Cricket West Indies has announced the dates for Sri Lanka’s upcoming tour of the Caribbean, which is scheduled to get under way next month.
The teams will play three T20Is, three One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and two Test matches in a bio-secure environment in Antigua from Wednesday, March 3 to Friday, April 2. The series will mark the fourth for the regional team since July but will be the first at home following overseas trips to England, New Zealand, and more recently Bangladesh.
The T20I series will create history as the first official international matches to be played by the West Indies Men’s team at the Coolidge Cricket Ground (CCG) and the first West Indies T20Is to be played in Antigua since 2013. As reigning ICC T20 World Cup champions, West Indies will use these matches as important preparation for the defense of their T20 World Cup title which is scheduled to be held in India later this year.
The CG Insurance ODI Series will be played at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium on March 10, 12, and 14, with the third being a day/night encounter. The CG Insurance ODIs form part of the ICC Super League and these three matches provide the opportunity for West Indies to secure their first points as the team tries to qualify automatically for the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup in India.
The two Test matches will be played at the same venue with the first match starting on Sunday, March 21 and the second starting March 29, providing the West Indies with another opportunity to win points and climb the ICC World Test Championship table following the recent win in Bangladesh.
The last International West Indies Men’s Home Series featured Ireland in January.
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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