TAROUBA  –  Pakistan enjoyed another disciplined outing with the ball, but a resolute unbeaten half-century from Kavem Hodge helped West Indies recover to 127-3 in 43 overs by tea on the opening day of the first Test at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy on Saturday.

The rain-affected opening day of the ICC World Test Championship 2025-27 fixture saw Pakistan seize the early initiative through Mohammad Abbas, only for Hodge to anchor the innings with a determined knock after the hosts found themselves under sustained pressure. Rain had forced an early lunch with West Indies struggling at 23-1 in 14.1 overs, following Abbas’ dismissal of Brandon King for 12.  

The experienced Pakistani pacer continued to trouble the home batters with his trademark accuracy, finishing the second session with impressive figures of 2-40 in 15 overs, including five maidens. After the resumption, Tagenarine Chanderpaul and Hodge rebuilt cautiously, adding 51 runs for the second wicket. Chanderpaul showed patience during his 77-ball stay before Aamer Jamal broke the partner-ship, inducing an edge that was comfortably taken by Salman Ali Agha. The opener contributed a hard-fought 21.  West Indies found fresh momentum through Amir Jangoo, who played positively for his 21 off 32 balls, striking two fours and a six. However, Abbas struck again, trapping the left-hander leg-before to re-store Pakistan’s control with the score on 106. Hodge, meanwhile, remained unshaken throughout the session.  

The left-hander displayed sound technique and admirable composure to register his fourth Test half-century, reaching the milestone in 100 deliveries with nine crisp boundaries. His unbeaten 56 ensured the hosts weathered Pakistan’s relentless bowling attack. At the other end, wicketkeeper-batter Shai Hope was unbeaten on 11, as the pair safely negotiated the closing overs before tea.

Scores in Brief

WEST INDIES 1ST INNINGS (Tea, Day One): 127-3 (Kavem Hodge 56*, Tagenarine Chanderpaul 21, Amir Jangoo 21; M Abbas 2-40, Aamer Jamal 1-29) vs PAKISTAN.

Laura Hamilton disclosed that she had trouble falling asleep after witnessing the tragic death of a teenager in the sea.

Following the terrifying incident during a trip to the beach, the 44-year-old host of A Place in the Sun spoke about the risks associated with swimming.

Speaking to her fans, Laura revealed that she had visited a neighboring beach, but as soon as she arrived, she knew something was deeply wrong.

Reliving the experience, she said, “I got about three hours of sleep last night, and I think it’s because of what I saw on the beach yesterday afternoon.”

“My mind was just racing and I was kind of re-picturing the things that I saw,” Laura Hamilton continued.

She went on to describe what transpired when she arrived at the scene, adding, “When I arrived, there was quite a lot of commotion, and I didn’t really know what was going on.”

“It turns out that there was a fatality, and it was a crazy thing to see. I thought the individual was older than they were, but it turns out they were a 19-year-old boy. They tried to resuscitate him, but they couldn’t, and sadly, he passed away,” the presenter further stated.

She added, “I can’t begin to imagine what that poor boy’s family is thinking and feeling this morning.”

Laura Hamilton, a mother of two, stated that she wished to warn people about the dangers associated with swimming and sea currents.

SEOUL  –  The chairman of corporate giant SK Group has been ordered by a South Korean court to pay his ex-wife 944bn won (£483m; $644m) in a case that local media has called the “divorce of the century”. The award, which still needs to be finalised, is below the initial 1.38tn won that chairman Chey Tae-won was told to pay Roh Soh-yeong in 2024. It comes more than a decade after his marriage to Roh – the daughter of a former president – fell apart following the revelation he had fathered a child with another woman.  SK Group runs SK Hynix, the semiconductor giant that supplies chips to Nvidia and recently made a record-setting debut on the US stock market. Chey’s lawyers said “Chairman Chey Tae-won is deeply sorry in that [the divorce] proceedings so far have caused concern to many people. We will share specific response to the verdict after we closely review the ruling.”

SK Group is one of South Korea’s chaebols – family-owned conglomerates that dominate the country’s economy. The verdict comes after deliberation over the division of assets between Roh and Chey, who had been married for 35 years.

During the earlier trial in 2024, Roh’s legal team had successfully argued that Chey had received significant help from his ex-wife’s father, Roh Tae-woo, who had served as the country’s president between 1988 to 1993. The court had determined that the strongman had given Chey 30bn Korean won from his slush fund in 1991, and told Chey to pay 1.38tn to his ex-wife. But the Supreme Court overturned the verdict last year, ruling that the slush funds were illegally obtained and could not be considered as part of the couple’s assets. The case has gripped South Korea.  SK Group began as a textile company in 1953 but quickly grew across a wide swath of industries to become one of South Korea’s biggest conglomerates. Today, it is the second largest chaebol after the Samsung group. South Korean people buy phone plans from SK Telecom and fill their vehicles at SK petrol stations. The group gained global prominence after its subsidiary SK Hynix found itself at the centre of the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. In May, the chipmaker surpassed $1tn (£750bn) on the South Korean stock market.

As SK Hynix’s value soared, the SK Group and its chairman Chey’s status also rose. Last month, President Lee Jae Myung commended Chey during the unveiling of a landmark AI investment plan, calling him and Samsung chairman JY Lee “Heroes of Korean People.” The company also raised $26.5bn in its New York share offering, marking the largest ever listing by a foreign firm in the US.