T20 World Cup | PAK vs AUS: Negotiating Shaheen Afridi in powerplay will be crucial, says Aaron Finch

Watch: James Pattinson dangerously hurls ball at Daniel Hughes in follow-through, gets suspended

Former Australia Test bowler James Pattinson, who is playing for Victoria in the ongoing Sheffield-Shield threw a very dangerous ball that hit New South Wales batter, Daniel Hughes. Pattinson picked up the ball on follow-through and hurled it straight back at Hughes after a frustrating phase of play. The red cherry went on to hit the batter on his feet and left him limping on one foot. Though Pattinson immediately apologised by raising his hands, it was termed dangerous by the match referee and therefore the bowler has been suspended for one match. Hughes, who was the only NSW batter standing in between Victoria and a win on the final day of the four-day game with his solid 89, had frustrated the Victorian attack with his staunch resistance. However, NSW lost the match by a huge margin of 174 runs. In a statement released on Wednesday morning, Cricket Australia said, "Pattinson was charged and found guilty under Article 2.7 of the Code for throwing a ball at or near a player in an inappropriate and/or dangerous manner during a match.” "Pattinson was fined 100 per cent of his match fee for the Marsh Sheffield Shield match between Victoria and NSW held on November 5-8, 2021,” it added. Along with the match fee penalty, the 31-year-old who recently retired from international cricket was also suspended for the day-night Marsh One-Day Cup match against NSW at the MCG on Friday.

Historic feat by ambidextrous Akshay Karnewar, completes four overs spell without conceding a run

A unique feat was achieved in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy game when Vidarbha’s ambidextrous (who can bowl with both hands) spinner Akshay Karnewar completed a four overs spell in a T20 game against Manipur without conceding even a single run. This is now the most economical spell in the history of T20 cricket. The 29-year old who bowls left-arm orthodox and right arm off-spin with similar actions, registered figures of 4-4-0-2 at the end of the match which Vidarbha won by 167 runs. This is now the second-biggest margin of victory in Indian cricket and ninth in the entire history of T20 cricket. Before this, Andhara had beaten Nagaland by 179 runs in 2019. With this spell of his Karnewar broke the record held by Pakistan’s Mohammad Irfan who had figures of 4-3-1-2 in a Caribbean Premier League game playing for Barbados Tridents against St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in 2018. Karnewar, an experienced domestic player with 15 First Class, 37 List-A and 44 T20 games under his belt has a total of 129 wickets and 1613 runs in his tally across formats, since making his debut in 2015 in a Vijay Hazare Trophy game against Odisha. Born in Wagholi subdivision of Pune district in Maharashtra, Karnewar’s primary skill was off-spin bowling and batting right-handed. Since his left-hand throws were quite accurate and had a lot of power in them, his junior coach Balu Navghare told him to take up left-arm spin seriously. "It's unbelievable. Not conceding even a single run in the entire match is something extraordinary and I am really feeling good," Karnewar said after the game. Vidarbha, by topping the Plate Group have made it to the pre-quarterfinals of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021-22 and now it would be a real test for Karnewar to perform against Maharashtra on November 16, the association where he was born and played his junior cricket from.

We would be the first to launch women’s T20 league in Asia: PCB Chairman Ramiz Raja

Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ramiz Raja said that the board is planning to launch a women’s edition of the Pakistan Super League. If the PCB are able to pull it off then it will be the first nation in Asia to have an exclusive professional contract-based women’s cricket league where players from various other nations can participate. Announcing it in a video released by the PCB on their official Twitter handles, Raja said, “We have lots of programs in the pipeline and with this visit by Tom Harrison (ECB CEO), a lot of things have cleared up. We will be the first and only of its kind nation to launch an Under-19 version of our main T20 league the PSL.” “We are also planning to launch the Women’s PSL as soon as possible and Inshallah we will be the first nation in Asia to have a women’s league functioning,” he further added. Through his first in Asia comments, Ramiz intentionally or unintentionally highlighted the plight of the Indian women cricketers who have been demanding a women’s IPL for quite some time now. With the success of The Hundred Women in England and the smooth running of the WBBL and Super Smash (Women’s) in Australia and New Zealand respectively, it was only fair that the richest cricket board announced a women’s IPL. Hopefully, after this big announcement by Pakistan, the BCCI might take note of the voices echoing from eternity for a women’s IPL. Pakistan was also the first board under the leadership of Ehsan Mani to announce the 1-year maternity league for its female cricketers with all contracts automatically renewing next year.

T20 World Cup | Semi-Final | ENG vs NZ: Settled Kiwis look for redemption against injury-ridden English unit

Flashbacks run across everyone’s mind with Ian Smith in the commentary box screaming at the top of his voice. An incredible finish to the main game and then a tied Super Over made the 2019 World Cup Final an exceptional game, one that is difficult to forget. But it is never going to be the same again as boundary counts no more decide the fate of the game even when Super Overs remain tied. Instead, now teams are going to be put back in the field again and again in the Super Over till one of the sides are truly and deservingly declared the winners. And what better occasion could the Blackcaps have asked for than to face the English counterparts in an ICC event knockout game two and half years later to redeem themselves of the ghosts of the Lord’s that has been following them since June 2019. Come November 10th, the Sheikh Zayed Stadium would be lit up to welcome the two of the biggest contenders for the T20 World Cup who have put up brilliant performances in the Super 12 stages and will fight one more time to remain alive to seek the ultimate glory. What's at stake? Everything is at stake for both the teams who are searching for success in the shortest format of the game. To be fair, England have had the privilege to be the champions in the T20Is as well as in the ODIs and hence it is the Kiwis who have a lot at stake for them. Right from the 2015 World Cup, they have made it to all ICC tournaments’ semi-final stage at least (except the 2017 Champions Trophy), but haven’t been able to lift the trophy until recently in the inaugural World Test Championship. Along with the possibility of reaching the finals, for England, their reputation of being the fiercest side in the T20 format is also at stake. Having been defeated by the South Africans in an inconsequential game, it was a warning enough for them to remain grounded in the competition. Hence, Eoin Morgan and men would be wary of what’s to come and not get ahead of themselves just because of their reputation in the format. What needs to change? For New Zealand, Mitchell Santner being out of touch is not a good sign and given the number of right-handers in the English batting unit at the top, it might be a great ploy for Kane Willaimson to get him early in the attack and force both Buttler and Bairstow to make some errors in judgement. For England, Dawid Malan’s form has been a cause of concern. It isn’t that bad that you can drop him, but he is not playing the match-winning innings expected from him either, making it very tough for the selectors and skipper Morgan to take a call on him. But given the gravity of the situation, Moeen Ali could be promoted at number three, also to tackle the leg-spin and the left-arm spin of Ish Sodhi and Santner respectively. England vs New Zealand: Match Details Match Number - 42, Semi-Final Date and Time: November 10, 2021, 07:30 pm IST, 06:00 pm Local, 02:00 pm GMT Venue: Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi Broadcast and Livestream: Star Sports and Hotstar Pitch Report It has been informed to both parties that pitch strip number seven would be used for this special game. The seventh strip is the central wicket and boundaries therefore would remain long and far even though the ground has been witness to long sixes over the course of the tournament. Mohan Singh, the chief curator of the wicket died in mysterious circumstances on the day of the Afghanistan-New Zealand clash and hence this pitch would be curated by a new chief curator. The pitches at Abu Dhabi have generally been lively and high scoring and a wicket of the same trait is expected in this game as well. Weather Forecast The temperature at the stadium will fall from 28-degree Celsius at 06:00 pm to 26-degree Celsius by 10:00 pm and similarly, the humidity will increase from 49% to 57%. There would be a light breeze blowing and it being a 06:00 pm start at local time, dew in large amounts is expected in the second innings. Thus a captain winning the toss would look to chase in all circumstances. Team News England The English side would be forced to make yet another change in their XI and Sam Billings, who has travelled with the team for quite a long time, might just bear fruit for his patience. Probable XI Jos Buttler (wk), Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali, Dawid Malan, Sam Billings, Eoin Morgan (c), Liam Livingstone, Chris Woakes, Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood New Zealand The Kiwis are a settled unit and with no injuries barring a slight concern for Kane Williamson. It has been a while that he has been nursing an elbow injury but it is unlikely that he would be sitting out a clash as important as this one. They would be playing the same combination which has won them four matches in a row. Probable XI Martin Guptill, Daryl Mitchell, Kane Williamson (c), Devon Conway (wk), Glenn Phillips, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Adam Milne, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult CE XI Fantasy team Wicketkeepers Jos Buttler Batters - Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson, Dawid Malan All-rounders - James Neesham, Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone Bowlers - Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid Vice-captain - Kane Williamson Captain - Moeen Ali