England white-ball captain Jos Buttler has left the door open for Harry Brook to force his way into their World Cup squad after another blistering innings by the Yorkshire batter.

Brook was omitted from the preliminary party to travel to India in the autumn last month after Test skipper Ben Stokes reversed his one-day international retirement to make himself available for the upcoming 50-over tournament.

England have until September 28 to finalise their 15-man group and Brook’s form since his snub has been scintillating with a 41-ball ton for the Northern Superchargers in the Hundred followed by two wonderful Twenty20 knocks in the four-match series with New Zealand.

Brook smashed his way to a vital 67 off 36 balls in a crushing 95-run win at Old Trafford on Friday night and his white-ball captain hinted the 24-year-old could still feature at the World Cup, which begins on October 5.

“He is playing brilliantly well and I thought the way he played tonight, the other night, all credit must go to him,” Buttler told the BBC.

“There is obviously a lot of noise around the World Cup and him not being in that squad at the moment, but for him to go and play the way he does, he is no different in the dressing room – nothing seems to affect him.

“There is a long time from now until we get on the plane and you never know what can happen. At the minute he is not in the squad, but you never know what can happen.”

Meanwhile, Jonny Bairstow, England’s other star performer in the second T20, admitted there was no substitute for international cricket in his bid to get his game in shape for England’s World Cup defence.

Bairstow looked in fine touch as he hit an unbeaten 86 from 60 balls to lay the platform for Friday’s victory over New Zealand.

The World Cup begins in India in just over a month’s time and, having played only four matches in the Hundred since the Ashes ended in July prior to this series, Bairstow was pleased to be back in action.

“I just wanted to play, to be quite honest with you,” said the 33-year-old.

“I wanted to be back out playing white-ball cricket because I think that the natural rhythms of the games, whether it’s T20 or 50-over cricket, is something that, especially when you’re playing internationally, is something that’s very hard to replicate.

“You can play the Hundred, you can play for Yorkshire, but the different bowlers, the pressures, the crowds, the pitches – everything that comes with playing international cricket – is very difficult to replicate.

“So I was very keen to play these T20s leading into the ODIs and then, naturally, leading into the World Cup in a few weeks’ time.”

Bairstow combined in a thrilling 131-run partnership with Yorkshire team-mate Brook from just 65 balls.

Debutant Gus Atkinson then took an impressive four for 20 as New Zealand slumped to 103 all out in reply.

They now head to Edgbaston for the third encounter of the four-match series on Sunday with a 2-0 lead after an equally-comfortable win in Durham on Wednesday.

The sides will also play four one-day internationals this month and Bairstow expects the Kiwis – coincidentally England’s first World Cup opponents in Ahmedabad on October 5 – to bite back.

“They’re a blooming good team, New Zealand,” Bairstow said. “They’ve been an exceptional team for a long period of time and we know how dangerous they can be.

“We can’t take for granted how good these two performances have been. We’ve also got to look at how good they actually are as well, but we’ve played some exceptional cricket these last two games.

“And if we can keep doing that – and keep doing that over a longer period of time – then that can only be a good thing.

“It builds confidence, it builds an environment within the dressing room that enhances people’s performances when they go out in the middle.”

Jonny Bairstow admits there is no substitute for international cricket as he looks to get his game in shape for England’s World Cup defence.

Bairstow looked in fine touch as he hit an unbeaten 86 from 60 balls to lay the platform for an emphatic 95-run win over New Zealand in the second Vitality International T20 clash at Old Trafford on Friday.

The World Cup begins in India in just over a month’s time and, having played only four matches in the Hundred since the Ashes ended in July prior to this series, Bairstow is pleased to be back in action.

“I just wanted to play, to be quite honest with you,” said the 33-year-old. “I wanted to be back out playing white-ball cricket because I think that the natural rhythms of the games, whether it’s T20 or 50-over cricket, is something that, especially when you’re playing internationally, is something that’s very hard to replicate.

“You can play the Hundred, you can play for Yorkshire, but the different bowlers, the pressures, the crowds, the pitches – everything that comes with playing international cricket – is very difficult to replicate.

“So I was very keen to play these T20s leading into the ODIs and then, naturally, leading into the World Cup in a few weeks’ time.”

Bairstow combined in a thrilling 131-run partnership with Yorkshire team-mate Harry Brook from just 65 balls.

Brook, who was controversially omitted from England’s provisional World Cup squad, hit five sixes in a blistering 36-ball 67.

Debutant Gus Atkinson then took an impressive four for 20 as New Zealand slumped to 103 all out in reply.

They now head to Edgbaston for the third encounter of the four-match series on Sunday with a 2-0 lead after an equally-comfortable win in Durham on Wednesday.

The sides will also play four one-day internationals this month and Bairstow expects the Kiwis – coincidentally England’s first World Cup opponents in Ahmedabad on October 5 – to bite back.

“They’re a blooming good team, New Zealand,” Bairstow said. “They’ve been an exceptional team for a long period of time and we know how dangerous they can be.

“We can’t take for granted how good these two performances have been. We’ve also got to look at how good they actually are as well, but we’ve played some exceptional cricket these last two games.

“And if we can keep doing that – and keep doing that over a longer period of time – then that can only be a good thing.

“It builds confidence, it builds an environment within the dressing room that enhances people’s performances when they go out in the middle.

“They feel like they can hit the ball for six, they feel like they can take a wicket each ball. They feel confident enough to take a risk.”

New Zealand seamer Adam Milne accepts his team need to pick themselves up for the games to come.

He said: “I think we’ll have to just regroup, but we like to keep things pretty calm in our changing room – not get too high, not too low.

“I think we’ll have a bit of a review of the game and just try and find those little bits of improvements in our games and hopefully come out at Edgbaston and throw some shots from our end.”

Jonny Bairstow hopes to enjoy plenty more great partnerships with Harry Brook after the Yorkshire pair set England up for a convincing T20 victory over New Zealand on Friday.

Bairstow and Brook shared in a ferocious third-wicket stand of 131 from just 65 balls to lay the platform for an emphatic 95-run win in the second Vitality international at Old Trafford.

Bairstow batted throughout the innings for an unbeaten 86 from 60 balls while Brook, making a further point after his recent World Cup snub, smashed five sixes in a 36-ball 67.

“We tried to bide our time a little bit because it was quite tricky to start on,” said Bairstow.

“He hit a couple of magnificent shots over extra cover, and then that kind of kickstarts momentum.

“We had a bit of a chuckle the other day because we haven’t actually batted that much together, to be honest, and we were (saying), ‘come on’ we’re due a decent partnership at some point. I hope that’s the first of a few over the next few years.”

Their stand provided the backbone of England’s imposing 198 for four.

The Kiwis were never in the contest as they slumped to 103 all out in reply with impressive England debutant Gus Atkinson taking four for 20.

Bairstow said: “It was a great win. Any time that you bowl a team out in a T20, I think that’s some feat. Hats off to the bowlers for executing the skills as well as they did.

“But that wasn’t by any means the perfect game. We’ll go to Edgbaston looking to go better than that as well because naturally there’s some areas that we can improve on.”

England will head to Birmingham for the third encounter in the four-match series on Sunday leading 2-0.

Atkinson’s impressive display came after fellow seamer Brydon Carse shone on his debut in the series opener in Durham on Wednesday.

Bairstow is impressed with the attacking options available.

He said: “The guys that have come into series, Brydon and Gus, making the impact that they have, being so clear on how they want to go about it, I think is a testament to them.

“I think they’re going to play over a period of time for England, there’s no reason why not. Look at the skills that they’ve got.

“If you’ve got two guys that release the ball as high as they do and with as much pace as they have, I think it’s a good weapon.”

New Zealand seamer Adam Milne admitted the game ran away from the tourists during the Bairstow-Brook partnership.

He said: “I thought they were better really. Obviously they had a great partnership, very destructive for the small boundary there.

“They batted really well and it was tough to bowl to them when they’re in that sort of mode. Their line-up is full of quality players and explosive powerful players.”

Jewel Andrew and Adrian Weir both hit half-centuries but they weren’t enough as the West Indies Under-19s came up short by 51 runs in the series-deciding third ODI against Sri Lanka Under-19s at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium on Friday.

Weir hit a 41-ball 52 at the top of the innings including seven fours and two sixes while Andrew, a wicket-keeper/batsman, made a top score of 80 from just 64 balls including eight fours and two four sixes.

Joshua Dorne also hit 32 as the tourists were restricted to 253 all out in 40.3 overs, 51 runs short of their target.

Vishwa Lahiru starred with 3-48 from 8.3 overs for Sri Lanka while Sineth Jayawardene (2-29 from three), Vihas Thewmika (2-29 from four) and Garuka Sanketh (2-44 from nine) all provided support.

Earlier, Sri Lanka made 304-8 off their 50 overs after winning the toss and choosing to bat.

Opener Pulindu Perera starred with a mammoth 155 off 140 balls including 17 fours and four sixes.

Nathan Edward took 3-66 from nine overs for the West Indies while Deshawn James (2-70 from 10) and Tarrique Edward (2-41 from 10) provided good support.

The teams will now turn their attention to a pair of youth Tests with the first beginning on Monday.

Barbados Royals shook off their hefty defeat to Trinbago Knight Riders and returned to winnings ways in the Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL), as they bettered reigning champions Jamaica Tallawahs by six wickets at Kensington Oval on Thursday.

The Royals won the toss and again opted to field first, but unlike it was again the Knight Riders on Wednesday, it proved an inspired decision on this occasion, as tidy bowling from Jason Holder, in particular, restricted the Tallawahs to 160-7.

Holder grabbed two wickets for 19 runs in four overs and Afghan spinner Qais Ahmad had two for 42 from his four, against Shamarh Brooks’ 41-ball 78 and Imad Wasim’s 33 from 24 balls.

Young left-handed batsman Alick Athanaze and Laurie Evans, then anchored the Royals reply with an 89-run third wicket stand that propelled them to 161-4 with an over to spare.

The 24-year-old Athanaze hammered three sixes and seven fours in his 48-ball 76, while Evans had four boundaries in his 30 off 26 balls.

Scores: Jamaica Tallawahs 160-7 (20 overs); Barbados Royals 161-4 (19 overs)  

Sent to bat, the Tallawahs struggled to find their boundary-hitting rhythm, especially after Holder accounted for captain Brandon King (one) and Englishman Alex Hales (12), in between overs.

Kyle Mayers earlier had Kirk McKenzie (seven) caught by Evans and the Jamaican franchise was reeling at 23-3 at that point.

Brooks and Raymon Reifer tried to repair the damage and started out well, putting together 54 for the fourth wicket. However, Reifer (16) fell with the score at 77, as he played all over a delightful deliver from Ahmad and was bowled.

Still, Brooks, who slammed four sixes and seven fours in his knock, found another useful partner in Wasim, as they added another 54 runs for the fifth wicket to add some semblance of respectability to the Tallawahs innings.

After Brooks holed out to Rovman Powell off Ahmad, the hard-hitting Fabian Allen (two) was undone by a beauty from Dutchman Roelof van der Merwe, bowling his slow left-arm spin, and Wasim, who had two maximums and two fours in his knock, was run out off the final ball of the innings. 

The Royals were always favoured to overhaul the target on what was a decent batting strip, coupled with the dew factor coming into play, provided they didn’t crumble like they did against Knight Riders.

When Wasim and Chris Green combined to remove the opening pair of Rahkeem Cornwall (17) and Mayers (four) –both of whom are yet to really fire this season –a sense of déjà vu may have hit the Royal fans that they were in for another disappointing night.

But Athanaze and Englishman Evans ensured it was not so. The young Dominican played the aggressor, as he took Tallawahs top trio of Wasim, Mohammad Amir and Salman Irshad to task with some lofty blows showing decent foot work and innovation in a mature innings.

Though Green had Evans caught by Amir midway the 16th over and Irshad bounced back to have Athanaze caught by Hales on the fine leg boundary, the damage was already done and whatever hopes Tallawahs had of a batting collapse, were erased by Rovman Powell and Jason Holder, who ended unbeaten on 10 and nine, respectively.

Despite the win, the Royals remain fifth in the standing on five points, same as fourth-placed Tallawahs, who have a slightly better net run-rate. St Lucia Kings (six points) head the pack, ahead of Guyana Amazon Warriors and Trinbago Knight Riders, who are also on five points each.

St Kitts and Nevis Patriots are at the foot of the standing on two points.

Action will resume on Saturday with a triple header –Amazon Warriors against Patriots at 8:00am Jamaica time, Barbados Royals women against Trinbago Knight Riders women at 2:00pm and Royals against St Lucia Kings at 6:00pm.

Barbados Royals kicked off the 2023 Massy Women’s Caribbean Premier League (WCPL) with a thrilling final over chase at Kensington Oval, Barbados.

After winning the toss and opting to bat, the Amazon Warriors produced a record-breaking innings on their route to 166/2 from their 20 overs. 

Sophie Devine became the second New Zealander in as many days to hit a CPL century, following on from Martin Guptill’s knock with 103 not out from 64 balls, bringing up the landmark score on the final delivery of the innings with a six over long-off.

Facing a difficult task, the Royals appeared to lack power until Laura Harris took the 15^th over for 24 to put the game in the balance. With 43 still required from five overs, Erin Burns and Chinelle Henry saw the hosts home with two balls to spare.

With Devine leading the way a day before her 35^th birthday, the Warriors kept wickets in hand throughout their innings while maintaining a strong run rate as they ended an explosive PowerPlay 50/0.

Royals captain Hayley Matthews used 12 overs of spin consecutively in the innings in attempt to slow the visitors through the middle overs, before the Amazon Warriors blasted 62 from the final five overs to break the WCPL record for highest total.

Amanda-Jade Wellington should have had Devine out for 41 in the ninth over when a false shot brought a straightforward chance for Afy Fletcher at short cover which was dropped, while the score was still wicketless.

The Royals were facing an uphill battle chasing 167 in the early stages; Matthews’ dismissal for 23 was a setback after a steady powerplay at a-run-a-ball. Gaby Lewis played a superb 360-degree knock which brought hope for the Royals which was backed up by Harris’ spectacular 30 from just 12 balls. 

Shabnim Ismail produced a brilliant 19^th over, conceding just three runs but with just nine runs to win from the final over, Suzie Bates couldn’t stop an in-form Erin Burns from closing out the chase.

Barbados Royals are in action again on Saturday as they face defending champions Trinbago Knight Riders.

Dawid Malan admitted his relief at making England’s provisional World Cup squad.

The Yorkshire batter struck a half-century in the seven-wicket victory over New Zealand in the first T20 on Wednesday.

Malan made 54 off 42 balls as England chased 140 with 36 deliveries to spare after pacemen Brydon Carse and Luke Wood took three wickets apiece to restrict the tourists to 139 for nine at Chester-le-Street.

With England having so much strength in depth these days, Malan was delighted to be in his country’s white-ball plans.

He said: “(It was) definitely relief, you look at the amount of depth we’ve got in English cricket, especially having sacrificed so many tournaments over the last couple of years to get in this World Cup squad, to get the call was extremely satisfying.

“I know there are people who’ve missed out and I have so much sympathy for them. From a personal point of view I was exceptionally pleased to get that call because I felt I’ve worked really hard to get in that squad.

“Every opportunity I’ve been given in 50 overs in my last four or five series I’ve gone and had to score the runs, doing it the tough way to get in there.

“Especially the top three, I know people compare me to Brooky (Harry Brook), but I bat top three and he bats four, five, six, so I don’t know where that comparison comes from.

“To be able to push for a place in that World Cup squad and get the call was extremely satisfying.”

England’s white-ball preparations for the World Cup continue after the New Zealand series with three ODIs against Ireland in September before flying out to India for the 50-over tournament which begins in October.

After his omission from the provisional World Cup squad, Harry Brook showed off his heavy hitting at the Riverside with 43 not out from 27 balls and Malan is determined to keep scoring in order to claim his spot for India.

“I think you always have to score runs when you play international cricket, especially when you have the depth we do here,” he added.

“It’s a provisional squad but from my understanding it’s up to us to score runs to stay in it.

“I think it would be tough, two weeks before we are flying, especially with people potentially resting for the Ireland series, to suddenly lose their place.

“But that is cricket and that’s the way life goes. Nothing is ever guaranteed until you stand on that plane.

“I try my best to score runs- that’s what I’m picked for, to score runs and win games. I am not there to please anyone, I’m there to score runs for Jos (Buttler) and (Matthew) Motty and contribute to wins.

“I feel like I have done that consistently over the last five or six years, whatever it is in white-ball cricket.”

Ambati Rayudu has cut his CPL stint with St Kitts and Nevis Patriots short and left the tournament due to personal reasons.

Rayudu played three innings for Patriots in the ongoing edition, managing 47 runs at 15.66 and a strike rate of 117.50. His scores in the three innings were 0, 32 and 15.

Rayudu was signed up as a marquee player by Patriots, making him just the second Indian to play in the men's CPL after Pravin Tambe. He had earlier in 2023 retired from international and Indian domestic cricket after helping Chennai Super Kings claim a fifth IPL title.

Zimbabwe fast bowler Blessing Muzarabani has also left the tournament for personal reasons. Muzarabani played three games for Patriots and picked up one wicket at 69 with an economy of 10.61. The English duo of fast bowler Benny Howell and top order batter Will Smeed have been called up to replace Rayudu and Muzarabani in the Patriots squad.

Patriots are the only team in the competition without a single win in six matches. Since their opening two fixtures got abandoned due to rain, they have lost each of their following four games.

Meanwhile, Carlos Brathwaite has been called up by Barbados Royals as a temporary replacement for wicketkeeper-batter Donovan Ferreira. Ferreira has been included in South Africa's 16-member squad for their home T20I series against Australia. He is expected to return after his national duties are over.

Ferreira played only one game for Royals in CPL 2023, in which he scored 19 runs. Brathwaite has played 77 CPL matches for four teams and this will be his first stint with Royals. He has scored 822 runs at 16.11 and picked up 59 wickets at 30.15. This is the first time he will be part of the CPL since the 2021 edition.

A dominant display with both bat and ball saw Trinbago Knight Riders register a record 133-run win over Barbados Royals in the 2023 Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) at Kensington Oval on Wednesday. 

Barbados Royals, captained by Rovman Powell, won the toss and opted to field first, and it seemed a good decision, as they initially had Trinbago Knight Riders at 69-2 inside 10 overs, before a fantastic 108-run third wicket stand between Martin Guptill and captain Kieron Pollard fired the Knight Riders to their daunting total of 194-5.

Guptill, whose last half-century in the CPL was back in 2018 against the Tallawahs, came good on the night with a 58-ball unbeaten century, while Pollard contributed 46 off 32 balls. Jason Holder was the pick of the Royals bowling with 2-39 from his four overs.

The Royals's reply was derailed by Andre Russell, who grabbed three quick wickets in the powerplay -Rahkeem Cornwall (zero), Kyle Mayers (zero) and Alick Athanaze (two) -while Sunil Narine accounted for Laurie Evans (five) and the host were unable to recover from the early demolition. They were eventually bowled out for 61 in 12.1 overs, succumbing to the largest defeat in CPL history.

Afghan left-arm wrist spinner Waqar Salamkheil introduced himself to the tournament in grand fashion, picking up four for 14 in 3.1 overs. Russell had three for 13 from two overs and Akeil Hosein, two for 16 from four.

Earlier, Trinbago Knight Riders had a cautious start to their innings, with Guptill progressing steadily at one point on 20 runs from 20 balls. They lost the wickets of Mark Deyal (27) and Nicholas Pooran (six), but the complexion of the innings changed once Pollard joined Guptill in the middle.

The two swung the momentum of the game, with Guptill, opening up and paraded his six hitting skills, as he hammered nine maximums and a solitary four on his way to an even 100 which came up in the final over. It was the first century of the 2023 edition and it was firmly backed by Pollard's well-paced knock, which included four sixes and a solitary four. 

Despite losing Pollard, Russell (five) and Dwayne Bravo (zero) at the backend, the damage was already done, and it was left for the Knight Riders bowlers to mop up what was left of the Royals hopes on the night.

Barbados Royals will be back in action tomorrow night against reigning champions Jamaica Tallawahs at the same venue.

Scores: Trinbago Knight Riders 194-5 (20 overs); Barbados Royals 61 all out (12.1 overs)

Defending champion St. Mary will face former champion Manchester in the final of the Kingston Wharves U15 Cricket Competition on Thursday at Up Park Camp starting at 10:00 am.

St. Mary is yet to lose a match in this year's competition, and they will be confident of defending their title. They defeated Kingston in their semi-final, bowling them out for 68 and then chasing down the total in just 12.2 overs.

Manchester, on the other hand, has a number of national championships under their belt, including the last one in 2019 at the same venue as this year's final. They lost one match in the preliminary round of the competition to St. Mary, but they will be hoping to turn the tables on their opponents in the final.

The match is expected to be a close one, with both teams having strong batting and bowling lineups. St. Mary will be relying on their experienced players, such as Tyreece Saunders and Devantae Miller, to lead the way, while Manchester will be looking to their young stars, such as Demario Hall and Matthias Knight, to make a big impact.

The pitch at Up Park Camp is expected to be a good one for batting, so both teams should be able to score runs. However, the conditions could also favor the bowlers, so it will be interesting to see how the teams adapt.

The final is sure to be a thrilling contest, and it is one that cricket fans will not want to miss.

England got their Vitality T20 International series off to a winning start after beating New Zealand by seven wickets in the first game at Chester-le-Street.

In their first 20-over contest since the whitewash defeat to Bangladesh in March, England got off to a flying start, taking three wickets in the powerplay.

Glenn Phillips top-scored for the visitors with 41 off 38 before falling to Luke Wood, who finished with three wickets alongside Durham quick Brydon Carse.

Although Jonny Bairstow was dismissed early on, Dawid Malan’s 54 off 42 balls put England in the driving seat along with Harry Brook’s unbeaten 43 off 27 balls, giving the hosts the advantage going into the second T20 at Old Trafford on Friday.

Despite being given an early scare when Finn Allen smashed three consecutive sixes off the first over, a change of ends in the fourth helped Wood kick off a dominant powerplay for England.

The Lancashire bowler took the first wicket of the evening as Devon Conway feathered behind to Jos Buttler and more wickets tumbled when Carse resumed from the Finchale End to earn his first T20 international scalp for England after clean-bowling Allen.

Wood struck again to send Tim Seifert’s bails flying as New Zealand were suddenly 38 for three after six overs.

Their woes continued when Moeen Ali clipped Mark Chapman’s off-stump in the eighth over but Phillips and Daryl Mitchell tried to regain control with some good running to keep the scoreboard ticking over.

Liam Livingstone ended the partnership, however, tempting Mitchell into looping the ball to long-off aiming for a six, but Brook was on the boundary to comfortably catch.

Phillips was the dominant batter at the crease looking to keep his foot on the gas, but he was beginning to run out of partners when Mitchell Santner sliced the ball straight to Wood off Adil Rashid.

Wood’s return in the 17th over saw Phillips eventually fall for 41 after Sam Curran made an excellent dive to his left.

Carse was handed the ball for the final over and ended Ish Sodhi and Adam Milne’s quickfire 26-run partnership, taking both of their wickets to finish with figures of three for 23.

Set 140 to chase, Bairstow opened the batting, smashing four off Tim Southee, but was caught out by the Black Caps captain as he edged to Mitchell at slip.

Aiming to capitalise on their positive start, Milne and Southee restricted England to singles but the introduction of Lockie Ferguson saw Will Jacks suddenly tee off, smashing back-to-back fours before thumping one into the stands for six.

Not to be outdone, Malan put away three consecutive fours off Santner and some more tidy running brought England to 61 for one at the end of the powerplay.

Sodhi struck in the seventh over when Jacks appeared to accidentally clip the ball with his bat twice allowing Allen to comfortably catch, but Malan instantly responded by belting a huge six over an outstretched Chapman at deep midwicket.

Not letting his omission from the provisional 50-over World Cup squad phase him, Brook dispatched two successive Sodhi deliveries into the stands and just after England reached the 100-run mark, Malan fired another ball into the crowd to bring up his 50.

Ferguson soon ended Malan’s heavy hitting with Mitchell catching the batter at mid-on, but Brook continued to put runs on the board before Livingstone put the game to bed in style with a huge six with 36 balls to spare.

A quick-fire century from Jordan Johnson and 50s from Joshua Dorne and Tarrique Edward spurred West Indies U19s to an emphatic 195 run ODI victory over Sri Lanka at Rangiri Dambulla on Wednesday. West Indies bowlers, too, played a crucial role in the massive win as Isai Thorne and Deshawn James each took three wickets in the match that saw West Indies level the series 1-1.

Batting first, West Indies scored 320 all out from their 50 overs, thanks to the efforts of Johnson, who laid the platform for the match-winning score. He made 105 from just 79 balls and hit 12 fours and three sixes while featuring in a third-wicket partnership of 160 from just 131 balls with Dorne, who scored a relatively patient 56 from 73 balls hitting the boundary six times along the way.

Edward chipped in with a crucial 53 that helped push the West Indies towards 300 runs through a 60-run partnership with Nathan Edward, who scored 13.  Opener Adrian Weir scored 32 and was the principal scorer in a second-wicket stand of 41 with Dorne.

Sineth Jayawardena was the best of the Sri Lankan bowlers with 4-36.

Needing to score at 6.4 runs an over, Sri Lanka’s batters wilted under the pressure collapsing to 40-6 in the 14^th over. Only a 46-run partnership between Malsha Tharupathi and Supun Waduge held up the West Indies attack and got the home side closer to the 100-run mark.

They were eventually bowled out for 125 in the 31^st over to hand the West Indies victory.

Thorne finished with the impressive figures of 3-18 while James took 3-30. Nathan Edward chipped in with 2-17.

The teams will clash in a decider on Friday, September 1.

England Women’s players are to receive the same match fees as the men’s team after a thrilling Ashes summer boosted their profile.

The England and Wales Cricket Board has announced payments to Heather Knight’s side are being brought into line with those made to Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and their team-mates in the wake of record crowds and increased viewing figures.

The increase will take effect immediately, starting with this week’s Vitality IT20 series against Sri Lanka.

ECB chief executive officer Richard Gould said: “This summer’s thrilling Metro Bank Women’s Ashes series demonstrated how women’s cricket is continuing to grow at pace in this country, with record attendances and TV viewing.

“Growing the women’s and girls’ game is a key priority for us and in recent years we have considerably increased investment both in building a domestic women’s structure to produce the players of the future and in increasing player rewards.

“In the years ahead, we will continue to invest ahead of revenues. We are currently considering all the recommendations made by the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket, but equalising match fees is one immediate step we are pleased to make now.

“We all want cricket to be the team sport of choice for female athletes and – with the investments we are making and increasingly-lucrative opportunities around the world – we are seeing cricketers become some of the highest earning female athletes in UK team sports.

“However, we know there is still much further to go as we ultimately strive for equality across the game.

“As we continue to grow women’s cricket, we will continue to focus on making considered investments that stretch far-and-wide across the women’s cricket structures, delivering a thriving, profitable and future-proofed game.”

A total of 110,00 people watched the drawn summer series, which saw Australia retain the Ashes in front of crowds of 19,527 at Edgbaston, 20,328 at the Kia Oval and 21,610 at Lord’s which set successive new records for a home England Women bilateral fixture, while 23,207 tickets were sold for the five days of the Trent Bridge Test.

Broadcast viewing figures of 5.3 million, in addition to 47 million video views, were double those in 2019.

England skipper Knight said: “It’s really important that we continue to drive the women’s game forward and it’s fantastic to see equal match fees for England Women and England Men.

“The direction of travel for the women’s game has always been the most important thing, creating a sustainable product that people want to watch and play and I’m sure this will make cricket an increasingly-attractive sport to girls and young women as we continue to grow the game.

“I would also like to thank the PCA and England Women’s Player Partnership for their support in representing the players and the growth of the professional game.”

The ECB currently funds 80 professional women’s domestic cricketers in addition to its 18 England Women’s centrally-contracted players.

Last year, the governing body announced a £3.5milion increase in funding for the women’s regional game to run until the end of 2024, while the salary pot per team was raised to £250,000, meaning the average salary for a women’s regional cricketer will be £25,000.

England limited-overs captain Jos Buttler hailed “superstar” Ben Stokes following his decision to come out of ODI retirement.

The England Test skipper had originally called time on his 50-over career last summer amid concerns surrounding workload and a knee problem.

However, Stokes announced his intention to play ODI cricket again earlier this month and has subsequently been named in the squad for the upcoming series against New Zealand with the World Cup in India looming in October.

England play the Black Caps in four T20s first before the same amount of ODIs, which begin in Cardiff next month, and Buttler admitted he was “delighted” to have Stokes back in the fold.

“It’s excellent news on all fronts, it’s great for cricket to have a superstar like Ben Stokes in a World Cup,” Buttler told a press conference.

“You want to see those players in those major showpiece events so it’s fantastic that he’s made himself available.

“When a player of that calibre is available again it’s a no-brainer really that you want them back in your team.

“You look at the impact he has in every game he plays really, but especially in the last couple of World Cups, he’s the man in the middle with the crucial moment.

“We’re delighted to have him back, it’s not just the cricket but everything else he brings to the group.”

Stokes played a pivotal role in England winning the 50-over World Cup in 2019, scoring an unbeaten 84 in the final against New Zealand before starring in the Super Over alongside Buttler.

He will be returning to the ODI squad as a specialist batter and Buttler added that Stokes made his decision following the conclusion of the Ashes series.

He said: “Ben and I caught up during the IPL, had some good conversations about what he wanted to achieve in the year, so him coming to me and saying that the Ashes is his main priority, but if he could come through that physically he’d like to be considered for the World Cup.

“So I just left it at that and said you let me know after the Ashes how you’re feeling.

“We spoke after that, he said he’d be available as a batter and that was enough for me to just say brilliant ‘can’t wait to have you back’.”

England’s last T20 outing came in Bangladesh, where they suffered a series whitewash, and after a five-month hiatus they open the 20-over leg of the New Zealand series at Chester-le-Street on Wednesday.

Although one eye is on the World Cup later this year, Buttler is looking forward to a “great test”.

“It’s great to be back together as a squad having not played together since Bangladesh in March,” Buttler added.

“It’s very exciting stuff on the horizon obviously with the World Cup in India, but we start with the T20 series here against New Zealand which we’re determined to do well in.

“Of course I suppose the main priority is the ODIs against New Zealand, I think they’ll be a great test for us ahead of the World Cup.”

The Texas Chargers defeated the New York Warriors via a super over on Sunday at Lauderhill to win the US Masters T10 title.

The Warriors took first strike and posted a respectable 92-6 off their 10 overs. Former West Indies batsmen Jonathan Carter led the way with 39 off 17 balls against 3-11 from Pakistani pacer Ehsan Adil.

Another Pakistani pacer, Sohail Khan, then produced a magical spell with the ball for the Warriors to get them to a super over.

Khan ended up with figures of 5-15 from his two overs, with four of those wickets coming in the ninth over of the innings.

Shahid Afridi took both of his wickets in the last over to take the game to the super over.

Player-of -the-Tournament Mohammad Hafeez had earlier made 46 for the Chargers.

Onto the super overs where, Sohail Khan, who had earlier picked up five wickets to keep New York in the game, kept Texas to 15. 

Sohail Tanvir then stepped up and restricted the Warriors to 13, despite a last-ball six from Jonathan Carter.