Trinidad and Tobago Red Force recorded their fifth win in a row to end the preliminary round of the CG Insurance Super50 Cup with a perfect record and 20 points.
They had a comfortable six-wicket victory over Guyana Jaguars on Saturday night at Coolidge Cricket Ground in a top-of-the-table clash. Guyana, meanwhile, suffered their first defeat but remain in second place on 12 points from four matches.
Leg-spinner Imran Khan took a career-best five-wicket haul to bowl out Guyana for 187 after they were 106 without loss.
Playing his 50th List A match, Khan ran through the middle-order with a spell of 5-32, as the last nine wickets tumbled for 81 runs. He was named the CG Insurance Man-of-the-Match.
For Guyana, opener Chandrapaul Hemraj played some brilliant strokes as he reached 87 off 83 balls with six sixes, but was one of Khan's victims, as he tried to cut a ball that was too close and was well caught behind by Denesh Ramdin.
Then, under the lights, half-centuries from Jason Mohammed and Darren Bravo ensured Red Force finished the job as they reached 189-4 in the 41st over.
Mohammed scored an unbeaten 82 off 114 balls with eight boundaries. In the process, he reached 2,000 runs in the 50-over format for Trinidad and Tobago.
Left-hander Bravo, who was stand-in captain, also batted well and made 58 from 77 balls – his 36th half-century in the List A format. He hit six fours a six and calmly helped Mohammed add 112 in 23 overs for the third wicket.
“It feels great to get five wickets for my country, my first five-for in this tournament as well. I tried to keep it simple, that’s my style, and it worked for me. To win five out of five is just what we wanted. I know we will be ready for it (semi-finals). I see myself as someone to make a contribution in any way the team requires and always ready when the captain calls on me,” Khan said after the match.
Upcoming matches
Sunday: Barbados Pride vs Jamaica Scorpions at Coolidge Cricket Ground 1:30 pm (12:30 pm Jamaica Time)
Monday: Guyana Jaguars vs Windward Islands Volcanos at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium at 9 am (8 am Jamaica Time).
Root makes history as England dig in against Pakistan
Joe Root led England's fight against Pakistan as he scored an incredible century to become their all-time leading run-scorer in Tests on day three.
Despite their rocky start out in the field, England are firmly back in the contest thanks to Root and Harry Brook.
Root started the day on 32, picking up alongside Zak Crawley, with England at 96-1 as they began the long chase.
It looked like it might stall as Crawley was caught by Aamir Jamal for 78, but Ben Duckett (84), who was okay to bat despite injuring his thumb yesterday, steadied the ship once again.
Root made history with a sublime drive for a four, before then bringing up his 35th Test century as he batted through the intense heat to reach 176 not out.
When Jamal pinned Duckett for lbw, Brook arrived with his own century, getting 141 as England pushed to finish the day at 492-3, now only trailing Pakistan by 64 runs.
The tourists have never conceded as many as Pakistan's 556 and gone on to take a first-innings lead, but they have put themselves in a position to do just that on day four.
Data Debrief: History maker
Going into this Test, Root needed just 71 runs to overtake Alastair Cook's all-time record of 12,472, but he more than surpassed that.
At the end of day three, he is now on 12,578 in 147 matches, batting in 268 innings in total. His highest score in that time came against Pakistan (254), while his tally of 176 not out is his highest tally in the host country.
Root now has 35 centuries and struck 1,355 fours and 44 sixes.
Root surpasses Cook to become England's all-time leading Test run scorer
Joe Root has become England's record run scorer in Tests, overtaking Alastair Cook.
Root broke Cook's record of 12,472 runs when he moved onto 71 against Pakistan with a sublime drive for four.
That moved Root onto 12,473 runs, making him England's outright leading scorer in Test cricket.
The former Test captain, who made his debut in December 2012, has played 147 matches in the longest format, batting in 268 innings in total. He has been not out on 22 occasions.
His high score is 254, which came against Pakistan.
By the time he hit his record-breaking boundary, Root had plundered 34 centuries, 65 half-centuries and struck 1,349 fours and 44 sixes. He has been dismissed for a duck 12 times.
He has scored more runs against India (2,846) than against any other team, with Australia (2,428) his next favourite opponent. Root's high score in 55 innings against India is 218.
In comparison, Cook ended his illustrious career with a Test average of 45.35 and a high score of 294, which came against India, who he scored 4,431 runs against in total.
However, Australia were Cook's favourite team to bat against when it came to run scoring – he tallied up 2,493 against them, albeit his highest average came against West Indies (57.96 – 1,739 runs scored total in 35 innings).
Cook, who hit just 11 sixes but struck 1,442 fours, batted for 291 innings across 161 matches, and has gone unbeaten on 16 occasions. His strike rate was 46.95, while he hit 33 centuries and 57 half-centuries. He was only dismissed for a duck nine times.
Australia move to two from two with comprehensive win over New Zealand
Australia became the only unbeaten team in Group A of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 with an impressive 60-run win over New Zealand on Tuesday.
The defending champions made an imposing 148 for eight in Sharjah despite Amelia Kerr's four for 26.
In reply, Megan Schutt took three for three runs from 3.2 overs, dismissing Kerr for 29 before getting the final New Zealand wicket as they crumbled to 88 all out.
Having chosen to bat first, Australia skipper Alyssa Healy followed successfully overturning an lbw decision, by hitting 11 runs off Fran Jonas to also pass 3000 T20I career runs.
A fourth boundary for Healy came in the final over of the powerplay before she was caught by Georgia Plimmer for 26.
From there, Ellyse Perry slowly built the Australian innings alongside Beth Mooney, with the former surviving being dropped on the boundary while on four.
The partnership ended in the 12th over as Mooney was unable to carry her bat for a third successive T20 World Cup game, departing for 40 with Australia at 86 for two.
Perry began to motor on as she passed 2,000 T20I runs before she was dismissed for 30 to be Kerr’s second wicket of the day.
Kerr took her third with the very next ball as she bowled Grace Harris through the gate with a googly, to mark the power-hitter's return from injury with a duck.
Rosemary Mair, Lea Tahuhu and Brooke Halliday each got the chance to bowl before Kerr could attempt to achieve a hat-trick, with Halliday dismissing Phoebe Litchfield for 18 to continue her fine run of form against Australia.
Kerr’s googly on the hat-trick ball did not deceive Georgia Wareham but she got another wicket two balls later, as Tahuhu held on to a firm shot from Wareham to leave Australia teetering at 129 for six.
Ashleigh Gardner and Annabel Sutherland departed in the final two overs as Australia progressed to a total of 148, comfortably the highest score made at Sharjah in this World Cup.
The White Ferns’ opening partnership of Plimmer and Suzie Bates impressed in the powerplay of their win over India, but the partnership lasted only 14 balls this time around before Plimmer was out.
The youngster was bowled by Schutt, who became the outright most successful bowler in ICC Women’s T20 World Cups with 44 wickets.
Kerr and Bates rotated the strike well without worrying Australia as the required run rate climbed to 8.57 at the end of the powerplay.
By the halfway stage of the innings, the run rate had grown further before a struggling Bates was bowled by Sophie Molineux for 20 from 27.
Kerr departed soon after before three wickets fell in five balls as Sutherland took two in two deliveries to see the White Ferns slump to 60 for six.
Sophie Devine departed for seven from 15 after attempting a big swing against Sophie Molineux. Schutt completed her big day with the final wicket of Eden Carson as New Zealand fell well short in Sharjah, all out for 88 in 19.2 overs.
Scores in brief
Australia v New Zealand, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Australia 148/8 in 20 overs (Beth Mooney 40, Ellyse Perry 30; Amelia Kerr 4/26, Brooke Halliday 2/16)
New Zealand 88 all out in 19.2 overs (Amelia Kerr 29, Suzie Bates 20; Megan Schutt 3/3, Annabel Sutherland 3/21)
Result: Australia win by 60 runs
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