mandhana, 30, has previously captained India in 18 T20s and four ODIs.

She has also captained Royal Challengers Bengaluru to two Women’s Premier League titles.

She said: “To be given the responsibility of leading India is a very special honour, and the opportunity to lead the team is something I will value deeply.”

India are set to welcome Zimbabwe for three T20s and three ODIs from 16 October.

Pietersen’s eyes roll slightly when he is asked about Ben Stokes’ recent comments comparing Harry Brook’s talents to his.

Pietersen, like Brook, was a maverick – a batter capable of incredible highs. Those highs mean the lows come with a disproportionate level of criticism.

“Where I can help him is playing situations, because there was a lot of method in my madness,” Pietersen says.

“Yes, occasionally, I got out to reckless shots and crazy shots in the ’80s and ’90s but there was a lot of structure to the way that I batted.

“I’ve still got notes on my phone on how I played in T20 cricket, one-day cricket, Test match cricket, and about hitting straight back at the stumps, and the techniques, and how I did it, and don’t play certain shots.

“That all-round structure is something I could potentially help him with because he’s so flipping good.

“It’s actually frightening how good he is and how good he can be.”

And Pietersen says he will not limit himself to working purely on white-ball cricket.

He has already spoken to new Test coach Stephen Fleming about how he can help the Test batters during his time with the white-ball squads.

Though he said he would not have time for a full-time role, he suggested he is open to working with the Test side before next summer’s home Ashes series.

“I have got a pretty mad schedule,” he says. “I wouldn’t say no.

“I don’t think that necessarily means I need to be in a dressing room.

“There is a lot of time in the lead up to an Ashes series and a tour of South Africa, when I will be with the Test batters.

“There are conversations I can have there.”

Who knows how long this will last. England may as well make the most of this second chance.