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Ross Taylor plays last innings for New Zealand cricket team
Ross Taylor made 14 for New Zealand against the Netherlands in the third one-day cricket international on Monday, coming to the crease and leaving it to a standing ovation.
The match was Taylor’s 450th and last for New Zealand before he retires at the end of a 16-year international career. The 38-year-old batsman played his last test against South Africa this year but decided to make this match on his home ground at Seddon Park his final bow.
His children, MacKenzie, Jonty and Adelaide, stood beside him during the national anthems and he went through an honor guard formed by Netherlands players.
Taylor played his first one-day international for New Zealand in 2006 and his first test the following year. He went on to play 112 tests, scoring 7,683 runs, including 19 centuries, and 236 one-day internationals in which he made 8,593 runs. He also scored 1,909 runs in 102 Twenty20 internationals.
Taylor had a long wait for his last innings Monday. New Zealand batted first after winning the toss and a 203-run partnership for the second wicket between Martin Guptill and Will Young delayed his appearance until the 39th over.
Guptill made 106 and Young went on to 120 as New Zealand made 333-8. Matt Henry then took 4-36 as New Zealand bowled out the Netherlands for 218 to win the match by 115 runs and sweep the three-match series.
As soon as he appeared the crowd rose to its feet. Taylor hit a six among his 14 runs before mistiming a ball from Logan van Beek and offering the bowler a simple return catch.
He turned toward the changing room for the last time with a faint smile on his face. The opposing players formed up on either side as he walked slowly from the field, acknowledging the long ovation of the crowd.
Taylor has long been a fan favorite for his steadiness, reliability and his ready smile.
“For me it was just being a player that tries fight in as many situations as possible, gave it my all, played with a smile on my face and hopefully represented my country proudly and with a lot of respect,” Taylor told Radio New Zealand. “That’s always what I wanted to do — play for my country. And hopefully that’s something it’ll be cool to be remembered for.”
South Africa win 1st test as Bangladesh all out for 53
South Africa raced to a 220-run victory in the first test after Bangladesh’s collapse to 53 all out on the morning of the final day on Monday.
Bangladesh lasted only 19 overs in its second innings and South Africa needed only two bowlers to roll the tourists out.
Read: Taskin, Shoriful out of 2nd South Africa Test
They were both spinners, with left-armer Keshav Maharaj collecting 7-32 and offspinner Simon Harmer 3-21.
It was a surprisingly sudden end to the match after Bangladesh had hopes of possibly pulling off its first test victory over South Africa by needing 274 runs in the final innings.
But the tourists slumped to 11-3 at the close of play on Day 4 and the wickets continued to tumble dramatically on the morning of Day 5.
Read: Australia Clinch ICC Women's World Cup 2022: Alyssa Healy Sets New Record
Najmul Hossain Shanto (26) and tailender Taskin Ahmed (14) were the only Bangladesh batters to reach double figures and South Africa needed less than an hour of play on Monday to take those remaining seven wickets and take a 1-0 lead in the two-test series.
Australia Clinch ICC Women's World Cup 2022: Alyssa Healy Sets New Record
The Australian team won the ICC Women’s World Cup 2022 after beating arch-rivals England by 71 runs in the final on Sunday at Hagley Oval, Christchurch. The Baggy Green women’s side was the undefeated champion after winning all of their nine matches in the tournament. It was the seventh World Cup victory for Australia’s women's team. The Aussie keeper, Alyssa Healy shattered a new batting record with an aggressive performance during the final. Let's have a look at how the Australian women’s side defeated England women’s team in the final match.
ICC Women’s World Cup 2022 Final Match Report: Australia vs England
England offered Australia the chance to bat first at Hagley Oval. The pitch was suited to the batters, and the Australian top order didn’t miss out on batting properly on this batting-friendly surface. Two Aussie openers, Alyssa Healy and Rachael Haynes gave Australia a perfect platform by putting up 160 runs between them. After Rachael’s (68) departure, Alyssa Healy made a 156-run stand with Beth Mooney (62) for the second wicket and carried the total to 316 in the 46th over. Healy eventually departed after playing a magnificent 170-run knock, featuring 26 boundaries. Australia finished their innings with 356/5 in their allotted 50 overs. Anya Shrubsole picked up the most wickets for England with 3.
Read Taskin, Shoriful out of 2nd South Africa Test
England lost two early wickets in reply, but Nat Sciver sought to chase down the target with some effective middle-order partnerships. On the other hand, Nat was England's lone fighter in the final against Australia. She stayed unbeaten with a superb 148* off 121 balls. Except for her, the rest of the English players were dismantled with the bat. England were bowled out for 285 runs in 43.4 overs. Alana King led Australia in bowling with three wickets.
Alyssa Healy’s Record in the Championship Match
Australia's standout opening batter, Alyssa Healy, set a new record in the Women's World Cup final against England on Sunday. She became the highest individual scorer in a World Cup final for any batter (men or women). Healy surpassed former Australian wicket-keeper batsman Adam Gilchrist's 149 in the 2007 ICC Men's World Cup final against Sri Lanka.
Surprisingly, Australian players have dominated the top scorers in the World Cup final list. The English opener, Nat Sciver, who also struck a century in the 2022 women's World Cup final against Australia, has also made it into the top five highest scorers list.
Read Bangladesh slump to 11-3 chasing 274 vs South Africa
Highest Individual Scores in the ICC One-Day International World Cup Finals
Player
Score
Opposition
Alyssa Healy
170
England, 2022
Adam Gilchrist
149
Sri Lanka, 2007
Nat Sciver
148*
Australia, 2022
Ricky Ponting
140*
India, 2003
Viv Richards
138*
England, 1979
Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/
Read SA vs BAN Series 2022: Joy's Joyful knock is an Inspiration to Bangladeshi Players
Alyssa Healy scored 509 runs in this year's World Cup, the first time a player has scored more than 500 runs in a women's World Cup. Australia's 356/5 was the first time a women's world cup final had a score of 300 or more.
Player of the Match
Alyssa Healy of Australia was awarded player of the final after hitting 170 runs off 138 balls. She was also named Player of the Series after scoring 509 runs in 9 innings with a 56.55 batting average. Healy had two hundred and two half-centuries in the competition.
Read Tigers to host Lankan Lions in May for two Tests
Bottom Line
Prior to the final match of the ICC Women’s World Cup 2022, Australia's women's team was the favourite against England’s women's team. Australia had shown some ruthless performances in the group stage and semi-final encounter against the West Indies. Therefore, the expectation was high from Australia. On the other hand, the England women's team made a remarkable comeback in the middle of the competition to reach the final. England felt confident about beating the Australian side in the final, given their growing confidence following a lopsided semifinal victory against South Africa. However, the Aussie opener Alyssa Healy was merciless in the final, and her batting performance was the deciding factor between the two teams.
Read PAK vs AUS Series 2022: Australia Eye Third Spot in ICC CWC Super league
Mbappe runs the show in PSG’s 5-1 win over Lorient
Kylian Mbappe notched two goals and three assists as Paris Saint-Germain beat Lorient 5-1 and maintained its 12-point lead over Marseille to move ever closer to a record 10th French league title on Sunday.
There are eight rounds left.
Mbappe provided the spark in the final third from the fourth minute with a dribbling run and low shot that goalkeeper Matthieu Dreyer palmed away. Soon after, the France striker fed Neymar, who opened the scoring.
Read:Barcelona edges Sevilla to move into 2nd in Spanish league
The lead doubled in the 28th when Mbappe scored with his signature move, faking a curler into the far corner before drilling into the near corner.
When Lorient forward Terem Moffi cut the lead in the 56th by pouncing on a sloppy back pass from Achraf Hakimi to knock the ball past goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, PSG supporters loudly booed their team's lapse in concentration.
Mbappe dashed Lorient’s hopes of a comeback by raising his league tally to 17 goals, dribbling past Julien Laporte to bury the ball into the bottom corner in the 67th.
Six minutes later, Mbappe squared the ball back for Lionel Messi, who shot under the crossbar for 4-1. Mbappe made his league-leading 13th assist by playing Neymar in for the final goal in the 90th.
“We must bring back that 10th league title for the supporters, for the club. It’s important,” Mbappe said. “We have an opportunity to make history.”
PSG has relied heavily on Mbappe’s brilliance this season. However, his contract runs out this summer and Mbappe hasn’t committed to any club yet.
“I haven’t made any decision yet,” Mbappe said. “I’m still thinking because there are new factors (...) I don’t want to get it wrong. I want to make the right choice.”
Marseille consolidated second place by rallying past relegation-threatened Saint-Etienne 4-2 in a game full of blunders.
Gabon striker Denis Bouanga gave Saint-Etienne the lead in the ninth minute by shooting past goalkeeper Pau Lopez, who made an embarrassing handling mistake.
But Saint-Etienne self-destructed by conceding two penalties and scoring an own goal.
Marseille's third straight league win opened a three-point gap on third-placed Rennes, while Saint-Etienne remained in the relegation zone, one point from safety.
The top two clubs qualify for the Champions League while the third-placed club goes to qualifying.
Strasbourg emerged as a surprise contender in the race for European spots after edging Lens 1-0 to climb up to fourth place.
Read:FIFA World Cup 2022: GroupWise Favourites to Advance to Round of 16
Strasbourg stretched its unbeaten run to eight games to go level on points with Nice and just two points behind Rennes. The team’s best finish in the past 20 seasons was 10th in 2020.
“The ambition is to do as best as we can until the end of the season,” Strasbourg coach Julien Stephan said. “We’ve never put pressure on ourselves. I don’t see why we should put more pressure on ourselves today. We just want to have fun.”
Monaco edged lowly Metz 2-1 and France international Wissam Ben Yedder extended his league-leading goal tally to 18.
In his French league debut, Brazilian winger Tete kept Lyon’s slim European hopes alive in a 3-2 victory over Angers. Lyon blew the lead twice despite two goals from striker Moussa Dembele.
Nantes handed Clermont a fourth straight loss, 3-2, Brest won at mid-table Montpellier 2-1, and Troyes beat Reims 1-0 in injury time to move away from the relegation zone.
Barcelona edges Sevilla to move into 2nd in Spanish league
With a statement win against Sevilla, Barcelona showed it wasn't giving up yet in the fight for the Spanish league.
Barcelona’s revamped team under coach Xavi Hernández kept its momentum and moved into second place for the first time this season after beating Sevilla 1-0 at home on Sunday.
Pedri González broke the deadlock by scoring a beautiful goal in the 72nd minute at Camp Nou Stadium to move the Catalan club past Sevilla and keep its slim title hopes alive.
Read:Mbappe runs the show in PSG’s 5-1 win over Lorient
The result left Barcelona 12 points behind leader Real Madrid but it has a game in hand. Madrid salvaged a 2-1 win at Celta Vigo on Saturday with a couple of goals by the league scoring leader Karim Benzema.
“We will keep fighting until the math shows that we have no chance,” Xavi said. “We were hoping (Madrid) would have stumbled yesterday but it didn't happen.
Xavi has slowly turned Barcelona into a competitive squad again in his first year with the club. Barcelona has the same points as Sevilla and defending champion Atlético Madrid, which won at Alavés 4-1 on Saturday. Sevilla dropped from second to fourth because of the head-to-head tiebreakers.
Barcelona hadn’t been as high as second after a tough start to its first season without Lionel Messi. It reached the top three only a few rounds ago.
Barcelona has won eight and drawn one of its last nine matches in all competitions. It hasn’t lost in 13 consecutive games.
Sevilla had been second since the 16th round but gradually lost ground. It had drawn its last three in a row.
Barcelona was mostly in control but struggled to create significant scoring chances. Veteran defender Gerard Piqué almost opened the scoring with a header that struck the crossbar in the 69th. Pedri finally got the winner by faking his shot twice outside the area before firing in a low strike.
The match came a few hours after the club ratified an agreement with Spotify for at least 12 seasons. The agreement, initially announced in March, was approved by 89% of votes in Sunday’s general assembly.
Read:FIFA World Cup 2022: GroupWise Favourites to Advance to Round of 16
BETIS STAYS NEAR TOP
Real Betis routed Osasuna 4-1 to stay within range of the final Champions League place.
Juanmi scored twice and William Carvalho and Álex Moreno added a goal each for the hosts' second victory in the last nine matches in all competitions.
The result left Betis four points behind Sevilla, Atlético and Barcelona.
ATHLETIC WINS AGAIN
Athletic Bilbao ended a two-match winless streak with a 2-1 win over Elche to stay in eighth place, near the European spots.
It was the fourth loss in five matches for Elche, which is six points above the drop zone.
OTHER RESULTS
Mid-table Valencia was held at home by relegation-threatened Cádiz to 0-0, while 10-man Rayo Vallecano was held at Granada to 2-2 after conceding a penalty kick four minutes into stoppage time.
Taskin, Shoriful out of 2nd South Africa Test
Bangladesh suffered a fresh blow as the pace-bowling duo of Taskin Ahmed and Shoriful Islam have been ruled out of the second Test against South Africa starting on April 8 in Port Elizabeth, which Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) confirmed Sunday.
Taskin has hurt his right shoulder and will be given time to recover while Shoriful has already been diagnosed with a left ankle ligament injury and has missed the first Test in Durban.
The players will leave for home on April 5 to continue their recovery.
“Taskin had complained of right shoulder pain and difficulty of movement during the second day’s play in the first Test. He has received physiotherapy, supportive taping and painkillers for bowling in the second innings. His recovery is expected to take around three weeks,” National team physio Bayjedul Islam said.
“Shoriful felt pain on his left ankle during training on 29 March. An MRI confirmed a grade 1 ankle impingement syndrome with medial ligament injury. He has already started his rehab and is likely to resume training towards the end of this month,” he added.
BPL Football: Bashundhara Kings play out 2-2 with Dhaka Abahani
The titans' battle between last two times champions Bashundhara Kings and six times champions Dhaka Abahani Ltd ended in a 2-2 draw in the 12-team Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) Football '2021-22 at the Sylhet District Stadium Sunday evening.
Despite the day's draw, big budgeted and holders Bashundhara Kings comfortably maintained their solo lead in the league table securing 25 points from 10 matches while Dhaka Abahani went down to the 3rd slot collecting 19 points from 10 outings.
Three times champions Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club advanced to the 2nd place with 20 points from 10 encounters.
Also read: BPL Football: Sk Jamal beat Swadhinata KS 3-1
After a shocking defeat against newcomers Swadhinata KS in league opener, the Kings never looked behind to clinch the league crown for the 3rd time in a row after being deprived of the season's first two major trophies--Independence Cup and Federation Cup football.
In the day's crucial match, World Cup playing Costa Rica booter Daniel Colindres put Abahani ahead in the 20th minute while Eleta Kingsley restored the parity for the Kings in the 64th minute.
Also read: FIFA Int'l Friendly: Bangladesh play out goalless draw with Mongolia
Brazilian striker cum Kings captain Robson Robinson put his team ahead from behind in the 69th minute while Brazilian booter Dorielton Gomes Dori again leveled the margin for Abahani in the 84th minute
Rakib Hossain of Abahani and Sohel Rana of the Kings received red cards in the match.
Australia beat England by 71 runs to win Women’s World Cup
Alyssa Healy produced a milestone innings in a tournament that may be transformative for women’s cricket as Australia beat England by 71 runs on Sunday to win the Women’s Cricket World Cup for the seventh time.
Healy struck 170 from 138 balls as Australia reached 356-5 to toss aside any notions that women’s limited-overs cricket is in any way staid or lacking in spectacle.
Nat Sciver then produced an innings of almost equal quality, reaching a century from 90 balls to give hope to what seemed a hopeless England run chase. Sciver was 148 not out when England’s last wicket fell at 285 in the 44th over. While she was at the crease, Australia’s total seemed attainable.
Healy’s was the highest and Sciver’s the third highest individual scores in a men’s or women’s ICC World Cup that made clear this final was one of the best ever in a cricket World Cup.
“That was pretty special from our group, something that we’ve been working towards for a long period of time,” Healy said. “Everyone’s been talking about it for a long time so to get over the line was great.
Read:ICC Women’s World Cup 2022: Australia to Face England in the Final
“We knew England was peaking at the right time and you never know what’s going to happen. Full credit to the bowlers, they held their nerve. Nat Sciver played a tremendous innings, I thought she might have got them over the line but it was just a great game of cricket.”
More than 86,000 fans attended when Healy made 75 from 39 balls as Australia beat India in the final of the Women’s T20 World Cup in March 2020.
The crowd was much smaller this time but still near capacity at Hagley Oval and the ripples of Sunday’s match may radiate wide as women’s cricket grows and its move towards equality with the men’s game gains pace.
The women and young girls who wore the jerseys of their favorite players or clamored for autographs at the final were only a small indication of the new generation this World Cup, broadcast to an unprecedented global audience, may have inspired.
Healy helped demonstrate how far the women’s game has come since England won the first World Cup in 1973 when the players wore white pleated skirts and knee socks and the seven competing teams included Young England and an International XI.
Through 31 matches over 30 days the 2022 tournament produced cricket of the highest caliber, with 11 centuries, four innings of 300 or more and many thrilling finishes in the final over.
Healy’s innings, which followed her 129 in Australia’s 157-run semifinal win over the West Indies, represented a higher level of performance for its command, the range of her shots and the power with which she struck the ball.
The creation of women’s professional T20 leagues, especially the Australian Big Bash leagues, has seen the budding of numerous new batting talents and Healy’s innings was its fruition. She reached her century at a run a ball and added her next 70 runs from only 38 deliveries. In total, she hit 26 fours, many through or over the off side as she stepped away to leg and planted her feet firmly for leverage.
Healy put on 160 for Australia’s first wicket with Rachael Haynes who made 68. The opening pair put on 216 in the semifinal in which Haynes made 85.
It was hard at the end of the Australian innings to believe that Healy and Haynes both were cautious at first as they found the pace of a fresh pitch. They scored only 37 runs during the 10 over powerplay.
Read:ICC Women's World Cup 2022: Meet the Semi-Finalists
From then on the scoring rate climbed steadily and rapidly: Australia was 92-0 after 20 overs, 131-0 at the midpoint of the innings. England’s spirits almost visibly faded as Australia added 224 more in the second half of the innings, as its bowlers seemed powerless to slow the flow of runs.
Beth Mooney followed Haynes and rushed to a half century from 38 balls, eventually falling for 62. The last five overs yielded three wickets but no respite.
England began its innings needing more than seven runs per over to win. Captain Heather Knight spoke before the match of England writing its own remarkable story in the final and that certainly would have been the case had it achieved a world-record run chase to win back to back finals.
Sciver almost made it happen but England lacked partnerships and Australia proved too strong. It came into the tournament as the top-ranked team and favorite and won all eight games on the way to the final. England lost its its first three games and faced elimination but won five straight in virtual knockout circumstances to reach the final.
“Healy’s was the best innings I’ve ever seen live,” Knight said. “We couldn’t really find an answer.
“Nat was remarkable, absolutely remarkable, the skill against spin and seam. It was unfortunate we couldn’t have anyone stay with her.”
Bangladesh slump to 11-3 chasing 274 vs South Africa
Bangladesh lost three quick wickets and was struggling at 11-3 in pursuit of a victory target of 274 against South Africa after giving themselves a sight of victory in the first Test and another piece of history Sunday.
Bangladesh took nine wickets for 88 runs in the last two sessions of the fourth day to bowl South Africa out for 204 in their second innings when it looked like the home team was about to build an unassailable lead.
But just as South Africa lost quick wickets to change the complexion of the match and raise the Tigers' hopes of a first Test win over the Proteas, the Bangladesh batsmen slumped at the start of their chase.
Read:Bangladesh 298 all out, South Africa lead by 75 in 1st Test
Openers Shadman Islam (0) and Mahmudul Hasan Joy (4) and captain Mominul Haque (2) were already out for Bangladesh having hardly helped in the chase.
South Africa turned to their spin bowlers to open the bowling at the end of the day and it worked perfectly.
Keshav Maharaj collected 2-7 and Simon Harmer 1-4, and Bangladesh were in deep trouble after facing just six overs before bad light forced the umpires to call stumps.
South Africa were 116-1 in their second innings soon after lunch, 185 runs ahead and seemingly in position to build a huge advantage at Kingsmead and take the game away from Bangladesh.
But pace bowler Taskin Ahmed forced out South Africa captain Dean Elgar lbw for 64 for the crucial breakthrough, and Bangladesh's other bowlers took that cue to run through the South Africans and keep the Test alive.
Seamer Ebadot Hossain and spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz claimed three wickets each as South Africa went from that position of strength at 116-1 to 204 all out.
Read: SA vs BAN Series 2022: Joy's Joyful knock is an Inspiration to Bangladeshi Players
The victory target of 274 meant Bangladesh had a realistic chance to win the opening Test and follow up on their historic one-day series result last month when they won a series in South Africa for the first time.
But Bangladesh's maiden Test win over South Africa is in the balance.
Offspinner Harmer had Shadman caught at slip in the second over of the innings and left-arm spinner Maharaj sent Mahmudul and Mominul packing in the fifth over.
BPL Football: Sk Jamal beat Swadhinata KS 3-1
Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club, riding on a hattrick by Matthew Chinedu, beat newcomer Swadhinata KS by 3-1 goals on the resuming day of the 12-team Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) Football '2021-22 at the Muktijoddha Smriti Stadium in Rajshahi on Sunday.
Country's most prestigious soccer league BPL, resumed on Sunday at four different venues after a two-week recess for national team's engagements in two FIFA International Friendlies against the Maldives and Mongolia.
With the day's feat, three times champions Sheikh Jamal DC advanced to the 2nd slot in the league table securing 20 points from 10 matches while Swadhinata KS remained at the bottom with six points from 10 encounters.
Also read: Sheikh Russel likely to leave BPL Football protesting 'controversial refereeing'
In the day's match, Nigerian attacking midfielder Matthew Chinedu made a hattrick scoring all the three goals for Sheikh Jamal DC in the 29th, 38th and 67th minutes.
Bosnian striker Nedo Turkovic scored the lone goal for Swadhinata KS in the 53rd minute.
In the day's another league match, Saif Sporting Club outplayed Uttar Baridhara Club by 3-0 goals at Bir Shreshtho Matiur Rahman Stadium in Munshiganj.
Sunday Udoh, Asror Gafurov and Sajjad Shakil scored for Saif SC in the 12th, 45+1 and 65th minutes respectively .
Nasirul Islam of Saif SC and Y Kochnev of Uttar Baridhara Club got marching order after receiving the red cards just three minutes before the final whistle.
Also read: FIFA Int'l Friendly: Bangladesh play out goalless draw with Mongolia
In the day's another match, Chittagong Abahani Ltd defeated lowly Muktijoddha Sangsad KC by 2-1 goals at the Shaheed Direndranath Dutta Stadium in Cumilla.
Paul Ebimobowel Thankgod and Sohel Rana scored one each for Chittagang Abahani in the 27th and 66th minutes respectively while Soma Otanj scored the lone goal for the freedom fighters team in the 45th minute