Andre Russell pledged to arrive at next year's T20 World Cup "looking like a UFC fighter" after his comeback series for West Indies culminated in a four-wicket win over England in Thursday's decider at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Trinidad.
Russell returned to international cricket having last represented West Indies at the 2021 T20 World Cup in the UAE.
The 35-year-old was not in the regional team’s plans for last year's T20 World Cup in Australia, when selector Desmond Haynes said that West Indies had "moved on" from him, but won a recall after confirming his availability.
He was West Indies' leading wicket-taker in the series, largely bowling at the death, and scored at a strike rate of 169.35 with the bat.
"It means a lot, to be honest, getting the call-up to come back and to join the West Indies team," he told TNT Sports.
"I've been working for the last two years, waiting on a call-up. I'm just excited to be back and have a win," Russell said, highlighting the role that Daren Sammy has played in his return.
"The coach has been backing me a lot. I'm so happy. I feel like I've won a big, big championship with just a series win, that's how much it means to me."
Russell arrived in the Caribbean immediately after playing in the Abu Dhabi T10, and said that the long-haul flight across the world had affected his performance after impressing in the series opener.
"I was coming from Abu Dhabi where it's a big time difference," he said.
"Flying back into Barbados I tried to stay up as late as possible to make sure that I get enough sleep so that I can [be] fresh for the game.
“When I got to Grenada, I just couldn't sleep. I start feeling sleepy at 6am in the morning, which would be the time that I would sleep in Abu Dhabi. Fans won't know that, but I still get the pressure and the backlash and all of that. It just makes me stronger. I love my Caribbean fans and I know they are passionate about the game, and when we're messing up, they will be on our backs.
I want to make sure that I do the necessary recoveries, drink a lot of coconut water and get my body right - massages, and all of that. That's what I did to really be able to come in the last game, bowl three overs for 30-odd runs [37] - and then today was exceptional from all the bowlers."
Russell hopes to be part of West Indies' squad for the T20 World Cup in June, when they will attempt to become the first men's team to win the trophy for a third time.
"I'll be in better shape, to be honest: I'll be looking like a UFC fighter," he said. "This series win means so much. It [makes me] want to push myself to the limit."
He is due to play in the ILT20 and the IPL early next year, and said: "I have a lot of cricket to play and that's good. When you're playing cricket and in competition, your body is active and you're not just sat at home waiting for the World Cup. We are definitely going to give some teams a good, good run for their money in the World Cup."
IPL: Yadav century ends Mumbai's losing streak in style
Suryakumar Yadav scored an unbeaten century to lead Mumbai Indians to a seven-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League on Monday.
Yadav hit a sensational 102 not out off 51 balls with six maximums as Mumbai successfully chased a target of 174 with 16 balls to spare, lifting them off the foot of the table.
Despite a slow start to the Indians' innings in which SRH took three wickets in the first five overs, Yadav’s introduction turned things around as he put on a partnership of 143 with Tilak Varma (37 not-out).
Sunrisers had started well, with Travis Head reeling off a quick 48, but Piyush Chawla (3-33) and Hardik Pandya (3-31) limited Hyderabad to 173-8, with Anshul Kamboj claiming his maiden IPL wicket by bowling out Mayank Agarwal.
Pat Cummins finished with a flurry, knocking 35 runs from 17 balls, and the Australia captain helped SRH put the Indians on the ropes when he dismissed Rohit Sharma in the fourth over.
Yet Mumbai would lose only one more wicket as Yadav inspired them to victory that snapped a four-match losing run.
Data Debrief: Yadav star of the show
This was Yadav's first IPL hundred of the season, with his knock including 18 boundaries (12 fours, six sixes), taking him up to 334 runs so far this campaign.
He is 16th in the overall rankings, and some 108 runs behind leader Virat Kohli.
Matthews among nominees for ICC Women’s Player of the Month award for April
West Indies Women’s Captain Hayley Matthews has been named among three nominees for the ICC Women’s Player of the Month for April.
A past winner of the award and current holder of the ICC Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year, Matthews is another top-ranked performer to have grabbed headlines in April.
The 26-year-old skipper piled on the runs in her six outings for the West Indies, notching two brilliant ODI centuries followed by back-to-back half-centuries in the T20I contests against Pakistan.
Alongside her 451 runs in April, Matthews also flourished with the ball, taking 12 wickets; six in the ODI matches at an average of 14, and six more in the T20Is at 10.50.
Matthews’ competition for the award are South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt and Sri Lanka’s Chamari Athapaththu.
The South African opener is looking to claim her maiden Player of the Month award in what is her fourth nomination, and is a strong contender after another historic series of displays in April.
Wolvaardt started the month with a half-century in the final T20I contest against Sri Lanka before carrying her excellent form into the ODI series.
Her innings of 41 in the first match preceded an emphatic 110 not out in the second to claim a vital win, but the 25-year-old saved her best score for the last game, blasting a national record score of 184 in 147 balls only for South Africa to be outdone by the brilliance of Athapaththu.
Athapaththu, last year’s ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year, continued her dominance in the 50-over format, reclaiming the top spot in the ICC Women’s ODI Batting rankings after a stellar showing in April.
Records tumbled for the Sri Lanka skipper, thanks to a sparkling unbeaten 195 in Potchefstroom against South Africa as the tourists won in a record run chase.
258 ODI runs was complemented by 148 runs in T20Is, which included two half-centuries in South Africa, plus another against Scotland in the ongoing Women’s T20WC Qualifier in Abu Dhabi, where Sri Lanka eventually sealed their qualification thanks to semi-final success on Sunday.
Knight Riders dispatch Super Giants to move top of IPL
Kolkata Knight Riders moved to the top of the Indian Premier League courtesy of a 98-run victory over Lucknow Super Giants.
Sunil Narine hit a sensational 81 from 39 balls, and he was ably supported by Ramandeep Singh's 25 from six deliveries, as KKR reeled off a third straight win on Sunday.
Ramandeep enjoyed a great day in the field too, as he took one of the catches of the season as LSG managed just 137 in response to KKR's 235.
Phil Salt struck 32, but it was fellow opener Narine who did the damage for KKR.
Ravi Bishnoi eventually ended his stand, but only when KKR had reached 140. Angkrish Raghuvanshi (32) had to be substituted out, but Shreyas Iyer added a useful 23 before Ramandeep hammered 25 from just an overs' worth of deliveries.
KL Rahul (25) and Marcus Stoinis (36) tried to get Lucknow going either side of Ramandeep's spectacular catch to dismiss Arshin Kulkarni, but the Super Giants never set the pace to truly trouble Kolkata.
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