Unchanged New Zealand bat first; Taylor back for West Indies

Toss New Zealand chose to bat vs West Indies New Zealand captain Sophie Devine won the toss and decided to bat against West Indies in the second semi-final of the Women’s T20 World Cup in Sharjah on Friday evening. Hayley Matthews anyway wanted to bowl first. Devine said she wanted runs on the board and put pressure on West Indies. New Zealand remained unchanged from the side that beat Pakistan…

October 18, 2024
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Hathurusinghe questions BCB's motives after sacking

“These allegations appear to me to be premeditated,” Hathurusinghe said in a statement sent to ESPNcricinfo. “On the first day of the new president’s term, he made a public statement expressing his desire to remove the head coach, which he acknowledged might involve financial repercussions for the BCB. “Additionally, I was shocked to receive a ‘show cause notice’ just four hours before the appointment of another head coach, despite the…

October 18, 2024
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Trevor Penney replaces Shane Bond as Paarl Royals head coach for SA20 2025

The owners of the Royals franchise, Royals Sports Group, took over the Barbados team in the CPL in 2021. Penney has been in charge of the team since 2022, with the runners-up finish that year their best result under him. “I’m honored to take on the head coach role at Paarl Royals,” Penney said in a statement. “The SA20 has become a major tournament on the global cricket calendar, and…

October 18, 2024
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Batting magic in Bengaluru as India threaten something special

India 46 and 231 for 3 (Sarfaraz 70*, Kohli 70, Rohit 52) trail New Zealand 402 (Ravindra 134, Conway 91, Southee 65, Jadeja 3-72) by 125 runs Only one side has ever won a Test after scoring fewer than the 46 they did in the first innings of the match, but India were entertaining thoughts of doing it. They are onto something special in Bengaluru, and that through a sensational…

October 18, 2024
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Shakib 'unavailable' for first SA Test, Murad called in as replacement

In what could be the end of an illustrious Test career for Shakib Al Hasan, the allrounder has had to make himself unavailable for the first home Test against South Africa. He was unable to make it to Dhaka while traveling from New York earlier this week. Shakib has been replaced by uncapped left-arm spinner Hasan Murad for the first Test starting October 21 in Dhaka, which was supposed to…

October 18, 2024
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Shan Masood hails 'important win for Pakistan cricket'

Not quite vindication just yet, but certainly relief. That was the tone Pakistan captain Shan Masood tried to strike after Pakistan had skittled England out for 144 in Multan. It gave them their first home win in four years, and on a personal note, Masood his first Test win as captain. “This was a very important win for Pakistan cricket,” he said. “The recent results were unacceptable. There is relief….

October 18, 2024
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Wickramasinghe set for ODI debut against West Indies

Karunaratne’s exclusion confirms the notion that he has simply fallen out of favour with the new selection and coaching regime. He last turned out for a game for Sri Lanka in the 2023 ODI World Cup despite being part of several squads since. But his downward trajectory has coincided with Wickramasinghe’s rise following impressive showings with the bat in July’s Lanka Premier League. He played in the first game of…

October 18, 2024
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Ben Stokes apologises for frustration after lapses cost England dear

Ben Stokes, England’s captain, said he had apologised to his players for his show of frustration on the third evening in Multan, at the point that the second Test against Pakistan began to slip out of his team’s control in a spate of dropped catches and fielding lapses. Stokes, back in the side for the first time in nine weeks after a hamstring tear had ruled him out of their…

October 18, 2024
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Noman Ali eight-for seals Pakistan's first home win since 2021

Pakistan 366 (Ghulam 118, Ayub 77, Leach 4-114) and 221 (Salman 63, Bashir 4-66) beat England 291 (Duckett 114, Sajid 7-111) and 144 (Noman 8-46) by 152 runs It had been a long time coming for Pakistan, but the conclusion was swift. Noman Ali and Sajid Khan combined for the second time in the match to bowl out England and seal Pakistan’s first win in a home Test since 2021….

October 18, 2024
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Sammy calls 2-1 series loss 'moral victory' on turning tracks in Sri Lanka

West Indies head coach Daren Sammy has declared a “moral victory” for his side in the aftermath of the 2-1 T20I series defeat to Sri Lanka, and questioned the wisdom of the home side pivoting to turning tracks for the final two games, both must-wins for Sri Lanka. In a fairly scathing assessment, Sammy argued that while the next T20 World Cup – in 2026 – was going to be…

October 18, 2024
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