West Indies star player Andre Russell ruled out of World Cup 2019 with knee injury
London: West Indies' all-rounder Andre Russell was on Monday ruled out of the ongoing 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup owing to a hamstring injury. He will now be replaced by 26-year-old batsman Sunil Ambris and will join up with his team in preparation for his side's match against India at Old Trafford on Thursday.
Russell, 31, had taken five wickets in four games but was seen struggling with a knee problem.
Russell had a brilliant IPL 2019 season with Kolkata Knight Riders but failed to replicate the show in England.
Following his spectacular show with the bat in the IPL earlier this year, Russell was included in the Caribbean squad for the World Cup.
Ambris has featured in six ODIs and averages 105.33. He has a hundred and a half-century fifty to his name in the 50-over format.
On Saturday, West Indies lost to New Zealand by five runs in a nail-biting contest.
A magnificent 148 from Kiwi skipper Williamson and a brilliant bowling spell of 4-30 from Trent Boult looked to be going in vain as Windies all-rounder Carlos Brathwaite produced a devastating display of hitting for 101 off 82 balls.
Needing six off seven balls with one wicket in hand, Brathwaite was caught on the boundary by Boult as the Black Caps registered their fifth win of the tournament.
Chasing 292, Chris Gayle made 87 at the top of their innings, but a middle-order collapse undid much of the early good work. Brathwaite almost saved the day but was seen dropping to his knees in distress as the Kiwi players comforted him after he got out.
West Indies skipper Jason Holder admitted that it was a tough game for them. "It was a tough game at the very end, but I'm proud of the guys, especially Carlos, who had a good innings. Chris had a good knock that really set the tone for us. It's pretty tough but there are still a lot of positives.”
After managing only one win from their six games, the West Indies have a very slim chance of making it to the semi-finals of the showpiece event.
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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.
