All four semi-finalists have been confirmed in the 2022 CG Insurance Super50 Cup after the Jamaica Scorpions beat the West Indies Academy by six-wickets via the Duckworth-Lewis method in the tournament’s final group game at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua on Monday.
The Scorpions won the toss and decided to bowl first in the match that was initially reduced to 48 overs per team after a late start due to rain. Another rain delay during the Academy innings meant they had only 43 overs to bat.
Opener Kirk McKenzie top-scored with 45 as the Academy struggled to 176 all out in 39.4 overs. With strike bowlers Dennis Bulli and Sheldon Cottrell missing out due to illness, off-spinner Jamie Merchant stepped up with 3-25 off his 10 overs for the Scorpions. Pacer Nicholson Gordon was expensive, going for 40 runs in 4.4 overs, but took three wickets as well.
Initially, the Scorpions had a target of 170 off 43 overs for victory but various stoppages for rain as well as a power outage meant that the target was eventually revised to 146 off 34 overs.
In the end, the Scorpions got to 125-4 off 26.2 overs when the heavens decided to open up again, this time causing no further play with the Scorpions comfortably ahead of the Duckworth-Lewis par score of 103.
Brandon King top-scored with 48 while captain Rovman Powell got 26 not out.
The Scorpions will now play last year’s beaten finalists, the Guyana Harpy Eagles, in the second semi-final on Thursday while the Barbados Pride will tackle defending champions the Trinidad & Tobago Red Force in Wednesday’s first semi-final.
Bradley Jacks is a budding journalist and an avid sports fan. His love of research and sports has led him to SportsMax.tv, a place where those passions work hand in hand to allow him to produce content.
New Zealand take unassailable series lead after hard-fought victory over Pakistan
Pakistan slumped to a four-run defeat at the hands of New Zealand despite the efforts of Abbas Afridi and Fakhar Zaman.
The Black Caps took an unassailable 2-1 lead in the five-match T20I series, thanks in the main to Tim Robinson (51) and bowling duo William O'Rourke (3-27) and Ben Sears (2-27) on Thursday.
Set a target of 179 to win, Pakistan looked on their way to victory when Fakhar Zaman got going, but he was eventually dismissed on 61 by Sears.
Abbas took three wickets in New Zealand's innings, yet he could only contribute a single run to Pakistan's cause as the hosts fell just short in Lahore.
Data Debrief
Shadab Khan did not bowl a single delivery for Pakistan, which is the first time that has happened in a completed T20I innings.
He did take an exceptional catch to dismiss Mark Chapman, but it was not enough to inspire Pakistan.
IPL: Kohli and Patidar star to snap RCB's losing streak
Royal Challengers Bengaluru ended a six-match losing streak in the Indian Premier League by claiming a convincing 35-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Bengaluru still sit bottom of the standings, but have reason to cheer after Virat Kohli's 51 and Rajat Patidar's 20-ball 50 got the job done in style on Thursday.
Cameron Green chipped in with a useful 37 as RCB reached 206-7 from their 20 overs, and the Australian then took 2-12 with the ball as the Sunrisers failed to get going.
Shahbaz Ahmed top scored for Sunrisers with 40 not-out, but it was not enough as they only mustered 171-8 in response.
Data Debrief
Thursday's match marked Jaydev Unadkat's 100th in the IPL, and though he finished on the losing side, he did take a memorable three-for to celebrate the occasion.
It was Unadkat who dismissed Kohli, Patidar and Mahipal Lomror, finishing with figures of 3-30.
CAS reduces John Campbell’s four-year suspension to 22 months
Jamaican and West Indies batsman John Campbell has received a reduction of two years and two months from his four-year ban after the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) ruled in his favor, on Thursday.
The 30-year-old will now be eligible to return to competitive cricket in July or August of this year.
Campbell was originally banned for four years by the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCo) in October 2022 after failing to provide a blood sample to doping control officers in April 2022.
The ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) found Campbell did not deliberately try to evade and that the issue was out of negligence on Campbell’s part.
Campbell has played 20 Tests for the West Indies since making his debut against England in January 2019.
In those Tests, he scored 888 runs at an average of 26.11, including three half-centuries. His last Test was against Bangladesh in June 2022.
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