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Setback for the defending champions as they slump to their second straight loss

Firdose Moonda08-Mar-2022After their takedown of hosts New Zealand on the opening night, West Indies beat England for the first time at a Women’s World Cup to throw the qualification race wide open. A second straight win, this one almost as late in the script as the previous one, took them to the top of the standings, even as the defending champions suffered their second straight loss.Stafanie Taylor’s side defended 225 on a slow pitch in a see-saw match. For a while, it seemed to have settled with England as their ninth-wicket pair of Sophie Ecclestone and Kate Cross added 61 to take them within nine runs of victory. Then some magic, along with a bit of luck, for Anisa Mohammed turned the game again as West Indies pulled off a sensational win.Tasked with bowling the 48th over, Mohammed was at the receiving end of a ferocious Ecclestone hit. But she stuck out a hand and deflected the ball on to the stumps to run Cross out at the non-striker’s end. Three balls later, Mohammed bowled Anya Shrubsole, who yorked herself as she charged down the track and missed a full ball, to seal the deal.It was heartbreaking for England after Ecclestone and Cross had brought them back from 156 for 8, through a mix of street-smart cricket and calculated aggression.The game was set up, however, by West Indies openers Hayley Matthews and Deandra Dottin, who added 81. Then they lost four wickets for 17 runs to concede the advantage. And then came the bailout courtesy a 123-run fifth-wicket stand between Shemaine Campbelle and Chedean Nation, which took them to 225, which at the halfway point seemed a decent total on a slow pitch.Anisa Mohammed leads the West Indies victory sprint after her sensational last over•Getty Images

It looked even bigger than it was when England were reduced to 94 for 5, before Danni Wyatt and Sophia Dunkley put on 60 for the sixth wicket to keep England in the hunt. But they fell away again by losing three wickets in six balls before Ecclestone and Cross took them close, only to fall short again.Both teams will be disappointed with their efforts on the field. England dropped four chances, and West Indies three. England sent down 23 wides, West Indies 15. Yet, the clincher that started England’s troubles was Dottin’s leaping one-handed stunner at backward point that broke England’s steady opening stand. She was fully airborne as she leapt to her left and put out her non-dominant hand to dismiss Lauren Winfield-Hill. It came on the back of two dropped catches.Three overs later, Heather Knight was out caught behind as she advanced down the pitch to a Matthews delivery that drifted away and held its line. The decision was initially referred for a stumping, but UltraEdge confirmed a thin spike and Knight was given out. Matthews had a second when Nat Sciver top-edged a slog sweep to mid-on. England had slipped to 58 for 3 at that stage.When Amy Jones offered a return catch that was shelled by Aaliyah Alleyne, England had a brief reprieve, but Alleyne had the last laugh when she had Jones driving to Matthews at slip. Tammy Beaumont looked good, but fell to Mohammed when she played all around a full ball. A wobble had turned into a full-blown collapse.Dunkley and Wyatt repaired the innings by ticking the runs sensibly. The pair put on 60 and appeared to have eased the nerves in the England camp when Dunkley mistimed a swat straight to Taylor at short midwicket in the 34th over. Two balls later, Wyatt sliced a lofted hit to mid-off. When Katherine Brunt slapped Shamilia Connell to point, it looked like the writing was on the wall at 156 for 8.Sophie Ecclestone was impressive, and her three-wicket burst gave England a good chance•Getty Images

Earlier, Dottin and Matthews started briskly, scoring at close to six runs an over. It changed after the 11th over. Cross could have had Matthews but for a return catch that went down. She did, however, apply the squeeze with Sciver before Ecclestone forced a slowdown through eight boundary-less overs that led to a collapse.Matthews was the first to go on 45 when she top-edged a heave to short third to break an 81-run opening stand in the 21st over. Three balls later, Dottin was run-out after a mix-up with Kycia Knight, as Wyatt swooped in to under-arm a direct hit at the striker’s end. One ball later, Taylor met a slow Ecclestone delivery with an open-faced bat to defend but got the outside edge and was caught behind for a first-ball duck.West Indies could have lost a fourth shortly after but Campbelle’s lbw decision was overturned by DRS when the impact – she had attempted a sweep off Knight – was found to be outside off. But England only had to wait until the next delivery to get a wicket as Knight drilled Ecclestone straight to short cover.West Indies were 98 for 4 after 27 overs. Only 37 runs came in the next ten overs, with just one boundary, as England continued to apply pressure, but Campbelle and Nation absorbed it. They saw off Ecclestone, who bounced back from none for 77 against Australia to finish with 3 for 20 today, and brought up their 50-run stand in the 40th over.As the innings approached its end, the pair became more aggression. Nation broke a 13-over drought when she drove Sciver square of the wicket for a boundary in the 45th. Then Campbelle swivel-pulled Sciver behind square and flicked her to midwicket to raise a 70-ball half-century. Soon, they also raised the century stand. This proved to be the difference in the end as it gave West Indies a total they managed to defend after a struggle.

India head coach believes Dhoni remains in the race with Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Jan-2020Experience, consistency, adapting to Australian conditions, explosive power, flamboyance. These are the criteria India head coach Ravi Shastri feels MS Dhoni can convert into currency to buy himself a ticket to the T20 World Cup, which will be held in October in Australia.Even as the MSK Prasad-led selection panel has been clear about moving on from Dhoni, questions about his future in the Indian side have not died down. Dhoni, who will turn 39 in July, has not played any cricket since he took a break after India’s semi-final exit at the ODI World Cup last July. Dhoni added to the intrigue recently when he asked to wait till January without revealing exactly what for.As far as Shastri is concerned, Dhoni remains in the race and will be fighting for the same spot as Rishabh Pant and possibly Sanju Samson. In a chat with Indian TV channel CNN-News18, Shastri said: “You will have to see who will do the job at what number, what role, who is the best guy. You will take experience into account. You will take youth into account. You will take flamboyance into account. And who fits into that number the best whether it is X, Y or Z. Plus we are playing in Australia (so) who will adapt to those conditions the best.”According to Shastri all three keeping options – Dhoni, Pant and Samson – possess the “explosive power” necessary to marshal the lower order.”They will all bat round [number] 5, 6… you will need power at the back, explosive power. All the three names you took, they all have that explosive power. (So) you will have to see consistency, experience, conditions – all that will come into play when the selectors look at it.”Recently Shastri had said that one can’t “fool around” with Dhoni, if he put himself in “contention” by having a good IPL later this summer. Shastri reiterated that point once again.”Good IPL, then he puts himself into contention. Then it is the selectors’ job to see what they want to do, but if he has a great IPL then he puts himself into contention.”But what if Pant and Samson also matched Dhoni with good numbers in the IPL? Shastri said experience and playing in Australian conditions would key determining factors in that case. “Then you will have to see: conditions come into play, experience comes into play, who will adapt best in those conditions.”Shastri also compared Dhoni to former India captain Kapil Dev, who continued playing international cricket into his late 30s, remaining fit till the end. “Would you put it beyond anyone if a guy is performing and the guy who has never had fitness problems in his entire career? For me, he (Dhoni) is like Kapil Dev. Kaps never had a problem right through his career.”

Mortaza led the bowling effort to rein in West Indies, and all of Soumya, Tamim and Shakib hit half-centuries in the chase

The Report by Mohammad Isam07-May-2019A bowling fightback and a solid chase from Bangladesh’s top-order led them to an eight-wicket win over West Indies in the second match of the tri-series in Ireland. Mashrafe Mortaza had led a fine bowling effort to engineer West Indies’ batting collapse at the death, where they went from 205 for 2 in 40.4 overs to 261 for 9 in 50 overs. After that, Tamim Iqbal and Soumya Sarkar set up the chase with a 144-run opening stand. Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim completed the job with five overs to spare.Shakib completed the win with a beautiful straight drive, which took him to an unbeaten run-a-ball 61 that included three fours and two sixes. He added 68 runs for the unbroken third wicket stand with Mushfiqur, having already put on 52 with Tamim for the second wicket.Tamim, who top scored with 80 off 116 balls with seven fours, and Soumya added 144 runs, Bangladesh’s highest opening stand against West Indies in ODIs. But it started with a bit of luck when Roston Chase dropped Tamim’s uppish drive at cover, when he was on 1. The pair had put on only 38 runs in the first ten overs, with Soumya hitting three gorgeous boundaries and Tamim, after patiently waiting for the right opportunity, slamming Kemar Roach for successive fours in the tenth over.It set them for the next ten overs, in which they added 69 runs. Soumya blasted Jason Holder for a straight six, and then played the upper-cut off the same bowler a few overs later. Soumya and Tamim were looking ominous in the next six overs, hitting boundaries and picking up singles quite easily.But a moment of brilliance in the field separated the openers, when Darren Bravo caught Soumya at the deep midwicket boundary. He held the ball at first, was overbalancing, so he threw it up in the air, then stepped over the boundary and came back inside to complete the catch. It was against the run of play, and gave West Indies a lifeline. Soumya had made 73 off 68 balls with a six and nine fours, but where West Indies should have tightened their bowling and fielding, they did the opposite.Their fielders kept missing regulation balls, while their bowlers couldn’t string together a tight spell. Tamim and Shakib added 52 for the second wicket before Mushfiqur and Shakib kept hitting the gaps, and waiting for the West Indies bowlers to err in length, or for the fielders to mess up.Sunil Ambris couldn’t judge a Mushfiqur slap towards deep point, and the wicketkeeper then slammed a pull to reduce the target down to four runs.While Bangladesh accelerated as the innings progressed, West Indies went in the opposite direction as they lost their last seven wickets for 56 runs in 9.2 overs. The collapse split their innings into two parts, but one didn’t complement the other as it should have. West Indies started off well, with Hope and Sunil Ambris putting on 89 runs for the opening wicket. Mashrafe bowled a mean spell during the Powerplay but control only came when he introduced spin in the 14th over. Shakib started with a tight couple of overs before Mehidy Hasan Miraz removed Ambris, with Mahmudullah taking a smart catch at cover.Bravo fell in the next over, but Hope and Roston Chase put together 115 runs for the third wicket, seemingly setting up a final flourish. Shakib and Mehidy applied pressure in the middle overs to cut down the scoring, with Mashrafe utilising his bowlers splendidly.Chase fell in the 41st over when he top edged Mashrafe to short fine-leg, having made 51 off 62 balls. The Bangladesh captain also removed Hope and Jason Holder in the space of three balls. Shakib then took a brilliant catch, diving to his left at long-on, to send back Jonathan Carter. Mohammad Saifuddin and Mustafizur Rahman conceded 50 runs in the last seven overs, and didn’t concede a single boundary in the last 2.4 overs.More runs in the last 16 balls perhaps could have helped West Indies, as would have more consistent bowling and better fielding. Bangladesh would also have liked to see Mustafizur bowl better, but that is why theseteams are playing the tri-nation series: so that they can iron out the gaps that exist before the World Cup comes around.

The pacer bowled at full-tilt on comeback from injury, helping India A snatch third place off South Africa A in the quadrangular series

The Report by Hemant Brar in Alur29-Aug-2018BCCI

The scorecard at the KSCA Cricket Ground in Alur would say India A trounced South Africa A by 124 runs but much more than the result, every eyeball in attendance was focused on Bhuvneshwar Kumar, tracing his every step on the field. And the pacer – the sole reason for interest in an inconsequential third-place match – didn’t disappoint on his return from a lower-back injury.After half-centuries from Shreyas Iyer and Ambati Rayudu helped India to a formidable 275 for 7, and Deepak Chahar drew first blood, uprooting Cloete’s middle stump, Bhuvneshwar found his groove almost immediately. First ball he bowled a juicy half-volley that was smashed for four, but the next delivery was right on the money, pitching on a length and swinging back in to rap the batsman on the pads.He struck off the last ball of his third over, having Theunis de Bruyn caught behind with one that pitched on a length and moved just enough off the seam to take the outside edge. Then, he trapped Khaya Zondo lbw on the first ball of his next over, reducing South Africa to 22 for 3. Although Senuran Muthusamy prevented the hat-trick, it didn’t look like anyone on the field was aware of it in any case.Bhuvneshwar finished his first spell of six overs with figures of 2 for 15 – bowling at full tilt, bending in the follow-through to field the ball, and, more importantly, without showing any signs of discomfort.Pieter Malan and Muthusamy thereafter steadied the chase with a 64-run stand for the fourth wicket before Krunal Pandya dismissed the latter for 40. Soon after, Mayank Markande removed the well-set Malan and new batsman Robbie Frylinck off successive balls, leaving South Africa 90 for 6 and with little hope of a recovery. With the fate of match almost sealed, Bhuvneshwar was reintroduced into the attack in the 28th over. Bowling from the far end this time around, he dismissed Sisanda Magala lbw off his first ball and finished with figures of 3 for 33 from his nine overs, as South Africa were bundled out for 151 in 37.1 overs.Earlier, R Samarth and Abhimanyu Easwaran gave India a slow but steady start of 35 before Magala provided South Africa with a breakthrough in the 11th over by bowling Easwaran. Three overs and six runs later, Malusi Siboto trapped Samarth in front, reducing India to 41 for 2.However, Rayudu, in at No. 4, ensured India didn’t get bogged down and provided the innings much-needed impetus. He started by hitting Siboto over mid-on to get off the mark, before driving the next ball through the covers. Two balls later, he had some luck, as Siboto forced an outside edge which went between the wicketkeeper and a wide first slip. On the first ball of his next over, Siboto once again drew an edge to the right of slip, but the ball evaded him again. Riding his luck, Rayudu stepped out on the next ball and slashed Siboto past the backward point for four more, resulting in Zondo taking his pacer out of the attack after his two overs cost 24 runs.Rayudu kept dealing in fours, hitting two more off Magala to race away to 31 off 21 balls. Although spinners Tabraiz Shamsi and Muthusamy managed to seize some control back, wickets eluded them. Rayudu reached his fifty off 59 balls, while Iyer, who had started nervously, had by then grown in confidence. He used his feet against Muthusamy to launch him for two straight sixes, the second of which brought him his half-century, off 55 balls.Hendricks eventually broke the 130-run stand, dismissing Rayudu for 66 with a sharp return catch. Iyer fell in the pacer’s next over, caught at deep-backward point.At that stage, it looked like South Africa may find their way back into the game, but Nitish Rana’s breezy 19-ball 30 and a seven-ball 16 by Chahar pushed India past 270 and into a position of dominance.

Sri Lanka women’s coach Hemantha Devapriya said finishing in the top four at the World Cup qualifiers – which will allow them to play the World Cup in England – is the team’s utmost priority

Sa'adi Thawfeeq07-Feb-2017Finishing as one of the top four sides in the Super Six stage of the Women’s World Cup Qualifier – which allows teams entry into the 2017 Women’s World Cup in England – will be the Sri Lanka women’s utmost priority, according to coach Hemantha Devapriya.Sri Lanka are one of 10 nations playing the qualifying tournament which began in Colombo today. Sri Lanka are grouped with India, Ireland, Zimbabwe and Thailand in Group A. Group B has South Africa, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Scotland and Papua New Guinea. The top three teams from each group will advance to the Super Six stage. Sri Lanka play India in their opening game.”India is the toughest team in our group and we have to win at least three matches to qualify for the next round,” Devapriya said. “It’s an advantage playing under home conditions but there is also a bit of disadvantage because of the pressure, as expectations are high for us to do well.”However the players are ready to perform and take up the challenge. In the last three months since I took over I see about 20% development in all areas, which is a surprise for me.”Their attitudes have changed and we worked hard. It was a hectic three months and the players also coped up very well to the demands. We had good preparations. We played a lot of practice games with the Under-17 boys and they are ready for it. Now it’s all about putting it into practice at the matches and showcasing their talent. They are confident and I can see it in them.”Chamari Atapattu will be crucial to Sri Lanka’s chances•IDI/Getty Images

Sri Lanka played a warm-up game against Pakistan on Sunday which they lost by three wickets. But what was pleasing to the coach was that Sri Lanka were able to cross 200 in their innings. “It’s a plus point scoring over 200. We couldn’t win because Pakistan batted well and at the same time we didn’t bowl well. We didn’t have the pace to bowl on that wicket,” Devapriya said. “The result didn’t matter much because both sides were trying out various things ahead of the tournament. The players know what to do, they have identified their roles and I am confident they will do their best.”Devapriya, a wicketkeeper of the pre-Test era, said that his team will be banking on senior players like Eshani Lokusuriyage, Chamari Atapattu, Prasadani Weerakkody, Dilani Manodara and Chamari Polgampola to lead their batting while Udeshika Prabodhani and captain Inoka Ranaweera will need to excel with the ball.Devapriya was also pleased to see that the programmes being carried out by Sri Lanka Cricket to raise the standard of women’s cricket in the country were proving to be a success.”There about 2000 students keen to play cricket. SLC is organising an Under-21 district tournament for them. At the same time there is a group going around picking talent. That’s a good indication that we will have good players coming through,” Devapriya said. “A lot of schools start playing cricket around the age of 16. I have seen young players who are not yet ready to make it big, but they have the talent. It’s our responsibility once this tournament is over, to identify these players and get them into the main stream and groom them.”

Round-up of the Zimbabwe one-day competition matches played on October 20

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Oct-2012Craig Ervine and Glen Querl played leading roles with bat and ball in Tuskers 132-run bonus-point win over table-toppers Rhinos in Bulawayo. Ervine scored an unbeaten 106 to power Tuskers to 294 before Querl picked up his first List A five-for which was instrumental in wrapping the Rhinos’ innings in 38 overs.Tuskers, after being put into bat, started slowly with 34 runs coming off the first 11 overs, but set up a good platform after a solid 71-run opening stand between Terry Duffin (26) and Brian Chari (64) in 16 overs. Ervine joined Chari after Cremer struck to remove Duffin and shared a 63-run partnership in 12 overs. Although Tuskers only lost two more wickets by the 40th over, Rhinos had their run rate well under five. Tuskers went past 200 in the 44th over, after which Ervine and captain Keegan Meth (58 off 37 balls) launched an unprecedented attack in the last six overs to score 89 runs.The late assault numbed the Rhinos, who lost early wicket in their chase. Querl struck in his second over to remove Brendan Taylor, and then picked up two more wickets in his fourth off successive balls. He returned later to mop up the tail and finish with figures of 8-2-26-5.Tino Mawoyo steered the chase with an unbeaten century that helped Mountaineers beat Rocks by seven wickets at Mutare sports club. Chasing 267, Mountaineers’ openers – Mawoyo and Kevin Kasuza (85 off 102 balls) – racked up a 182-run opening partnership in 31.4 overs and Mawoyo stayed till the end to see his team through. His 120 came off 128 balls and included 18 boundaries and a six and was his first List A century.Rocks, in search for their first win, chose to bat first and were boosted by an 82-run second-wicket stand between Alester Maregwede, who scored 62, and Ben Slater, who scored 32. But regular wickets thereafter meant that they were not able to accelerate and were at 170 for 5 with 10 overs to go. The tempo was changed by Prince Masvaure’s cameo, an unbeaten 56 off 39 balls, that saw the Rocks score 96 runs off the last ten helping Rhinos to their highest total in this year’s tournament, which wasn’t enough this time.

Stuart Clark, the former Australia fast bowler, is keen to play another season with New South Wales, despite being in contention to become chief executive of one of Sydney’s two Big Bash League sides

ESPNcricinfo staff03-May-2011Stuart Clark, the former Australia fast bowler, is keen to play another season with New South Wales, despite being in contention to become chief executive of one of Sydney’s two Big Bash League sides. Clark, who will be 36 by the time the next Australian season begins, has been interviewed for the role with one of the new city-based teams.The former international coach John Dyson is also considered a frontrunner, and both men could end up with jobs, with Cricket New South Wales set to make the appointments later this month. Sydney’s two Twenty20 sides for next summer’s new competition are the Thunder and the Sixers, and Clark must decide whether he wants to take charge of one of those outfits or extend his on-field career.”I’m leaning towards playing cricket at the moment,” Clark told the . “There’s no personal goals left. I’m lucky enough to have done pretty much everything in cricket [that I wanted to].”As much as I love playing cricket, there’s also life after cricket and what I want to do with life. It’s a tremendous opportunity; I’ll never shirk away from that. One of these Big Bash teams – I suppose that’s the future of cricket and gives me an opportunity to be involved and involved at the highest level.”As a player, Clark’s experience is valuable to the young New South Wales side, which he captained last season when Simon Katich was away on Australian duties. However, with Australia looking to younger bowlers, Clark won’t add to the 94 wickets that he collected in 24 Tests, the last of which he played on the 2009 Ashes tour.

Dane van Niekerk is set for her international comeback in the first T20I against Ireland

Firdose Moonda02-Dec-2025Former South Africa captain Dane van Niekerk wants to “prove something to myself,” as she gears up to make her international comeback.She is set to make her return against Ireland on Friday at Newlands, where she has been playing domestic cricket since retiring from the international game in 2023 and wants to show herself, not anyone else, that she still has what it takes to compete at the highest level.”That’s the main goal – just proving to myself that I can really tick those boxes that I want to tick. I know if I tick those boxes, I will contribute to the team, hopefully in winning situations. That’s what it’s all about for me,” van Niekerk said at a pre-tour camp in Cape Town. “I didn’t think the day would come. It means a lot. It means the world. I got my clothes (national kit) again, and it felt like it was my clothes for the first time. I got a new helmet as well. I was like a child. That’s what it means to me to be here.”Van Niekerk reversed her retirement in August and is still in some disbelief that she has been recalled though she has been in good form this summer. She is currently the fourth-highest run-scorer in the domestic one-day cup, the seventh highest in the T20 competition, and has scored four fifties in seven innings across formats in the last two months. Though she has not been bowling, van Niekerk is “crossing fingers it wants to come,” and is ready to contribute in any way she can.”A lot of things have changed since I was part of the team, and for the good. The intensity is through the roof. For me, contributing, whether it’s knowledge, whether it’s tactics, whether it’s chats about cricket and experiences, if I can do it with the bat in hand or in the field, whichever way, in a positive manner, if I can contribute, I’d be happy,” she said.Van Niekerk had the same aim when she signed for Western Province at the start of the last season: to help out. “Initially, the goal was to give back and really assist the young players. I made it quite clear that I don’t want to do it for no reason. I’m taking somebody’s spot and contrary to what people think. I’m not doing it for the money,” van Niekerk said. “Then, I did okay in the season and then I got a call from this big guy with a big personality (head coach Mandla Mashimbyi) and I just had a conversation, and that made me sign again for Western Province. Even then, with the emotions and everything, I didn’t know. But then my why got a lot bigger. I just needed some time to process everything. I’m still processing some stuff, but the why was very clear to me. I guess that’s when the real work started, and it’s still continuing. I’m really proud of the strides I’ve made. There’s still a lot of hard work, but from where I was to where I am now, I’m pretty damn proud.”