Delhi Capitals secured their second win of the Indian Premier League season as the strugglers made it back-to-back victories by beating Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Having lost their first five matches, Delhi got off the mark with a win over Kolkata Knight Riders last week, and they followed it up with a seven-run success over Sunrisers.

The Capitals, despite strong contributions from Manish Pandey (34) and Axar Patel (34) failed to set an imposing total. Washington Sundar (3-28) helping Sunrisers restrict them to 144-9.

Sunrisers looked poised to canter to 145 when Mayank Agarwal (49) guided them to 69-1. However, they subsequently lost four wickets for 16 runs, leaving Heinrich Klaasen (31) and Sundar (24 not out) to lead a recovery mission.

Though Klaasen fell with nine balls remaining, Sundar was in a position to get them over the line, Sunrisers needing 13 off the last.

But Mukesh Kumar did not allow a single boundary in the final six balls, frustrating Sunrisers with superb death blowing to seal triumph for Delhi.

Delhi celebrate new low

The Capitals' total of 144 is the lowest they have successfully defended in the IPL. Their previous best in that regard came back in 2009, when they prevailed against Rajasthan Royals when defending 150.

Bhuvneshwar brilliance not enough

Bhuvneshwar Kumar will feel aggrieved to be on the losing side. The Sunrisers seamer bowled 16 dot balls in his four overs, the most by any bowler this season. His 11 runs conceded also marked the lowest total by any bowler to complete his allocation of overs in the 2023 campaign.

The West Indies ‘A’ team will play three four-day ‘Test’ matches Sylhet International Cricket Stadium (SICS) in Sylhet, Bangladesh, CWI announced on Monday.

These matches will have full first-class status. The West Indies “A” Team will arrive in Bangladesh on May 11.

This will be the second West Indies Men’s “A” Team series since 2020, when COVID-19 caused major disruptions. It is a reciprocal tour by West Indies “A” following the Bangladesh “A” team’s visit last August, when they played two four-day first-class matches and three 50-over List A matches at the Daren Sammy Stadium in Saint Lucia.

West Indies Men’s “A” team matches are an important development opportunity for players pushing for selection to the West Indies senior team and for emerging players to build their first-class international experience.

Roland Holder, CWI’s Manager of Cricket Operations, reiterated that the series would provide exposure for several players and noted it was significant part of CWI’s commitment to continually develop talent and prepare them for the demands at international cricket.

“We are again pleased to work closely with the BCB as we confirm the match schedule for this upcoming Men’s ‘A’ Team Series,” Holder said.

“Last summer we had a competitive five-match series with red ball and white ball matches in Saint Lucia. This time around our players will get to experience foreign conditions and this is a vital part of their development in the pathway toward full international selection and provides a platform for further exposure and progress following the recent West Indies Championship and new Headley Weekes Tri-Series.”

MATCH SCHEDULE

All matches at SICS, Sylhet

16-19 May: 1st “Test”

23-26 May: 2nd “Test”

30 May to 2 June: 3rd “Test”

West Indies ODI captain, Shai Hope ended his three-match stint with English County Championship side Yorkshire County Cricket Club with an unbeaten half century in their drawn match against Sussex on Sunday.

The 29-year-old had a fairly successful run with the Division II County Cricket side scoring 13 and 83 in a loss to Leicestershire and 38 and 53 not out in a draw against Sussex. Yorkshire’s match against Gloucestershire was abandoned.

Notwithstanding the short run, Hope said he had a good time playing league cricket.

“I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the Yorkshire family. The culture they’ve created facilitated a smooth transition into what was a quick turnaround for me to add to a relatively young team,” said the 29-year-old Hope, who is not ruling out a return to the club.

“Thank you for having me and hope to see you in the not so distant future.”

According to Yorkshire, Hope will be missed.

“Sadly we say goodbye to Shai as he heads home after his three games with us. Shai has been a legend on and off the field. Thank you Shai,” it said on Instagram.

Ajinkya Rahane played a starring role as Chennai Super Kings moved top of the Indian Premier League after beating Kolkata Knight Riders by 49 runs.

Rahane knocked an impressive 71 from just 29 balls - including five sixes - while Devon Conway and Shivam Dube also brought up 50 as the Kings recorded their third straight victory at Eden Gardens.

After the Knight Riders elected to bowl, Conway and Ruturaj Gaikwad ensured a steady start for the Kings, who were 59-0 at the end of the Powerplay.

Suyash Sharma eventually broke the stand when he bowled Gaikwad for 35, but Conway and Rahane kept the Kings on track - the former bringing up the half-century off 34 balls.

Varun Chakaravarthy eventually claimed Conway for 59, but the Rahane-Dube partnership chalked up a combined 85 off 32 balls.

Kulwant Khejroliya eventually bowled Dube and Ravindra Jadeja, but Rahane was unbeaten as the Kings finished at 235-4.

But the Knight Riders' record chase stalled early on as they lost Sunil Narine and Jagadeesan Narayan inside the opening two overs.

Jason Roy boosted their quest with three successive sixes from Moeen Ali on his way to reaching 50 off just 19 balls, before eventually falling to Maheesh Theekshana for 61 (off 26).

Singh embarked on a late rally with an unbeaten 55 from 33 balls, but it proved academic as the Knight Riders fell short at 186/8 and suffered their fourth successive defeat.

Rahane leads the way

Rahane played an instrumental role in moving the Super Kings to the IPL summit. The former India captain top-scored with a quickfire 71 from just 29 balls.

Forming solid partnerships alongside Conway and Dube, he hit 11 boundaries during his impressive stand, including five stunning sixes.

Another 50 for Conway

The form of Conway has been pivotal in his side's impressive streak of form. Indeed, he has now scored a half-century in each of the Super Kings' last four victories.

Taking his tally of runs in this season's IPL to 314, Conway is second to only Faf du Plessis (405), who is also the only player to better his number of half-centuries in the competition (five).

Harshal Patel showed composure at the death as Royal Challengers Bangalore sealed a nerve-jangling seven-run win against Rajasthan Royals in the IPL.

The experienced seamer was handed the ball for the final over as Rajasthan needed 20 runs for victory, and despite conceding 10 runs from the first three deliveries, Harshal then applied the brakes, dismissing Ravichandran Ashwin on the way to completing figures of 3-32.

RCB lost Virat Kohli to a first-ball duck as the match began, pinned lbw by Trent Boult, but it got better for them. They totted up 189-9 to set a testing target, with their innings propped up by the twin pillars of Faf du Plessis (62) and Glenn Maxwell (77). Du Plessis and Maxwell collaborated for the highest third-wicket partnership for RCB in the IPL, putting on 127 runs.

Both thrashed the ball around with gusto, probably wondering why nobody else was following suit as Dinesh Karthik, who made 16, was the only other home player to reach double figures.

Mohammed Siraj then bowled Jos Buttler for a duck in the first over of Rajasthan's reply. A second-wicket stand of 98 between Yashasvi Jaiswal (47) and Devdutt Padikkal (52) looked to have tilted the match Rajasthan's way, but the end of that alliance heralded a slowing of the run rate.

Captain Sanju Samson fell for 22 and Rajasthan needed 61 from the final four overs, with their task made all the more difficult when Shimron Hetmyer was brilliantly run out by Suyash Prabhudessai.

Dhruv Jurel (34no) went on the attack and the Royals required 20 from the last set of six, which soon became 10 runs from three balls, but then Ashwin holed out to deep midwicket to give Harshal his third wicket, and a pair of singles from the next two balls left Rajasthan short.

Royals rolled over

This defeat at M Chinnaswamy Stadium means Rajasthan, who led the IPL at the start of the day, have followed a run of three wins with back-to-back defeats, having also lost last time out against Lucknow Super Giants. Home hero Harshal was introduced to this contest as an impact substitute for Du Plessis, having been unable to bat because of a finger injury, and he made his mark in grand style by removing Jaiswal and Samson before completing the job.

Maxwell and Du Plessis dominate

Maxwell's third fifty-plus score of this IPL season was the pivotal performance, with his 77 runs coming in just 44 balls. His previous two fifties came in losing causes, so this will have come as sweet relief. Du Plessis is enjoying a stunning campaign and showed his pedigree again, extending his lead in the list of the IPL's top run-scorers with his fifth half-century of the 2023 tournament, moving to 405 from seven innings.

A high-scoring affair in the Indian Premier League ended with Punjab Kings claiming a 13-run victory over Mumbai Indians on Saturday.

Harpreet Singh Bhatia and Sam Curran's 92-run partnership set the Kings on their way to setting a target of 215, which Mumbai briefly looked like they could knock off until Arshdeep Singh's supreme final over.

After hitting Cameron Green for four in the third over, Punjab opener Matthew Short (11) went after his fellow Australian again next ball and ended up finding only the safe hands of Piyush Chawla (2-15).

Prabhsimran Singh was going well before a swinging yorker from Arjun Tendulkar trapped him lbw for 26, while Chawla claimed both Liam Livingstone (10) and Atharva Taide (29).

The Kings' run rate slowed right down after that flurry of wickets, but Bhatia (41) and captain Curran (55) steadied the ship before stepping on the accelerator in the 16th over, hitting 31 runs from it, and a further 26 from the next nine deliveries before Bhatia played a Green ball onto his own stumps.

Curran reached his half-century before falling to England team-mate Jofra Archer (1-42), though Jitesh Sharma arrived and shone brightly but briefly as he hit 25 from just seven balls, before being bowled by Jason Behrendorff in the final over as the Kings finished on 214-8.

Ishan Kishan (1) fell early in reply, but Rohit Sharma and Green put on a partnership of 76 to take a chunk out of the imposing target.

Livingstone eventually removed Rohit for 44, caught and bowled from a sloppy shot, but Suryakumar Yadav picked up where his captain left off with a fiery innings.

Green smashed 67 from 43 balls before a slower delivery from Nathan Ellis saw him find the safe hands of Curran, but Suryakumar kept going, reaching his 50 from just 23 balls, though after getting his team back in the game, he was gone after hitting Arshdeep (4-29) straight to Taide for 57.

Tim David (25 from 13) forced a reachable final over chase, with Mumbai needing 16, but a superb six balls from Arshdeep, including two more wickets, ended any hopes as they could only manage 201-6.

Curran and Bhatia lay the table for success

It was very smart play by Curran and Bhatia to lay a calm foundation before piling on the runs, with their 92-run partnership the second-highest for the fifth wicket by a Kings duo in IPL history.

Punjab scored 96 runs off their last five overs, with only Royal Challengers Bangalore having struck more in the last five overs of an innings in IPL history (112 vs Gujarat Lions, May 2016).

Rohit reaches 250

It was a noble effort from Mumbai Indians as they chased a big target, with Green and Suryakumar making impressive contributions, though it was Rohit who achieved a notable landmark.

He became just the third batter and first Indian to reach 250 sixes in the IPL after Chris Gayle (357) and AB de Villiers (251). He is also just one maximum away from becoming just the second player to reach 200 maximums for Mumbai in the competition after Kieron Pollard (223).

Gujarat Titans took four wickets in a dramatic final over to clinch a seven-run win against the Lucknow Super Giants, denying their opponents top spot in the Indian Premier League as Mohit Sharma starred. 

The Titans were limited to 135-6 on a tricky surface, and the Super Giants looked set to edge a low-scoring affair when KL Rahul started the run chase strongly.

However, a man-of-the-match display from Mohit – who took 2-17 and closed out a final over containing four dismissals – ensured the Titans snatched a dramatic success at the last.

The Titans made a poor start with the bat as Shubman Gill went for a duck, handing Ravi Bishnoi a catch in the deep from just his second ball, but his exit allowed Wriddhiman Saha and Hardik Pandya to take up the mantle.

Saha was caught off Krunal Pandya's bowling three runs shy of his half-century, but Hardik remained steady as the wickets tumbled around him, hitting 66 off 50 balls to keep the Titans in contention.

Hardik's knock looked an excellent one on a slow surface, but the Titans skipper saw brother Krunal join Marcus Stoinis in claiming two wickets to leave the Super Giants chasing an attainable total.

Rahul led the run chase, accumulating 68 off 61 balls, but the Titans teed up a tense finish when Nicholas Pooran (1) swept into the hands of Hardik with three overs remaining. 

Having kept things tight to leave the Super Giants needing 10 from five deliveries, Mohit decided the contest by having Rahul and Stoinis (0) caught off successive balls, with Ayush Badoni and Deepak Hooda run out at the last as the Titans claimed a remarkable win.

Mohit the star as Titans hold on

When Mohit regained the ball after 17 overs, the Super Giants were chasing 23 runs from 18 balls with seven wickets in hand and looked destined to leapfrog the Rajasthan Royals at the top of the IPL standings.

However, Mohit conceded just eight runs over his final two overs with the ball, with his figures of 2-17 – and his role in having Badoni and Hooda run out at the last – guiding his team to victory.

Hardik edges family affair

Saturday's game saw Hardik pitted against older brother Krunal, who looked set to edge this family affair after getting two wickets and supporting Rahul with a knock of 23.

However, a series of late wickets ensured Hardik's Titans came out on top, maintaining his excellent record as skipper.

Hardik has won 75 per cent of his games as captain in the IPL (15/20) – the best such rate of any player to have led their side in the competition. 

West Indies Academy defeated Headley XI by seven wickets on day three of the opening match of the Headley Weekes Tri-Series at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua on Friday.

Trailing by 64 on first innings, Headley XI’s second innings lasted only 49 overs in which they were bundled out for 122 for a lead of just 58. West Indies Academy then reached 59-3 to seal the victory.

It was the Headley XI bowlers who saved their team from complete embarrassment as Justin Greaves top-scored with 30 and Akeem Jordan, 28, that helped their past the 100-run mark after West Indies Academy bowlers had scythed through the top order to have them tottering at 61-6.

The pair put on 50 for the seventh wicket that helped extend the match after Nyeem Young 3-17 and Kelvin Pittman 3-27 did the early damage. Joshua Bishop (2-18) and Ashmead Nedd 1-20 combined to clean up the tail leaving their batters to chase 59 for victory.

They duly obliged but not without a few stumbles as Chaim Holder dismissed Kirk McKenzie and Teddy Bishop for ducks and first innings century maker for 16 to finish with 3-22. However, Keagan Simmonds kept his cool to score an unbeaten 31 while sharing in a match-winning stand of 20 with Tevin Imlach who was unbeaten on eight at the end.

Scores in the match: Headley XI 259 (Joshua da Silva 136) and 122; West Indies Academy 323 (Kevlon Anderson 153) and 59-3.

The best women’s cricketers in the West Indies will be back in action as Cricket West Indies (CWI) hosts the CG United Super50 Cup and the T20 Blaze regional tournaments in St. Kitts.

The CG United Super50 Cup matches will be played at three venues – Warner Park, the Conaree Cricket Centre, and St. Paul’s Sports Complex from 8 to 17 May with the 50 over matches starting at 10am local time. 

The T20 Blaze will feature five full days of entertainment for the fans from 20 to 27 May at Warner Park. There will be three matches per day – starting at 10am, 2:30 pm and 7 pm (under lights). 

Barbados are defending champions in the CG United Super50 Cup and Jamaica the defending champions of the T20 Blaze. The other teams are the newly renamed Trinidad & Tobago Divas, Guyana, Windward Islands and hosts Leeward Islands.

The Tournament comes on the cusp of CWI’s announcement to start a new Women’s Academy in July for the best U23 players in the region. ​ This will be a major boost for the development of Women’s Cricket in the West Indies and forms part of the overall strategic plan to commit more resources to improving the women’s game at all levels.

CWI’s Director of cricket, Jimmy Adams said, "This year's CG United Super50 Cup and T20 Blaze will be a great opportunity for both talent identification and player development. We look forward to watching a healthy mix of experienced players along with some of the exciting talent we saw in last year's U19 competition. With international tours at home to Ireland and away to Australia this year, these regional tournaments will provide players a chance to fight for places."

Matches will be streamed LIVE on the Windies Cricket YouTube channel with live scorecards and ball-by-ball scoring on the Windiescricket.com live match centre.

FULL MATCH SCHEDULE

CG United Super50 Cup – play starts at 10am

Round 1: Monday 8 May

Windward Islands vs Guyana – Conaree Cricket Centre

Leeward Islands vs Jamaica – St. Paul’s Sports Complex

Trinidad & Tobago Divas vs Barbados – Warner Park

Round 2: Wednesday 10 May

Jamaica vs Trinidad & Tobago Divas – St. Paul’s Sports Complex

Guyana vs Barbados – Conaree Cricket Centre

Windward Islands vs Leeward Islands – Warner Park

Round 3: Friday 12 May

Trinidad & Tobago Divas vs Windward Islands – St. Paul’s Sports Complex

Jamaica vs Barbados – Conaree Cricket Centre

Guyana vs Leeward Islands – Warner Park

Round 4: Monday 15 May

Jamaica vs Guyana – Warner Park

Leeward Islands vs Trinidad & Tobago Divas – Conaree Cricket Centre

Barbados vs Windward Islands – St. Paul’s Sports Complex

Round 5: Wednesday 17 May

Leeward Islands vs Barbados – Warner Park

Trinidad & Tobago Divas vs Guyana – St. Paul’s Sporting Complex

Jamaica vs Windward Islands – Conaree Cricket Centre

CWI T20 Blaze (all matches played at Warner Park)

Round 1: Saturday 20 May

Windward Islands vs Guyana – 10am

Leeward Islands vs Jamaica – 2:30:pm

Trinidad & Tobago Divas vs Barbados – 7pm

Round 2: Sunday 21 May

Windward Islands vs Leeward Islands – 10am

Guyana vs Barbados – 2:30pm

Jamaica vs Trinidad & Tobago Divas – 7pm

Round 3: Tuesday 23 May

Trinidad & Tobago Divas vs Windward Islands – 10am

Jamaica vs Barbados – 2:30pm

Guyana vs Leeward Islands – 7pm

Round 4: Thursday 25 May

Jamaica vs Guyana – 10am

Leeward Islands vs Trinidad & Tobago Divas – 2:30pm

Barbados vs Windward Islands – 7pm

Round 5: Saturday 27 May

Leeward Islands vs Barbados – 10am

Trinidad & Tobago Divas vs Guyana – 2:30pm

Jamaica vs Windward Islands – 7pm

Chennai Super Kings eased to a seven-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League on Friday.

A stingy innings in the field from the hosts was followed by an excellent knock from Devon Conway, who smashed 77 from 57 balls to give CSK their fourth win of the season.

Harry Brook (18) was the first to fall for Sunrisers after he made room for himself and attempted a big hit, only to slice it behind for Ruturaj Gaikwad to make a superb low catch.

Abhishek Sharma (34) and Rahul Tripathi (21) looked to be building a nice partnership before the both ballooned shots into the air for simple catches off the bowling of the impressive Ravindra Jadeja.

Captain Aiden Markram (12) did not have long at the crease with South Africa team-mate Heinrich Klaasen as he edged Maheesh Theekshana to Mahendra Singh Dhoni, with the wicketkeeper also stumping Mayank Agarwal (2) soon after as Sunrisers fell from 71-1 to 95-5.

While they were able to stem the tide of wickets, Sunrisers struggled to find runs as CSK's bowlers kept their opponents on a leash, ultimately rewarded when Klaasen (17) fell to Matheesha Pathirana as Gaikwad snaffled another catch.

Marco Jansen (17 not out) and Washington Sundar (9) played out the remainder of the innings, with the latter being run out from the final ball as the Sunrisers scored just 37 from their last 36 balls to end on 134-7.

An opening partnership of 87 from the first 11 overs put CSK in control of the chase, before Gaikwad was run out by Umran Malik on 35.

Ajinkya Rahane (9) was dismissed by Mayank Markande, who also bowled Ambati Rayudu (9) with a superb delivery, but Conway and Moeen Ali (6 not out) eased their team home with eight balls to spare.

Conway shows the way

Sunrisers Hyderabad have still not won an IPL game against CSK at MA Chidambaram Stadium, losing all four, and Conway made sure that remained the case.

The New Zealand international hit 12 fours as he set about extinguishing any hopes the visitors had of ending that run, and recorded his third consecutive half-century, making him just the third CSK player to do so after Gaikwad and Faf Du Plessis.

Jadeja shines with the ball

Jadeja really did some damage with the ball, taking three wickets and conceding just one boundary from his four overs.

His figures of 3-22 were the fourth three-wicket haul from him in an IPL game on this ground, tied for the second-most by any bowler at the venue (behind Albie Morkel with 5).

Sunil Ambris has been named as the replacement for Shayne Moseley in Team Headley for the ongoing Headley-Weekes Tri Series first-class match against West Indies Academy at Coolidge Cricket Ground.

 Moseley, the left-handed opener, sustained an injury to his left knee on Wednesday morning and was forced to retire hurt during the Team Headley first innings. He was unable to return to bat and was also unavailable to field. He is under the care of CWI Medical Staff.

 The change is in accordance with the ICC Rules which govern the first-class cricket matches and was approved by the Match Officials.

Headley XI will resume on 27-1 on Friday after bowling West Indies Academy out for 323. Headley XI made 259 in their first innings.

Kevlon Anderson's superb hundred provided the foundation for West Indies Academy to take a 64-run lead on first innings over Headley XI's 259 on the second day of their Headley Weekes Tri-Series match at Coolidge on Thursday.

Anderson scored 153 and Kirk McKenzie, 50, as West Indies Academy made 323 all out. At stumps, Headley XI, batting a second time, reached 27-1, trailing by 37 runs. 

The 22-year-old Guyanese right-hand batsman who was on 12 overnight and with Kirk McKenzie (31 overnight) had steered West Indies Academy away from potential disaster of 0-2 to 49-2 at stumps. On Thursday, they had extended that third-wicket partnership to 84 when Justin Greaves dismissed McKenzie for 50.

Greaves then dismissed Tevin Imlach for four and Kevin Wickham for five as West Indies Academy slipped from 84-2 to 102-5. Anderson and Nyeem Young then set about repairing the damage a sixth-wicket stand of 80, which ended when Anderson Phillip dismissed Young for 27.

Joshua Bishop came and went for 12, bowled by Marquino Mindley, who then dismissed Ashmead Nedd for a duck as West Indies Academy slipped once again to 202-8 and seemingly about to fall short of Headley XI’s first innings score.

However, Anderson found a useful partner in Johan Layne. Together they posted a ninth-wicket partnership of 120 that took West Indies Academy past Headley XI’s first innings score and gave them a 64-run lead by the time Anderson was dismissed by Darren Bravo. He hit 22 fours in the innings in which he faced 281 balls.

Kelvin Pitman was trapped lbw for a duck as the innings closed on 323 from 94 overs with Layne unbeaten on 38.

Greaves took 3-46 while Mindley had figures of 2-47. Jordan, who took the first two wickets to fall on Wednesday, failed to add to his tally Thursday and ended with figures of 2-77

Delhi Capitals finally picked up their first win of the Indian Premier League season as they beat Kolkata Knight Riders by four wickets on Thursday.

The Capitals had previously come out on the wrong side of all five of their matches, but an impressive display with the ball edged them to a nervy win to alleviate their early-season struggles, while Kolkata have now lost three on the bounce.

After a rain delay, David Warner won the toss and put the Knight Riders into bat, a decision that quickly paid dividends as his bowlers tore through Kolkata's top order to leave them three wickets down in the powerplay, though opener Jason Roy hung in to add 43 from 39 balls before he was dismissed by Kuldeep Yadav.

Delhi's bowlers continued to dominate as the Knight Riders' innings crumbled, with Anrich Nortje (2-20) and Ishant Sharma (4-19) leading the charge as Kolkata were all out for just 127.

Warner reached his half-century off 33 balls to take Delhi to 93-4, before he was dismissed in a wicket maiden from Varun Chakravarthy in the 14th over, giving the Knight Riders some hope.

Those hopes were boosted as Delhi picked up just 23 for the loss of two wickets in the next five overs, but needing seven off the last, Axar Patel did just enough to get his team over the line.

Knight Riders' powerplay struggles continue

Kolkata lost three wickets within the first six overs to severely hamper their innings, and not for the first time, with the Knight Riders' 15 wickets lost in the powerplay in this season's IPL the highest of any team.

The target they set was just too small, despite a last-ditch effort from their bowlers, and Kolkata have work to do with the bat if they are to end this losing streak.

Warner plays a captain's innings

Warner's 57 runs off 41 balls means he is now the leading run scorer against Kolkata in IPL history, while he also moved to eight half-centuries against the Knight Riders, tied for the most alongside Suresh Raina.

The Australian went at a strike rate of 139 on his way to a fourth score of 50 or more in this year's IPL.

Mickey Arthur has agreed to return for a second spell with Pakistan as director of cricket.

The South African will continue in his role as Derbyshire head of cricket and work with Pakistan outside the county season.

Arthur wil be part of the Pakistan coaching staff for the 2023 Cricket World Cup in India, a tour of Australia, a home series against West Indies and the Asia Cup contests with India.

During his tenure as Pakistan head coach from 2016 to 2019, the 54-year-old mastermind an ICC Champions Trophy success six years ago, while he also took the Test and T20I sides to the top of the rankings.

The former Australia and South Africa coach said: "I am absolutely thrilled to be rejoining the Pakistan cricket team and look forward to working with the group.

"Since moving on, I have kept a track of the players and their collective performances.

"This is a talented bunch with the potential to be number one across all formats and my endeavour is to put in place strategies and create an environment that can contribute in further enhancing their performances so that we can extract the best out of them."

The Pakistan Cricket Board had revealed in January that they held talks with Arthur with a view to making him Saqlain Mushtaq's successor as head coach, but could not reach an agreement.

From 2008-2012, Jamaica dominated red-ball cricket in the Caribbean, winning five consecutive Regional Four-Day titles. This feels like centuries ago.

In the recently concluded 2022/23 season of the West Indies Championship, the Scorpions failed to win a single game, finishing last with 25.6 points after recording four losses and a draw in five matches. This was following a fifth-place finish in the 2021-22 season.

The team was especially poor with the bat, scoring the second-lowest amount of runs in total in the season with 1803.

Individually, only two batsmen, Abhijai Mansingh with 248 and Leroy Lugg with 217, scored over 200 runs for the Scorpions. To put it in perspective, Alick Athanaze of the Windward Islands Hurricanes finished as top run-scorer with 647, 182 more runs than Jamaica’s two highest run-scorers combined.

It begs the question, what on earth has happened to the Scorpions batting in the longer format of the game?

“Aggression without proper selection and lack of a desire to bat long are two things that jumped out at me,” Jamaica Cricket Association CEO Courtney Francis told SportsMax.TV.

“The pride of playing for country, I am not seeing it. Even in dialogue with them, I don’t think they have an appreciation for what the sport has done for us as a people,” Francis added.

The Scorpions did start the year well, however, by winning the Regional Super50, their first since 2012 but, as Francis explains, that may have been detrimental to their hopes in the longer format.

“A significant number of the players who played that tournament were unavailable to play the 4-day tournament. We had persons playing at the highest level or playing all over the world,” he said.

“The significant influx of white-ball cricket,” is another reason for Jamaica’s downward spiral in the red-ball game according to Francis.

“If you notice, our players aren’t batting an extended number of overs. Some games are ending with a day to spare,” Francis added.

He went further, analysing a technical flaw he saw throughout the line-up.

“It seems like whenever the ball is bouncing, our batsmen don’t seem to cope with it properly. I am very confident that they would have had enough training. They’ve had the facilities here at Sabina Park and elsewhere,” he said.

Another contributing factor highlighted by Francis is the weakness of the Island’s premier two-day competition, the Senior Cup.

“Our Senior Cup competition is not competitive enough. In the Senior Cup, when certain teams play against certain teams, you might get a competitive game which is commendable but, there are a significant number of instances where games finish within a day and we’re not going anywhere with that. The transition from Senior Cup to first-class is not it,” said Francis before offering up a potential solution to that problem.

“In my view, we need to have a tier higher than the Senior Cup. I’ve recommended that we have the best 60 players in the country playing a four-team competition. You can hold trials to see who can get up there,” Francis added.

Francis then took issue with the complacency of contracted players, noting that their desire to improve seemingly dwindled after being rewarded.

“Persons who are on contracts now seem to not want to work hard enough because the contract is set for one year. If you notice, we have 15 persons on contract and of those 15 persons, maybe 40% of them did not feature in the Super50 and/or the West Indies Championship. That is something for us to take a different look at,” Francis said

“We can understand that persons are contracted from July so people may lose form and others come in for pay-for-play and stuff but that percentage is too high.

As selectors, coaches and administrators we have to come up with a different mechanism to ensure that we do not waste money. If you look at the numbers of a number of the players, we’re not getting a return on our investment” he added before noting that shorter term, incentive-based contracts may be the way forward to return Jamaica to winning ways in the longest format.