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The start of the third T20I between West Indies and India in St Kitts on Tuesday has been pushed back by 90 minutes. Instead of 10.30am local time [8pm IST], the match will now begin at 12pm local time [9.30pm IST], with the toss to take place at 11.30am.Related

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The match timings have been revised to give the players extra time to recover after the second T20I on Monday began three hours behind schedule following a delay in the arrival of the players’ luggage and kits from Trinidad, the venue of the first T20I on July 29.Due to the logistical hurdles resulting in the delayed arrival of the teams’ kits, three India players ended up wearing team-mates’ shirts: Suryakumar Yadav and Avesh Khan were seen wearing Arshdeep Singh’s No. 2 shirt.After Tuesday’s game, the teams are due to fly to Lauderhill in Florida, where the last two matches of the series are scheduled to take place on August 6 and 7.”Following the delayed start on Monday, the teams have agreed to start the third Goldmedal T20 Cup match at a later time to ensure that the players receive adequate rest and recover time for the back-to-back matches in St Kitts and in consideration of the back-to-back matches to come in Florida,” a CWI release said. “Stadium gates will open at 10:30am. Tickets are still available from the stadium box office for the matches in St Kitts with mounds/grounds tickets at US$15/EC$40 and seats from US$30/EC$80, or can be purchased directly through Windies Tickets, presented by Mastercard at “tickets.windiestickets.com” to save direct to your mobile device.”After two T20Is, the series is level 1-1, with West Indies pulling off a five-wicket win at Warner Park on Monday to come back from a 68-run defeat in the series-opener. Opener Brandon King’s 68 set the platform for West Indies in a chase of 139 after left-arm quick Obed McCoy picked up 6 for 17 – the best figures by a West Indies bowler in T20Is – to help bowl India out with two balls still remaining.

Ashleigh Gardner’s increased maturity has paved the way for her to become the first Indigenous player to claim one of Australian cricket’s top honours.Gardner, 24, was on Saturday named winner of the Belinda Clark Award, crowning her as Australia’s best female player for the past 12 months.The offspinning allrounder was told by Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley of her award on Friday night, admitting she asked him more than once if he had the right person. But Gardner’s growth over the past year means she is a more than deserving recipient.She found consistency in 2021, going from a big hitter to solid performer with 281 runs at 35.10 across all formats in the past year. She scored four half-centuries in that time, highlighted by an unbeaten 73 in a successful T20I chase in New Zealand in March.Related

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Gardner also produced her maiden Test half-century, against India, before backing it up against England in the Ashes match in Canberra – although the latter match came outside of the award voting period.Adding to Gardner’s improvement, she was in the team’s top-five run-scorers and top-three wicket-takers in each of the three formats.”I’ve certainly grown up both on and off the field,” Gardner said. “I think maturing off the field probably has an impact on my game on the field. I feel really comfortable within this side.”I’ve known what my role has been and I’ve been really clear in the direction that I need to do with either bat or ball in hand.”Gardner’s maturity has also been most evident in her bounce back in recent months. While her international success has been clear, her underwhelming WBBL with Sydney Sixers – which included a run of four consecutive ducks – left her battling mentally and needing time out after months in bubbles.She made the point to see Australia’s sports psychologist, took a few weeks out and then rebounded with a first-innings 56 and 1 for 27 with the ball in the current Test against England.”You can find yourself in some pretty dark places when you aren’t in the best form. And that was certainly me,” Gardner said. “I can openly admit that my mental health probably wasn’t great.”But I think it’s good for people’s careers to go on that slight decline to then actually find the confidence again and find the rhythm back in your batting.”Being able to go back into the [NSW] Breakers set up around a different bunch of girls was really instrumental to actually feel confident again. As soon as I got back into this [Australian] set-up, it was full faith that I would get back to where I wanted to be.”Gardner picked up 54 votes to finish clear of T20 player-of-the-year Beth Mooney (47) and ODI recipient Alyssa Healy (39).

Uncapped Fazle Mahmud has replaced Shakib Al Hasan in Bangladesh’s Test squad for the New Zealand tour after the star allrounder opted to skip the series.Mahmud, a left-handed top-order batter who also bowls left-arm spin occasionally, was the highest run-getter in Bangladesh’s first-class competition this season, making 603 runs at an average of 60.30. He made his ODI debut in October 2018, playing two games against Zimbabwe, but was out on zero in both matches.Shakib was initially named in the side, but he verbally informed the board of his reluctance to go to New Zealand where Bangladesh are scheduled to play two Tests in January. BCB president Nazmul Hassan approved his leave request once Shakib submitted a letter officially. However, Hassan added that the players would have to inform the board “officially” in order to seek leave.The New Zealand series will count towards the 2021-23 World Test Championship. The first Test is set to be played in Mount Maunganui from January 1 to 5, and the second in Christchurch from January 9 to 13. When Bangladesh toured New Zealand in 2021, the visitors lost all six matches – three ODIs and three T20Is. Their last Test tour was in 2019, which was abandoned midway, due to the Christchurch attack the day before the third Test.Meanwhile, Rangana Herath has rejoined the Bangladesh team as the spin bowling coach on a two-year contract. He was with the team from July to November this year for the T20 World Cup.Squad: Mominul Haque (capt), Shadman Islam, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mushfiqur Rahim, Fazle Mahmud, Liton Das (wk), Nurul Hasan (wk), Yasir Ali, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Abu Jayed, Ebadot Hossain, Shoriful Islam, Khaled Ahmed, Shohidul Islam, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Mohammad Naim

At least one Yorkshire player admitted to regularly using the term ‘P**i’ when talking to Azeem Rafiq, according to the report into racism at the club. But he was cleared of wrongdoing on the basis that it was perceived as, what the report says was, friendly, good-natured “banter” between the two players.The player also admitted to telling other people “don’t talk to him [Rafiq], he’s a P**i”, asking “is that your uncle?” when they saw bearded Asian men and saying “does your dad own those?” in reference to corner shops.Despite admitting recalling that Rafiq broke down in tears at one point, the player insisted he had no idea he was causing offence and would have stopped if Rafiq had asked.The individual concerned, who ESPNcricinfo have chosen not to name, is a current senior player at the club.Related

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While the investigating team (the lawyers who were charged with gathering evidence for the report) found such comments to be “capable of creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment…” and accepted Rafiq’s “evidence that he was offended, degraded or humiliated and that this amounted to harassment under the Equality Act and the Club’s Equal Opportunities policy”, the panel (who were charged with making conclusions and recommendations and which included a non-executive member of the Yorkshire board) disagreed.Their conclusions state “The Panel does not accept that Azeem was offended by [the other player’s] comments, either at the time they were made or subsequently.”They go on to say that, in the context of “banter between friends” Rafiq might be “expected to take such comments in the spirit in which they were intended (i.e. good natured banter between friends)… [so] it was not reasonable for Azeem to have been offended by [the other player] directing equally offensive or derogatory comments back at him in the same spirit of friendly banter.”Indeed, the panel accuses Rafiq of using “offensive, racially derogatory comments” when referring to a player of Zimbabwean heritage as “Zimbo from Zimbabwe”. The panel viewed this as “a racist, derogatory term” and recommends that, were Rafiq still a Yorkshire player, he should face disciplinary action for using it.The revelation, which comes days after Yorkshire announced that none of their players, coaches or executives would face disciplinary action as a result of the investigation, may increase doubts over the process and the report that has produced. In particular, equating the terms ‘P**i’, which is a long-established derogatory term with a history of racist usage, and ‘Zimbo’, which is generally held to be an abbreviation akin to Aussie or Kiwi without pejorative association, is likely to raise eyebrows.The ECB, who have been sent Yorkshire’s report in recent days after several month’s delay, are currently reviewing the information.

Shoaib Malik singlehandedly carried Central Punjab through the second half of their innings as they defeated Sindh by 12 runs via the DLS method to move into third place. Central Punjab elected to bat and lost Babar Azam and Muhammad Akhlaq inside five overs. Malik joined Ahmed Shehzad at that point and the pair added 42 for the third wicket before Shehzad fell in the 11th over to leave them 71 for 3. From that point onwards, only one Central Punjab batter got into double-figures – Hasan Ali who made 12 off four balls. Abrar Ahmed and Rumman Raees shared seven wickets to peg Central Punjab back. But despite the bowling dominance at the other end, Malik managed to not only bat through to the end of the innings, but helped add 98 from the point of Shehzad’s wicket, eventually finishing unbeaten on 85 off just 47 balls as they posted 168 for 8. He hit eight fours and five sixes.Sindh began their chase with speed, openers Khurram Mansoor and Sharjeel Khan adding 48 in 4.4 overs before the former fell to Sameen Gul. Shan Masood kept the pace up as well, getting Sindh to 76 for 2 when he fell in the eight over. But from there, Sindh collapsed against the offspin of 18-year-old Qasim Akram to fall to 110 for 6. Those wickets eventually came back to haunt them as the match had to be decided by the DLS method.

India are set to host New Zealand, West Indies, Sri Lanka and South Africa over the next nine months as part of the 2021-22 home season, for a total of four Tests, three ODIs and 14 T20Is spread from November 2021 to June 2022.Stretching a jam-packed home season to June is a rare occurrence considering it is month of extreme heat and the onset of monsoon in different parts of India. But it is a direct consequence of the IPL becoming a 10-team tournament from the 2022 edition as two new franchises will be announced in October by the BCCI.The home series announced were all part of the Future Tours Programme (FTP) for the 2018-23 cycle, but the final schedule has come with one change: Sri Lanka will now play two Tests instead of three, as originally planned, and three T20Is in February-March 2022. The Tests will start on February 25 (Bengaluru) and March 5 (Mohali), and the three T20Is on March 13 (Mohali), March 15 (Dharamsala) and March 18 (Lucknow).The tours of New Zealand and West Indies remain as scheduled.Only three days after the T20 World Cup final on November 14 in Dubai, New Zealand will play the first T20I in Jaipur, followed by two more on November 19 (Ranchi) and 21 (Kolkata), and then the two Tests starting November 25 (Kanpur) and December 3 (Mumbai).ESPNcricinfo Ltd

West Indies are slotted to play three ODIs on February 6 (Ahmedabad), February 9 (Jaipur) and February 12 (Kolkata) and as many T20Is, on February 15 (Cuttack), February 18 (Visakhapatnam) and February 20 (Thiruvananthapuram).Only five days after that series ends, Sri Lanka will play the first Test in Bengaluru.South Africa will play five T20Is in June 2022, covering for the ODIs that were abandoned last year because of the Covid-19 pandemic. That three-match series had to be postponed after the first ODI in Dharamsala, which had been abandoned because of rain. The BCCI has now decided to replay that tour as a T20I series on June 9 (Chennai), June 12 (Bengaluru), June 14 (Nagpur), June 17 (Rajkot), and June 19 (Delhi).Between the Sri Lanka and South Africa series, the BCCI will also slot in the IPL, this time with 10 teams, which could further extend the duration of the tournament. Also, soon after New Zealand leave India in December, India are scheduled to tour South Africa for three Tests, three ODIs and four T20Is; that tour will go on from December 17 to January 26, without taking travel and quarantine dates into account.The 14 T20Is and another T20 World Cup in Australia next year mean India’s next T20I captain after Virat Kohli will have his hands full. India will also play another three T20Is, along with as many ODIs, in England next summer.

On the win: ‘We had the belief that we could get them out in those 60 overs’
“Super proud of the whole team, the way we stuck to our plans in this Test match after being put in. Our performance with the bat was outstanding. The pitch didn’t offer much [to the bowlers] in the first three days to be honest. I think the first day was most challenging [for the batters], after that it was quite difficult for the bowlers to gain anything from the track but I think the way we played in the second innings, after being put under pressure this morning, Jasprit and Shami, was absolutely outstanding.”We thought 60 overs to go, we could have a crack at the result, and we had the belief that we could get them out in those 60 overs. I think the bowlers were just outstanding and what happened in our second innings, right at the end with the bowlers, a bit of tension on the field [and needle between the teams] really helped us and really motivated us to finish this game.”On lower order’s contribution with bat: ‘They have that desire in them to do the job’
Just to applaud what Jasprit and Shami did… It takes a lot of character and heart to play under those circumstances as bowlers who don’t get much to bat, and just putting their hand up for the team when we needed it most, it was something that we were really proud of and we want to let them know. They were charged up and both took the new ball and got us two breakthroughs as well, which were very crucial for us.”When we were our most successful in Test cricket for a year and a half, our lower order was contributing big time and that’s something that we went away from a little bit when we play away from home. So that was one of our focuses, the batting coach has really worked hard with the boys and they are putting in the hard work. Most importantly when they walk out to bat, they believe that they can stay there and give some runs for the team. I think that belief was missing [before]; we were practising but now they have that desire in them to do the job for the team and we know how priceless those runs are and that proved to be the case even today as well.”Comparing this victory to the 2014 Lord’s win: ‘What happened on the field really charged us up’
“I was part of the winning Test match last time when I was a player under MS [Dhoni]. That was pretty special as well, Ishant bowled an outstanding spell. In that game, we put them under pressure on day four itself.”But this one, to get a result in 60 overs, when we all thought let’s just have a crack at what we have in front of us… It’s quite special and especially when someone like Siraj is playing for the first time at Lord’s and bowling the way he did, [it] was outstanding. As I said, what happened on the field [the verbals] really charged us up and gave us that extra motivation to finish the game off.”On the timing of the declaration: ‘I thought anything under 55 doesn’t sound right’
“It was more a case of ‘what’s the number of overs we are comfortable with’. I thought anything under 55 doesn’t sound right, I don’t want to walk off the field later thinking ‘what if we had four or five more overs left with us’. We decided, okay, 60 is our mark, and we are going to have a crack at them in 60 overs but, as I said, the crucial breakthroughs with the ball were the right start for us and we carried on from there.”We have three more games to go, our aim is five Test matches. We are not going to sit on our laurels after this match and just take it easy. If at all, we going to get more intense and more precise in what we do in the next three games.”

South Africa have confirmed their tour to Sri Lanka for three ODIs and as many T20Is during September. All six matches will be played at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, with the series starting with the first ODI on September 2 and ending with the third T20I on September 14.”We are delighted to have another tour confirmed for the Proteas men’s team with the ICC T20 World Cup just around the corner,” CSA’s acting CEO Pholetsi Moseki said. “Playing against quality opposition in the sub-continent is the best way for our team to prepare for this event and we are grateful to Sri Lanka Cricket for accommodating us during this time of the year where schedules are highly condensed.”

South Africa’s tour of Sri Lanka

• First ODI: September 2

• Second ODI: September 4

• Third ODI: September 7

• First T20I: September 10

• Second T20I: September 12

• Third T20I: September 14

The last time South Africa played a bilateral series in Sri Lanka was in 2018, which included five ODIs and a solitary T20I apart from two Tests. While South Africa had won the ODI series 3-2, Sri Lanka took the only T20I on the tour. This time, they would be playing three T20Is, which would mean better preparation for the T20 World Cup in the UAE in October.”With an ICC white-ball world event in each year of the next three, game time is golden for every team and we are looking forward to watching our team play as they continue to add to the building blocks of their 2021 T20 World Cup preparation”, Moseki added.The teams had also faced off earlier in the year when Sri Lanka played two Tests in South Africa, where the hosts triumphed in both matches in Centurion and Johannesburg.

Sri Lanka batter Bhanuka Rajapaksa has been fined $5000 for a breach of contract and is essentially on probation for two years, having been handed a one-year ban as a suspended sentence. SLC dealt out these punishments for breaching “the obligations of Player Contract 2019-2020 while appearing in social and other media interviews”, according to an official release.Rajapaksa has been publicly protesting his continued omission from Sri Lanka’s major teams, most recently suggesting he should have been part of Sri Lanka’s squad for the tour of England. This even prompted a response from head coach Mickey Arthur, who told the newspaper that although Rajapaksa had “superb hitting ability”, he had been omitted because of substandard fielding, and poor fitness and weight management.”Bhanuka failed the skinfold test and went home without doing the rest of the tests. This just shows me the attitude and the shortcuts he is looking to take,” Arthur said. “We are building a culture of pushing the players to be the best they can be. We want our best players on the field. He would be in our T20 squad. However, at the moment, his skinfold numbers have gone up and he has got to work on it.”Despite the punishments, Rajapaksa has been included in the biosecure bubble training squad that may be picked from, for the forthcoming series against India.

A brilliantly-measured partnership between Jordan Cox and Jack Leaning steered Kent Spitfires to a 16-run win over Middlesex in their Vitality Blast match at Canterbury.The hosts were wobbling on 47 for 4 before Cox and Leaning both made 64, helping them recover to 178 for 8, despite a hat-trick for Chris Green, who took 5 for 32.Luke Hollman countered with a high-class 51 off 33 balls, but the visitors lost wickets too frequently to seriously threaten the hosts and finished on 162 for 8.Middlesex’s decision to field after winning the toss initially seemed vindicated when Blake Cullen took wickets with the last two balls of the third over, after he’d been hit for 13 off the previous four by Daniel Bell-Drummond, before the Kent skipper skied the fifth and was caught by Eoin Morgan at mid-off for 15.Joe Denly slashed at the next ball and fell to a diving catch by John Simpson for 10 and in the next over Ollie Robinson edged Steven Finn and was caught behind for 8, leaving Kent on a modest 42 for 3 at the end of the powerplay.Green had Alex Blake stumped off a wide for six, but Cox and Leaning responded with a cleverly-paced stand of 123, marked by smart running between the wickets and a well-timed acceleration that saw the last five overs produce 64 runs.Green’s final over saw Cox caught by Max Holden, a two, a six and then a hat-trick. Leaning was caught by Morgan, Darren Stevens stumped off his first delivery and Milnes caught by Bamber.Middlesex’s reply got off to a disastrous start. Stevie Eskinazi was caught behind off Denly for 4 and Paul Stirling skied James Logan’s first delivery to Blake for a duck. Holden got a bottom edge to Stevens and was caught behind for 10, Simpson played a horrible shot to Leaning and was caught by Cox for 4 and Eoin Morgan cut Stevens to Bell-Drummond and was out for 27.Stevens then bowled Green for 16 and although Nathan Sowter offered some late resistance with an unbeaten 31, when Fred Klaassen had Hollman caught by Blake off the final ball of the penultimate over, it left Middlesex needing 25 off six, a task that finally proved beyond them when Cullen holed out to Milnes and was caught by Blake for 4