Jamaica Scorpions Captain Rovman Powell said he hoped fans of the team enjoyed their winning the 2022 CG Insurance Super50 title on Saturday night which ended a decade-long wait for the Jamaicans, who had not won a regional title since 2012.
Suryakumar Yadav struck 111 not out off 51 balls to guide India to a 65-run victory over New Zealand in Sunday's second T20I at Bay Oval.
The sides were foiled by rain in the opening game of their three-match series without a ball being bowled, but India deservedly came out on top in Mount Maunganui.
Suryakumar hit seven sixes and 11 fours to further underline why he is the world's top-ranked T20 batter, while Ishan Kishan chipped in with 36 as India's next highest scorer.
The Men in Blue reached 191-6 and New Zealand fell well short as they were skittled for 126 in the 19th over, with skipper Kane Williamson (61) supplying almost half their runs.
Rain at times threatened the contest, with India 50-1 in the seventh over when players were forced off the field, but play resumed and India wasted no time in wrapping things up.
Spinner Deepak Hooda starred with the ball by taking 4-10 off 2.5 overs, including the last three scalps in the space of four balls.
India shake off World Cup blues
India suffered T20 World Cup semi-final disappointment last week, as did opponents New Zealand, but they bounced back with this well-earned victory.
They have now won each of their past four T20Is with New Zealand, including each of the past four, making this their best ever winning run against the Black Caps in the format.
Southee flourish not enough
Tim Southee gave New Zealand some hope when removing skipper Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar and Deepak in the final over for his second career hat-trick.
But the damage had already been done by Suryakumar, who raced to a 49-ball hundred en route to 111 in his latest dazzling display with the bat.
Jamaica Scorpions spinner Dennis Bulli has credited a strong showing in the CGI insurance Super50 tournament with getting a good opportunity to showcase his talent.
The 35-year-old Bulli was one of the standout bowlers for the tournament and claimed an impressive 14 wickets in 6 matches, with an economy rate of 4.76. Despite playing two fewer matches, the spinner was just one wicket off the top spot occupied by Shannon Gabriel (15), Odean Smith (15), and Nicholas Gordon (15).
In Saturday’s final, the left-arm spinner's mesmerizing skills were on full display when he left Trinidad and Tobago Red Force batsman Darren Bravo bamboozled all ends up, to take the crucial wicket of the dangerous batsman and end with figures of 1 for 44.
With a tournament best of 4 for 32, against the West Indies Academy, Bulli, who has not always managed to find consistency, was one of the key reasons the team was able to win the first Super50 title in 10 years.
“I’ve had times but I never got a good enough chance to express myself but this has been one of those times,” Bulli said of his performances this season.
“The first time I really got a chance to express myself was in 2019 and I did well. I got called up for the President’s XI team and got injured, got picked for the CPL, and got covid. So this is another opportunity and a good time for me to show what I can do.”
The Jamaica Scorpions are champions of the 2022 CG Insurance Super50 after a three-wicket win over the Trinidad & Tobago Red Force in the final at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium in Antigua on Saturday.
The Scorpions won the toss and chose to bowl first.
Red Force openers Kjorn Ottley and Amir Jangoo put on 46 before the latter was caught off the bowling of Scorpions skipper Rovman Powell for 23 in the 13th over.
Ottley was next to go four overs later for 33 off the bowling of Jeavor Royal to leave the Red Force 57-2.
One became two for Royal when he dismissed the experienced Jason Mohammed for just three in the 19th over to leave the Red Force 66-3.
Dennis Bulli then got into the action with the crucial wicket of Darren Bravo for 14 in the 22nd over to leave the score at 79-4.
The Red Force brought up their 100 in the 26th over but then found themselves in further trouble as 100-4 quickly became 101-5 as Odean Smith removed captain Nicholas Pooran for eight in the 27th over.
Yannic Cariah (39) and Akeal Hosein (20) brought the Red Force past 150 in the 36th over. One over later, the Red Force found themselves 157-6 after Cariah was dismissed hit wicket off the bowling of Nicholson Gordon for 43.
The Red Force lost their seventh wicket in the 41st over when Terrance Hinds was dismissed by Gordon for 17 with the score on 184.
A Sunil Narine six off Peat Salmon in the 45th over brought up the Red Force’s 200. In the same over, Salmon took the Scorpions’ eighth wicket, removing Akeal Hosein for 37 with the score on 206.
Gordon took his third wicket and the ninth overall when he dismissed Narine for 12 in the 46th over with the score on 208.
Shannon Gabriel was the last man to go for one as the Red Force were bowled out 217 in 47 overs, their lowest total in the tournament.
Nicholson Gordon ended with 3-51 from eight overs and got good support from Jeavor Royal (2-22 from four overs) and Odean Smith (2-29 from six overs).
Scorpions openers Brandon King and Chadwick Walton brought the score to 24 in the sixth over when King was dismissed by Shannon Gabriel for 12.
Walton (27) and Andre McCarthy (11) combined to bring up Jamaica’s 50 in the 11th over.
In the 20th over, Walton brought up his first fifty of the tournament off 60 balls.
The Scorpions’ 100 was brought up one over later through a boundary from Walton off Yannic Cariah.
McCarthy was next to bring up his first fifty of the tournament, and 13th in List A cricket, off 75 balls in the 30th over.
The final ball of the 32nd over saw Walton being dismissed by Cariah for a well-played 80 to leave the Scorpions 150-2 needing 68 to win from 108 balls.
McCarthy was next to go for 55 in the 35th over with the score on 155. Four overs later, with the score on 172, Alwyn Williams became the fourth Scorpions batsman dismissed when he was caught on the boundary off the bowling of Kharry Pierre for three.
Captain Powell was next to go in the 44th over for 25 with the Scorpions only needing 18 more to win from 39 balls. With 344 runs in total, Powell finished the tournament as the leading run-scorer.
With the Scorpions needing 14 more runs from 29 balls, Dennis Bulli was bowled by Terrance Hinds for two. The next over saw Peat Salmon going for 11 with just eight runs needed to win from 23 balls.
Odean Smith was the hero in the end with a six and a single in the 47th over bring the score to 218-7 to give the Scorpions their first CG Insurance Super50 Cup title since 2012, when they also beat the Trinidad and Tobago Red Force in the final.
West Indies' batsmen missed a chance to find their groove on Australian pitches before their tour game against an NSW/ACT XI was declared a draw.
The visitors were 114 for 4 in their second innings on Saturday at Manuka Oval when play was called off, the hosts declaring earlier in the day on a mammoth 426 for 4.
Opener Tagenarine Chanderpaul, the son of West Indies great Shivnarine Chanderpaul, made just 4 after not batting in West Indies' first innings effort due to illness.
Jermaine Blackwood, who retired on 42 in the first innings, made just 1.
West Indies were 77 for 4 before Roston Chase (31*) and Joshua Da Silva (12*) ensured no further damage was done.
Earlier Blake MacDonald finished unbeaten on 177 after No. 3 Oliver Davies had smashed 115 off just 106 balls on Friday in a wake-up call for the West Indies attack.
Final scores: West Indies 424 for 9 dec (Thomas 77*, Brathwaite 75, Brooks 56, Holder 50) and 114 for 4 drew with Combined NSW & ACT XI 426 for 4 (MacDonald 177*, Davies 115).
The tourists will play a four-day twilight fixture against a strong Prime Minister's XI from Wednesday before Tests against in Perth and Adelaide.
A big innings from Steve Smith was followed by devastating bowling from Mitchell Starc and Adam Zampa as Australia beat England by 72 runs in the second ODI to seal victory in the three-match series.
With captains Pat Cummins and Jos Buttler both resting in Sydney, the hosts set England a target of 281 after Smith hit 94 from 114 deliveries.
Despite a strong effort in particular from James Vince and Sam Billings, England's reply petered out as Starc and Zampa claimed four wickets apiece.
After a steady start on a dry pitch, Australia lost both David Warner (16) and Travis Head (19) inside the first nine overs, before Smith and Marnus Labuschagne stepped in.
The duo put on a partnership of 101 before the latter fell to Adil Rashid (3-57) for 58, with Alex Carey out next ball as England looked to keep their opponents from accelerating away.
Smith and Mitchell Marsh (50) put on another 90 together before Smith was finally out hitting a deep shot straight to Phil Salt, while Marsh and Starc fell to David Willey in the penultimate over as Australia ended on 280-8.
Starc removed both Jason Roy and Dawid Malan in the first over of the chase before the tourists could get any runs on the board, and a brief flurry from Salt (23) came to an end when he stepped away for a big shot, only to see his stumps clattered by Josh Hazlewood.
Vince (60) and Billings (71) steadied the ship as they put on a partnership of 122 until Hazelwood trapped Vince lbw.
Moeen Ali came in and hit a four and six from his first three balls before Zampa bowled him with the fourth, and also removed danger man Billings and Sam Curran (0) in his next over to wrestle the momentum back for Australia.
England's inability to protect their stumps continued as Starc (4-47) bowled Chris Woakes, before Willey (6) dragged a delivery on just moments after nearly kicking his own stumps in a panic as the ball bounced over them.
Zampa (4-45) mopped things up when he trapped Liam Dawson lbw for 20 as Australia dismissed England for 208 to take an unassailable 2-0 lead.
Starc contrast in bowling attacks
While England had their moments with the ball, especially when it was in Rashid's hands, the ruthlessness with which Starc dismissed batsmen almost made it look like a different pitch.
Zampa was equally impressive with his spin, taking key wickets in important moments, and was also the most economical of the Australian bowlers at just 4.57.
Roy fails again with the bat
Roy had been hoping to make a point after being overlooked for Alex Hales in England's successful T20 World Cup campaign, but after scoring just six in the first ODI, he was out for a second-ball duck here.
Having also lost the first game of the series by six wickets, this was England's first instance of back-to-back defeats in away ODIs since January 2017.
Jamaica assistant coach Nikita Miller insists the team can afford to take nothing for granted when they face Trinidad and Tobago, in the final of the CGI Insurance Super50 Cup, on Saturday.
The Jamaicans will be looking to claim their first title since 2012 and should enter the match with some confidence after a strong batting performance against Guyana on Thursday, in the semi-finals, and four straight wins.
Miller knows, however, that the challenge will be different against an in-form Trinidad and Tobago who have lost just once this season.
“We will have to plan for Trinidad’s game differently. We have gone to a couple of their games and looked at some footage and we'll plan our approach,” Miller said ahead of the game.
Trinidad and Tobago were the zone A winners after finishing ahead of Guyana, while Jamaica won zone B ahead of the Leeward Islands.
“We’re looking forward to it we are not going into that game overconfident. We know that they are playing good cricket and they know that we are playing good cricket as well,” Miller added.
The Jamaicans managed to defeat Trinidad and Tobago in the final the last time they won the trophy.
Jamaica Scorpions captain Rovman Powell believes his unbeaten 105 against Guyana Harpy Eagles on Thursday night was one of the best he has played in his career.
Powell smashed seven fours and three sixes in a mature knock that steered the Scorpions to 322-7 in pursuit of the Harpy Eagles 318-9. It was the highest successful chase of the season and the best score by any team in the 2022 CG Insurance Super50 competition.
He shared in a crucial fourth-wicket partnership of 103 with Alwyn Williams who made 45 and then stands of 34 and 37 with Dennis Bulli (17) and Odean Smith (19), respectively before an unbroken 37-run eighth-wicket alliance with Jeavor Royal, who was on 18 at the end after hitting the match-winning six off Nail Smith.
In his post-match comments after his first List A century of the season and his fourth overall, the 29-year-old all-rounder rated his match-winning knock highly.
“I think it is one of my better 100s,” said Powell, who arrived at the crease with Jamaica 101-3 following the dismissal of Brandon King for a well-played 64.
“I got a very good start. It was a very good wicket to be honest and so once I paced the innings and stayed at the wicket we would win.”
He praised King for his half-century, his second of the season, that set up the victory for the Scorpions team that will face the star-studded defending champions Trinidad and Tobago Red Force in the final on Saturday.
“It was very important,” he said of King’s 64. “It was important that someone get us off to a flying start and I think Brandon did that. It was just unfortunate that he couldn’t go a little longer.
“We were looking to get to 100 in 15 or so overs for the middle order to settle in and push around the ball and I think Brandon’s innings really set that up nicely.”
Wary of the quality of their opponents in Saturday’s final, Powell said it was essential for the Scorpions to improve in all three areas – batting, bowling and fielding – if they are to have any chance of dethroning the Trinidadian unit.
“Trinidad plays the best 50-over cricket in the Caribbean for a while now so it’s important for us to play very good cricket and improve batting, bowling and fielding,” he said perhaps referring to King dropping Shimron Hetmyer early in his innings. The West Indies middle order batsman went into top score for the Harpy Eagles with 86.
“Today (Thursday) we dropped a few catches. In the final, we cannot drop Trinidad’s big players like that.”
West Indies bowlers were given a wake up call ahead of their two match series against Australia after being dominated by a NSW/ACT XI on day two of the tour match in Canberra on Thursday.
Oliver Davies, the New South Wales and Sydney Thunder batsman, was the star of the day, producing an innings of 115 that featured 14 fours and three sixes from 106 deliveries. Blake MacDonald (76 not out) and Jack Attenborough (51) also joined in on the fun.
Kemar Roach was economical with figures of 0 for 20 from 10 overs but 21-year-old right-armer Jayden Seales (0-47 off 10 overs), Alzarri Joseph (0-40 off 10 overs) and spinner Roston Chase (0-50 off 10 overs) were among the bowlers who struggled for impact.
Former captain Jason Holder, who made 50 with the bat before retiring, did not bowl while Raymon Reifer and captain Kraigg Braithwaite were the wicket-takers
Starting day two at Manuka Oval on 297 for 5, West Indies lifted the run-rate on Friday as Devon Thomas top-scored with an unbeaten 77. Thomas and Joseph put on an unbroken 104-run stand for the 10th wicket.
On Thursday, openers Brathwaite and Shamarh Brooks made half-centuries to put on a 133-run partnership.
This match is one of two tour games West Indies have before their series against the Pat Cummins-led Australians gets underway in Perth on November 30.
New Zealand and India were foiled by rain in Wellington as the opening game in their three-match T20I series was abandoned without a ball being bowled.
The teams, both beaten in the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup last week, were looking to start afresh at Sky Stadium on Friday.
However, persistent rain meant there was no prospect of play, with the first action in the series now set to take place on Sunday at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui.
The tourists have rested captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul for this series, while New Zealand have won their past four multi-game bilateral T20I series and will attempt to extend that to five for the first time.
India were the last team to beat New Zealand in such a series, achieving a 3-0 success a year ago.
A magnificent 105 not out from captain Rovman Powell led the Jamaica Scorpions to a three-wicket victory over the Guyana Harpy Eagles in the second semi-final of the CG Insurance Super50 Cup at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua on Thursday.
The Harpy Eagles won the toss and decided to bat first. Openers Anthony Bramble and Kemol Savory put on 39 before Bramble was removed for 22 by Jeavor Royal in the 10th over.
Savory was next to go for 15, caught by Brandon King off the bowling of Nicholson Gordon at the end of the 11th over.
Tevin Imlach and captain Leon Johnson then put on a brief 33-run partnership before Imlach became Odean Smith’s first wicket for 20 to leave the Harpy Eagles 76-3 off 18.5 overs.
That wicket brought Shimron Hetmyer to the crease to join Johnson and the pair brought up the hundred for Guyana in the 24th over.
Johnson got a reprieve in the 23rd over when he was dropped by King on 22 with the score on 92-3 but his luck ran out when King made up for his earlier mistake to catch Johnson off Dennis Bulli for 30 to leave the Harpy Eagles 113-4 in the 26th over. The Scorpions could have removed new batsman Sherfane Rutherford in the same over but King dropped his second catch of the day at slip.
Hetmyer brought up his 10th List A fifty off 47 balls in the 31st over. The same over also saw him and Rutherford carry Guyana past 150.
The pair continued to pepper the Scorpions bowling and brought up Guyana’s 200 in the 38th over with Hetmyer cruising on 69 and Rutherford on 44. With a boundary off Odean Smith in the 40th over, Rutherford brought up his 50 off 41 balls and brought up the 100-partnership between himself and Hetmyer off 84 deliveries. Two balls later, Rutherford was dismissed for 56 to leave the Harpy Eagles 219-5.
Hetmyer was finally dismissed by Odean Smith in the 44th over for a well-played 86 off 76 balls to leave Guyana 250-6.
Guyana was 296-6 off 47.1 overs when rain started. Kevin Sinclair (33) and Romario Shepherd (21) were the not out batsmen. After a break of about 20 minutes, the Harpy Eagles brought up their 300 off 47.5 overs, their first score of 300 in this year’s tournament.
Eventually, after the wickets of Shepherd (28), Gudakesh Motie (0) and Veerasammy Permaul (0), Guyana was able to post 318-9 from their 50 overs. Kevin Sinclair ended 45 not out from 32 balls. Odean Smith ended with 5-65 from his nine overs for the Scorpions while Nicholson Gordon provided some good bowling at the death to finish with 2-55 from his eight overs.
Jamaica’s reply did not get off to the best of starts as Chadwick Walton was removed for just 11 in the fourth over with the score on 23.
Brandon King and Andre McCarthy then combined and put the Guyana bowling to the sword, with King bringing up his second fifty of the tournament off just 34 balls as the pair brought the score up to 83-1 after 11 overs.
The partnership was broken in the 13th over when McCarthy was trapped in front by Gudakesh Motie for 22 to leave the Scorpions at 92-2.
The 15th over was then a bittersweet one for the Jamaicans as they brought up their 100 but, on the other hand, also lost Brandon King for 64 from just 49 balls to be left 101-3.
Alwyn Williams (24) and Rovman Powell (31) were the batsmen at the crease when the Scorpions brought up their 150 after 22 overs. Powell brought up his fifty off 38 balls with a boundary off Nial Smith in the 28th over to move the score up to 188-3.
The Scorpions brought up their 200 through an Alwyn Williams six off Kevin Sinclair in the 30th over. Similar to when the 100 was brought up, Williams was then dismissed off the very next ball for 45 to leave the score at 204-4 after 29.4 overs.
Jamaica lost their fifth wicket when Peat Salmon went caught behind off the bowling of Motie for eight with the score on 214 from 32.2 overs.
Powell and Dennis Bulli moved the Scorpions score up to 248-5 before Bulli was dismissed for 17 by Nial Smith in the 38th over. Powell then hit Smith for a boundary in the same over to move up to 77 and move the Scorpions past 250.
With the Scorpions needing 34 from 37 balls, Sherfane Rutherford dismissed Odean Smith for 19 to leave score at 285-7 after 44 overs.
A Jeavor Royal six in the 47th over brought up the 300 for the Scorpions, leaving them needing just 14 runs to win from 22 balls.
Captain Powell then brought up a magnificent 100 off just 89 balls including seven fours and three sixes, his fourth List A hundred, leaving Jamaica needing 10 more runs off the final three overs to advance to the final.
Needing only three runs to win from the last two overs, Jeavor Royal hit Nial Smith for a six to bring the Scorpions to 322-7 off 48.1 overs, sealing an excellent three-wicket win.
Powell ended 105 not out while Motie led the Harp Eagles bowling with 3-48 from his 10 overs.
The Jamaica Scorpions will now play the Trinidad and Tobago Red Force in Saturday’s final at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.
West Indies legend Shivnarine Chanderpaul believes several of the current generation are more motivated by money as opposed to the pride that drove their predecessors to global success.
Over the last several years the Caribbean team’s struggles with the losing its players to lucrative T20 league around the world is a well noted one. At various points in time some of the region’s most notable players have found themselves at loggerheads with Cricket West Indies (CWI) over availability issues.
On occasion, the Windies best players have opted to take part in the world’s year-round T20 leagues ahead of international fixtures, which has left the team without some of its most experienced campaigners.
“We played for pride,” added Chanderpaul told Australia’s Sydney Morning Herald, on the heels of his recent induction to the International Cricket Council’s Hall of Fame.
“There are a lot of Premier leagues around the world. West Indies cricket is not what these guys would depend on these days, so I don’t think they’re as keen. They can go elsewhere and play and not focus on having to represent West Indies,” he added.
“Whatever comes up, the guys are happy to make as much as they can while their cricket career lasts,” he added.
Captain Kraigg Brathwaite, Shamarh Brooks and Jason Holder all got half-centuries on day one of the West Indies’ three-day tour match against a combined NSW and ACT XI at the Manuka Oval in Canberra, Australia on Wednesday.
Brathwaite hit 10 fours on his way to a top-score of 75 from 114 balls while Brooks, who opened with Brathwaite because Tagenarine Chanderpaul was unwell, got 56 off 116 balls including five fours.
All-rounder Holder (50) and Jermaine Blackwood (42) are the not out batsmen as the tourists closed the day on 297-5 from 90 overs. The other batsmen dismissed were Raymon Reifer (21), Nkrumah Bonner (15) and Kyle Mayers (17).
West Indies have two tour matches before the Test series begins in Perth on November 30.
New Zealand and India will attempt to put the disappointment of failing to win the T20 World Cup behind them when they start a three-match T20i series on Friday.
England hammered India by 10 wickets at the semi-final stage before beating Pakistan at the MCG on Sunday to lift the trophy for a second time.
The Black Caps missed out once again when they lost to Pakistan in the semi-final, having been runners-up to Australia in Dubai last year.
India will be without captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul for three matches against New Zealand in the shortest format, as the experienced trio have been given a post-World Cup rest.
Hardik Pandya will skipper the tourists, with VVS Laxman filling in as head coach as Rahul Dravid is also absent.
Laxman wants to see the India players express themselves in a series that gets under way at Westpac Stadium
He said: "It is important to be flexible. I think in T20 cricket, you are required to express yourself and that is when you will be successful. I think T20 cricket has shown us over the years that the more amount of multi-dimensional players you have, the better for the team.
"You have bowlers who can bat, and batters who can bowl, and that is the way forward. That has already been proven in T20 cricket, the more number of bowlers who can bat will add depth to the team and it allows a lot of freedom for the batters to express themselves.
"That is the need for the format and I am sure more and more teams will try to get that into their selection process and identify players who are multi-dimensional players."
New Zealand have won their past four multi-game bilateral T20I series and will attempt to extend that to five for the first time, with India being the last team to beat them in a series with a 3-0 success a year ago.
No Boult to strike for Black Caps
Trent Boult was not included in the New Zealand squad after a request to be released from his central contract was accepted in August.
They still possess a strong attack in his absence, with Tim Southee and Lockie Ferguson set to be unleashed and Adam Milne back in the fold along with Blair Tickner
Experienced opener Martin Guptill was overlooked once again, with Finn Allen keeping his spot at the top of the order.
India need Pant back to his explosive best
Rishabh Pant only played twice in the World Cup, making three against Zimbabwe before falling for only nine in the crushing semi-final loss at the hands of England.
Dinesh Karthik had been preferred to Pant, but the experienced wicketkeeper-batter is not in the squad to face New Zealand.
Pant is only 30 runs short of becoming 11th player to score 1,000 runs for India in men’s T20Is and India will need him to explode into life.
Dawid Malan hopes he can make up for his T20 World Cup Final absence by forcing his way into England's ICC Men's World Cup plans despite defeat against Australia on Thursday.
The top-order batsman was a member of Jos Buttler's title-winning squad earlier this month, but was ruled out of the final through injury.
With several first-choice names rested for the ODI opener against their hosts in Adelaide however, the Yorkshire all-rounder flourished with a score of 134, even as England fell to a six-wicket loss.
Buttler will look to defend England's 50-over World Cup success next year following triumph in 2019, and Malan hopes his emphatic response on his return can help him push his name into the conversation.
"To get to the T20 World Cup final and be ruled out was gutting, so to come here, prove my fitness and score a hundred was extremely satisfying," he stated.
"I think it's always important to score runs. I think 50 overs is probably my strongest format, but it's hard to get into the team with how guys have performed the last couple of years.
"But if I keep doing what I'm doing, I might be part of that squad."
Australia captain Pat Cummins was delighted to see his side bounce back from T20 World Cup disappointment, where the hosts failed to reach the semi-final stage.
"England are always a strong team," he told Test Match Special. "It's nice for us to get back out there and make amends, remind ourselves we are still a very good team despite being disappointed."
The pair meet again on Saturday in the second of three ODIs, before they resume hostilities in The Ashes in the new year.
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