England have appointed Australia women's head coach Matthew Mott to take charge of their men's white-ball teams.

Rob Key, the new managing director of England men's cricket, decided to split the coaching roles and appointed New Zealand legend Brendon McCullum as Test head coach last week.

Paul Collingwood, interim head coach following the dismissal of Chris Silverwood, was thought to be the leading candidate for the role with Eoin Morgan's limited-overs sides.

However, Mott has landed the job, and it was confirmed on Wednesday that the 48-year-old has signed a four-year deal. 

Mott was appointed as Australia head coach in 2015 and subsequently guided them to the Women's World Cup title last April, losing just two of their past 42 ODI matches.

He is expected to be in place for the world champions' three-match ODI series against the Netherlands in Amsterdam next month.

Mott said: "I am delighted to accept the opportunity to take this white-ball role with England. Whilst I am Australian, I have deep connections, and several of my closest friends are in the UK, having spent considerable time in Scotland, Wales and England, both as a player and coach.

"When this role became available, I was attracted by the chance to work with such an established and successful team under the astute leadership of Eoin Morgan and now Rob Key, whom I have always admired as an excellent cricket mind.

"The idea of the split roles and the chance to work alongside Brendon McCullum in his red-ball role is an opportunity that I am incredibly enthusiastic about and certainly provides the right balance for my family as we embark on this exciting journey.

"It was always going to take something special to leave the role that I have loved for the past seven years with the Australian Women's team. However, I genuinely believe that the time is right to play a role in helping the England Men's ODI and T20 group continue to evolve as one of the best teams in the world.

"I am fully aware that this team has been functioning well and part of my initial plan is to work with the playing group and support staff on how we can firstly maintain, then enhance, the success they have started to build over the past few years.

"Since the excitement of accepting this role, I, like many people around the world, have been trying to come to terms with the tragic loss of my great mate Andrew Symonds. The support of his beautiful family and close friends in the coming days will be vitally important, so I respectfully request some time to process his passing and the immense loss before making any further comment on the role at this stage."

Mott has previously worked in the head coach roles at New South Wales and Glamorgan, while he has also had a few brief spells working with Australia A.

A former top-order batter for Queensland and Victoria, he was among the names floated as a potential successor to Justin Langer to coach the men's side for Australia.

In 2009, Mott was also an assistant coach in the Indian Premier League for Kolkata Knight Riders, who McCullum played for in the inaugural edition of the competition before later coaching the franchise.

Mott will be aiming to deliver T20 World Cup glory in Australia this year before they defend their ODI World Cup title in India in 2023.

West Indies cricketer Chris Gayle and South African batsman AB De Villiers have become the first cricketers to be inducted into the hall of fame of Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore.

The 42-year-old Gayle represented the franchise between 2011 and 2017.  The batsman never won a title at the club but set a number of records while there, including the highest ever individual T20 score of 175 during the 2013 IPL season. 

Former RCB skipper Virat Kohli thanked the two greats for their contribution to making the IPL what it is today. Gayle thanked the club for the special honour.  

"I want to thank the RCB family for the opportunity, for everything. It's been special to me as well. And to be inducted is something fantastic, and I will always keep RCB close to my heart. I share a lot of memories with some special players and some special coaches,” Gayle said.

“It's been fantastic. I wish I were there to give this speech, look into you guys' eyes, and tell you exactly how I feel. AB mentioned it's going to be emotional because it's very touching for such a franchise that has been created over the years. It's fantastic. And to Virat, thank you for the kind words as well. Fantastic sharing the dressing room with you guys as well."

Sunrisers Hyderabad kept their Indian Premier League play-off hopes alive with a dramatic three-run win over Mumbai Indians.

Rahul Tripathi's 76 helped Sunrisers post an imposing total of 193-6 at the Wankhede Stadium.

Despite an opening partnership of 95 between Mumbai captain Rohit Sharma (48) and Ishan Kishan (43), Sunrisers appeared to be coasting to victory when Rohit's side were reduced to 144-5 in the 17th over.

But the subsequent over brought chaos as Tim David clobbered Thangarasu Natarajan (0-60) for four sixes, including three in succession.

The final ball of the over, however, saw David run out for 46 as he chased an ill-advised single.

Mumbai could not recover the initiative from there, Bhuvneshwar Kumar's excellent wicket-maiden 19th over leaving them with too much to do in the final six balls.

With one game to play, Sunrisers are among three teams two points behind fourth-placed Delhi Capitals but will need help to reach the play-offs given their negative net run rate.

Game turns on 18th over chaos

David appeared set to end Sunrisers' hopes as he punished Natarajan for a series of dismal full tosses, his fourth six of the 18th over a 114-metre blast that marked the second-longest of the tournament.

But his decision to chase the strike for the start of the 19th with a single that never looked on effectively ensured victory for Hyderabad.

Sunrisers streak stopped

A win that was too close for comfort ended a run of five straight defeats for Sunrisers, though that streak will likely still keep them out of the play-offs.

Jamaica Scorpions captain John Campbell says he is in a good place ahead of the resumption of the West Indies Championship on Wednesday.

Campbell’s Scorpions are currently last in the standings after two rounds, with 8.8 points, and will take on the Windward Islands Volcanoes at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba from May 18-21.

The West Indies Test opener will go into round three coming off some good form in the recently concluded Dream 11 Jamaica T10 tournament where he finished as the leading run-scorer, with 302 runs in 11 matches, while captaining the Middlesex United Stars to a third-place finish.

The short turnaround between formats could pose a challenge to adapt for some batsmen but Campbell insists it’s the nature of the modern game.

“In this day and age there’s a lot of cricket being played so the waiting period between formats is, oftentimes, very slim,” said Campbell in a press conference on Monday, ahead of Wednesday’s game.

“We had an opportunity to play a three-day game before we left Jamaica and I’ve had numerous net sessions with coach Coley that were centred around the longer form of the game. I’m in a good place right now,” he added.

When asked what role he could play with the bat to help turn the Scorpions’ season around, Campbell had this to say.

“For me, It’s good starts. As an opener, setting the foundation for the rest of the innings is very important and we need big totals to win games.”

South Africa batter Zubayr Hamza has been banned from all cricket-related activities for nine months by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for doping.

Hamza in March agreed a voluntary suspension after testing positive for banned substance Furosemide – which is not a performance-enhancing drug – in an out-of-competition sample on January 17.

The 26-year-old admitted the violation and, after establishing no significant fault or negligence on his part, the world governing body banned him until December 22.

Hamza's performances between January 17 and March 22 this year have been disqualified.

During that time, he scored 25 runs in the first innings and six in the second of the Proteas' innings-and-276 run defeat to New Zealand in the first Test in Christchurch.

He also made three appearances for Western Province, with a highest score of 30.

Alex Marshall, ICC general manager – integrity unit said: "The ICC is committed to keeping cricket clean and has a zero-tolerance approach to doping.

"It is also a timely reminder to all international cricketers that they remain responsible for anything they put into their bodies, to know exactly what medication they are taking so as to ensure it does not contain a prohibited substance and does not result in an anti-doping rule violation."

South Africa have named a strong 16-man squad for their upcoming five-match T20I series against India, but former captain Faf du Plessis has been overlooked.

Paceman Anrich Nortje is back in the fold for the first time since last year's 2020 World Cup after proving his fitness in the Indian Premier League following a hip and back problem, while Tristan Stubbs has received a maiden call-up.

All of the South African players who opted out of the Test series against Bangladesh in March and April in favour of playing in the IPL have been called back up for the tour, which takes place next month.

That includes Kagiso Rabada, who has taken 22 wickets in the IPL this season - the third-best total in the competition.

However, in-form batter Du Plessis, who is the seventh-highest run scorer in the IPL with 399 at an average of 33.25, misses out again.

Du Plessis, who captains Royal Challengers Bangalore, has not played white-ball cricket for the Proteas since December 2020. He retired from the longest format last year.

Head coach Mark Boucher remains in place after Cricket South Africa "formally and unreservedly" withdrew the charges of gross misconduct against him.

South Africa's selection convener Victor Mpitsang said: "This is the Proteas like we have not seen them in a long time. The injection of the IPL players means that we will have a team that's ready to fire on all cylinders immediately and has vast experience of the conditions that we will be playing in.

"The country can also join us in a collective sigh of relief at the return of Anrich Nortje, who has been working hard to recover from a frustrating injury. The National Selection Panel and I are really excited to watch our full-strength Proteas take on the world's number one T20 team."

South Africa's squad in full: Temba Bavuma (captain), Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Wayne Parnell, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs, Rassie van der Dussen, Marco Jansen.

Delhi Capitals sealed a big victory in the race for the playoffs against Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League on Monday, thanks largely to the efforts of Mitchell Marsh and Shardul Thakur.

Marsh top-scored with 63 runs as the Capitals posted a target of 160, which the Kings never realistically looked like reaching, in part due to Shardul's outstanding four-wicket haul.

Things could not have started in worse fashion for the Capitals, with David Warner out first ball to Liam Livingstone (3-27).

However, Sarfaraz Khan (32) and Marsh steadied the ship with a partnership of 51, while Marsh and Lalit Yadav (24) added a further 47 to the total, with Arshdeep Singh (3-37) taking the wickets of both Khan and Yadav.

Livingstone then struck twice to remove Rishabh Pant (7) and Rovman Powell (2), before Kagiso Rabada finally claimed Marsh for 63 off 48 balls with 10 deliveries remaining.

Jonny Bairstow (28) and Shikhar Dhawan (19) made a good start to the reply with a partnership of 38 inside four overs before the England man fell to Anrich Nortje.

There soon followed a collapse for the Kings, who quickly went from 53-1 to 67-6 with only Jitesh Sharma showing any sign of sticking around.

He and Rahul Chahar (25) calmed things down to claim 41 from five overs before Jitesh fell for 44 from 34 balls, and although the Kings avoided losing all 10 wickets, Shardul (4-36) completed a strong bowling spell to comfortably close the game out for a 17-run victory, moving the Capitals to fourth in the table.

Shardul leads joint-bowling effort

While Shardul will get the headlines with his four wickets, there was some tremendous economic bowling on display elsewhere in the Capitals' attack.

Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav both posted figures of 2-14, with the former doing so from four overs at a rate of just 3.50, conceding just one boundary.

Kings suffer with the bat

Bairstow, Dhawan, Jitesh, and Chahar aside, the Kings really let themselves down with the bat.

Only one of the top five batsmen in the order hit a six (Bairstow), while no other batsman aside from the aforementioned quartet scored more than six overall.

Stafanie Taylor’s Tornadoes Women claimed the inaugural FairBreak Invitational T20 title with an emphatic eight-wicket win over Falcons Women at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in the UAE on Saturday.

Tornadoes Women captain Sophie Devine called right at the toss and asked the Falcons to bat first before the Tornadoes had the Falcons reeling at 59-4 in the 10^th over.

An unbeaten 92-run fifth wicket partnership between South African Marizanne Kapp (67 not out) and Hong Kong’s Mariko Hill (30 not out) then propelled the Falcons to a respectable 151-4 off their 20 overs.

Thailand’s Chanida Sutthiruang led the bowling for the Tornadoes with 2-19 from three overs.

The Tornadoes completed the chase without stress as captain Sophie Devine (51) and Sterre Kalis (44) shared in an opening partnership of 76 before Stafanie Taylor (34 not out) and South African Sune Luus (18 not out) steered them to 152-2 with five balls to spare.

England seamer Saqib Mahmood will miss the rest of the season after sustaining a lumbar stress fracture.

The 25-year-old was handed a Test debut against West Indies in March and impressed in his two matches in the Caribbean, taking six wickets.

Mahmood has only made one appearance since that tour for Lancashire against Gloucestershire in the County Championship last month.

He now faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines at the start of a new era for England following the appointments of head coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes.

The England and Wales Cricket Board said in a statement: "After being diagnosed with a lumbar stress fracture, England and Lancashire seamer Saqib Mahmood has been ruled out for the rest of the season.

"Mahmood was unavailable for Lancashire's last Championship fixture [against Yorkshire] due to low back pain, and scans have revealed that he has a lumbar stress fracture and will miss the remainder of the 2022 English summer. 

"No timeframe has been set for his return. His ongoing rehabilitation will be co-managed between Lancashire and England medical teams."

Mahmood has also made his mark for his country in white-ball cricket, playing in 12 Twenty20 Internationals and seven ODIs.

England start a three-match Test series against New Zealand at Lord's on June 2.

Rajasthan Royals moved up to second in the Indian Premier League and are on the brink of sealing a play-off place after a 24-run defeat of Lucknow Super Giants.

Lucknow knew a win at the Brabourne Stadium on Sunday would secure a top-four finish with one game to spare, but they slipped below the Royals into third spot.

Yashasvi Jaiswal top-scored with 41 in Rajasthan's total of 178-6 in Mumbai, with Ravi Bishnoi taking 2-31.

Deepak Hooda's 59 was in vain as Lucknow could only make 154-8 in reply, Trent Boult the pick of the bowlers with 2-18 as the Royals took a big stride towards the play-offs.

Avesh Khan struck a big early blow when he bowled Rajasthan's Jos Buttler in the third over, but Jaiswal and Sanju Samson (32) put on 64 for the second wicket before the captain fell to Jason Holder.

Jaiswal was caught and bowled in Ayush Badoni's only over, but Devdut Padikkal kept Rajasthan ticking with a couple of sixes and five fours.

Bishnoi (2-31) denied Padikkal the chance of a half-century, dismissing him for 39, and also removed Riyan Parag, but Boult added a quickfire unbeaten 17 after Jimmy Neesham was run out.

Neesham, playing his second match of the tournament, took a catch for his New Zealand team-mate Boult to claim the scalp of Quinton de Kock in the third over of the run chase and the left-arm seamer also trapped Badoni leg before first ball.

Lucknow were 29-3 when Prasidh Krishna (2-32) sent KL Rahul packing, but a stand of 65 between Hooda and Krunal Pandya kept them in the game.

Ravichandran Ashwin ended the partnership by sending Pandya on his way for 25, and Hooda was stumped off the bowling of Yuzvendra Chahal, while Obed McCoy claimed 2-35 in a big win for the Royals.

Brilliant Boult strikes twice

Boult made it advantage the Royals when he took two early wickets in as many balls, preventing De Kock from doing damage and snaring Badoni for a golden duck.

He bowled 14 dot balls in his four overs and conceded only two boundaries, leaving the Super Giants up against it.

Three play-off spots still up for grabs

Gujarat Titans are the only side guaranteed a play-off place as the battle for top-four finishes goes to the wire.

The Royals do battle with Chennai Super Kings in their last game of the league season, while Lucknow must regroup before facing Kolkata Knight Riders.

Gujarat Titans consolidated their place at the top of the Indian Premier League with a seven-wicket victory over Chennai Super Kings.

It has been a miserable season for 2021 champions Chennai, who sit in ninth place with only one game remaining.

While the Super Kings let themselves down with the bat last time out against Mumbai Indians, Ruturaj Gaikwad's 53 and Narayan Jagadeesan's 39 not out this time helped them to 133-5 from their 20 overs.

But the run rate was not quick enough, with Gaikwad's score coming from 49 balls while it took 33 for Jagadeesan to reach his total as the Titans bowlers, spearheaded by Mohammed Shami (2-19), stifled the defending champions.

Gujarat's chase started well, and it took until the start of the eighth over for Chennai to strike, with Matheesha Pathirana dismissing Shubman Gill for 18.

Moeen Ali sent Matthew Wade (20) packing four overs later, but much of the damage had been done, with the Titans having already chipped away 90.

Wriddhiman Saha anchored the innings with a wonderful 67 not out, and his ninth boundary sealed an ultimately comfortable victory with five balls to spare.

Saha shows the Super Kings how it is done

Though Gaikwad scored a half-century, the Chennai opener was only able to hit five boundaries. Saha kept up the pace in reply, hitting eight fours and one six, with his unbeaten 67 coming at a strike rate of 117.54.

Woeful title defence coming to a sorry close

It is now two defeats in a row for the Super Kings, who face Rajasthan Royals in their final match. Gujarat, meanwhile, could have a say in who comes with them into the play-offs, when they face Royal Challengers Bangalore on Friday.

The cricket world is grieving another loss of an Australian great after former Test star Andrew Symonds was killed on Saturday.

The 46-year-old was involved a single-vehicle accident at Hervey Range, approximately 50km from Townsville in Queensland.

Symonds' death continues a devastating year for Australian cricket, after the passings of legends Rod Marsh and Shane Warne from heart attacks in March.

Former Australian captain Mark Taylor said it was "another tragic day" for cricket.

"Unfortunately, I've been here too often, this year, under these circumstances," he told the Nine Network. "I can't quite believe it, to be honest. Another tragic day for cricket."

"He was an entertainer with the bat when it came to cricket and as you say he was an imposing guy, he was a big lad."

Tributes on social media flowed for the man affectionately known as "Roy", who was an instrumental figure in Australia's cricketing dominance across the Test and short-form versions of the game of the 2000s.

Former Australia teammate Adam Gilchrist wrote on Twitter how Symonds' passing "really hurts", while Pakistan legend Shoaib Akhtar tweeted how he was "devastated" at the news.

Michael Vaughan also posted on Twitter how it "didn't feel real", while former Australian Test captain and colleague on Fox Cricket, Allan Border, spoke on his distinct style on and off the pitch.

"He hit the ball a long way and just wanted to entertain," Border told the Nine Network. "He was, in a way, a little bit of an old-fashioned cricketer.

"He was an adventurer. Loved his fishing, he loved hiking, camping. People liked his very laid-back style.

"Symo away from the cameras and away from the spotlight, loved, I think, a bit of solitude and that is why he loved his fishing. Loved his own time."

Jamaica Scorpions coach Andre Coley would like to see batsmen taking more responsibility at the crease, and place more emphasis on batting time, as the West Indies Championship resumes next week.

With two rounds already in the books for the shortened season, the Scorpions will have plenty of work to obtain a satisfactory finish.   On the back of some lukewarm performances, the Jamaica franchise finds itself at the foot of the six-team standings having earned just 8.8 points they have so far.

In that regard, the team has added two batsmen, in West Indies batsman Brandon King and wicketkeeper Aldane Thomas who it is hoped will provide the team with added impetus heading into next Wednesday’s fixtures against the Windward Islands in Trinidad & Tobago.  Coley, however, also believes a change of attitude will be needed to turn things around.

“We are not just looking or starts but to transfer and to translate that into bigger scores, into bigger team partnerships and actually spending time (at the crease),” Coley told members of the media on Friday.

“We are a team that if you look at our record or even the first two games, our run rate has always been healthy.  We just now have to bat time and accept personal responsibility, from a batting standpoint and build more significant partnerships.”

Andre Russell made a big impact with bat and ball as Kolkata Knight Riders stayed in the hunt for an Indian Premier League play-off place with a 54-run defeat of Sunrisers Hyderabad.

KKR needed a win at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium on Saturday to keep themselves in contention for a top-four finish and they delivered under pressure.

Russell blasted 49 off 28 balls to get the Knight Riders up to 177-6 in Pune, where hostile paceman Umran Malik gave another exhibition of his quality by taking 3-33.

Sunrisers fell well short at 123-8 in their run chase as their play-off hopes suffered a blow, with this their fifth consecutive defeat.

Malik halted KKR's momentum by dismissing Nitish Rana (26) and Ajinkya Rahane (28) in the same over, reducing them to 72-3 after eight overs.

He also had Shreyas Iyer caught by Rahul Tripathi at deep midwicket, but Sam Billings got Kolkata ticking with 34 and unbeaten Russell struck four sixes - three of which came in the final over from Washington Sundar - in a much-need display of powerful striking.

All-rounder Russell (3-22) then cleaned an out-of-sorts Kane Williamson up for only nine and Tim Southee (2-23) took an excellent catch off his own bowling to send Tripathi on his way for the same score as his captain.

Abhishek Sharma made a brisk 43 and Aiden Markram 32, but Russell took another two wickets as Sunrisers' slump continued and they slipped to eighth spot with two games to play, while sixth-placed KKR face Lucknow Super Giants as they strive to sneak into the play-offs.

Malik back in business

Sunrisers quick Malik has been a revelation in this tournament and made his mark once again after failing to take a wicket in three matches following his five-wicket haul against Gujarat Titans.

The 22-year-old has claimed 18 scalps in the 2022 IPL at an average of 22 and there will surely be many more to come in such a promising career.

Russell keeps KKR in the mix

So many times over the years Russell has stepped up when his side have needed him.

He gave KKR a huge lift by taking Sundar apart in the last over of KKR's innings and then did the bulk of the damage with the ball, dismissing Williamson, Sundar and Marco Jansen.

Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma agreed with the team’s decision to leave him out of the squad ahead of Thursday's encounter against Chennai Super Kings.

Much-like compatriot and fellow power-hitter Chris Gayle was last year, Pollard was left out of the line-up on his 35^th birthday.  Instead, the team opted to go with South Africa big-hitter Tristan Stubbs on debut.

Despite it being a special day for the West Indian, few could have disagreed with the decision considering the player’s recent form.  In 11 IPL matches so far, the big West Indian has scored just 144 runs at an average of 14.40 and with a strike rate of 107.46.  The ball-striking tally is the player’s lowest since he made his debut in the IPL in 2010.

In explaining the decision, Sharma insisted the team, which is currently bottom of the IPL, has begun to contemplate its future.

"Keeping an eye on the future, Pollard is out and Stubbs is in. He (Pollard) was the one who came up to us and he was ready for it,” Rohit told Star Sport.

 “We want to try out a few players, got to see what they have to offer.”