Stafanie Taylor believes her side has recovered from the emotional stress they went through after the narrow loss to England, while Mithali Raj hopes India can cash in on the lifeline offered to them

Shashank Kishore26-Mar-2016It is a scriptwriter’s dream. No team is through to the semi-finals going into the last day of the Group B fixtures of the Women’s World T20. West Indies could have become the first had they beaten England in Dharamsala on Thursday, but a one-wicket loss meant they had hit a road block. West Indies will draw solace from the fact that they are still in control of their fate – a win on Sunday would put them in the semi-finals – unlike India, who have to win and also hope England beat Pakistan in Chennai.Stafanie Taylor leads a side who would win most battles of on-field celebrations, but very little of their vibrant nature has been seen lately. The captain herself was crestfallen after the loss to England, but hoped the team would move on quickly.”It’s actually hard when you look back at it, but it’s already done,” Taylor said, and yet her demeanor hinted that the after-effects of such a tight match still lingered. “You cannot change anything; have to just see some positives out. We know it’s all in the game. We got a bit emotional because it came down to one wide in the last over. We kind of pulled things back after England’s good start and that is where most of us got emotional. It was almost there for the taking. We travelled yesterday and we know the vibe in the team is still good. We have a good team and could bounce back.”Taylor is “free-spirited” most times, but taking over the captaincy in September 2015 has transformed her outlook. An otherwise fearless batsman, Taylor has had to slip into the role of shepherding the batting line-up. Scores of 40, 40 and 35 in the tournament so far suggest she has been successful, but that still does little to dispel a notion that West Indies are largely reliant on her and Deandra Dottin for their runs.”We do have good talent coming through – Hayley Matthews and Shaquana Quintyne to just name a few. But the standard back home is not what we would have liked to,” Taylor said when asked if the gap between domestic and international cricket was a bridge too far. “We are trying to get to where Australia and England are. The reason why you hear a just few of our names is because we are consistent. We are trying to get players to emulate us, be as consistent as they can be.”Taylor’s opposite number Mithali Raj hoped India could cash in on a lifeline offered to them, even though they have to wait for a favour from England.”The girls realise every match is very important. We have had some slip-ups, but have another opportunity to make do with. It’s important for us to regroup and play well,” she said. “I do understand lots of them were under pressure against Pakistan, it was evident. I’m sure that experience helped them against England. They gave the team an opportunity to come back into the game. It will help us in the future. As of now, bowling and fielding, we look good. We need to work a lot on the batting.”One player can’t get you the cup. To win a World Cup you need everyone to stand up at a certain time and deliver. Yes, there is pressure on us as senior players, but there are other important players like Harmanpreet Kaur, Veda Krishnamurthy and Shikha Pandey. These are the girls that are able to cope with the pressure. So come the big game, they have to step up.”Cricket aside, both captains were also asked about the disparity in pay, a debate that hasn’t ceased even as the tournament enters the business end. While ICC has taken a few steps – like increasing the overall prize money of the women’s tournament to 400,000 USD, a 122% raise from 2014, reports of women cricketers being made to fly economy class, and not business class like their male counterparts, have fuelled the fire. Taylor was as forthcoming as she could be on the issue.”You actually hit me on the head there,” she said. “It’s a progress, for sure. We are the pioneers for the ones who are going to come after us. It’s not going to happen overnight. It will be nice if we are paid the same because we work and train as hard as the men. The support we have received has not always been great, but we hope as pioneers we have set the platform for those to follow to reap the benefits.”Raj had a contrasting view. “The game is the same, the rules are the same. Men’s cricket is looked at as an entertainment package. The input is more, so there is more money,” she said. “Here, people are trying to still catch up with women’s cricket. Maybe a year or two down the line, when it attracts more crowds, then we can talk about parity in pay.”

Younis Khan has called the PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan to apologise for his actions during the Pakistan Cup in Faisalabad

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Apr-2016Younis Khan has called the PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan to apologise for his actions during the Pakistan Cup in Faisalabad. Younis, the captain of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, had been fined 50% of his match fee for breaching level 2 of the PCB domestic code of conduct – his offences reportedly including questioning an umpiring decision, showing dissent and threatening an umpire – during the match against Punjab on Friday. He had refused to show up for his disciplinary hearing, and left for Karachi, his city of residence.”Younis Khan made telephonic contact with chairman PCB Shaharyar Khan today,” the PCB said in a statement. “He felt sorry for the incident that happened during the ongoing Pakistan Cup in Faisalabad. He appraised the Chairman about his willingness to participate in the remainder of the tournament.”Younis and the Pakistan Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq are advisors to Shaharyar on cricketing affairs. In view of this, the statement quoted Younis as saying it was “obligatory on my part to participate in the premier [one-day] domestic tournament for the larger interest of the promotion of the game in the country.”Despite the call, the PCB said the charges leveled against Younis remained in place and the case would be processed accordingly.

Kolkata Knight Riders go into Sunday’s game with their eyes on the playoffs, while the already qualified Sunrisers Hyderabad will go one step further, aiming for the top two

The Preview by Deivarayan Muthu21-May-2016

Match facts

Sunday, May 22, 2016
Start time 1600 local (1030 GMT)

Big Picture

Kolkata Knight Riders’ flop show on a green track at Green Park has hurt their chances of a top-two finish. Nonetheless, they will make the playoffs if they beat Sunrisers Hyderabad, who have already qualified along with Gujarat Lions.Knight Riders could sneak in with the 14 points they currently have, but that will depend on Royal Challengers Bangalore beating Delhi Daredevils – while Knight Riders’ net run rate (NRR) is significantly higher than Mumbai’s and Daredevils’, Royal Challengers are far ahead on NRR meaning a tie on 14 points with them will not end well for Knight Riders.Also, heavy rain has been forecast in Kolkata because of cyclone Roanu. Rain has not been kind to Knight Riders in the past, but this time a washout would guarantee them a spot in the final four.Knight Riders have had to contend with injury issues as well. Allrounder Andre Russell’s leg injury has punched a big hole in all departments and doubts persist over his participation in Sunday’s key clash. On the bright side, fast bowler Umesh Yadav who missed the side’s last three games because of a hamstring injury is available for selection again.Sunrisers have a chance to secure a top-two finish and therefore have two shots at a place in the IPL final, despite their last-ball loss to Delhi Daredevils. They simply need to beat the hosts at Eden Gardens. If they don’t, they would hope Royal Challengers lose the final league game, and Sunday’s results are such that their net run-rate stays above Daredevils and Knight Riders’. A washout will put them in the top two.

Form guide

Kolkata Knight Riders LLWLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Sunrisers Hyderabad LWLWW

In the spotlight

A common denominator in the two teams’ previous defeats was the lapses of their captains.Gautam Gambhir was involved in another miscommunication with Robin Uthappa in the game against Gujarat Lions, and was run out for the 21st time – the most such dismissals for any batsman in T20s. Gambhir’s tactics’ also backfired that day. Legspinner Piyush Chawla, who was promoted to No. 4, plodded to 11 off 16 balls and later did not bowl in the chase. Shakib Al Hasan did not bowl either.David Warner shaped Sunrisers’ 158 against Delhi Daredevils with 73 – his seventh half-century of the season – but dropped Karun Nair, who proceeded to deliver a Man-of-the-Match performance, on 51. He then dived over the ball at mid-on as Nair swatted a last-ball four to keep his team alive.

Team news

Knight Riders may consider including allrounder Colin Munro or big-hitting Chris Lynn in place of Holder, if Russell is not fit.Kolkata Knight Riders (probable) 1 Gautam Gambhir (capt), 2 Robin Uthappa (wk), 3 Manish Pandey, 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Shakib Al Hasan, 6 Yusuf Pathan, 7 Jason Holder/Colin Munro/Chris Lynn, 8 Piyush Chawla, Morne Morkel, 10 Sunil Narine, 11 Ankit Rajpoot/Umesh YadavSunrisers haven’t tinkered much with their combination, although they are sweating on Deepak Hooda’s form. He has played in each of the side’s 13 games so far with a meagre tally of 114 runs in 11 innings, including six single-digit scores. They will probably stick with the same XI though.Sunrisers Hyderabad (probable) 1 David Warner, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Yuvraj Singh, 4 Deepak Hooda, 5 Moises Henriques, 6 Eoin Morgan, 7 Naman Ojha(wk), 8 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 9 Karn Sharma, 10 Mustafizur Rahman, 11 Barinder Sran

Pitch and conditions

Considering the rain threat, the toss is likely to be crucial. The Eden Gardens’ surface had offered substantial turn to the spinners in the last two games.

Stats and trivia

• Knight Riders’ Robin Uthappa is only the fifth Indian player with 5000-plus runs in T20s. His captain Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina are the others to have reached the landmark
• Sunrisers’ Mustafizur Rahman has the best economy rate – 6.61 – so far this season (minimum 15 overs bowled)

Barinder Sran has said that the bowler-friendly conditions in Zimbabwe and the time spent with Ashish Nehra and Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the IPL have helped him develop an inswinger

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Jun-2016Barinder Sran had an underwhelming debut series in Australia, where he took three wickets at an average of 56.66 and gave away 6.45 runs an over. But in India’s three-ODI series against Zimbabwe, the left-arm seamer took four wickets at 24.75, at an economy rate of 4.12, and showcased a new weapon – an inswinger that was a source of discomfort for Zimbabwe’s batsmen. Ahead of the T20I series that begins in Harare on Saturday, Sran said he had consciously worked on getting his wrist position right.”It’s the difference in the conditions [between Australia and Zimbabwe],” Sran said. “I changed the seam position a bit, made some changes to my action because I’m looking to swing the new ball. So I’m not putting in too much effort, because if I do that, I lose my wrist position and it reduces the swing.”Sran had erred frequently in his line and length in Australia, and his bouncers were largely ineffective. But in Zimbabwe, he has mostly stuck to a fuller length. “[In Australia], I had a problem in my shoulder because of which I couldn’t perform to my potential. So I was under some pressure,” Sran said. “I didn’t have much IPL experience either then, I had played only one IPL match, and even in the Ranji Trophy, only 10-11 matches. Still, everybody supported me and that felt good.”Nothing much has changed, because in Australia, there was a huge difference in the kind of wickets. It was quite hot there and they were good batting wickets, whereas here, there is some help for the bowlers. I have just been focusing and working on those areas where I’m weak, like when I was trying to swing, the ball wasn’t coming back in, so I worked on that regularly. In the IPL too, [Ashish] Nehra and Bhuvi [Bhuvneshwar Kumar] were with me, they taught me seam position and supported me in all aspects from the beginning. For two-three days, I went to Chandigarh as well and met my coach Amit Uniyal and worked with him.”The performances in Zimbabwe have been a step forward after his struggles in Australia, but Sran acknowledged that work was needed before he can be considered ready for Test cricket. “To get there, I need to be consistent and bowl one line and length,” he said. “I need to improve a lot, I need to improve my pace and fitness level. I will work towards achieving these in the next season.”

Nizamuddin Chowdhury, BCB’s chief executive, has categorically rejected any talk of playing England at a neutral venue should they pull out of their scheduled tour of Bangladesh in October

Mohammad Isam10-Jul-2016Nizamuddin Chowdhury, BCB’s chief executive, has categorically rejected any talk of playing England at a neutral venue should they pull out of their scheduled tour of Bangladesh in October. Eoin Morgan, England’s limited-overs captain, said last week that neutral venues may be “feasible if it came to that” after the Gulshan attacks in Dhaka on July 1.”We always believe this is never a solution,” Chowdhury said. “Cricket cannot stop in a country. We will make our best effort to fulfill the FTP commitment. The cricket operations of both BCB and ECB are in continuous communication regarding the England tour of Bangladesh in October. They are in discussion with the tour related matters, especially the logistics.”Chowdhury said that the ECB’s security visit will be held in the coming months. “The security visit is a standard practice. Teams like England, Australia do this regularly. A security delegate from England was supposed to come last month, but as they have tour of India after Bangladesh, I think they will do the security inspection of the two countries together. We will get to know when they get confirmation from the two boards.”Bangladesh has never needed to host a bilateral series in a neutral venue, but Australia postponed their 2015 tour and pulled out of the Under-19 World Cup earlier this year due to their government’s advice on security matters.Chowdhury said the ICC were to issue guidelines on security issues, but is banking on Bangladesh’s track record of hosting major events despite volatile times in the country. In 2014, the BCB managed to host three high-profile international tournaments mere weeks after election-related violence had subsided. After Australia’s twin pull out, there was much concern about the Under-19 World Cup, but it was held in four cities in the country.”The security issue has already been discussed at different levels in the ICC. There have been discussions on security protocol. A guideline will soon be given from the ICC,” he said. “We have very good track record of hosting successful international events with the support from the government and the law enforcement departments. We believe to get the same support in future for hosting cricket in the country.”

Jamaica Tallawahs rampaged past Guyana Amazon Warriors by nine wickets to claim their second CPL title on Sunday night at Warner Park

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Aug-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsKesrick Williams picked up two wickets off two balls in the 16th over•CPL/Sportsfile

A rematch from Wednesday’s first Caribbean Premier League playoff qualifier between the regular season’s top two teams quickly turned into an uncontested romp for Jamaica Tallawahs, who rampaged past Guyana Amazon Warriors by nine wickets to claim their second CPL title on Sunday night at Warner Park. For Warriors, it was a flat effort that left them runner-up for the third time in four CPL seasons, twice to Tallawahs.Warriors were the regular season table-toppers and beat Tallawahs in two of their prior three meetings, including by four wickets in Wednesday’s opening playoff match. On Sunday, however, they stumbled badly after being sent in by Chris Gayle at the toss and were bowled out for a franchise record low total of 93 in just 16.1 overs. Warriors never won a game while batting first in 2016, and lost all three games in which they batted first, with two of those losses coming against Tallawahs.Warriors were under pressure early when Nic Maddinson became the first of three batsmen dismissed first ball, edging Andre Russell behind in the first over. A bigger blow came at the start of the third over when Chris Lynn, the tournament’s leading scorer, carved Shakib Al Hasan straight to Jonathan Foo at backward point for 7.Left-handed Sohail Tanvir was promoted up the order to No. 4 in an attempt to combat the left-arm spin threat posed by Shakib and Imad Wasim. At an individual level, the plan worked as Tanvir top-scored with 42 off 37 balls, but the rest of his team-mates struggled. Despite Tanvir’s calm, chaos was ever-present at the opposite end. Dwayne Smith was one of just two others apart from Tanvir to reach double-figures but his stay ended for 17 when he top-edged a pull off Oshane Thomas to Rovman Powell at mid-on to make it 50 for 3 in the eighth.With the top three removed, Shakib and eventual Man of the Match Imad Wasim set about tearing through the middle order in ruthless fashion. Jason Mohammed was trapped playing down the wrong line to an arm ball from Shakib for a golden duck to make it 53 for 4 before Imad took the first of his three wickets as Christopher Barnwell mistimed a slog to Gayle at short midwicket for 10. Two balls later, Anthony Bramble was bowled backing away for a slog and Imad claimed his third in four balls to start the 15th when Rayad Emrit was stumped for nought missing a flick to a leg-side wide to make it 83 for 7.Kesrick Williams also was on a hat-trick in the 16th over – he had Tanvir caught by Foo running in from the midwicket boundary, and followed it up with a gem of a delivery that jagged back in to knock Steven Jacobs’ off stump for 7. Adam Zampa survived the hat-trick ball to end the over, but was out one ball later after failing to ground his bat coming back for a second run with Williams’ relay from long leg to Sangakkara producing the end of the innings.Gayle propelled the chase with his third fifty-plus score of the season, reaching his half-century off 22 balls and ending up with 54 off 27 balls. He was dismissed flicking Emrit to Jacobs at deep midwicket. The Tallawahs captain ended the campaign as his side’s leading scorer with 425 runs, third overall behind Lynn and St Lucia Zouks’ Johnson Charles. Gayle’s opening partner Chadwick Walton steered the rest of the chase with 25 not out, ending seventh overall in the CPL run charts with 301 runs and second for Tallawahs.However, it was the old pro Kumar Sangakkara who struck the winning runs with a four smeared wide of long-on off Veerasammy Permaul to clinch the title with 7.1 overs to spare. Russell was named Player of the Tournament thanks in large part to his scintillating 100 in Friday’s knockout game against Trinbago Knight Riders. Russell struck the fastest century in Caribbean T20 history, off just 42 balls, and also broke a three-game Tallawahs losing streak lifting them into the final.