It is truly astonishing, especially from the vanilla character who inherited the captaincy from the ultra-polarising Michael Clarke, who was today calling Smith a disgrace. Think what you like about Clarke — he never willingly threw the reputation of Australian cricket under the bus by resorting to cheating, as Smith has done.
The Australian captain must be beyond reproach and Smith will never again hold the moral high ground, within his own team or against any opponent. By not only cheating, but conspiring to cheat and involving teammates, he has stooped nearly as low as is possible within sport.
Our cricket captain is often referred to as holding the second-most important job in Australia, behind the Prime Minister.
To diehard sports fans, it may be the most important role; the Australian captain is a beacon of pride, aspiration and integrity, as opposed to the grubbiness inherent in politics.
Today, Smith embraced such grubbiness and the stain will never leave his career. The Australians who hold him up as their shining example are irrevocably disgusted.
HAMILTON, New Zealand- The WINDIES Women have concluded their tour of New Zealand with a 7-wicket defeat in the 5th T20 International versus New Zealand White Ferns to lose the series 4-0 at Seddon Park in Hamilton.
For only the second time in seven matches, White Ferns Captain, Suzie Bates won the toss and sent the WINDIES women in to bat first on a hot and sunny day in Hamilton.
The defending ICC World T20 Champions had the perfect start when openers, Captain Stafanie Taylor and Hayley Matthews began smashing the ball around the Park, for the fastest opening runs of the WINDIES Women tour. 50 runs came in just 19 minutes from 30 deliveries.
The determination and urgency to finish the tour on a winning note was evident when Taylor and Matthews dispatched Lea Tahuhu for 2 fours in the opening over. Then Matthews took 14 runs from Hannah Rowe in the 2 over, which included 3 consecutive boundaries.
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC)— West Indies all-rounder, Dwayne Bravo, has refuted international media reports suggesting he is actively seeking a return to the regional side for next year's World Cup in England.
The 34-year-old, currently in India preparing for next month's start of the Indian Premier League, was quoted as saying, “hopefully I would get to play in the World Cup as well”, after congratulating West Indies for clinching their spot at the showpiece at the ongoing ICC Qualifiers in Zimbabwe.
But Bravo told Line & Length Network his comments had been meant as a “simple joke” and not a “comeback request”.
“I was asked how I felt about the Windies making the Finals and I responded by saying, 'I am so happy for the guys because they worked hard and deserve to be in England, hey, maybe I will comeback,' and laughed. But it was in no way a comeback request.”
HARARE, ZIMBABWE—Talismanic West Indies opener Chris Gayle says he is thrilled to be playing in next year’s World Cup in England, and says he will be focussing on his fitness in the interim as he prepares for what will be his final global 50-overs tournament.
The left-hander was part of the Caribbean side which defeated Scotland on Wednesday in their final Super Six match of the ongoing ICC World Cup qualifiers, to clinch one of the two available World Cup spots.
Defending a paltry 198, West Indies had reduced the Scots to 125 for five in the 36th over when a thunderstorm forced the abandonment of the contest.
Scotland were five runs short of the Duckworth-Lewis- Stern par score.
“I am so happy to have qualified for another World Cup. I just have to stay fit now and we have a young team, but it will be my last World Cup that is for sure, so I am looking forward to it,” an elated Gayle said afterwards.
He added: “I need a couple [of ] months to get properly fit and especially I love playing in England and Wales. Lots of the Windies fans over the world are sad that we are in this position, where we have to play the qualifiers.
The game will raise funds for two stadia in the Caribbean that were damaged following Hurricanes Irma and Maria last year. The International Cricket Council (ICC) today announced that England white-ball captain Eoin Morgan will lead an ICC World XI in a T20I against the Windies at Lord’s on 31 May 2018. The game will raise funds for two stadia in the Caribbean that were damaged following Hurricanes Irma and Maria last year.
Defending ICC World T20 Champions, the Windies will face what is expected to be a very strong World XI side with Morgan at the helm and the England captain is relishing the prospect: "I am delighted to captain the ICC World XI at Lord’s in May against the West Indies,” said Morgan.
"The cricket family always comes together to support worthwhile causes and this one-off T20I, featuring some of the best players in the world will be a great spectacle at the home of cricket.
"I am sure the sporting public will come out in force and help raise money and awareness towards restoring parts of the Caribbean hit by Hurricanes Irma and Maria in September last year, which ripped through many communities in this beautiful part of the world."
Tickets for the match, which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports, are available from just £20 for adults and £10 for children at www.lords.org./tickets.
Giles Clarke, the ECB President and ICC Director is leading the coordination of the match, supported by the ICC, ECB and MCC in partnership with Cricket West Indies. He said: “Two category 5 hurricanes in two weeks last year devastated parts of the Caribbean and the world of cricket was keen to show support with a fundraising initiative. What better way to do that than staging a world-class game at the Home of Cricket!
“Eoin Morgan as captain is a wonderful first name on the ICC World XI team sheet and in due course we’ll have more players from around the world lending their support to what I’m sure will be a highly entertaining and competitive day of cricket at Lord’s in May.”
