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• Matthews hopeful Windies can bounce back against Scotland on Sunday

  After an undesirable start to their Women’s T20 World Cup campaign, West Indies Women’s captain Hayley Matthews is hopeful that her team can turn around their fortune and possibly challenge for a spot in the semi-final.

  Matthews’ optimism follows their 10-wicket hammering by South Africa in their opening fixture in Dubai on Friday.

  In that contest, Matthews believes her team failed to properly acclimatize to the conditions, as they mustered a meagre 118 for six in their 20 overs. South Africa, led by half-centuries from Laura Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits, then made light work of the target at 119 without loss in 17.5 overs.

  However, with Scotland being the Caribbean side’s next assignment on Sunday morning, Matthews says they will have to pick up the pieces and bounce back.

   “Obviously a pretty disappointing game (against South Africa). Firstly, not scoring enough runs on the board, and we would have liked to have taken a few wickets and at least put up a bit more of a fight in the second innings,” Matthews said.

  “But with a game in two days’ time, we’re going to have to get things back together quickly and pick up the pieces and go again,” she added.

  Reflecting on the outcome against South Africa, Matthews felt her team was undone by challenging conditions.

  “It’s pretty hot here in Dubai. I’d probably have to say the hottest place I’ve ever played cricket or even been, and that’s someone coming from the West Indies. It’s definitely been some difficult conditions. We’ve been here for about two weeks, thankfully, and we’ve been able to acclimatise as much as we possibly can to conditions like this,” Matthews shared.

  She continued: “I think we came down here expecting some pretty good wickets. We’ve camped here quite a bit when we went to Pakistan in April, and we tend to spend some time down here training, so we knew what the ICC Academy grounds were like, and those were pretty decent wickets early.

  “It wasn’t a bad wicket. South Africa showed you can really bat on a wicket like that and even us in parts. Stafanie Taylor was able to take charge of the game as well throughout the middle. I don’t think the conditions surprised us too much. We probably just didn’t adapt to them as well.”

  Matthews also addressed concerns surrounding Zaida James, who was hit in the face, and Taylor, who appeared to be cramping and had difficulty running between the wickets.

  “For Zaida, it was pretty much just a knock on her face. I think the seam might have hit her in the face, so she was in a bit of discomfort. There’s a bit of swelling around her jaw, but she’s a tough girl, so hopefully it’s just one of those knocks that you get on the field, and hopefully she’ll be able to be out on the field for the next match,” Matthews noted.

   

• Stokes out of first Pakistan Test through injury

  England captain Ben Stokes is out of their first Test against Pakistan having failed to recover from a hamstring tear in time.

  Stokes suffered the hamstring injury in August playing in The Hundred and has not played since, missing England's three-match series against Sri Lanka last month.

  England said last week that the 33-year-old was "on track" to participate in the tour and trained away from the rest of the team in their first session.

  Stokes confirmed he will miss the first Test, which begins on Monday in Multan, and Ollie Pope will continue to deputise as captain in his absence.

  "I tried my hardest to get myself fit for this game but have taken the call to miss this one because I've not quite managed to get game-ready," Stokes told BBC Sport.

  "There is a lot that has to go into my rehab programme. We got to a certain point, but looking at the picture of what we've got coming up and physically where I'm at, I'm not quite ready to play.

  "It's always frustrating to miss out. I've got some good things to focus on, so even though I'm not playing, I've got a goal in mind."

  The second Test starts on October 15, but the all-rounder admitted he was not sure whether that was a realistic target for his return.

  "I've pushed myself incredibly hard and worked really hard with the medical team to get to where I'm at now. I think I'm further ahead than what we expected," he added.

  "I'll be working just as hard over the next 10 days to try to get myself fit for the second Test."

  In his absence, Durham seamer Brydon Carse will make his England Test debut.

  He has previously played 19 ODIs and four T20s for England and will make his red-ball bow just over a month after completing a three-month ban for historical gambling offences.

  England XI for first Test against Pakistan: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (captain), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Bryson Carse, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir.

• Warriors through to final after dominant eight-wicket win over Royals un Qualifier 2

  Reigning champions Guyana Amazon Warriors booked their spot in the 2024 Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) final by inflicting an eight wicket defeat over Barbados Royals in Providence. 

  Imran Tahir won the toss and decided to field first, himself and his fellow bowlers working as a well oiled unit to restrict and run through the Royals who eventually posted a total of 148 runs. 

  The Royals batting card was full of starts but no one grabbed the innings by the scruff of the neck and went on to post a decisive score as wickets continued to fall. Quinton de Kock chipped a simple caught and bowled chance back to Gudakesh Motie and Romario Shepherd picked up the key wicket of Rahkeem Cornwall with a reviewed lbw decision that went the Warriors way. 

  Cornwall was looking in fine form and the reversal of the on field decision put the Royals under real pressure that they never really recovered from. 

  The Warriors bowling line up shared the wickets between them, Shepherd finishing with 3/35 and Moeen Ali once again bowling a decisive spell with the ball in hand, spearing in 13 dot balls and picking up two wickets to end with 2/24 for his efforts. Some chaotic running in the scrabble for late runs also saw two run outs as the Royals innings spluttered to a close. 

  The Warriors set about the total with confidence and managed to win the match and secure their place in Sunday's final inside 15 overs. Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Moeen Ali flayed the ball to all parts at the top of the order, Gurbaz departing for a rapid 40 off 18 balls with four sixes and Ali finishing unbeaten on 44 off 35 balls to cap a fine all round performance in a crucial match. 

  Shai Hope made a classy half century before being yorked by Ramon Simmonds with just two runs needed for victory, Player of the Match Moeen Ali clipping the decisive single off his pads just a couple of balls later to land the telling blow. 

  The winning run struck with 33 balls left unused saw the Barbados Royals title hopes left in tatters and Guyana Amazon Warriors cruising to a comprehensive victory that gives them an opportunity to land back to back CPL titles. Saint Lucia Kings lie in wait in what promises to be an enthralling end to the 2024 competition.