England coach Chris Silverwood leaves Eoin Morgan to decide his own future

T20 World Cup | Video: Wade smashes three sixes off Shaheen Afridi to take Australia into final

Australia wicket-keeper batsman Matthew Wade certainly played one of the most crucial knocks of his career on Thursday against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup semi-final in Dubai. The left-handed batsman struck a quickfire 41* off 17 deliveries which included four maximums and a couple of fours during the course. But, what made the headlines was him smashing three consecutive sixes in the penultimate over of the match against Shaheen Afridi to take his side over the line. Australia needed 22 in the final two overs and Shaheen had the ball in his hands for the 19th. The Australian side had managed to gather only two runs in the first two deliveries but what happened next was a sheer blunder from Hasan Ali. Afridi was up against Wade on the third ball of the over and the batter whipped it uppishly. Hasan, who was stationed in the deep, had a chance of grabbing a catch but he overran it and dropped an important one. Wade then took just three deliveries to wrap the match and help his side move into the final. The Aaron Finch-led side will now meet New Zealand in the title clash on Sunday in Dubai.

Coach Hayden heaps praise on ‘warrior’ Mohammad Rizwan for playing semi-final straight out of ICU

There is no better player than Mohammad Rizwan to describe Pakistan’s performance and heroics in the T20 World Cup underway in UAE. He has been the lynchpin of Pakistan’s batting group and has batted with supreme confidence and flair to give them a solid start in almost every game. However, he has earned a heap of praise from his teammates and coach for fighting out a personal and a battle of health to play the big semi-final against Australia. He had developed chest infections two days before the day of the game and was admitted into ICU to facilitate quick recovery. He did recover in an incredible way and led another brilliant display of the Pakistan batting unit against the Australian pace attack and slammed the pacers to all parts of the ground in Dubai. "Mohammad Rizwan developed a severe chest infection on 9th of November after which he was admitted to the hospital," Pakistan's team doctor Najeebullah Soomro said. He spent two nights in the ICU recovering. He made an incredible recovery and was deemed fit before the match. “We can see his great determination and tenacity that shows his spirit of performing for the country. And we can see how he performed today." Midway through the innings, he suffered another injury while facing a rapid bouncer from Mitchell Starc. The ball rose sharply and hit the grill of his helmet and left him with a bruise on the face which was quite evident while he was wicketkeeping during Pakistan’s defence of 176 runs. Pakistan batting consultant Matthew Hayden showered praise on Rizwan for fighting from his illness like a warrior and playing a remarkable innings on the big stage. "This is a warrior, he's been brilliant through the campaign and he's got great courage," Hayden said. His efforts though went in vain as Australia rode on blistering innings from Matthew Wade and Marcus Stoinis to storm through the final of the tournament and hand Pakistan their first loss of the tournament.

To prepare for ODI World Cup, India Women to tour New Zealand for limited-overs series next year

The Indian Women’s team will tour New Zealand as a part of the World Cup preparations next year in February. The two sides will play a T20I and five-match ODI series. The series is scheduled to begin on February 9 with the only T20I which will be followed by the five ODIs and the series will conclude on February 24. "The White Ferns will put the finishing touches on their preparations for the upcoming World Cup, to be hosted in New Zealand for the first time in 22 years, when they play India in a six-match series comprising a T20, and five ODIs," New Zealand Cricket announced on Friday. "The India series is a crucial part of the White Ferns' World Cup preparations," NZC chief executive David White said in a statement. The T20I and the first ODI will be held in Napier while the teams will then travel to Nelson for the second and third ODI respectively. The fourth and fifth ODI are slated to take place in Queenstown.

India announce Test squad for New Zealand series, Rahane to lead in first Test

India have announced the 16-man squad for the upcoming two-match long Test series against New Zeland starting November 25. As it has been reported, Virat Kohli will miss the first Test of the series and Ajinkya Rahane will lead the side for the first game before Kohli will come back for the second Test. Cheteshwar Pujara has been elevated as vice-captain in the absence of Virat Kohli. India have rested Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant and Mohammed Shami from the entire series. Shubman Gill, who was sent back from England after an injury has returned to the Test squad while Mayank Agarwal, who could not feature in any of the Tests against England has maintained his place in the squad. The spin twins—Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin find a place in the squad and so does KL Rahul despite their prolonged stay in the biosecure bubble through the course of the last many months. Off-spinner Jayant Yadav, who last played a Test for India in the year 2017 has made his return to the squad while Axar Patel, who announced his arrival at the Test level in a grand manner against England maintain his place in the side. The quartet of Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Md. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna has been picked in the absence of both Bumrah and Shami. KS Bharat and Wriddhiman Saha are the two wicketkeeper batsmen in the squad. Hanuma Vihari, who last played a marathon rearguard innings in the Sydney Test against at the start of the year has been dropped from the squad. As per some media reports, he will head to South Africa with the India A side touring just before India senior’s tour in December. India’s Test squad Ajinkya Rahane (Captain), KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara (vice-captain), Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper), KS Bharat (wicket-keeper), Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Axar Patel, Jayant Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Md. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna