Jack Leach and Saqib Mahmood rescued England with a magnificent final-wicket stand after West Indies had made a dream start to the deciding Test at the Grenada National Stadium.

The tourists were deep in the mire on 114-9 after being put in by Kraigg Brathwaite in the third and final match of the series following draws in Antigua and Barbados.

Kyle Mayers (2-13) started the procession of wickets, with England in disarray after Jayden Seales (3-40), Kemar Roach (2-41) and Alzarri Joseph (2-33) ripped through the middle order.

But Leach (41 not out) and Mahmood (49) resembled top-order batters as they put on 90 before the seamer was dismissed by Jermaine Blackwood in the last over of the day in St George's, where England were all out for 204.

Zak Crawley gifted Mayers the first wicket, driving straight to Brathwaite at cover, and the same bowler had Root caught behind without scoring before Seales trapped Dan Lawrence lbw to leave England in trouble on 46-3 at lunch.

Things went from bad to worse for England as they lost three wickets without scoring a run, with Ben Stokes caught and bowled by Joseph misjudging a pull and Jonny Bairstow out for a duck after Alex Lees (31) nicked Roach behind.

Seales produced good pace to skittle Ben Foakes and Roach made a mess of Craig Overton's stumps with a quick delivery that nipped back significantly, reducing the tourists to 90-8.

Woakes (25) looked comfortable until he was bowled through the gate by Seales, but Leach and Mahmood settled in to turn the tide in unlikely fashion.

Leach was dropped by Mayers on 10 and John Campbell slipped a chance Mahmood offered up when he had 15, with the seamer adding insult to injury by launching the next ball from Mayers for six.

The runs continued to flow despite the second new ball being taken, but part-time spinner Blackwood bowled Mahmood just before the close to provide some relief for the flagging Windies.

Mayers makes big impact on his return

All-rounder Mayers got the nod ahead of spinner Veerasammy Permaul for his first Test of the year.

He justified his recall in quick time, seeing the back of Crawley before drawing an edge from Root with a scrambled seam getting the ball to nip away from the in-form England skipper.

Seales, Roach and Joseph also ran riot in the afternoon session to put England on the ropes before the tail wagged.

Leach and Mahmood haul England off the canvas

The Windies lost their way as Leach and Mahmood batted with a combination of tenacity and skill.

This was just the second time a number 10 and 11 were the two leading scorers in a Test innings, with the first pair being Tom Garrett and Edwin Evans for Australia versus England at the SCG way back in 1885. 

Playing in only his second Test, Mahmood bettered his best first-class score of 34 and fell agonisingly short of a maiden half-century. Leach faced 141 balls in his latest rearguard act.

Ravindra Jadeja knows he has "big boots" to fill after he replaced MS Dhoni as Chennai Super Kings captain.

It was the end of an era on Thursday as the defending champions announced that Dhoni had decided to relinquish the captaincy.

The former India captain has led CSK from the start of the IPL in 2008, guiding the franchise to four titles and losing five finals.

Dhoni lifted the trophy in Dubai last year after his side beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 27 runs in the final.

The 40-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman steps down just two days before the Super Kings start the defence of their title against KKR at the Wankhede Stadium.

India all-rounder Jadeja has been charged with the task of replacing Dhoni, who will continue to play for the franchise this season and beyond, and knows he will be a hard act to follow.

Jadeja said: "I'm feeling good. At the same time, I also need to fill in big boots, [Dhoni] has already set the big legacy so I need to carry [that] forward.

"I don't need to worry too much because he is here so whenever I have a question to ask, I'll definitely go to him.

"He'll be my go-to person. He was and still he is today, so I'm not worried too much."

It all comes down to this. After 14 days of Test cricket that has yet to produce a match-winner, Pakistan's home series against Australia will be decided on the final day in Lahore, and it could hardly be any more tantalisingly poised.

Australia opener Usman Khawaja delivered another classy century on Thursday, remarkably his fourth of the calendar year, as Australia posted 227-3 declared to set Pakistan a target of 351 for victory in the third and final Test.

The tourists would have wanted to make inroads into their opponents' top order before the close, but instead Pakistan reached 73 without loss from the 27 overs they faced after Australia's post-tea declaration.

It means Pakistan require a further 278 runs for victory and Australia need 10 wickets on day five at the Gaddafi Stadium, where something surely has to give.

Australia's men are unbeaten in their last seven Tests (W4 D3), and Pakistan have not lost any of their last five (W3 D2).

The Australians have been beaten only once by Pakistan in the last nine Tests between the sides, yet Pakistan have just a single defeat in their last 12 Tests at this ground, and that was against Sri Lanka all the way back in March 2002.

After draws in Rawalpindi and Karachi, this match looks ripe to produce a victory for one of the teams, but it could easily go either way.

Australia were 11-0 at the start of play and reached 96 without any loss when Shaheen Shah Afridi bowled David Warner for 51 with a sensationally good delivery. Khawaja kept going and anchored the innings with 104 not out, Marnus Labuschagne weighing in with 36 and Steve Smith passing 8,000 career Test runs in making 17.

Captain Pat Cummins declared early in the late-afternoon session, once the lead passed 350, but Abdullah Shafique (27 not out) and Imam-ul-Haq (42 not out) helped Pakistan to the close without any damage.

Shafique used up a life moments before the close when he edged spinner Labuschagne past the left hand of Smith at first slip, potentially a highly costly miss by the fielder.

Khawaja does it again

Khawaja, who was born in Pakistan, did not play a Test between matches against England in August 2019 and January of this year. It is testament to Australia's resources that they could afford to leave out a batter of his quality. The 35-year-old made 91 in the first innings of this match and surpassed that second time around.

He now has 751 runs in five Tests this year, far and away the most of anyone in Tests. Shafique is second on that list, with 397 runs and counting.

Record for Smith, but dropped catch sours his day

Australia would have ended the day on a high if Smith had clung on to the sharp chance from the penultimate delivery of the day. Shafique drove aggressively at Labuschagne, who drew the edge but saw the ball race away to the boundary rather than stick in Smith's claw.

Smith earlier reached his runs landmark in his 151st Test innings, the fewest of any batsman to have reached 8,000 Test runs.

The West Indies Women will, with fingers crossed, be hoping South Africa will defeat India and Bangladesh upset England, in the coming days after rain forced the abandonment of their match against South Africa at Basin Reserve on Wednesday night.

Steve Smith set a world record by reaching 8,000 Test runs on Thursday, as the Australia talisman became the batter to reach that total in the fewest innings.

Former captain Smith became the seventh Australian to reach the landmark figure, doing so in his second innings against Pakistan in Lahore.

The 32-year-old had reached 7,993 runs by making 59 in Australia's first innings, and he wasted little time in reaching his early target second time around.

A four off Hasan Ali took Smith through the 8,000 barrier in his 151st Test innings. That saw him beat the previous record of 152 innings to reach 8,000, set by Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara.

Australia reached tea on day four on 202-2, with Usman Khawaja unbeaten on 101 and Smith on 12 alongside him.

That gave the tourists a lead of 325 runs and raised the possibility of captain Pat Cummins declaring before the close.

The six Australia batters to reach 8,000 runs before Smith joined the club were Ricky Ponting, Allan Border, Steve Waugh, Michael Clarke, Matthew Hayden and Mark Waugh.

Ollie Robinson has been ruled out of England's series decider against West Indies after failing to recover from a back injury.

The Sussex seamer missed out on the drawn matches in Antigua and Barbados and will play no part in Grenada as England chase a first Test win in nine attempts.

England confirmed their squad on Wednesday, a day before the third Test begins, with Craig Overton recovering from illness to replace Matthew Fisher in the only change.

Robinson was unable to prove his fitness in a net session and skipper Joe Root is hopeful his team-mate can soon put his fitness issues behind him.

"Ollie wasn't as good as we would have liked or he was expecting himself," Root said prior to the squad announcement.

"It's just frustrating for him, as it is for me. He's working very hard but there's something that's nagging away at him.

"I'm not sure exactly of the medical prognosis. He's just got to keep on doing what he's doing and trust in time that he's going to get himself back.

"We all know how effective he has been and how good he's been in his short career up to now so the sooner we can get him back the better."

Root is 116 runs short of reaching 10,000 in Test cricket, a tally only Alastair Cook has previously reached among England players.

The 31-year-old hit centuries in the opening two Tests against West Indies but could not help his side to victory, something he is looking to put right in this winner-takes-all clash.

"I really hope we can take another step forward as a team and get across the line because there's been a lot of good stuff," he told reporters.

"We've played the majority of the cricket up to now and it would be a great way to end the tour. The most pleasing thing is we've not had a nightmare session that's cost us a Test.

"We've looked at each individual session and each hour and looked to win each and every one of them."

England are unbeaten in their last three away Test matches against West Indies, having lost each of the three games prior to that run.

Their most recent meeting at St George's was in April 2015, with England claiming a nine-wicket victory.

With players choosing to play in the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL) over representing their respective countries in Test cricket, West Indies batting legend Brian Lara is urging the International Cricket Council to take the necessary steps to address the vexing issue.

Over the past decade or so several West Indies players have dropped their ambitions of representing the West Indies at Test cricket for the IPL where they have earned millions of dollars. In more recent times, South Africa has been facing similar challenges.

Reports indicate that the Proteas could lose all their front line bowlers for the upcoming Tests against Bangladesh, increasing the prospect of Cricket South Africa fielding a much-weakened team for the series.

The situation has irked Lara, who played 131 Tests for the West Indies during which he scored 11,953 runs at a healthy average of 52.9. The Trinidadian believes a player’s country should take precedent.

“Playing for the country should come first,” said Lara, who is the strategic advisor and batting coach of the Indian Premier League franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad.

He was speaking during an interview with Sportstar when he also said Test cricket also provides chances for players to make a good living for players.

“Because I played for the West Indies, other opportunities opened up for me. It’s disappointing to see young cricketers leaving Test cricket. The ICC should come up with a rule stating a cricketer must play a certain number of games for his country before he can play in the Twenty20 leagues. Something needs to be done.”

West Indies legend, Sir Andy Roberts, has called for more aggression from the Caribbean fast bowlers ahead of the third and decisive Test against England, which bowls off in Grenada on Wednesday.

So far, bowlers have rarely managed to gain the ascendancy with the two previous pitches in Antigua and Barbados offering very little in the way of assistance.  In the previous Test, a total of 1,238 runs were scored, including a deflating 507 for 9 declared scored by England in the first innings.

If the West Indies are to break the deadlock on the back of two prior draws, Roberts believes the region’s pace bowlers must give more effort at the crease to unsettle the English batsmen.

“Aggressive doesn’t mean you have to be up in somebody’s face, but you can be aggressive in your approach, you can be aggressive in your steering because that’s one of the things I did. I never swore but when I looked at you and I see you turn away, then I say ‘yes, I have you because you can’t look me in the eye’, and that is what is required,” Roberts told the Good Morning Jojo Radio program.

“I see many West Indian fast bowlers going back to the days of Mervyn Dillion, Reon King, and when they get hit for boundaries they smile, they don’t get upset,” he added.

“The ball doesn’t come off the pitch faster than you release it, so if you’re a fast bowler then it means you’re a fast bowler, you can’t be a fast bowler and a fast-medium bowler. What is being taught today is line and length and bowl fourth and fifth stump outside the off stump, but instead of attacking the batsman, attacking the stumps, they are bowling outside of off stump, which is what they practice so sometimes it seems as though the coaches are at fault sometimes. In order to get the best out of the fast bowlers, you have to encourage them to bowl fast.”

Bangladesh cruised to a nine-wicket victory in Wednesday's third ODI at SuperSport Park to claim a first-ever series victory in South Africa.

South Africa levelled up the series last week, ending Bangladesh's four-game winning streak on the road in ODIs, but the tourists responded in style at Centurion.

Taskin Ahmed took five wickets to restrict the hosts to 154 all out and skipper Tamim Iqbal's unbeaten 87 ensured Bangladesh got the job done in 26.3 overs.

The Proteas, who had won nine of their 10 ODI matches against Bangladesh prior to this series, got off to a promising start and reached 46-0 but then lost all their wickets for just 108 further runs.

Openers Janneman Malan (39) and Quinton de Kock (12) raced to 46 off 40 deliveries, but the latter's resistance was halted by Mehidy Hasan Miraz.

Taskin got the wickets of Malan, Kyle Verreynne (9), David Miller (16), Dwaine Pretorius (20) and Kagiso Rabada (4) to finish with figures of 5-35 from nine overs.

Shakib Al Hasan also took two wickets, including the scalp of Temba Bavuma for just two, with Malan's knock proving to be the highest scoring for the home side.

Tamim set the tone in Bangladesh's chase with a 127-run opening stand with Litton Das (48), who fell just short of a half-century when he chipped Keshav Maharaj to extra cover

There was no stopping Tamim, though, as he remained unbeaten on 87 alongside Shakib (18no) to help Bangladesh ease to 156-1 and claim a famous victory.
 

Proteas taken to task

Taskin led the way for Bangladesh with a superb spell of fast bowling on his way to claiming a second five-wicket haul in ODIs.

His figures of 5-35 are the best of any bowler this series, as are the eight wickets he claimed, followed by six each for Rabada and Hasan.
 

Bangladesh on top of the world

With this routine victory, Bangladesh become only the second nation to win their first two men's ODIs at SuperSport Park after Pakistan.

The Tigers stay top of the World Cup Super League table as a result with 120 points from 18 matches, while South Africa are down in ninth on 49 points from 13 contests.

It is all to play for at the Grenada National Stadium as West Indies and England go in search of a Test series-clinching victory.

The Windies have dug in for draws under pressure on the final day in Antigua and Barbados.

England are bottom of the World Test Championship table, with the Windies directly above them as both sides strive to transform their fortunes in the longest format.

The tourists look set to be without seamer Ollie Robinson once again as he continues to struggle with fitness issues.

England have not won a Test series in the Caribbean for 18 years, but have undoubtedly made strides during this tour as they battle for the Richards-Botham Trophy.

Yet they are still without a win in eight matches in the longest format and have been unable to show the potency to dismiss West Indies twice when in a great position to take the lead in this series.

Kraigg Brathwaite was the Windies' hero at Kensington Oval, showing incredible application and skill in both innings.

The skipper batted for 710 minutes for his 160 in the first innings and dug in for an unbeaten 56 on the last day in Bridgetown to keep the series level.

England must produce some heat on the Spice Island if they are to head home with a 1-0 victory.

Brathwaite and Root leading by example

The Windies were indebted to opener Brathwaite in Barbados as he dropped the anchor in both innings on his home ground.

By facing 673 balls combined in his two obdurate knocks, the skipper set a record for the most deliveries faced by a West Indies batter in a single Test. Brathwaite has the more runs than anyone else in this series, scoring 304 at an average of 101.33.

Prolific England captain Joe Root has also been magnificent, racking up 284 - including two centuries - at an average of 71.

Overton set to return, unchanged squad for Windies

Craig Overton was ruled out of the second Test due to illness, but is set to get another opportunity with Matt Fisher expected to step aside.

Saqib Mahmood should also be unleashed on the Windies again after an excellent opening spell on the final day in Barbados, with spinner Matt Parkinson facing the prospect of missing out again and Robinson not fit.

West Indies named an unchanged squad after frustrating the tourists once again on the final day.

South Africa batter Zubayr Hamza has agreed a voluntary suspension after testing positive for a banned substance.

Cricket South Africa (CSA) revealed the 26-year-old had tested positive for Furosemide, which is not a performance-enhancing drug, on January 17.

Zubayr has since played for the Proteas against New Zealand in the first Test in Christchurch last month.

CSA said in a statement on Wednesday: "Cricket South Africa (CSA), the South African Cricketers’ Association (SACA) and Western Province Cricket Association (WPCA) today announced that Proteas player, Zubayr Hamza has tested positive for a prohibited substance under the International Cricket Council (ICC) anti-doping code. The positive test followed an ICC anti-doping test on the 17 January 2022.

"Zubayr is not disputing the positive test, is co-operating fully with the ICC, and has agreed to a voluntary suspension commencing immediately whilst written submissions are presented to the ICC.

"The positive test relates to the substance Furosemide, which is not a performance enhancing substance, and Zubayr has been able to identify how the substance entered his system.

"The process to follow will entail presenting evidence that there was no fault or negligence, or no significant fault or negligence on the part of Zubayr.

"CSA, SACA and WPCA are supporting Zubayr in this process, and will continue to do so until the matter is concluded."

West Indies all-rounder Hayley Matthews insists the team remains aware of the strong form of South Africa Women heading into Wednesday's crucial encounter but insists the unit can take encouragement based on recent head-to-head performances.

Finding themselves plagued with issues of inconsistency all tournament, the West Indies Women will face South Africa in a must-win encounter at Basin Reserve.  On the back of a devastating loss to previously winless Pakistan, the team currently finds itself in the last semi-final spot and must hope for other results to go their way.  The team has played one more game than England.

The South Africans have on the other hand been in solid form, with their only loss so far coming against top-ranked Australia, who are yet to lose a match.

“They’ve obviously been playing very good cricket.  The only team that has beaten them is Australia, but at the same time we have played a lot of cricket against South Africa over the last few months,” Matthews told the Mason and Guest radio program.

“We played them at home in a series last year and before coming here (World Cup) we had a pretty good series as well, unfortunately, we lost the series but if a few things had gone our way, the rain-affected it and stuff like that, it would have looked like a different result,” she added.

“We know they have some dangerous players and we know all of them really well, we know what we need to do in this match as well.  What’s going to be really important against them is getting some runs on the board.”

England batter Jason Roy has been given a suspended two-match international ban by the Cricket Discipline Commission.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) revealed Roy had admitted a charge of "conducting himself in a manner which may be prejudicial to the interests of cricket or which may bring the game of cricket, the ECB and himself into disrepute."

A disciplinary panel ruled that the opener had been in breach of ECB Directive 3.3, but did not specify what the matter relates to.

Roy has been given a fine of £2,500, which he must pay by March 31.

The 31-year-old pulled out of this year's Indian Premier League for personal reasons.

Roy had been due to play for new franchise Gujarat Titans in the competition, which runs from March 26 to May 29.

The powerful right-hander was last in action for the Quetta Gladiators in the Pakistan Super League a month ago.

West Indies T20 vice-captain Nicholas Pooran rose to fame in the shortest format of the game as a somewhat of a late-innings specialist, somebody whose role entailed coming in and hitting boundaries at the back-end of the innings.

In recent times, however, Pooran has embraced a new role at the top of the innings.  He recently explained how the roles differ.

“Massive difference. At three sometimes, if you come in in the powerplay, the ball is swinging, it's then just a matter of facing a couple balls and you basically have the freedom to execute your skills to maximize only two fielders being outside the circle,’” Pooran said in a recent interview with EspnCricinfo.

“Batting later and coming in the tenth or 15th over, it's about having that clarity in your execution, the skill and ability to perform in those different roles,” Pooran added.

He also emphasized the importance of being versatile as a T20 batsman.

“If you look around at international cricket, not many openers can finish an innings, so to me it's about being versatile and working on your skills to adapt. But it's definitely easier batting at the top of the innings than in the back end,” Pooran said.

In the West Indies' last T20 international series against India, Pooran scored three fifties in as many games batting at the number three slot.

He will hope to bring that versatility to the Sunrisers Hyderabad for the Indian Premier League which gets underway on March 26^th. Pooran’s Sunrisers open their tournament on March 29^th against the Rajasthan Royals.

Abdullah Shafique was closing in on another half-century at stumps on day two of the deciding Test as Pakistan made a strong start in reply to Australia's 391 all out at Gaddafi Stadium.

Cameron Green (79) and Alex Carey (67) frustrated Pakistan in the heat on Tuesday before Naseem Shah (4-58) and Shaheen Shah Afridi (4-79) prevented the tourists from going beyond 400 in Lahore.

Pat Cummins dismissed Imam-ul-Haq cheaply, but an unbroken stand of 70 between Shafique (45 not out) and Azhar Ali (30no) took Pakistan on to 90-1 at the close - trailing by 301 runs.

Carey and Green took Australia from 232-5 at the start of play to 320-5 at lunch, bringing up their half-centuries as the Pakistan attack toiled.

Nauman Ali ended a sixth-wicket stand of 135 by trapping Carey bang in front and Naseem cleaned Green up with an excellent delivery. 

Australia lost five wickets for 50 runs, with Afridi removing Mitchell Starc and making a mess of Mitchell Swepson's stumps after the impressive Naseem bowled Nathan Lyon.

Imam (11) was snared lbw by Cummins off balance in the 12th over of Pakistan's reply to end an opening stand of 20, while Shafique was fortunate to edge between Carey and Steve Smith in the slips.

Azhar clattered Lyon down the ground for six and Shafique ticked along nicely in great batting conditions.

Cummins wasted a review for an lbw shout against Azhar as Pakistan put a frustrating start to the day behind them.

Pakistan's young pace duo fire after Carey and Green stand

Green and Carey gave Australia just the start they were looking for, but Pakistan's young pacemen fired in the afternoon session.

Teenager Naseem and 21-year-old Afridi bowled with a combination of pace and reverse swing as they cleaned up the tail in quick time.

Naseem was not selected for the second Test but he will surely be a mainstay for years to come, while Afridi has already proven he is a class act time and again.

Rock-solid Shafique 

The composed Shafique has been a revelation for Pakistan at the top of the order and the opener laid solid foundations once again.

Having made a 134 and 44 in the opening match of the series in Rawalpindi before falling four short of a century in the first innings in Karachi, Shafique will be eyeing three figures again.