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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World T20 2021: Bangladesh likely to reach Oman early

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has said that the squad for the World T20 is likely to reach Oman six to seven days earlier than they should have according to the ICC rules, just to get used to the conditions. It also said that the side has had some preparation going into the tournament as it has toured Zimbabwe, have hosted Australia recently and the Blackcaps are also scheduled to visit the Asian nation for a five-match T20I series. "We have been having a great preparation leading up to the World Cup. We toured Zimbabwe, hosted Australia and New Zealand next. We will go there early to make adequate preparations," BCB Cricket Operations Committee chairman Akram Khan told the media in a briefing. "It is certain that we will go to Oman six to seven days earlier. But the whole plan is yet to be finalised. We will do the way the coach [Russell Domingo] wants us to do,” he added. The board is also planning to send reserve players along with the main squad. "If the selection panel or team management wants to take one or two additional players, there's no problem in doing so. We have been doing this always, will do in future as well." Bangladesh, part of the Qualifying round, will play their first match against Scotland at Al Amerat Stadium in Oman on October 17, which will also be the opening day of the tournament.

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.

TKR head coach Brendon McCullum unavailable for CPL 2021 due to personal reasons

Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) head coach Brendon McCullum will be unavailable for the upcoming edition of the Caribbean Premier League due to personal reasons. The franchise has now appointed Imran Jan a former Trinidad, and Tobago skipper and West Indies A cricketer as head coach of the side. "The Trinbago Knight Riders, defending champions of the Caribbean Premier League, today announced a couple of changes to their support staff for the CPL 2021 season," TKR said in a statement. "Head Coach Brendon McCullum is unavailable for CPL 2021, due to personal reasons & COVID related travel restrictions. Consequently, TKR have appointed Imran Jan as the Head Coach for CPL 2021.” "Additionally, Dinanath Ramnarine, the former West Indies player, has joined the support staff as an advisor," it added. In 28 First-Class matches that Imran played, he scored over 1200 runs including a hundred and 8 fifties while in 15 List A matches in which the left-handed batsman featured, he scored 235 runs. TKR, who are the defending champions of the CPL will begin their campaign against Guyana Amazon Warriors on August 26 in the opening encounter of the tournament at Warner Park in St. Kitts. The side would be led by Kieron Pollard and comprises prominent names like Darren Bravo, Colin Munro, Sunil Narine and Yasir Shah in the squad.

Jasprit Bumrah should needle the opposition: Zaheer Khan

Former India pacer Zaheer Khan has lauded Jasprit Bumrah for his calibre and said that the right-arm quick bowler should “at times needle the opposition” if that brings the best out of him. "If by getting angry, he can carry himself and perform like this, I believe he should at times needle the opposition. See, in the first innings, he had gone wicketless and being the class bowler that he is, I’m sure it must have bothered him," Zaheer Khan said on Cricbuzz. The Indian and England players were involved in an altercation on the field during the second Test at Lord’s that visitors eventually won. India were in a spot of bother in the second innings of the Lord's Test at one stage after getting reduced to 209/8. However, Bumrah and Mohammed Shami frustrated the England bowlers with an unbeaten stand of 89 runs for the ninth wicket. The Indian bowling attack then unleashed a riveting performance with the ball and thoroughly dominated the home side. Chasing 272, England were bundled out for 120 in the second innings and suffered a defeat by 151 runs. Talking about the way Bumrah bowled in the second innings, Zaheer said that the pacer channelised his anger in the right manner. "After the whole Anderson episode that unfolded, the bouncers he bowled to him and then while batting, the manner in which the England pacer went after him all those things motivated him, and he channelised that anger in the right way,” he added. The two sides will now meet each other for the third Test in Leeds scheduled to begin on August 25.