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• Guyana Amazon Warriors crush TKR by nine wickets on route to historic first CPL title

  It was a historic night at Providence as Guyana Amazon Warriors won the 2023 Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) final with a nine-wicket victory over the Trinbago Knight Riders, ensuring a maiden CPL title for the franchise.

  Guyana Amazon Warriors won the toss and chose to bowl first, producing a disciplined performance to bowl the Knight Riders out for just 94. Imran Tahir and Gudakesh Motie produced valuable economical spells, while Dwaine Pretorius took four wickets.

  It was a nervy chase from the Amazon Warriors in front of a home crowd as the Knight Riders tried to restrict runs with spin. However, Saim Ayub and Shai Hope, the two leading run scorers in CPL this season, would ultimately see the team over the line, winning by nine wickets.

  Despite a 24-run opening stand between Chadwick Walton and Mark Deyal, the Knight Riders lost wickets at regular intervals, with three falling to seam bowling in the Powerplay, including key batter Nicholas Pooran for just one.

  Captain Kieron Pollard would fall straight after the Powerplay, as spin began to play a vital role, with Motie and Tahir causing havoc, taking a combined four wickets between them and conceding just 15 runs in total.

  Keacy Carty would attempt to lead the resistance for the Knight Riders, but as he ran out of partners he found himself taking more risks, eventually falling to a brilliant Shimron Hetmyer catch. The Knight Riders would finish 94 all out.

  Guyana Amazon Warriors lost the early wicket of Keemo Paul, who was opening, which added tension to their chase. Knight Riders would deploy both Akeal Hosein and Sunil Narine in the Powerplay in an attempt to prise more wickets, but the Amazon Warriors would end the Powerplay on 29-1. 

  Saim Ayub and Shai Hope would show the form that has led to them leading the run scoring charts this season, combining to take the Amazon Warriors to victory, Ayub bringing up his half century with a six from the last ball of the chase, to take the Warriors to a maiden CPL title win.

   Scores: Guyana Amazon Warriors 99-1 (Ayub 52*, Hope 32*; Hosein 1-21) beat Trinbago Knight Riders 94 all out (Carty 38, Deyal 16; Pretorius 4-26, Motie 2-7) by 9 wickets.

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

• ECB set to publish response to damning report on discrimination in cricket

  The England and Wales Cricket Board will on Monday outline its attempts to create a more level playing field after a damning insight into the sport earlier this year.

  Following a two-year inquiry, the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC) reported racism, sexism, elitism and classism as “widespread and deep-rooted” within the sport in England and Wales.

  ECB chair Richard Thompson unreservedly apologised when the findings were published in June, making the pledge in a letter to ICEC counterpart Cindy Butts: “We will use this moment to reset cricket.”

  After 44 key recommendations were advanced, the ECB undertook a three-month consultation process to agree on a path of reforms and will later on today set out its actions to make cricket more inclusive.

  In the interim, the ECB has acted on one of the ICEC’s proposals by announcing the England women’s team would receive the same match fees as the men following a thrilling dual Ashes summer.

  A fresh £2million investment has also been ring-fenced over the next two and a half years for programmes aimed at engaging black and south Asian communities as well as state-educated children.

  Ebony Rainford-Brent’s African Caribbean Engagement Programme, the South Asian Cricket Academy and the MCC Foundation join long-term partners Chance to Shine and Lord’s Taverners in sharing the funding.

  Among other suggestions put forward by the ICEC are overall equal average pay at domestic level by 2029 and at international level by 2030 and a new regulatory body within 12 months, independent of the ECB.

  Butts said the report highlighted the “stark reality that cricket is not a game for everyone” but expressed confidence in the ECB’s leadership to bring about the change required.

  Among those to give evidence to the ICEC’s investigation was England men’s Test captain Ben Stokes, who read out a heartfelt and personally prepared statement on the day of the report’s publication.

  “I am Ben Stokes; born in New Zealand, a state-educated pupil who dropped out of school at 16 with one GCSE in PE,” he said.

  “I needed help with the spelling and grammar in this speech and I am currently sitting here as the England men’s Test captain.

  “It is clear there is so much more the game has to do and as players we really want to be a part of that to ensure this is truly a sport for everyone.”

  Heather Knight, the England women’s captain, said: “It’s been really sad to hear about anyone that’s not felt welcome in our game – nobody should be made to feel unwelcome in our sport.

  “This is a really important step for cricket, and cricket – having done this report – can really lead the way in terms of being more equitable, more diverse and more inclusive.”

• Warren Gatland won’t let Wales get carried away after thrashing Australia

  Warren Gatland says Wales will not start looking further down the track than necessary after they cruised into the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals with a record 40-6 win against hapless Australia.

  Wales made it three successive victories in Pool C, leaving Eddie Jones’ team close to group-stage elimination.

  Gatland’s men are guaranteed to top the group if they defeat Georgia next month, setting up a likely quarter-final clash against Argentina in Marseille.

  But Gatland said: “We haven’t looked past anything yet, it has been one game at a time.

  “Australia came into this game feeling confident about winning. We felt confident to produce a performance today. I thought we were clinical.

  “Our focus will be on Georgia, a team we lost against in the autumn (last year).

  “We need to rectify that and we need to make sure we don’t drop our standards. I think these players are well aware of that – they have worked incredibly hard.

  “We have put a lot of work in the last four months as a team together. We are a momentum team, we build on confidence in terms of performances.

  “Today was an outstanding performance in terms of what we wanted to achieve. We were blowing a bit at half-time, but I thought we went out and controlled the second half fantastically well.”

  Wales overcame the early loss of injured fly-half Dan Biggar to boss Australia in every key department and coast home through tries from scrum-half Gareth Davies, centre Nick Tompkins and captain Jac Morgan, while Biggar, who kicked an early conversion, saw his replacement Gareth Anscombe boot 23 points.

  It was Wales’ record win against Australia, overtaking a 25-point margin in 1975, and former England boss Jones will be left to face the music as the Wallabies lurch towards World Cup oblivion.

  On Biggar, Gatland added: “Dan has stretched his pec. I haven’t spoken to the medics, but I spoke to Dan and they are saying it is probably a couple of weeks.

  “We have got 13 days’ break before we take on Georgia, so that potentially rules him out of that match, just to recover. It’s not a significant injury, just a pec strain.”

  Anscombe, who landed six penalties, a drop-goal and conversion after going on for Biggar in the 12th minute, said: “We talked a lot this week about family and the people we care about.

  “We talk about the red wall, and to concede only six points against Australia is just remarkable.

  “Dan Biggar means so much to this team, and I knew I had to just come on and do my role, and that was all I was focused on.

  “The boys were really calm and we got off to a really good start. Our boys up-front were outstanding, they dominated the set-piece and I was just able to keep rolling forward.”