Jamaica’s Reggae Girlz now know their opponents in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand after the draw on Saturday in New Zealand.

The Girlz have been drawn in Group F alongside powerhouses Brazil, France and either Taiwan, Panama, Paraguay or Papua New Guinea.

Brazil has been to nine World Cups with their best result being runners-up in 2007 while the French have been to five, most notably finishing fourth in 2011.

Jamaica will open their campaign against France on July 25 in Sydney before facing Chinese Taipei/Panama/Paraguay/Papua New Guinea on July 29 in Perth then battling Brazil on August 2 in Melbourne.

“Excitement,” was Reggae Girlz head coach Lorne Donaldson’s reaction when asked about the draw.

“It was a long day of anticipating. The draw itself was a draw with some exciting teams that play good football so we have to come out and try to match them.”

Jamaica was also drawn against Brazil in the 2019 World Cup, suffering a 0-3 loss in Grenoble.

“This is a totally different Brazil side. It’s a younger team with a different coach. Obviously, we have our work cut out against a fast, skillful Brazilian team so we have to be ready.”

Aaron Finch will not rush to any rash decisions following Australia's humbling 89-run defeat to New Zealand in their T20 World Cup opener on Saturday.

Australia were looking to make a positive start to their title defence at the SCG but found themselves on the end of an embarrassing loss.

It was a measure of revenge for the Black Caps, who lost to Australia in last year's final, with Devon Conway playing a vital role as his 92 not out off 58 helped New Zealand to a total of 200-3.

The swift dismissals of David Warner, Finch himself and Mitchell Marsh left Australia's chase doomed at 34-3 by the fifth over – Tim Southee eliminated two of them as he finished with remarkable figures of 3-6.

Australia were eventually bowled out for just 111, but captain Finch did not feel it was necessary to lay into his team, convinced they have a group of players and structure to retain their title.

"We still feel as though we've got the right structure of team, and we've got the right players to win the World Cup," he said.

"Obviously, it's taken a big hit today with the net run rate, and when that happens, you need to play well, and we need to we need to get better, quickly.

"And then, like I said, you need a bit of luck in T20 cricket as well, in such a brutal tournament.

"So, I think we've still got the right structure of the team. There's no doubt about that.

"Whether you go with an extra spinner, an extra quick, something like that, I think that's the only real decision to be made.

"Well, I'm still confident in the 15 that we've got, no doubt."

Finch will hope for a response against Sri Lanka at Perth Stadium on Tuesday.

Devon Conway's majestic 92 not out and a superb raft of bowling performances helped New Zealand inflict a shock rout upon Australia with an 89-run win in their T20 World Cup opener in Sydney.

Trent Boult, Mitchell Santner and Tim Southee returned terrific figures in a superb performance to leave the hosts stunned in the first match of the Super 12 stage at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

For the Black Caps, it was a performance to emphatically banish the ghosts of last year's final in the United Arab Emirates, where they buckled against a destructive Baggy Green performance led by Mitchell Marsh.

Here, they clocked a near-perfect start, with opener Finn Allen lashing a destructive 42 off 16 balls before Conway took command following the former's dismissal by Josh Hazlewood through the off-stump.

The wicket-keeper's shrewd knock pushed them to 200-3, setting Australia a difficult target to chase down - and swift dismissals for David Warner, Aaron Finch and Marsh, to reduce them to 34-3, effectively stymied their response.

From there, New Zealand effectively mopped up, working their way through the tail - and when Pat Cummins skied Southee at the start of the 18th over, an easy catch ensured a 111 all out demolition to get their tournament off to a flyer.

Conway throws down marker to rivals

The pyrotechnic performance of Allen came to an end with a choice ball from Hazlewood, the best of the Australia bowlers, but it was Conway's steady presence that built the bedrock.

Left-hander Conway carried the bat through a sumptuous 58-ball innings that included seven fours and two sixes. It is his third half-century in his last five T20I matches - few players are in finer form.

Hosts humbled in poor start

Having downed the Black Caps to crown themselves champions a year ago, this was a performance without bark and bite from Australia.

It is early doors in this competition, but in a group that also contains an England side in rich form, it is a result that could have seismic ramifications for their title defence.

South Africa's bowlers tuned up for the T20 World Cup with a dominant display to help the Proteas to a nine-wicket victory over New Zealand at Allan Border Field on Sunday.

Stand-in captain Keshav Maharaj claimed 17-3 as South Africa skittled the Black Caps for 98, chasing down the target in 11.2 overs led by opener Rilee Rossouw's 54 not out.

The Proteas, who are due to commence their World Cup campaign against a qualifier on Sunday in Hobart, triumphed without Quinton de Kock, who was rested, and skipper Temba Bavuma, who is being eased into training with a view to playing in their final warm-up game against Bangladesh on Wednesday.

Last year's World Cup runners-up New Zealand, who will face Australia in the tournament opener on Saturday at the SCG, struggled throughout with the bat, with Martin Guptill top scoring with 26.

Wayne Parnell (8-2 from two overs) removed opener Finn Allen and skipper Kane Williamson cheaply within the opening three overs. The Black Caps threatened to rebuild until Glenn Phillips fell for 20 skying a drive to Marco Jansen off Tabraiz Shamsi, prompting a collapse of 45-8.

There was little resistance after Guptill was trapped LBW trying to sweep from Maharaj for 26 from 23 deliveries, as Shamsi finished with 6-2 from his three overs including a rare maiden.

The Proteas made light work of the chase, with Rossouw's unbeaten 54 coming from 32 balls with nine fours and one six, while Reeza Hendricks added 27 from 24 deliveries.

Parnell responds with blistering spell

South Africa's attack was on song, led by Parnell who managed nine dot balls despite only being used for two overs up front. Allen had blasted Parnell for a maximum with the first ball of the game but the left-armer fought back with a spell which set the tone.

New Zealand started their Rugby League World Cup campaign with a hard-fought 34-12 victory against Lebanon on Sunday.

The world's number one side were made to sweat on occasion at the Halliwell Jones Stadium in Warrington, and surprisingly fell behind to their Group C opponents inside the first minute when Josh Mansour raced onto a loose ball on the right to score.

The Kiwis were soon level when Kenneth Bromwich went over, before substitute Nelson Asofa-Solomona got his side ahead despite some excellent defensive work from Lebanon, with Peta Hiku adding another shortly after to give New Zealand an 18-6 lead at the break.

The Cedars would not go away, though, and scored their second try to halve the deficit shortly after the restart as Abbas Miski went over down the left side.

After a further scare, the Kiwis took charge as terrific work from Manu ended with Dylan Brown racing through to score, before Manu again showed his quality to get a try of his own before the hour.

Jordan Rapana then added another just after Lebanon's Adam Doueihi was sent off for dissent.

Cricket West Indies (CWI), on Saturday, paid tribute to Bruce Pairaudeau, the former West Indies and Guyana batsman who passed away at age 91 in New Zealand where he has resided since the late 1950s. 

Pairaudeau was a stylish middle-order batsman, who made a century on his Test debut against India at the Queen’s Park Oval in 1953. On that occasion he scored 115 and added a then record stand of 219 for the fifth wicket with Sir Everton Weekes, who made 207. He ended his Test career in 1957 amassing 454 runs in 13 matches.

Pairaudeau made his first-class debut for then British Guiana at age 15 and played 89 first-class matches, where he scored 4930 runs with 11 centuries. A significant portion of his first-class career was with Northern Districts in New Zealand, where he led them to the Plunket Shield title.

Speaking on behalf of CWI, President Ricky Skerrit said: “Bruce Pairaudeau was one of the pioneers of the game in Guyana and the West Indies who played a significant role in paving the way for others to follow, and for this he will always be remembered. He was a highly-regarded batsman who made an immediate impression on the world stage with a top-class century on debut. After he moved to New Zealand, he never lost touch with West Indies cricket and would always visit the team whenever they toured to offer his support and encouragement. CWI hereby extends our deepest condolences to his family and many friends.”

 

David Warner could miss Australia's final T20 World Cup warm-up match against India on Monday through injury, but captain Aaron Finch is confident the batsman will be fit for the tournament.

Warner suffered an injury to his neck during the second T20I match against England on Wednesday, which forced him to miss the series finale on Friday – a match that was abandoned due to rain.

Finch is unsure whether his fellow opener will be fit enough to face India, but has no concerns over Warner's availability for the clash against New Zealand on October 22.

"I think he would definitely be right for New Zealand," Finch said. "I'm not sure about the warm-up game against India.

"I think he was okay the day after he hit his head and then the following day, his neck got really sore and stiff.

"We'll wait and see what it's like. If he's fit he'll play. If he's still a little bit sore, we'd err on the side of caution.

"I think when you've got experienced players who know what they need to do to be ready for a tournament, you're not too concerned whether they play that game or not."

Finch also confirmed Australia are taking it easy with all-rounders Marcus Stoinis and Mitchell Marsh in a bid to avoid injury flare-ups.

Stoinis missed both T20I series against India and the West Indies with a side injury he sustained in September, while Marsh has not bowled in a match since injuring an ankle in the ODI series against Zimbabwe in August.

"Stoinis, the reason he wasn't available to bowl yesterday was just prior injury history," Finch explained.

"Every time that he's tried to come back and ball back-to-back games coming off the same injury he has struggled and got a niggle on the back of it. So, we went with the conservative route there."

"Mitch has been building up his bowling at the moment.  He just hasn't been at the intensity to go into a game that's required especially so close to a World Cup."

Hosts Australia head into the T20 World Cup as defending champions, but no team has ever won back-to-back editions of this tournament.

The showpiece for international cricket's shortest format has provided some spectacular moments since South Africa staged the first edition 15 years ago.

West Indies are the only team to have carried off the trophy twice, and their long-time ring master Chris Gayle is absent this time, having not featured since the Caribbean side bowed out of the T20 World Cup last year.

With Gayle all but retired from internationals, and with others shuffling away, new stars will emerge over the coming weeks, and some established figures will be chasing records.

Here, Stats Perform looks at the T20 World Cup's top performers, and the spectacular feats from tournaments gone by that the class of 2022 will have in their sights.

Batters bid to go big in post-Gayle era

Sri Lanka great Mahela Jayawardene is the only batter to have topped 1,000 runs in the history of the T20 World Cup, reaching 1,016 from 31 innings, spanning 2007 to 2014. He went out on a sensational high, passing the 1,000-run barrier in the final as Sri Lanka won the 2014 title by beating India in Mirpur.

Windies great Gayle sits second on that list with 965 runs, and is the only batter to have made two centuries in T20 World Cups. Those were also the fastest two tons in T20 World Cup history (47 balls v England in 2016, 50 balls v South Africa in 2007).

There are a number of batters who could join Jayawardene in reaching 1,000 runs at the T20 World Cup, but principal among them are the India pair of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.

Rohit replaced Kohli as skipper at the end of last year, following India's failure to get past the Super 12 stage at the World Cup, and there could be a friendly rivalry emerging in the race for four figures.

Rohit enters the tournament for top-ranked India on 847 runs in past editions, while Kohli has 845. Strikingly, Rohit's runs have come from 30 innings at an average of 38.50, whereas Kohli has plundered his in just 19 innings, and the latter's average of 76.81 is by far and away the best among all batters with 500-plus runs in the competition.

It helps, of course, that Kohli has finished unbeaten in eight of those knocks. The next highest average among such players is former England batter Kevin Pietersen's 44.61 (580 runs from 15 innings, two unbeaten).

The highest score by any batter in a single innings at the T20 World Cup remains the 123 that Brendon McCullum, now England's Test head coach, plundered for New Zealand against Bangladesh in Pallekele at the 2012 tournament. That was McCullum's highest score across his entire T20I career.

David Warner is another who could make it to 1,000 runs, but the Australia opener will need a big tournament to make that happen. He goes in on 762 runs from 30 prior innings, Cricinfo statistics show.

Only one batter has reached 500 T20 World Cup runs without making a fifty, and that was former India captain MS Dhoni, who skippered the team to the 2007 title. His best score in 29 innings, from which he accumulated 529 runs, was a modest 45.

Pakistan's Babar Azam dazzled at the 2021 T20 World Cup, scoring a tournament-high 303 runs in six innings.

His four half-centuries matched the most by any player in an edition of the tournament, the ICC said, having been previously achieved in 2014 by Kohli and in 2007 by Matthew Hayden.

Shakib, Mendis and Campher set standards for bowling elite

Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan is something of a T20 World Cup superstar. As well as ranking eighth on the run-scoring list (698 from 31 innings), the all-rounder has taken more wickets than anyone, with 41 at an average of 17.29.

A haul of 11 at the 2021 tournament took him top of the list, and there is nobody threatening to get particularly close to the 35-year-old spinner.

Among players selected for this tournament, the player with the next highest wicket haul is India's Ravichandran Ashwin, with 26 from 18 matches.

When it comes to T20 cricket, unsurprisingly there have been precious few five-wicket hauls, given the bowlers each have just a four-over allocation.

Sri Lanka's Ajantha Mendis is the only bowler to have snagged six in an innings, taking princely figures of 6-8 against Zimbabwe in 2012, while eight others have taken five wickets in a match, headed by Rangana Herath's remarkable 5-3 against New Zealand at the 2014 tournament, when the Black Caps were skittled for 60.

That ranks as the fourth-lowest team score in a T20 World Cup, with Netherlands responsible for the two worst totals, both times folding against Sri Lanka when making 39 at Chattogram in 2014 and 44 in Sharjah last year.

The other side to post a sub-60 score were West Indies, routed for 55 by England in Dubai 12 months ago.

A hat-trick represents the holy grail for all bowlers, and there have been just four in T20 World Cups, with Brett Lee taking the first for Australia against Bangladesh at the inaugural 2007 tournament.

There were no more until the 2021 tournament, which incredibly featured three: Curtis Campher took four wickets in four balls for Ireland against Netherlands, before Wanindu Hasaranga (for Sri Lanka against South Africa) and Kagiso Rabada (for South Africa against England) both managed three in three.

It has been a long time coming but the T20 World Cup will finally get under way in Australia on Sunday.

Two years later than scheduled due to the coronavirus pandemic, the tournament will start with Sri Lanka taking on Namibia at Kardinia Park followed by the United Arab Emirates versus the Netherlands at the same venue on Sunday.

There will be six days of qualifying matches to decide which four teams will go through to the Super 12, which starts with a repeat of last year's final between holders Australia and New Zealand on October 22.

You could make a case for several teams being strong contenders to lift the trophy at the MCG on November 13.

Stats Perform picks out some of the storylines to look out for in a tournament that will be well worth the wait.

 

Windies and Sri Lanka should avoid shock early exit

The only team to have won the T20 World Cup twice is West Indies, but they failed to secure direct qualification for the Super 12 on this occasion.

They lost four out of five matches as defending champions in the United Arab Emirates last year, a crushing six-wicket defeat to England setting the tone as they were skittled out for a pitiful 55.

Nicholas Pooran's side will face Scotland, Zimbabwe, Ireland at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart and will be expected to advance from Group B.

Sri Lanka were crowned Asia Cup champions last month and ought to have no trouble in advancing from a Group A that also includes the Netherlands, the UAE and Namibia.

On a high from lifting the trophy in Dubai, Dasun Shanaka's men could be dangerous if they made it through to the Super 12 as expected.

 

Hosts in quest to make history

Australia ended their wait for a first T20 World Cup title in Dubai last year at the expense of the Black Caps, Mitchell Marsh blasting an unbeaten 77 in the final to seal an eight-wicket win.

No team has won back-to-back T20 World Cup titles, so the hosts have an opportunity to make history on home soil.

Tim David has emerged as another potential match-winner that has bolted his way into the squad and he is capable of making a big impact, while big things will be expected from the likes of David Warner with the bat.

Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins are a formidable pace trio and leg-spinner Adam Zampa brings an X-Factor. Australia have a great chance of achieving a feat no other side has accomplished.

Can India make amends?

India were strongly fancied to win the rearranged T20 World Cup last year, but their challenge was all-but over soon after it had started.

They were consigned to a 10-wicket thrashing by fierce rivals in Pakistan in their first match and still looked shellshocked when New Zealand hammered them by eight wickets.

Virat Kohli stepped down as captain after that failure, with Rohit Sharma the skipper of what is another star-studded squad.

The loss of paceman Jasprit Bumrah and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja to injury were huge blows, but India will be expected to mount a strong challenge as the top-ranked side in the world and batter Suryakumar Yadav can make a big impact.

Buttler to deliver in first tournament as skipper?

England looked unstoppable in the World Cup last year until they were knocked out by New Zealand at the semi-final stage.

Jos Buttler has since taken over as captain after Eoin Morgan retired from international cricket, and Matthew Mott was appointed as head coach.

Buttler has recovered from injury for what will be his first tournament as skipper and will look to produce the sort of form he did in the 2021 World Cup, in which he averaged a staggering 89.66.

England have huge firepower with the bat, while Reece Topley, Mark Wood and Adil Rashid are among the bowlers Buttler will be counting on to step up as they strive to lift the trophy for a second time.

 

Proteas a force to be reckoned with

South Africa have never been beyond the semi-final of a T20 World Cup, but there is every chance this could be their year.

Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi and Anrich Nortje are a hostile trio of pace bowlers and they also have the wizardry of spinner Tabraiz Shamsi.

The absence of Rassie van der Dussen is a big loss, but the Proteas are not short of explosive batting with the likes of Quinton de Kock, David Miller, Rillee Rossouw and Tristan Stubbs to call upon.

Five years on from its last iteration - and a year after it was originally set to take place - the 2021 Rugby League World Cup kicks off this weekend when England face Samoa at St James' Park in Newcastle.

Shaun Wane's hosts will be one of 16 sides jockeying to be crowned the best national team on the planet, alongside holders Australia, world number one New Zealand and a host of other countries.

Set to run for just over a month, through to the final at Old Trafford on November 19, there are already plenty of narratives for what is shaping up to be one of the most enthralling tournaments the sport has ever seen.

With that in mind, Stats Perform is here to run down who will be gunning for the prize, who is likely to fall by the wayside - and who just might capture hearts and minds along the way.
 

The usual suspects

There have only been three nations who have ever laid their hands on the Paul Barriere Trophy - and you can expect the two of them in the competition this year to be in the mix once again.

Australia have won this tournament a record 11 times, and despite a dearth of international rugby for Mal Meninga's side since they last hoisted it aloft, the Kangaroos firmly remain the side to beat.

In Michael Maguire's New Zealand, they will likely face a familiar foe before the final.

Australia and New Zealand have been drawn in Group B and C respectively, meaning there is no path for them to meet in the showpiece game, despite being the two most highly fancied teams with the bookmakers coming into the tournament.

The Kiwis soundly underperformed in 2017, knocked out in the quarter-finals; here, they'll be desperate to make amends.

Fifty years of hurt

England have never won the Rugby League World Cup - or rather, as a solo nation, having been part of the Great Britain side that last won the Paul Barriere Trophy in 1972.

Preparations have been less than ideal for the hosts too, with a host of key faces - including Super League Grand Final-winning St Helens trio Jonny Lomax, Mark Percival and Alex Walmsley, plus Wigan Warriors back-rower Liam Farrell - all struck off from consideration through injury.

But that has opened the door for a slew of surprises, with Salford duo Marc Sneyd and Andy Ackers handed maiden call-ups alongside Australian-born loose-forward Victor Radley.

Throw in NRL young guns Dom Young and Herbie Farnworth, and there's plenty to be excited for. Could they upset the odds and end a half-century wait for glory on home turf?

The upstart crowd

Last time a World Cup took place, Samoa endured a dismal tournament, with a draw against a gutsy Scotland side their only positive mark of the competition.

Now, it is a different story - Matt Parish's side are stuffed to the gills with NRL superstars, including six of Penrith Panthers' Grand Final-winning squad.

They'll hope to follow in the footsteps of Tonga, who caused a shock five years ago with a remarkable run to the final four, where they then ran England close.

Both teams have taken maximum advantage of rugby league's chop-and-change eligibility rules, and are now credible dark horse contenders.

Perennial semi-finalists, Fiji - who knocked out New Zealand last time around - look as if they will be considerably off the pace of their Pacific rivals, but the Bati's roaring spirit means they are unlikely to go down without a fight.

Throw in Papua New Guinea and the Cook Islands, and the Southern Hemisphere will have plenty to boast about.
 

The rest of the pack

It won't be a lock-out from below the equator if England and the other nations in the tournament have their say.

Wales - coached by the eternal John Kear - Scotland and Ireland ensure a Home Nations lockout for the United Kingdom, while France and Italy bring continental flavour from Europe.

Lebanon, meanwhile, are led by a familiar face from across the rugby code divide - ex-Wallabies supremo Michael Cheika, who will juggle this tournament with his role in charge of the Argentina union national team.

Then there is the two teams making their World Cup debut - Greece and Jamaica.

The former hail from a nation where rugby league has fought to even be recognised as a sport, while the latter stunned the USA to achieve a tournament bow.

While neither team is expected to make a long run, they are sure to earn their fans over the coming weeks.

New Zealand winger Ronaldo Mulitalo is hoping to emulate his namesake Cristiano Ronaldo – who he is named after – when the 2021 Rugby League World Cup gets under way this month.

The Cronulla Sharks winger is making his tournament bow with Michael Maguire's Kiwis, as the world number one-ranked nation look to dethrone holders Australia and hosts England among others over the next few weeks.

While New Zealand will raise the curtain on their campaign in Group C against Lebanon at Warrington's Halliwell Jones Stadium, it is up the road at Old Trafford, the home of Manchester United, where the final will take place.

Mulitalo is aiming to guide his side to the November 19 showpiece, revealing his name is indeed inspired by the Portuguese talisman who calls it home, though he admits it is a moniker he struggles to relate to.

"My mum loves him," he stated. "I don't like telling people around here because they are looking at my like 'you are a fake Ronaldo' ... the bush version. So I don't really tell everyone my name around here.

"But it would be a bit of a surreal moment [to play at his ground]. It would be nice. Before we even think about getting to Old Trafford we have a bit of work to do."

Following their opener against Lebanon, New Zealand will face tournament debutants Jamaica at Hull's MKM Stadium before wrapping up their group campaign against Ireland at Leeds' Headingley Stadium.

Any path to the final is likely to see them have to go through Australia to get there, with the Kangaroos on their side of the knockout draw, while England, Tonga and Samoa make up the major contenders on the other pathway.

Daryl Mitchell will be in the New Zealand squad for the T20 World Cup despite suffering a fractured finger.

The batter was a doubt for the tournament in Australia after breaking the fifth metacarpal on his right hand when he took a blow in the nets last week.

Mitchell was ruled out of the pre-World Cup T20I Tri-Series encounters with Pakistan and Bangladesh but will travel to Australia.

Black Caps head coach Gary Stead revealed Mitchell may not be ready for New Zealand's first match of the tournament against the hosts at the SCG, but he hopes the 31-year-old will face Afghanistan four days later.

"The good news is we have made a decision about Daryl Mitchell, and he will tour with us to the World Cup," Stead said on Monday.

"When we thought about the value Daryl brings to the team and the likely time frame... we are still hopeful he'll be right for the first game but probably more realistically the second game.

"There will still be four pool games to go and then hopefully semi-final and final after that. 

"Daryl has showed the value to this team, and we feel it was the right decision to make."

The Black Caps are monitoring the fitness of fast bowler Lockie Ferguson, who has been sidelined with an abdominal injury.

Lockie Ferguson could miss the entire T20I tri-series against Pakistan and Bangladesh as New Zealand aim to protect the fast bowler's fitness for the T20 World Cup.

The 31-year-old missed last year's World Cup due to a calf tear and, after a minor abdominal injury, New Zealand head coach Gary Stead has suggested Ferguson could miss the ongoing tri-series in Christchurch.

The Blackcaps are already without Daryl Mitchell after the batter fractured his hand in training on Friday, while spinner Mitchell Santner will join the squad on Sunday after a paternity break.

"Lockie has a little ab injury at the moment. We're just managing that and the most important thing is we get to the start of the World Cup and Lockie is ready to go," Stead said.

"He's a very, very important cog in our bowling line-up. Unfortunately for him, he missed last year's World Cup with the injury he had then.

"I mean we are mindful of it and we want to make sure that he's right and ready for those early games in the World Cup.

"There is that chance [of him missing the entire tri-series]. We will just see how he responds to treatment over the next few days."

Adam Milne is another Blackcaps bowler to suffer from persistent injury issues, with New Zealand aiming to rebuild the 30-year-old's fitness ahead of the World Cup later this month.

"It's the first time I've had eyes live on Milne at the nets and he looked really good," Stead said.

"We're pleased with what we are seeing there and again he is coming off a reasonably extensive injury break as well, so just managing him and making sure he's right will be the most important thing for us in these four games."

While New Zealand scramble for options in their fast-bowling department, Mitchell hopes to be back in action ahead of the first game of the T20 World Cup against Australia on October 22.

"Obviously, not ideal timing, but we've got some good news around where the fracture is in the hand and the time frame to be ready for the first game in Australia in a couple of weeks' time," Mitchell told Spark Sport on the sidelines of New Zealand's tri-series opener against Pakistan on Saturday.

"We'll do everything we can to try and be ready and fingers crossed that I'll be good to go."

New Zealand batter Daryl Mitchell is an injury doubt for the T20 World Cup after fracturing his hand in training on Friday.

Mitchell has been ruled out of the T20 Tri-Series encounters with Pakistan and Bangladesh, having taken a blow on his right hand while batting in the nets.

The 31-year-old has broken his fifth metacarpal and Blacks Caps physio Theo Kapakoulakis confirmed he wear a cast for at least two weeks.

New Zealand will face hosts and holders Australia at the SCG in their first game of the World Cup in a repeat of last year's final on October 22.

Black Caps head coach Gary Stead will not rush into deciding whether Mitchell will fly out with the squad on October 15.

"It's a real shame for Daryl to suffer this injury on the eve of an exciting period of cricket for the side," Stead said.

"Daryl's become a really important player to our T20 unit and we're certainly going to miss his all-round skills and versatility in the Tri-Series.

"With our first game of the World Cup in just over two weeks we need to take some to consider Daryl's recovery timeline and his potential involvement in the tournament."

West Indies Women’s team captain Hayley Matthews believes the ongoing series against New Zealand presents a real opportunity for younger members of the squad to gain valuable experience playing against a quality team.

On Wednesday, the Kiwis took an unassailable 3-1 series lead after beating the West Indies via a tense Super Over.  In the regular innings, the Caribbean team successfully chased down but could not overhaul New Zealand's score of 111.

In the Super Over, Matthews and Natasha McLean put on 15 runs but New Zealand captain Sophie Devine put on a savage display of power hitting, which ended with a last-ball six off Matthew to plunder 17-runs from the over and the series win.

With the likes of Anisa Mohammed, former captain Stafanie Taylor, and the recently retired Deandra Dottin all missing from the squad the team included several developing players and a few returning ones. 

“This is very good for the girls getting the opportunity to go out there and play the highest level of cricket.  To play against an experienced team like New Zealand with a lot of veterans and known campaigners,” Matthews said.

“We do have a lot of injuries but it’s a great opportunity for the girls to get out there be in the deep end, have a good go at international cricket, and hopefully learn a lot,” she added.

With Matthews only recently having taken over the captaincy from Taylor she admits the situation also presents her with a personal opportunity to develop in the role.

“The team has been supporting me really well.  It’s definitely thrown me in the deep end a bit with a lot of the injuries that we have had and not having as much experience on the team but at the same time, I think it’s only going to help me to learn faster and be better as well.  So, I’m just embracing the challenge.”

   

 

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