Rain washes out India-England World Cup warm-up match
Persistent rain on Saturday washed out the World Cup warm-up match between India and England at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati. It began raining a little before the start of the match on Saturday afternoon, which resulted in the toss being delayed but later in the evening the umpires decided to abandon the contest, a little before 6pm local time owing to inclement weather. All 10 teams will get to play two warm-up matches each before the group stage of the 50-over World Cup which gets underway in Ahmedabad on October 5.
England will face New Zealand in the World Cup opener.
England, who arrived in India a day before their first warm-up match, will remain in Guwahati to play their second and final warm-up game against Bangladesh on October 2.
On the other hand, India, who travelled all the way to Guwahati on Thursday after completing a 2-1 series win over Australia, will now fly to Thiruvananthapuram for their second warm-up match against the Netherlands on October 3.
The warm-up matches began on Friday with Sri Lanka suffering a seven-wicket defeat at the hands of Bangladesh here, while New Zealand defeated Pakistan in a high-scoring contest in Hyderabad.
The warm-up matches are being played at three venues Guwahati, Thiruvananthapuram and Hyderabad.
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Allahabad HC orders probe into 'reinstatement' of teacher in UP's Barabanki
Lucknow (PTI): The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court on Friday ordered a probe by the special task force (STF) into alleged irregularities in the rejoining of a teacher at City Intermediate College in Barabanki, observing that the reinstatement appeared to be prima facie illegal.
The court also directed the recovery of the salary paid to the teacher during the disputed period.
A bench of Justice Rajeev Singh passed the order on a petition filed by the college management committee. The court expressed doubts over the roles of the District Inspector of Schools (DIOS), Barabanki, the college principal and the teacher concerned and hence, directed a detailed inquiry into the matter.
Taking note of alleged manipulation of records and misleading submissions, the court ordered the immediate transfer of the Barabanki DIOS to ensure a fair probe. It also directed the initiation of disciplinary proceedings against the then joint director of education of the Ayodhya division.
In its order, the court found that the teacher, Abhay Kumar, was initially appointed as an assistant teacher in 2018 but joined an Eklavya Model Residential School in Chhattisgarh as a lecturer in June 2024 without obtaining permission from the management. His subsequent request to retain the lien was rejected.
Despite this, he was allowed to rejoin the Barabanki College in September 2025 on the directions of the joint director of education and the DIOS, and was even paid the salary for October 2025. The court termed the rejoining "wholly illegal" and lacking any legal basis.
The bench also expressed concern over lapses in communication within the education department and directed the Uttar Pradesh chief secretary to ensure that official orders are communicated through email and WhatsApp as well, to prevent disputes.
The matter is next listed for hearing on May 28 when a compliance report is sought.
