Manchester City's Alex Greenwood has penned a three-year contract extension, fixing her future ahead of next year's World Cup.
The 29-year-old, who signed for City in 2020, has agreed to extend her stay at the club until June 2026.
Greenwood, a member of England's Euro-winning squad under Sarina Wiegman earlier this year, has made 80 appearances for City.
"Feeling settled at a club for me is so important," she told the club's official website. "I just love being here."
"I have a really good relationship with Gareth, and the way he wants us to play marries up exactly with how I want to. It's the perfect match for me."
"We just want to keep winning football matches and trophies, which is what we expect of ourselves here. It's an exciting time to be at City."
Greenwood's secure future will prove one less distraction for her and hands a boost to the Lionesses, who will hope to replicate European success on the world stage in 2023.
Having lost the 2019 World Cup final with the Netherlands, boss Wiegman is looking to go one better next year, though she knows the greatest performance of a lifetime can still fall short.
"If you play your best game, like the England men did against France, [it could] be a win, could be a tie, could be a defeat," she told The Guardian.
"But you can be proud of yourself because you played at your highest level. You're going to be devastated by not winning, but at the end you can be proud because you did everything that's in your control.
"That's how I approach it. Don't always think of the result. We're not going to a World Cup just to play, we're going there to win."
The World Cup will take place in Australia and New Zealand in July and August.
Manchester City's Alex Greenwood has penned a three-year contract extension, fixing her future ahead of next year's World Cup.
The 29-year-old, who signed for City in 2020, has agreed to extend her stay at the club until June 2026.
Greenwood, a member of England's Euro-winning squad under Sarina Wiegman earlier this year, has made 80 appearances for City.
"Feeling settled at a club for me is so important," she told the club's official website. "I just love being here."
"I have a really good relationship with Gareth, and the way he wants us to play marries up exactly with how I want to. It's the perfect match for me."
"We just want to keep winning football matches and trophies, which is what we expect of ourselves here. It's an exciting time to be at City."
Greenwood's secure future will prove one less distraction for her and hands a boost to the Lionesses, who will hope to replicate European success on the world stage in 2023.
Having lost the 2019 World Cup final with the Netherlands, boss Wiegman is looking to go one better next year, though she knows the greatest performance of a lifetime can still fall short.
"If you play your best game, like the England men did against France, [it could] be a win, could be a tie, could be a defeat," she told The Guardian.
"But you can be proud of yourself because you played at your highest level. You're going to be devastated by not winning, but at the end you can be proud because you did everything that's in your control.
"That's how I approach it. Don't always think of the result. We're not going to a World Cup just to play, we're going there to win."
The World Cup will take place in Australia and New Zealand in July and August.
West Indies Women suffered a 49-run defeat to England Women in the fourth T20 International at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on Sunday.
The English batted first and posted 131-8, their lowest total batting first in the series, after winning the toss.
Sophia Dunkley continued her good form this year by top scoring with 35 while Katherine Brunt (24 not out) and Amy Jones (21) also had meaningful contributions against Cherry Ann Fraser’s career best 3-20 and Sheneta Grimmond’s 3-33.
The Windies chase once again fell short as only Captain Hayley Matthews (23), Shemaine Campbelle (17) and Afy Fletcher (14 not out) managed to reach double figures as England needed just 16 overs to bowl out the hosts for 82.
Pacer Lauren Bell was the pick of the bowlers with a brilliant 4-12 from three overs while Sophie Ecclestone and Charlie Dean took two wickets each.
West Indies Head Coach Courtney Walsh still had praises for his players despite the loss.
"I thought restricting them to 131 was a positive for us. We had a couple injuries during the match with Gajnabi unable to return to bat and Campbelle getting cut so we were hampered in that aspect. The bowlers stood out today, they're all showing but the consistency we're working on. Fraser and Grimmond lead with the ball today but Afy and Hayley have been the most consistent for the series. We have one more game to play and we're going to regroup and come with one last push."
West Indies will have one last chance to get a positive result in this series as the two teams return to Kensington Oval for the final encounter on Thursday.
A spirited effort by West Indies saw them push England in a keen contest on Saturday night but the visitors secured a victory and with it took an unassailable lead in the five-match rubber.
England's Euro 2022-winning forward Beth Mead has signed a new contract with Arsenal, the Gunners have confirmed.
Mead was named Player of the Tournament after top scoring with six goals as Sarina Wiegman's Lionesses won the Women's Euros on home soil earlier this year.
Mead is currently sidelined after rupturing her anterior cruciate ligament in a Women's Super League defeat to Manchester United last month and will spend an "extended period" out of action.
Having put pen to paper on her new deal – the length of which was not disclosed, Mead targeted a successful return in the coming months.
"I'm so happy to have signed a new deal with Arsenal," she told the club's website. "This club is home for me.
"I've grown so much here as a player and a person and I know we can achieve so much more together in the years to come.
"I want to compete to win the biggest trophies in the game and I know that the ambitions at Arsenal match my own, so I can't wait to get back onto the pitch and help to deliver the success our supporters deserve."
Mead recorded 33 goal involvements (14 goals, 19 assists) in 40 appearances for Arsenal last season and was named England Women's Player of the Year for the campaign.
Arsenal head coach Jonas Eidevall said: "It's wonderful news that we have agreed a new deal with Beth. She is a world-class footballer and has proven that on the biggest stage of them all.
"I have so much admiration for the way she has handled success and adversity on and off the pitch over the past few years, and I'm sure she will approach the next few months with the positive attitude we all know Beth for."
England's Euro 2022-winning striker Ellen White has revealed she is expecting her first child.
White retired from football on a high note in August after featuring for the first England women's team to lift a major trophy during this year's home European Championships.
White scored 52 goals in 113 international caps, a record for a Lionesses player and a tally only bettered by Wayne Rooney and Harry Kane (both 53) across England's men's and women's teams.
On Wednesday, the former Manchester City striker posted an image of herself and husband Callum Convery on Twitter alongside the caption "Mum and Dad", revealing their child is due next April.
Another dismal display with the bat saw the West Indies Women lose the first T20 International against England on Sunday by eight-wickets at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua.
Batting first, West Indies fell into early trouble slipping to 38-4 after eight overs. Rashada Williams scored 23 and Chinelle Henry 21 helped the WIW get past the 100-run mark in the face of incisive bowling from Player of the Match Lauren Bell, who took 3-26.
Heather Knight, Nat Sciver, and Katherine Brunt each claimed a wicket against the hosts who limped to 105-7 from their allotment of 20 overs.
Bell then scored an unbeaten 59 from 34 balls as England raced to victory scoring 106-2 in just 12.4 overs. No West Indies bowler managed to claim a wicket as opener Sophia Dunkley and Lauren Winfield-Hill were dismissed by runout for 25 and 15, respectively.
A distraught Henry was critical of her side’s batting after yet another poor showing against their English rivals.
"To be three, four wickets down in the first 10 overs with no kind of runs on the board, that is where we fell short, since the ODI series we've been struggling with the bat,” she said.
“We just have to pick ourselves up and keep going. A couple of us got short partnerships going to get us to 100 but it wasn't enough. It was really good to see little Djenaba Joseph standing up against Katherine Brunt, facing her head on, and to have an Under-19 player in our squad so fearless is a move in a good direction for us."
The series now moves to the Kensington Oval, where the teams will meet for the remaining four matches on December 14, 17, 18 and 22. All matches start at 6:00pm Eastern Caribbean/ 5:00pm Jamaica time.
Two members of the West Indies Women U19 squad have been included in a 14-member squad set to face England Women in the first two T20 Internationals at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua on December 11 and at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on December 14.
Djenaba Joseph and Trishan Holder have been called up as replacements for Shakera Selman, who has been ruled out and Chedean Nation, who sustained injuries during in the CG United ODI series that the home side lost 3-0.
Joseph and Holder are currently in Antigua for a high-performance camp with the U19 Rising Stars ahead of the ICC Women’s U19 World Cup in South Africa in January 2023.
Meanwhile, off-spinner Karishma Ramharack returns to the squad after missing the CG United ODI series due to injury.
“The upcoming T20 series is vitally important as the team continues its preparations for the World Cup in February 2023. With some of the senior players missing out through injury, it is an ideal opportunity for the other players to start cementing a place in the World Cup team,” said lead selector Ann Browne-John.
Full squad: Hayley Matthews (Captain), Shemaine Campbelle (Vice Captain), Aaliyah Alleyne, Afy Fletcher, Cherry Ann Fraser, Shabika Gajnabi, Sheneta Grimmond, Chinelle Henry, Trishan Holder, Djenaba Joseph, Kycia Knight, Karishma Ramharack, Kaysia Schultz and Rashada Williams.
England Women completed a 151-run victory in the third CG United ODI against the West Indies women, to claim a 3-0 series clean sweep at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua.
Head Coach Courtney Walsh told CWI Media,”It was a poor series by us, we didn’t play the type of cricket we wanted to play, England outplayed us. I know we can play better cricket than that, so I am disappointed. We bowled and fielded better in the last two matches; we have to focus everything now on the T20 series.”
Walsh added, “We have to make sure we get something out of this series as we have a tri-series and World Cup early next year. What is pleasing to me is the bowling we were able to rally in the last two games. I am pleased with Hayley’s captaincy and her rotation of bowlers. The highlight was Rashada Williams have two good peformances with the bat. And the debut of Kaysia Schultz, she’s been around the team for a long time so we wanted to see how she performed so it was very pleasing to see her get the two early wickets, she will only get better from this exposure and experience.”
Scores: England Women 256 all out from 43.3 overs (Nat Sciver 85, Amy Jones 32, Shakera Selman 3-29, Hayley Matthews 3-56) West Indies Women 105-9 (Hayley Matthews 28, Sophie Ecclestone 3-9, Nat Sciver 2-16).
Sciver finished with 180 runs from three innings and was named player of the series.
The five-game T20I series bowls off on Sunday at the same venue.
West Indies Women’s coach Courtney Walsh has lamented another poor performance with the bat by the team that suffered another massive loss to England Women at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua on Tuesday.
After bowling England out for 260, the West Indies Women were skittled out for a 118 in just 31.3 overs to lose by 142 runs, a similar margin to the loss in the first ODI on Sunday in which England made 307-7 and then bowled the home side out for 165.
The result means England takes an unassailable 2-0 lead in the CG United One Day International series.
“In both games we haven’t batted well,” Walsh said after Tuesday’s humiliating defeat. “We were a lot better with the ball in this game on a good batting track and for the score where we had them at 260, I thought we would have batted better.”
Walsh reserved praise for Rashada Williams, who stood out among the batters.
“We lost those early wickets and just never recovered,” he said.
“The batters can take a lot from Rashada’s performance. I am pleased with how she went about it and showed that it can be done. We have a lot at stake with one game remaining and we need to get championship points. Our momentum is good but performance and execution, we have to try and get better.”
Batting first, England owed their competitive score to Amy Jones, who scored an unbeaten 70 and Sophia Dunkley’s unbeaten 57 as the local bowlers restricted England’s ability to build big partnerships.
Leading from the front Hayley Matthews took 3-50 and was supported by Afy Fletcher, who returned figures of 2-41 and Aaliyah Alleyne 2-47.
The West Indies Women’s reply got off to a disastrous start losing four wickets inside the first four overs with just eight runs on the board.
Williams offered the only real resistance with an unbeaten 54 that allowed the West Indies Women to push past 100 runs. Chedean Nation and Chinelle Henry with scores of 17 and 13, respectively, were the only other batters in double figures as Lauren Bell wreaked havoc taking 4-33.
Charlie Dean took 2-9 and there were also two wickets each for Sophie Ecclestone (2-25) and Kate Cross (2-35) in the rout.
The teams meet again on Friday, December 9 at the same venue.
The West Indies Women have been docked 40 percent of their match fee for a slow over rate against England in the first ODI in Antigua on Sunday.
England triumphed in the match by a massive 142 runs after amassing 307 in addition to the loss, however, the ICC match referees imposed the sanction after the West Indies were found to be two overs short of the target after time after allowances were taken into consideration.
West Indies Women’s team captain Hayley Matthews pleaded no contest to the charges and as such there will be no need for a formal hearing.
Based on Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to minimum over-rate offences, players are fined 20 per cent of their match fee for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time.
The Cricket West Indies (CWI) Selection Panel on Wednesday named a 14-member squad for the first and second matches in the CG United One Day International (ODI) series against England Women starting on 4 December at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua.
West Indies and England will contest three day/night CG United ODIs starting at 2pm local time/1pm Jamaica time. All three CG United ODIs in the series will be played at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium (SVRS) in Antigua on 4, 6 and 9 December as part of the ICC Women's Championship.
Lead Selector Ann Browne-John said: “The return of Shemaine Campbelle and Kycia Knight to the ODI squad after missing the last series due to injury will bolster the team in the absence of the experienced Stafanie Taylor who is still recuperating from injury sustained during September’s series against New Zealand. The CG United ODI matches are vital as points earned will take us a step closer towards automatic qualification for the next ICC Women’s World Cup in 2025.”
She added: “This series against England comes on the heels of the New Zealand tour to the West Indies and continues our important preparation for the upcoming Tri Series against India and South Africa and the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup to follow. It gives the players a great opportunity to develop and push for final selection for the Tri Series and World Cup.”
The CG United ODI Series is the second opportunity for the West Indies to gain points in the ICC Women’s Championship (IWC). The top five teams in the IWC will automatically book a berth for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in 2025. The remaining five teams in the IWC will have to go through the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup Qualifier. The T20I Series which follows provides both teams with important preparation for the 2023 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa which begins on 10 February 2023, with West Indies and England drawn to play each other in Group 2 of the tournament.
Tickets are available in advance for the first two CG United ODIs and the first T20I in Antigua from the Windies Tickets service, presented by Mastercard - tickets.windiestickets.com. Tickets are just US$9/EC$25. The third CG United ODI in Antigua will be free for local and visiting fans as it falls on V.C. Bird Day, a national holiday in Antigua and is being supported by the Government of Antigua and Barbuda. Fans who purchase tickets will receive their tickets securely into their online Windies Tickets account to save to their mobile device or print out for presentation at the stadium, avoiding the need to queue at or travel to the stadium ticket offices. Ticket offices at each venue will be open on the day of each match.
All matches will be available to view in the West Indies live on the Windies Cricket YouTube channel as well as on the ESPN Play app. Fans in the UK will be able to view on BT Sport with fans based in the USA able to watch live on ESPN+.
FULL SQUAD
(1st and 2nd CG United ODIs)
England forward Beth Mead suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament against Manchester United at the weekend, her club Arsenal have confirmed.
The 27-year-old was substituted in stoppage time of the Gunners' 3-2 Women's Super League defeat to United on Saturday.
In a statement on Tuesday, Arsenal confirmed she is set for an "extended period on the sidelines".
Arsenal said Mead will see a surgeon in the coming days, after which a timescale for her return will be established.
The injury would appear to put her chances of participating in next year's World Cup in jeopardy.
Mead, who has scored three goals in seven WSL appearances this season, was one of the stars of England's triumphant women's European Championship campaign this year, winning the Golden Boot and the player of the tournament award.
Jordan Henderson believes England's men should take inspiration from the Lionesses' Euro 2022 success as they chase Qatar World Cup glory.
Sarina Wiegman's side secured England's first major trophy since the men's World Cup in 1966 after a 2-1 extra-time victory over Germany in July.
Gareth Southgate's Three Lions reached the semi-finals at Russia 2018 before suffering penalty shoot-out heartbreak in the Euro 2020 final loss to Italy.
Henderson was named as part of England's 26-man squad who will look to go one step further in Qatar, and the midfielder referenced the success of Wiegman's women as an inspiration.
"The Lionesses have done a fantastic job and the whole country was behind them," Henderson told the BBC.
"Hopefully we can take inspiration from that and perform like they did. If we do that then I'm sure we'll have a good tournament."
The Liverpool captain is expected to play a back-up role in Southgate's midfield, with the likes of Jude Bellingham, Kalvin Phillips and Declan Rice being probable contenders for the starting XI.
Henderson will provide much-needed experience, though, as a Premier League and Champions League winner with Liverpool.
England will need such know-how if they are to go deep in the Middle East, where they are the only European team to have reached at least the semi-finals in each of the last two major tournaments.
Southgate's side start their Group B campaign against Iran on Monday before clashes with the United States and Wales.
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