Cricket in Commonwealth Games: India Women to play Australia Women in opening encounter

The women’s T20 cricket will be included in the Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022 and will take place at the Edgbaston Stadium from 29th July. The bronze and gold medal matches will be played on August 7 while the tournament will commence with the encounter between India and Australia.

India will then play Pakistan on July 31 and Barbados on August 3.

“The women’s cricket T20 competition will be held at the Edgbaston Stadium from the 29 July, with the bronze and gold medal matches taking place on 7 August. The first match on the schedule will see Australia take on India in the early session,” the ECB said in a statement.

England will begin the campaign on July 30 where they will play the winner of the qualifying tournament which is scheduled to take place in 2022. This would be followed by the clash against South Africa in the early session on 2 August and then the game against New Zealand in the evening session on Thursday 4 August.

The seven qualifiers out of the 8 were announced in April while the final team would be determined at the end of January 2022. Barbados were recently confirmed as the side from West Indies.

Matt Kidson, Director of Sport for Birmingham 2022, said: “Not surprisingly we have already sold thousands of tickets for both the netball and cricket T20 sessions through our ticket ballots, but we know that some fans have been waiting to find out the details of the match schedules before choosing which sessions they want to attend, so we’re expecting these sports to sell quickly, when ticket sales go live.”

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England coach Chris Silverwood leaves Eoin Morgan to decide his own future

England head coach Chris Silverwood has put his weight behind limited-overs skipper Eoin Morgan and said that it’s on him to decide on the future. "He's got to make that decision himself," Silverwood said on Thursday according to an ESPNCricinfo report. “His mind had already gone on to the next [World Cup], what do we need to do, what are we looking for. As soon as those conversations start, in my mind, that is it for us: he's in. He wants it, and he wants to lead. I think he will make his mind up when he's ready,” he further added. The Morgan-led side lost to New Zealand in the semi-final after Daryl Mitchell and James Neesham produced a brilliant batting display. Talking about the loss, Silverwood admitted that the players were disappointed. “We have got a group of lads who are hurting, which you can understand as well. To get so close, touching distance, and then to have it snatched away… we had the game under control for a lot of the time, [but Neesham] came in and played some exceptional shots, made life difficult for us,” he said. England had been in some brilliant form during the T20 World Cup but bowed out of the tournament after suffering a defeat in the semis.

T20 World Cup | Video: Wade smashes three sixes off Shaheen Afridi to take Australia into final

Australia wicket-keeper batsman Matthew Wade certainly played one of the most crucial knocks of his career on Thursday against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup semi-final in Dubai. The left-handed batsman struck a quickfire 41* off 17 deliveries which included four maximums and a couple of fours during the course. But, what made the headlines was him smashing three consecutive sixes in the penultimate over of the match against Shaheen Afridi to take his side over the line. Australia needed 22 in the final two overs and Shaheen had the ball in his hands for the 19th. The Australian side had managed to gather only two runs in the first two deliveries but what happened next was a sheer blunder from Hasan Ali. Afridi was up against Wade on the third ball of the over and the batter whipped it uppishly. Hasan, who was stationed in the deep, had a chance of grabbing a catch but he overran it and dropped an important one. Wade then took just three deliveries to wrap the match and help his side move into the final. The Aaron Finch-led side will now meet New Zealand in the title clash on Sunday in Dubai.

Coach Hayden heaps praise on ‘warrior’ Mohammad Rizwan for playing semi-final straight out of ICU

There is no better player than Mohammad Rizwan to describe Pakistan’s performance and heroics in the T20 World Cup underway in UAE. He has been the lynchpin of Pakistan’s batting group and has batted with supreme confidence and flair to give them a solid start in almost every game. However, he has earned a heap of praise from his teammates and coach for fighting out a personal and a battle of health to play the big semi-final against Australia. He had developed chest infections two days before the day of the game and was admitted into ICU to facilitate quick recovery. He did recover in an incredible way and led another brilliant display of the Pakistan batting unit against the Australian pace attack and slammed the pacers to all parts of the ground in Dubai. "Mohammad Rizwan developed a severe chest infection on 9th of November after which he was admitted to the hospital," Pakistan's team doctor Najeebullah Soomro said. He spent two nights in the ICU recovering. He made an incredible recovery and was deemed fit before the match. “We can see his great determination and tenacity that shows his spirit of performing for the country. And we can see how he performed today." Midway through the innings, he suffered another injury while facing a rapid bouncer from Mitchell Starc. The ball rose sharply and hit the grill of his helmet and left him with a bruise on the face which was quite evident while he was wicketkeeping during Pakistan’s defence of 176 runs. Pakistan batting consultant Matthew Hayden showered praise on Rizwan for fighting from his illness like a warrior and playing a remarkable innings on the big stage. "This is a warrior, he's been brilliant through the campaign and he's got great courage," Hayden said. His efforts though went in vain as Australia rode on blistering innings from Matthew Wade and Marcus Stoinis to storm through the final of the tournament and hand Pakistan their first loss of the tournament.

To prepare for ODI World Cup, India Women to tour New Zealand for limited-overs series next year

The Indian Women’s team will tour New Zealand as a part of the World Cup preparations next year in February. The two sides will play a T20I and five-match ODI series. The series is scheduled to begin on February 9 with the only T20I which will be followed by the five ODIs and the series will conclude on February 24. "The White Ferns will put the finishing touches on their preparations for the upcoming World Cup, to be hosted in New Zealand for the first time in 22 years, when they play India in a six-match series comprising a T20, and five ODIs," New Zealand Cricket announced on Friday. "The India series is a crucial part of the White Ferns' World Cup preparations," NZC chief executive David White said in a statement. The T20I and the first ODI will be held in Napier while the teams will then travel to Nelson for the second and third ODI respectively. The fourth and fifth ODI are slated to take place in Queenstown.