West Indies Test captain Kraigg Brathwaite is expecting a strong performance from the team’s pace bowlers in Sri Lanka, despite conditions on the subcontinent tending to favour spin bowlers.

The last time the regional team faced Sri Lanka away, in 2015, it was the part-time spin of Brathwaite that stole of as the batsman claimed six wickets in an innings.  The frontline pace bowlers Kemar Roach (2), Jason Holder (3), Shannon Gabriel (1) failed to have a huge impact on the series, with the exception of Jerome Taylor who claimed 6 over two games.

Although the captain admits the surface is likely to favour spinners, Brathwaite is confident the Windies quicks will have a big role to play.

We haven’t been there as yet to see the surface but there’s always a role for the fast bowlers.  Shannon Gabriel really led the way in Bangladesh in the first Test, bowling with some good pace, then Kemar Roach getting an early wicket in the morning was very crucial.  Obviously, Jason wasn’t there but is always crucial.  So, I do believe that possibly there being spin-friendly pitches, I think the pace bowlers will do well.

“I can see them getting wickets.  It’s really about building pressure but seamers are very important and obviously, Shannon will bring some aggression and I look forward to seeing the guys operating.”

West Indies batting great Shivnarine Chanderpaul has been appointed batting consultant for the West Indies Rising Stars U19s squad for the upcoming High-Performance Camp in Antigua to prepare the team for the ICC U19s Cricket World Cup to be hosted in the Caribbean in January and February 2022.

 Chanderpaul, the most capped player in West Indies Test history, enjoyed an outstanding career during which he played 164 matches and made 11,867 runs at an average of 51.37.

 He is the most recent addition to Head Coach Floyd Reifer’s coaching staff and will be part of this preparation period, which runs from November 15 to 28 at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua.

“We want to welcome Shivnarine Chanderpaul to the Rising Stars U19s group and we look forward to him working with our young players at this critical stage in their development pathway,” said CWI Director of Cricket Jimmy Adams.

“Shiv has a tremendous amount of cricketing knowledge and know-how and he will be a great addition to the coaching staff. We already have another icon of the game in Sir Curtly Ambrose, who has been involved with the squad since the camp in August, as well as several other outstanding coaches.”

Meanwhile, the CWI selection panel has named 28 players for the camp that follows the previous camp and trial matches held in August. The squad includes two newcomers – Jaden Leacock, a right-arm fast-medium bowler and right-hand batter and Kevin Wickham, a right-hand batter and right-arm wrist spinner – who will be assessed by the coaches and selectors.

Robert Haynes, CWI’s Lead Selector for the West Indies Rising Stars U19s said he is looking forward to this next phase of the squad’s preparation.

“Having had a month-long camp in Antigua in August followed by the 18-man West Indies Under-19 squad tour of England, I am looking forward to seeing the continued progress and improvements of the various players as well as to interact with them to understand their thinking and approach to the game,” he said.

“The two-week camp will include four practice matches along with continued skills and physical development, and it’s an opportunity for all players invited to stake a claim for selection for the series at home and the ICC Under19 Cricket World Cup.”

The West Indies Rising Stars U19s are preparing for the prestigious ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup tournament, which will be hosted by CWI in the Caribbean from January 4 to February 3, 2022. Before the World Cup, West Indies are due to finalise their squad preparation with a five-match series at home. Further details will be announced once officially confirmed.

FULL SQUAD: Onaje Amory, Anderson Amurdan, Ackeem Auguste, Justin Beckford, Teddy Bishop, Carlon Bowen-Tuckett, Jaden Carmichael, McKenny Clarke, Rivaldo Clarke, Amrit Dass, Giovonte Depeiza, Nathan Edward, Andel Gordon, Sion Hackett, Justin Jagessar, Jordan Johnson, Kyle Kissoondath, Johann Layne, Jaden Leacock, Nicholas Lewin, Anderson Mahase, Matthew Nandu, Shaqkere Parris, Kelvin Pittman, Shiva Sankar, Vasant Singh, Isai Thorne and Kevin Wickham.

When the West Indies began their training sessions in Colombo on Thursday in preparation for their two-Test series against Sri Lanka later this morning, there were several areas of immediate focus for the players.

Among them, combatting the home side’s dangerous spinners.

Head Coach Phil Simmons, in his first media session on Thursday, revealed that successfully playing Sri Lanka’s spinners was high on their list of priorities like it was in Bangladesh where the West Indies emerged 2-0 winners over the home side in February.

“I think there will be a heavy dose of spin coming from them because we saw it when they played England they even opened the bowling with a spinner, so we are going to be focusing a lot on how we combat that spin with the new ball and then bat as normal after that because we played spin alright in Bangladesh,” Simmons revealed.

“We did what we had to do to score the runs we needed and to win the games, so we need to bring that same sort of mentality we had on that away tour and preparation today started like that.”

Doing well against Sri Lanka’s spinners, Simmons explained, could prove to be crucial to time the West Indies batsmen spend at the crease, rotating the strike and not losing wickets playing rash shots out of frustration at being bogged down.

That also will be something he and his players will pay some attention to, Simmons revealed.

Rotating the strike will be “definitely an area of focus, especially when you’re playing against quality spinners,” he said, “you have to continually change their mode, especially if we have left and handers at the crease so it is something that we are going to be discussing and putting into practice.”

The West Indies will play a four-day warm-up match in Colombo starting on Sunday, November 14 because they take on Sri Lanka in the first of two Tests beginning on November 21 at the Galle International Cricket Stadium.

The second Test is set to begin on November 29 at the same venue.

Former fast bowler Richard ‘Prof’ Edwards has called for Cricket West Indies (CWI) to take a radical approach to rebuild the fortunes of West Indies cricket, following a dismal showing at the ICC T20 World Cup.

Having entered the tournament as defending champions, the regional team crashed out of it after losing four of the five games played.  The team’s lone win came against Bangladesh and even more concerningly they were comfortably beaten in the rest of the matches.

The batting line-up, which featured the likes of experienced players Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Lendl Simmons, Andre Russell, and Dwayne Bravo was particularly disappointing as they never seemed to come to grips with the circumstances.

“At no time when you saw West Indies batting did they give any idea or feeling of permanence there.  The batsmen looked they were in a hurry to make shots, all the time looking for attacks.”

“When I compared how they batted with Finch and Warner of Australia for example, Rahul and Rohit for India, Williamson, and co in New Zealand and people like Babar Azam, it was looking like two different games altogether.  The class that those other players exuded when they were batting, it didn’t look like at any time we were going to stick around for very long,” he added.

In light of such a catastrophic failure, Edwards believes major changes are needed, perhaps even with the leadership of the unit.

“You have to come in and be fairly cold about what you want to do. You want to try and look at the team and the players.  How long they’ve been playing? Are they still producing?

“I would think that now you have to come in and be a little ruthless, look around and try to pick, but who are you going to pick?  Do you have the resources? Whatever it is, now is the time to build.  The supposedly experienced players never came to the party.”

New Zealand batsman Devon Conway has been ruled out of the T20 World Cup final after suffering a broken right hand.

The 30-year-old sustained the injury when he struck his bat in frustration after being dismissed in Wednesday's thrilling semi-final win over England in Abu Dhabi.

An X-ray on Thursday confirmed a break to the fifth metacarpal in his right hand.

Conway had been one of the Black Caps' stars in the win over England, striking 46 from 38 balls, but he will have to watch Sunday's clash with Australia from the stands.

He will also miss New Zealand's three T20Is in India following the final and two subsequent Tests against the same nation.

Coach Gary Stead said: "He's absolutely gutted to be ruled out like this at this time.

"Devon is hugely passionate about playing for the Black Caps and no one is more disappointed at the moment than he is, so we're really trying to rally around him.

"It looked a pretty innocuous reactionary incident on the field, but the blow obviously caught the bat between the glove padding, and while it's not the smartest thing he's done, there's certainly an element of bad luck in the injury."

Pakistan captain Babar Azam acknowledged that Hasan Ali's drop of Matthew Wade was crucial as Australia made it into the T20 World Cup final.

Mohammed Rizwan (67) led the way before fireworks from Fakhar Zaman (55 not out) guided Pakistan to 176-4 from their 20-over allocation in Thursday's semi-final.

Australia were then teetering on the brink in response when Glenn Maxwell was dismissed, leaving Aaron Finch's side 96-5 after 12.2 overs and requiring a further 81 off 46 balls.

However, Wade (41 not out) – who finished with three straight sixes after being dropped by Ali in the penultimate over – and Marcus Stoinis (40 not out) edged Australia to victory to tee up a final with New Zealand.

The result came as somewhat of a surprise given Pakistan coasted through Group 2 with five wins from their five games to set up the semi-final with Australia, who nudged through Group 1 on net run rate.

After the game, Babar pinpointed the missed chance – in which Ali dropped Wade on the deep-midwicket boundary from Shaheen Afridi's bowling – as the defining moment in a contest of fine margins.

"When you give teams like Australia a chance, they take the match away from you," Babar said post-match. "If that catch that Hasan Ali dropped had been taken, maybe the result would have been different.

"As a player, you have to be on your toes and avail any opportunity you get. We made a mistake and it cost us the match."

Pakistan's dominant performance up until the knockout stages included a historic 10-wicket victory over India and a five-wicket win over New Zealand, who succeeded against England in Wednesday's semi-final.

Babar pointed to his team's prior performances as he expressed his pride in Pakistan's efforts, despite Australia's lower middle order once again stunning them as they did in the 2010 T20 World Cup semi-final.

"The way we played the tournament and gelled together as a team, I am very satisfied with my team's efforts as captain," he continued.

"We'll try and learn from our mistakes and come back stronger. When you play a big tournament so well, it's good but you have to perform on the day. You can't relax in any department.

"We'll try and continue our efforts; how we performed gave us confidence and we'll try and build on from that.

"The roles we had defined for everyone, they executed brilliantly, and you saw that from us on the field. The way the crowd supported us was very enjoyable. We always enjoy ourselves here and I'm thankful to the fans back home for supporting us."

Aaron Finch lauded the depth of his Australia squad as they dug deep to beat Pakistan and advance to the T20 World Cup final, led by Matthew Wade's late show.

Australia were set 177 to win after putting Pakistan in to bat in Thursday's second semi-final.

"I was actually hoping I'd lose the toss and try to bat first on that wicket," captain Finch said afterwards. "I thought it would be nice to put a total on the board in the semi-final."

The Australia skipper was delighted with how his decision panned out, though, as his team followed New Zealand's example against England and chased down a daunting target with an over to spare.

Finch's men looked to be in trouble when they were reduced to 96-5 in the 13th over, having lost the captain for a golden duck as Pakistan made a rapid start.

But Australia have dangerous options right down their batting line-up and an unbroken partnership of 81 off just 41 deliveries between Wade (41) and Marcus Stoinis (40) stunned Pakistan.

"I thought we were actually pretty sloppy today. We dropped a couple of chances in the field, a couple of really, really tough ones, no doubt," Finch said.

"But I think it shows the depth of our team at the moment, which is really important. You need the support of all 17 players in your squad to get across the line. We played some really good cricket towards the back end."

Wade finished with three straight sixes immediately after being dropped by the hapless Hasan Ali, and he said: "When I got out there with Marcus, he was really confident we'd get them, even though I was a little unsure.

"He found the boundaries early on, and I was happy to chip in at the end. It got down to two a ball, and from there it was: if you got one in your arc, just try to hit it.

"It probably hasn't sunk in yet but I'm just happy I could contribute. I was out of the team a couple of years ago and I'm just glad I got an opportunity and repaid the faith."

Australia successfully executed another astonishing semi-final run chase to beat Pakistan by five wickets and join New Zealand in the T20 World Cup final.

New Zealand had stunned England in the first semi on Thursday, and Australia followed suit thanks to Matthew Wade's unbeaten 41 off 17, taking the match away from Pakistan just as they looked to be in the driving seat.

As in the encounter between the Black Caps and England, momentum swung back and forth in an epic at Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

Australia won the toss and decided to bowl, but David Warner and Adam Zampa each dropped early half-chances from Mohammad Rizwan, who capitalised to score 67 in building big partnerships with Babar Azam (39) and Fakhar Zaman (55 not out).

Zaman hit seven boundaries, including four sixes, off just 32 balls to ensure a big finish and a total of 176-4, and Pakistan were in the ascendancy as Shaheen Shah Afridi (1-35) then made a blistering start with the ball, removing Aaron Finch for a duck and seeing Mitchell Marsh survive only by umpire's call from the very next delivery.

But the depth of Australia's batting line-up kept them in with a shout as they were left with enough depth even after David Warner (49) fell to Shadab Khan (4-26).

A mammoth undefeated partnership of 81 off just 41 deliveries between Wade and Marcus Stoinis (40 no) got the job done, although it should have been halted by Hasan Ali, who dropped Wade off Afridi in the middle of the 19th over.

Wade's response was ruthless, sending the next three balls for six to complete an outstanding pursuit on 177-5 with six balls to spare.

Rizwan rockets to runs record

Babar – this stadium's leading T20I run scorer – already had four fifties at this tournament, a joint-record at a single T20 World Cup, and he looked on course for a new benchmark until Zampa intervened at the end of the 10th over.

Rather than slow Pakistan, though, that wicket set the stage for an innings-defining second-wicket stand from Rizwan and Zaman, who combined for 72 off 46, including 21 in the 17th over alone.

Zaman's big hitting caught the eye, but Rizwan's four sixes helped take him to 1,000 T20I runs in 2021. He is the first player to reach four figures in a single calendar year.

Hapless Hasan lets Wade win it

Shadab was a rare positive with the ball for Pakistan, becoming only the second bowler to take four wickets in a T20 World Cup semi or final after Ajantha Mendis' 4-12 in the 2012 decider. His bowling economy of 6.50 was far and away his side's best effort.

Even his other misfiring team-mates paled next to Hasan, who must have thought his evening could get no worse after giving up 11 runs an over after using his full quota.

But Hasan's attempts to make amends saw him make up good ground to get under a ball from Wade, only to run too far, let the chance slip through his hands and watch on in despair as the batsman took the tournament away from a previously unbeaten Pakistan side.

Azeem Rafiq described himself as "incredibly hurt" after England captain Joe Root said he could not recall witnessing racism at Yorkshire.

An independent report upheld former Yorkshire spinner Rafiq's allegations that he had been the victim of "racial harassment and bullying" during his time with the county.

Yorkshire carried out their own internal investigation following the findings of the report and concluded no conduct or action taken by any of its employees, players or executives warranted disciplinary measures.

The England and Wales Cricket Board last week suspended Yorkshire from hosting international and major matches in response to the club's "wholly unacceptable" handling of Rafiq's allegations of institutional racism.

Yorkshire batsman Root addressed the scandal in a statement on Friday, saying it had "fractured our game" and "torn lives apart".

However, in a subsequent media interview, the England skipper was asked if he had witnessed racism in his time at the county and replied: "Not that I can recall, no... but it's clear things have happened at the club."

Shortly after those quotes were released, Rafiq posted on Twitter: "Disappointed is not even the feeling. Incredibly hurt. But uncomfortable truths are hard to accept it seems."

He added no further comment or explanation, but it was reported Rafiq's post was in relation to Root's interview.

Mark Arthur, Yorkshire's CEO, resigned on Friday with immediate effect, following chairman Roger Hutton and other board members.

Australia's chief selector George Bailey has confirmed Marcus Harris will open in the first Ashes Test against England at the Gabba.

Harris only averages 23.77 from 19 Test innings, with the second of his two half-centuries coming against India in January 2019 after scoring his first in the same series.

The 29-year-old staked a strong claim by making a 19th first-class hundred for Victoria against New South Wales in the Sheffield Shield last month.

Bailey says Harris deserves his chance to open along with David Warner in the opening Test against England in Brisbane, which starts on December 8.

"It gives you great confidence as a selector when you know your opening batters are locked away as far as a Test series go," Bailey told RSN radio.

"It's a hard spot to bat and to get those places settle, it's really important. Harry's only had a limited opportunity in the past, and he's been in and out a bit, so we'd love nothing more than for him to hopefully to get an opportunity to get an extended run at it.

"What we have liked is his consistency. He's obviously been a prolific run-scorer at domestic level here, but also love the fact he went overseas and had a great year for Leicester as well."

Will Pucovski would have been a rival for Harris at the top of the order, but suffered another concussion setback.

Player of the Match Hayley Matthews took four wickets and Shamilia Connell, three, including a double-wicket maiden as the bowlers came to the rescue of the West Indies Women in the second ODI match against Pakistan Women in Karachi on Thursday.

Defending 153, the West Indies Women bowled Pakistan Women out for 116 inside 40 overs to win by 37 runs and take an unassailable 2-0 lead in their three-match ODI series.

Omaima Sohail top scored with 27 and Javeria Khan scored 24 but Matthews took 4-29 from her nine overs and Connell 3-18 from 9.2 overs as Pakistan Women slipped from 67-3 in the 25^th over losing their last seven wickets for 49 runs.

The hosts lost their last four wickets for just five runs with Connell being the main destroyer late with a double-wicket maiden in the 38^th over before Matthews picked up her fourth wicket in the 39^th. Connell then returned to wrap up proceedings when she bowled Anam Amin for a duck with the second ball of the 40^th over.

Earlier, having been sent to bat by Pakistan, the West Indies were bowled out for 153 in 45.4 overs.

Deandra Dottin, who scored a career-best 132 in the first ODI, top-scored with 34. Stafanie Taylor (23), Matthews (26), and Shemaine Campbelle (23) all got starts but failed to carry on against the bowling of Amin 2-21, Fatima Sana 2-19 and Sohail 2-25.

The West Indies are using the series as a warm-up for the ICC World Cup qualifiers set to bowl off in Zimbabwe later this month.

Eoin Morgan hopes to be back leading England at next year's T20 World Cup after New Zealand narrowly ended his side's hopes of glory at the 2021 tournament.

New Zealand claimed a dramatic five-wicket victory in the first semi-final, chasing down 167 to book a place in the final against either Pakistan or Australia.

The 2022 event in Australia will offer England another opportunity to get over the line in the shortest form of the international game, having also suffered heartbreak in 2016 when they lost the final to West Indies.

Morgan will be 36 by then but still expects to be leading England, who are seeking another title on the global stage after their famous 50-over Cricket World Cup success in 2019.

"I hope to be back, I am still offering enough within the side and I absolutely love playing cricket at the moment for this changing room," Morgan said after the defeat.

"The guys give absolutely everything; they are always looking to get better.

"They are at the forefront of change both on and off the field and we have a lot of things to be proud about – not just on the field – so I am incredibly proud to be their leader.

"I can't fault anything that we've done, we have fought unbelievably hard and represented ourselves well, but came up short. 

"I am incredibly proud of the guys – they have given absolutely everything throughout this tournament." 

It was Daryl Mitchell's brilliant unbeaten half-century that put New Zealand into a first T20 World Cup final.

England posted 166-4 after being put in by Kane Williamson, Moeen Ali top scoring with 51 not out off 37 balls and Dawid Malan (41 from 30) also playing a big hand.

New Zealand were in big trouble on 13-2 early in the run chase but a stand of 82 between Mitchell and Devon Conway (46 from 38) put the game in the balance.

A pulsating contest swung in New Zealand's favour when Chris Jordan conceded 23 runs from a 17th over that saw Jimmy Neesham (27 off 10) cut loose, and Mitchell (72no from 47) sent the Black Caps – who had needed 57 to win off the final four overs – through with six balls to spare.

Morgan felt his side were in with a chance until the final moments, adding: "We knew both sides were close in skill and play a good brand of cricket. 

"Full credit to Kane and his team, they outplayed us – unfortunately we have come out the wrong side in a tight game.

"It's hard to identify the key moments, I thought we were right in the game through our innings and then right until the 17th or 18th over. It was key at the end – they built up until they had to push the button, then it came good, their game plan came off. 

"Up until that point we had held them at bay to give ourselves a chance of winning.

"It was a sluggish pitch and we struggled to hit sixes when we batted, we hung in there, changed our game plan, adapted to conditions and posted probably a par score.

"We felt in the game at the halfway stage and then we took early wickets so it couldn't have been any better [at that stage].

"To have an ability to come out and hit sixes from ball one like [Neesham] is something not many people have so full credit to him, it swayed the game."

Kane Williamson hailed an "outstanding" innings from Daryl Mitchell and Jimmy Neesham's fireworks after New Zealand beat England in another thriller to reach their first T20 World Cup final.

The Black Caps were up against it when they needed 57 to win off the final four overs at Zayed Cricket Stadium after England had posted 166-4 in the first semi-final on Wednesday.

But opener Mitchell sealed a dramatic five-wicket win with an over to spare, finishing unbeaten on 72 from 47 balls after Neesham had blasted 27 from just 11 deliveries in Abu Dhabi.

The game had swung in England's favour when Liam Livingstone (2-22) conceded only three runs and dismissed Glenn Phillips in the 16th over, having also had Devon Conway (46) stumped.

Neesham then cut loose in a 17th over from Chris Jordan that went for 23 and although he fell to Adil Rashid, Mitchell finished off the job to set up a final against Pakistan or Australia in Dubai on Sunday.

New Zealand had been in big trouble on 13-2 after Chris Woakes dismissed Martin Guptill and Williamson, who was full of praise for Mitchell and Neesham.

The Black Caps skipper said during the post-match presentation: "We've played each other on a number of occasions, I knew it would be a great game of cricket, and really chuffed with the heart that was shown throughout that performance.

"It was outstanding from Mitchell at the top but cashing in on the match-ups [was vital]. His character stood out today, an incredible knock.

"T20 cricket is a game of small margins, depending on the surface, short side...can all be match-defining.

"We had wickets in hand, which was really important. Neesham came out and hit the ball hard and changed the momentum of the game. Ultimately the deciding factor."

Moeen Ali had top scored with 51 not out off 37 balls and Dawid Malan made 41 after Williamson won the toss and put England in.

Daryl Mitchell's brilliant unbeaten half-century put New Zealand into a first T20 World Cup final as they gained revenge over England with a dramatic five-wicket victory.

England inflicted a heartbreaking defeat on the Black Caps in the 50-over World Cup final at Lord's in 2019, but it was New Zealand's day in a thrilling semi-final at Zayed Cricket Stadium.

England posted 166-4 after being put in by Kane Williamson, Moeen Ali top scoring with 51 not out off 37 balls and Dawid Malan (41 from 30) also playing a big hand.

Tim Southee, Adam Milne, Ish Sodhi and Jimmy Neesham took a wicket apiece for the Black Caps on a tense evening in Abu Dhabi, where Trent Boult's four wicketless overs went for 40 runs.

New Zealand were in big trouble on 13-2 after Chris Woakes dismissed the dangerous Martin Guptill and prolific captain Kane Williamson early in the run chase.

A stand of 82 between Mitchell and Devon Conway (46 from 38) put the game very much in the balance and it looked like England were heading into the final after the excellent Liam Livingstone (2-22) struck twice.

A pulsating semi-final swung in New Zealand's favour when Chris Jordan conceded 23 runs from a 17th over that saw Neesham cut loose, having a slice of fortune when Jonny Bairstow caught him on the boundary but his leg touched the rope before he could toss the ball back inside the boundary to Livingstone.

Neesham fell for a crucial 27 off 10 balls, but clean striking and composure from Mitchell (72no from 47) saw the Black Caps through to a final against Pakistan or Australia on Sunday with an over to spare, having needed 57 to win off the final four overs.

Moeen motors after Malan lays platform

Moeen and Malan put on 63 for the third wicket after Jos Buttler (29) and Jonny Bairstow (13) - opening with Jason Roy ruled out - departed.

Conway dropped Malan on 10 as England got a move on in the second half of the innings, scoring a further 99 after they were 67-2 after 10 overs, and Mitchell Santner bowled only the one over due to the left-handers being at the crease.

Malan struck a flurry of glorious cover drives, while Moeen cleared the rope twice and Livingstone struck a huge straight six before he fell in a final over from Neesham that ended with Eoin Morgan dropped by Glenn Phillips from the final delivery.

Mitchell the man as Black Caps break new ground

Woakes saw the back of Guptill off the third ball of the run chase and also claimed the big wicket of Williamson, who was taken by Adil Rashid for only five attempting a scoop in the third over.

Conway and Mitchell steadied the ship before the left-hander gave Livingstone the charge in the 14th over and was stumped by Buttler when he was looking in ominous touch.

The spin of Livingstone also accounted for Glenn Phillips, but Neesham hit three sixes as Jordan endured a nightmare and the brilliant Mitchell - who struck four sixes and as many fours - finished off what had looked like an unlikely victory to leave England stunned.