Bolt hat-trick stops Australia at 243/9 after Khawaja, Carey fifties
London, June 29: Pace spearhead Trent Boult hogged the limelight with a sensational last-over hat-trick to stop Australia's rebuilding job at 243 for nine in their ICC World Cup match here Sunday.
With his swinging full-pitched deliveries, Boult sent back the well-settled Usman Khawaja (88 off 129 balls), Micthell Starc and Jason Behrendorff, while giving away just two runs at the Lord's.
Bolt (4/51 in 10 overs) struck after Khawaja and Alex Carey (71 off 72 balls) scored contrasting half-centuries to lift Australia from a disastrous start after they opted to bat.
With his feat, Bolt became the first New Zealander to grab a hat-trick in the World Cup.
The defending champions lost half their side with less than 100 runs on the board, but a 107-run partnership for the sixth wicket between Khawaja and Carey helped them rebuild.
It was a rare occasion when the opening duo of David Warner and Aaron Finch, in red-hot from entering this game, failed to fire.
While Finch (8) was the first to go, tapped in front by the experienced Trent Boult, Warner departed after making 16 to leave Australia in a spot of bother at 38 for two in the 10th over, and it became worse when Steve Smith was sent back by Lockie Ferguson with the scorecard reading a precarious 46 for three in the 12th over.
Marcus Stoinis (21) and Khawaja attempted a recovery act before Jimmy Neesham derailed it.
Glenn Maxwell flopped again, this time failing to even open his account as Australia stared down the barrel.
Australia were in dire need of a partnership and the duo of Carey and Khawaja provided just that with a century partnership, helping the defending champions to a respectable position.
Carey smashed 11 boundaries during his fluent knock, while Khawaja found the fence five times during his sedate innings.
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Israel launches first airstrike on Lebanon since ceasefire, accusing Hezbollah of breaching truce
Beirut, Nov 28: The Israeli military on Thursday said its warplanes fired on southern Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility, the first Israeli airstrike a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold.
There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel's aerial attack, which came hours after the Israeli military said it fired on people trying to return to certain areas in southern Lebanon. Israel said they were violating the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded.
The back-to-back incidents stirred unease about the agreement, brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah members are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers.
On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire after more than a year of bloody conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. Israel said it fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.
A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.
The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese Hezbollah group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.
More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.
Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.
In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.
