chances

As well as bearing the pressure of her first tournament in charge, Sciver-Brunt’s all-round performances will also go a long way to deciding England’s fortunes.

So often, she is their sole saviour with the bat but she will at least have the comfort of Knight’s return from injury, providing extra stability and maturity in the middle order which they lacked against India this summer.

Edwards wasted no time in changing England’s opening partnership, reinstating Amy Jones with Tammy Beaumont, but again it was difficult to take too much from their back-to-back stands of more than 200 against West Indies considering the weakness of the bowling attack.

They were far less convincing against a superior India, with a stand of 54 sandwiched between partnerships of eight and seven.

England are also very inexperienced in India as only Knight, Beaumont and Danni Wyatt-Hodge have 10 or more ODIs to their name here – though they are more familiar with the conditions from the Women’s Premier League, a T20 franchise tournament.

In terms of the bowling, much will also depend on how many overs Sciver-Brunt can deliver, having not bowled since the Ashes because of an Achilles problem.

Edwards made the bold call to omit the experienced Kate Cross from the squad, which leaves Lauren Bell, Lauren Filer and Em Arlott as the quicks and Sarah Glenn, Charlie Dean and world number one Sophie Ecclestone as the spinners.

Bell has quickly become one of the first names on the England team sheet over the past two years, but there are still a lot of unknowns about the surfaces in India and Sri Lanka, with their group games due to be played at four different venues.

If the surfaces do not offer much spin, especially in the early stages, England could find themselves a seamer light or lacking Cross’ experience, with Arlott and Filer still searching for consistency in international cricket.

Arlott is also the only new addition to the squad since the Ashes, another indication that England’s depth is yet to materialise in order to challenge the mainstays, though it was always unlikely the team would see wholesale changes from the summer considering the enormity of the challenge of this tournament and the need for experience.

Eight-run cricket win keeps Bangladesh in the running for the next phase, while Afghanistan must beat Sri Lanka to make it.

Bangladesh have kept themselves in contention for the next round of cricket’s Asia Cup 2025 by defeating Afghanistan by eight runs in their Group B encounter in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates.

Afghanistan came close to securing their place in the Super Four stage and knocking out Bangladesh, but fell short in their chase of 155 on Tuesday.

The Bangladeshi pacers kept Afghanistan’s batters in check with regular wickets as Mustafizur Rahman (3-28 in four overs), Nasum Ahmed (2-11 in four overs) and Taskin Ahmed (2-34 in four overs) applied the brakes on Afghanistan’s innings.

Apart from Rahmanullah Gurbaz 35 (31) and Azmatullah Omarzai 30 (16), none of the Afghan batters could move into the 30s.

Captain Rashid Khan’s flurry at the end of the innings – 20 (11) – did look threatening for Bangladesh at one point, but once he was dismissed, Afghanistan’s chances were all but gone.

Despite a couple of late sixes from spinner Noor Ahmad, Afghanistan fell short and were dismissed for 145 in their 20 overs.

Earlier, Tanzid Hasan top-scored for Bangladesh with a half-century (52 off 31) to help set up a challenging target of 154-5 in 20 overs.

Rashid and Noor took two wickets apiece for Afghanistan.

Bangladesh have now played all three of their group games and will await the result of Afghanistan’s all-important match against Sri Lanka on Thursday.

Sri Lanka are at top spot with four points, and Bangladesh move to second place with four points.

The Tigers will hope that Sri Lanka beat Afghanistan to open their path to the Super Fours.

Should Afghanistan win, the net run rate could come into play as a deciding factor.

BRUSSELS — The greenlight given by President Trump on U.S. backup for a European-led force to police any future peace agreement in Ukraine vastly improves the likelihood it might succeed.

European leaders said Trump offered his backing during a call they held ahead of his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday.

The effectiveness of the operation, drawn up by the so-called coalition of the willing of around 30 countries supporting Ukraine, hinges on U.S. backup with airpower or other military equipment that European armed forces do not have, or only in short supply.

EU leaders regularly have underlined how the United States is “crucial” to the success of the security operation dubbed Multinational Force Ukraine. But the Trump administration has long refused to commit, perhaps keeping its participation on hold as leverage in talks with Russia.

After a meeting Wednesday between Trump and European leaders, European Council President Antonio Costa welcomed “the readiness of the United States to share with Europe the efforts to reinforce security conditions once we obtain a durable and just peace for Ukraine.”

French President Emmanuel Macron said Trump had insisted NATO must not be part of these security guarantees, but the U.S. leader agreed “the United States and all the (other) parties involved should take part.”

“It’s a very important clarification,” Macron said.

Trump did not publicly confirm he would allow U.S. backup, and no details of possible U.S. support were made public, but U.S. Vice President JD Vance sat in on the coalition meeting for the first time.

The Multinational Force Ukraine

More than 200 military planners have worked for months on ways to ensure a future peace should the war, now in its fourth year, finally halt. Ukraine’s armed forces also have been involved, and British personnel have led reconnaissance work inside Ukraine.

The exact size of the force has not been made public, although Britain has said it could number 10,000 to 30,000 troops. It must be enough to deter Russian forces, but also of a realistic size for nations that shrank their militaries after the Cold War and are now rearming.

The “reassurance” force’s mission “will be to strengthen Ukraine’s defenses on the land, at sea, and in the air because the Ukrainian Armed Forces are the best deterrent against future Russian aggression,” U.K. Defence Secretary John Healey told lawmakers last month.

“It will secure Ukraine’s skies by using aircraft,” Healey said, “and it will support safer seas by bolstering the Black Sea Task Force with additional specialist teams.”

Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey launched that naval force a year ago to deal with mines in Black Sea waters.

The force initially will have its headquarters in Paris before moving to London next year. A coordination headquarters in Kyiv will be involved once hostilities cease and it deploys.

The impact of US participation

European efforts to set up the force have been seen as a first test of the continent’s willingness to defend itself and its interests, given Trump administration warnings that Europe must take care of its own security and that of Ukraine in future.

Still, U.S. forces clearly provide a deterrent that the Europeans cannot muster.

Details of what the U.S. might contribute were unknown, and Trump has changed his mind in the past, so it remains to be seen whether this signal will be enough to persuade more countries within the coalition to provide troops.

Greece has publicly rejected doing so. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said last month that those discussions were “somewhat divisive” and distracted from the goal of ending the war as soon as possible.

Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has said Rome won’t contribute troops, but she previously has underlined the importance of working with the U.S. on ending the conflict and called for the participation of an American delegation in force coordination meetings.

Cook writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Emma Burrows in London contributed to this report.

GRABBING your lucky penny to see if you have won tens of thousands of pounds in an instant is all part of the thrill for scratchcard players.

But there are ways you can boost your chances of winning with a few crucial steps, thanks to scratchcard expert Patrick Wareing’s tips.

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Patrick runs the website scratchcard-winners.co.uk and has been dishing out top tips on how to bag a big prize since 2015.

He also helps players work out which online scratchcards are best to play.

Scratchcards offer life changing wins of up to £2million for punters and are sold at supermarkets, as well as garages and other convenience shops.

National Lottery scratchcards cost between £1 to £5, depending on which one you choose.

You can also buy online through the National Lottery website.

Anyone 18-years or over can buy a scratchcard and play.

Here’s what you need to know before playing.

Make sure you gamble responsibly.

Track down the odds

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Scratchcard odds can be found on the back of the slip, on the game procedures document or the National Lottery website.

They can also be found on in-store screens at the till in shops.

Typically, the more expensive the scratchcard, the better the odds – but this isn’t always the case.

The odds of winning on the Sapphire 7s Doubler scratchcard, which costs £2, is one in 3.37, whereas the odds of winning the Diamond Maze scratchcard, which is £5, is one in 3.58.

Odds show how likely you are to win any particular prize – the lower the number, the better the odds.

This means you have a better chance of winning with the £2 game compared to the more expensive £5 game.

Of course, there’s no guarantee you will win on your scratchcard, even if you buy many to increase your odds of winning.

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Patrick said: “If you buy a scratchcard with odds of one in four, and you buy four scratchcards, you’d assume you get a winner.

“Yet the odds are calculated on all scratchcards in circulation, which means that you aren’t guaranteed a winner in this scenario.

“It can work in your favour though, as you could equally win on all four scratchcards.”

A better method of calculating the likelihood of winning can be to take a look at what “return to player” rate is.

This is what gambling experts define as the percentage of money that will be paid back to players from total scratchcard sales. It’s essentially the pay out rate on scratchcards.

National Lottery scratchcards usually pay out at a rate of between 60-70%.

So say, for example, that the total of all the scratchcards sold was £1 million. 

A 65% pay out rate would mean that £650,000 would be paid out to players, with the remaining £350,000 going to National Lottery.

The £100,000 A Month For A Year scratchcard has pay out rate of 70.02%.

The £100,000 Multiplier Yellow scratchcard has an pay out rate of 61.75%.

That’s a difference of nearly 10% and can make a big difference to your chance of getting winnings.

You can find information on prize rates on the game procedure documents, which are on the National Lottery website for each scratchcard.

The scratchcards you can NEVER win the jackpot

Before you buy your scratchcard, check whether the top jackpot prizes have already been won.

The number of jackpot prizes available varies depending on what type of scratchcard you pick.

Many people don’t realise you can still buy National Lottery scratchcards even after all the top prizes have been won.

For cards with a jackpot above £121,000, no new packs of scratchcards will be put on sale when the last top prize has been won.

However, scratchcards that are already on display can continue to be sold.

Information about remaining prizes is available on in-store National Lottery scratchcard terminals, but these can be easy to miss so make sure you visit the National Lottery website too.

There won’t be a breakdown of other winnings still up for grabs.

Jackpot information is only every weekday, so there could be a delay if prizes are claimed on the weekend or on bank holidays.

The National Lottery site currently shows that five out of around 50 scratchcard games on sale have already had the top prizes claimed.

Use this nifty site

If you’re not sure which scratchcard to choose with the best chance of winning, this handy website could help.

Smartscratchcard.co.uk ranks which scratchcards are best to buy based on the chances of scoring the top prize.

It uses an algorithm to give a rating out of 100 on popular scratchcards.

It takes into account factors such as the price of the card, whether the top prize is still available to be won, how many cards are still available to buy, and the odds of winning.

It also lists how much you might have to spend to win the jackpot statistically.

The scratchcard rated the top buy on the site is currently Run For Your Money.

It costs £5 and the jackpot is £1 million.

The return to player rate is 70.12%, and two out of three jackpots have been won.

Shockingly, statistically speaking, you could have to spend £4,990,920 on cards to win.

Don’t throw away a loser

You may not believe it, but it’s easier to lose track of a winning scratchcard then you might think.

More than £57.6m worth of prizes went unclaimed by Lotto, EuroMillions and scratchcard players in the ten months to the end of January 2024.

The National Lottery recommends you always sign a scratchcard and keep it safe if you have a winner.

It sounds obvious, but make sure your card is definitely not a winner before chucking.

This is more likely to happen with scratchcards featuring letters and numbers, such as the Bingo and Crossword styles.

Patrick adds: “The National Lottery often changes the rules between new releases – even if they look similar to the ones before them.”

Even if you think you have a loser, it’s a good idea to take it to a shop where they can check.

Then you can be completely sure you don’t throw away any winners.

Don’t leave it too late

It’s really important to know that all scratchcards have an expiry date.

Even if you have a winner, you won’t be able to claim your prize if the card is out of date.

Prizes must be claimed before the end of the 180th day after the closing date of the game.

This gives you roughly six months after the game has closed.

All current game closures on the website national-lottery.co.uk/games/gamestore/scratchcards/closures

But here’s the catch, the closure dates are influenced by how many prizes are left.

So to avoid missing out, cash in your prize as soon as you realise you have a winner.

Remember, only gamble with money you can afford to lose, and set a spending limit before you play.

Visit gamcare.org.uk or GambleAware.org if you need help.

‘I won £500,000 scratchcard jackpot – here’s my tactic to winning’

SCRATCHCARD winner Matthew Harding won a £500,000 jackpot, and revealed his secret to scooping the mega win.

Shop assistant Matthew, from Nottingham, won big on the Pink Multiplier National Scratchcard in 2023.

He said he always bought two scratchcards in a row because he heard that this makes you more likely to win.

His tactic paid off, and he scooped the top jackpot.

Matthew said at the time of winning: “I treat myself to a scratchcard or two every month after payday and scratch them on my way home.

“I have seen a few customers in the shop winning £20 or £40 here and there so I thought I would give this particular one a go.

“I have always been told to buy two in a row as you are more likely to win.

“There may be no real logic in that but that’s exactly what I do – I always buy them in a set.

Matthew stuffed the card in his sock to keep it safe.

He bought it from Greasley General Stores, Eastwood – the store he worked at the time.

He made sure to sign the back of the card and didn’t fold it so he could keep the card safe.

For as long as there’s been relegation, supporters have been trying to predict the minimum number of points needed to avoid it.

So what should Burnley, Leeds, Sunderland and others be aiming for?

Traditionally, 40 points are said to be enough for Premier League survival.

That’s because only three teams have ever reached the 40-point mark in a 38-game season and gone down.

They are: West Ham with 42 in 2002-03, Sunderland with 40 points in 1996-97 and Bolton with 40 points the following year.

But, given all three of those seasons were well over 20 years ago, is it time to set a lower benchmark?

Over the past 10 seasons, the average points collected by the team in 18th – a total you’d need to better in order to stay up – has been exactly 32.

Tottenham finished 17th last term with 38 points but, because of the weaknesses of the promoted trio, they would still have beaten the drop with just 26.

The season before, 17th-placed Nottingham Forest managed 32 points – a tally which included a four points deduction – but actually only needed 27 to stay up.