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We are coming back bigger & better next year: Kevin Pietersen on 'The Hundred'

Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen has backed The Hundred tournament to come back “bigger and better” in the next edition.

“We are coming back bigger and better next year,” Pietersen said in a post-match show after the Final of both men’s and women’s final on Saturday. 

The Southern Brave side lifted the inaugural trophy in the men’s tournament after beating Birmingham Phoenix in the final clash by 32 runs at Lord’s. Chasing 169 in 100 balls, Birmingham were restricted to 138/5. 

Liam Livingstone top-scored for the side with 46 off 19 while captain Moeen Ali chipped in with 36 off 30. Earlier, Southern Brave rode on a half-century from Stirling and an unbeaten 19-ball 44 from Ross Whiteley to post 168/5 in the allotted 100 balls. 

The Southern Brave captain James Vince lauded Stirling’s efforts with the bat after the match. Paul Stirling and Whiteley were exceptional. Bowlers put in a clinic in the second half there. Stirling getting himself off to a good start and then playing a match-winning innings was superb,” he said. 

In the women’s competition, it was Oval Invincibles who defeated Southern Brave by 48 runs to clinch the title. The Oval side managed to score 121/6 and then the bowlers rattled the Southern Brave batting line up to bundle them out for 73. 

Invincibles captain Dane van Niekerk expressed her delight at the win. “I have no words at the moment. If you told me that would happen at the end of the day, I would have taken it. Credit to Southern Brave, they have been incredible. We had to rock up today to beat a very good side,” she said.  

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Tamim Iqbal likely to be fit for T20 World Cup

Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal is likely to be fit for the T20 World Cup slated to be played in UAE and Oman from October 17. The hard-hitting left-handed batsman is currently undergoing a rehabilitation process to recover fully from a knee injury. Tamim opted out of action for a long time following the ODI series against Zimbabwe in July. Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB)'s chief physician Debashish Chowdhury is confident of Tamim’s participation in the T20 World Cup. "Tamim is recovering quite well. This injury required rest and rehabilitation. We planned it accordingly and he is responding to it very well," said Chowdhury. "From the next week, he will start the skill session that will begin with some knocking at home and later (he will be) starting the net session. So far, he has completed almost five weeks and he completed the gym sessions without any complaint. When he starts running and participates in the skill session, we can have a clearer picture of his recovery. But the way he is improving, we are confident that he will be available for the T20 World Cup," he added. The experienced opening batsman sustained an injury to his right knee during Bangladesh’s two-match Test series against Sri Lanka in April-May. He did take part in the subsequent ODI series against the islanders and also played in the Dhaka Premier Division T20 League. He had to eventually pull out of the tournament midway after aggravating the injury. Tamim had to also miss the one-off Test against Zimbabwe. The southpaw also missed the T20I series against Zimbabwe and subsequently skipped the five-match T20I series against Australia. He has not been selected for the upcoming five-match T20I series against New Zealand slated to kick off from September 1. BCB chief selector Minhajul Abedin also sounded optimistic and confident of Tamim’s availability for the T20 World Cup. "I don't see any doubt. Tamim is one of the best batsmen in the country and there is no question about it. He will play when he is fit and he will be with the team. We are keeping a close eye on his development," Abedin was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.

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AUS W vs IND W | Gargi Banerjee appointed Indian Women's team manager for tour Down Under

Former Indian women’s all-rounder Gargi Banerjee has been appointed as the Indian women’s team manager for the team's upcoming tour Down Under. The 60-year-old will replace Rajkuvaradevi Gaikwad who was appointed as the manager for the tour of England in June-July. Gaikwad had earlier succeeded long-time manager Trupti Bhattacharya for the tour but couldn’t quite retain her place for the Australia tour. Banerjee was one of the pioneers of Bengal women’s cricket back in the 80s. She played lone Women's Tests and 26 ODIs for India in a career spanning thirteen years from 1978 to 1991. She had earlier also served as a national selector for the women’s national team. This isn't the only change in the team management for the upcoming tour of Australia. As per reports in the ESPN Cricinfo, fielding coach Abhay Sharma has also been replaced. He received praises from different quarters including T20I skipper Harmanpreet Kaur. Abhay Sharma has been appointed as the fielding coach at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) while his position in the Indian team has been taken up by Subhadeep Ghosh. Ghosh, who had played for Assam and the Railways has already joined the pre-tour camp in Bengaluru. A group of 30 players excluding support staff entered the pre-camp on August 10. Meanwhile, the likes of Shafali Verma, Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma and Jemimah Rodriguez, who recently plied their trade in the inaugural edition of the Hundred Women will assemble with the group of players on August 22. Meanwhile, batting coach Shiv Shunder Das, who was roped in as a part of the support staff for the tour of England managed to retain the position for the tour Down Under as well. India Women will play three ODIs and an equal number of T20S along with a Day/Night Test, their first-ever in the history of cricket on the Australia tour.