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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

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. 

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 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.

The first Test between Bangladesh and South Africa began on Thursday (March 31, 2022) at Kingsmead in Durban. When Tamim Iqbal was dropped from the playing XI for the first Test due to stomach pain, there was a fear that Bangladesh’s batting order would collapse against a well-versed South African bowling attack in the conditions. The concern was justified as most of Bangladesh's batters failed completely in the first innings, except for Mahmudul Hasan Joy. He was there at the crease till the end, playing the anchor role for the team. How Bangladesh players can take inspiration from Joy’s knock to save the first Test of the SA vs BAN series 2022 is discussed in this article. Mahmudul Hasan Joy's Maiden Test Hundred Highlights 21-year-old Mahmudul Hasan Joy made his Test debut last December against Pakistan. He made 0 and 6 in his first Test match but caught the eye of many after playing a determined 78-run knock against New Zealand in the first Test of 2-match series earlier this January. He stunned everyone by staying five hours at the crease and making 78 runs in 228 balls. His knock laid the foundation of Bangladesh’s first innings and eventually took a commanding lead over New Zealand. Bangladesh went on to win the contest by 8 wickets, and that was arguably the best ever Test win in Bangladesh's history. Read Pakistan easily beat Australia and clinch ODI series 2-1 Mahmudul Hasan’s 78-run knock can easily take a spot among the greatest Test innings by Bangladesh players. However, within three months, Joy produced his first Test hundred, which can be regarded as even better than the innings he played against New Zealand earlier this January. Mahmudul Hasan Joy opened the innings along with Shadman Islam in the first innings in the ongoing first match of the two-match Test series against South Africa. He stayed at the crease till the end and was the last man to get dismissed. Mahmudul Hasan Joy played the anchor role for the team and constructed some crucial partnerships in the middle. He found himself in both good and difficult situations while building his innings, but he didn’t lose his concentration. Mahmudul Hasan’s determination was on another level, which can’t be compared to other Bangladesh batters. Read Bangladesh 298 all out, South Africa lead by 75 in 1st Test Mahmudul Hasan made 137 runs in 326 balls after spending more than seven hours at the crease. Overall, he hit fifteen boundaries and two sixes in the innings. Mahmudul Hasan formed two vital partnerships: one with Najmul Hossain Shanto for 55 runs for the second wicket, and the other with Litton Das for 82 runs for the sixth wicket.  The level of maturity and responsibility he showed in his innings was really admirable. It was an unbelievable effort by a 21-year-old batter. The rest of Bangladesh's players, especially the batters, should take inspiration from his attitude and focus to thrive in the middle. With 137 runs, Mahmudul Hasan Joy also became the highest scorer among the Asian openers in South Africa. This was a really special achievement by Mahmudul Hasan. Read Magnificent Mahmudul hits ton against South Africa The Top Five Test Knocks in South Africa by Asian Openers Player Runs Mahmudul Hasan Joy (BAN) 137 Taufeeq Umar (PAK) 135 KL Rahul (IND) 123 Saeed Anwar (PAK) 118 Wasim Jaffer (IND) 116    Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/ Read Bangladesh lose quick wickets to end Day 2 in Durban First Test Match Scenario of SA vs BAN Series 2022 Batting first, South Africa scored 367 in their first innings. Tamba Bavuma scored the most runs for the Proteas, while pacer Khaled Ahmed took the most wickets for Bangladesh. In reply, Bangladesh were bowled out for 298 in their first innings, 69 runs behind South Africa’s first innings (367) total. South Africa started their second innings in the final hour of day-3, and they would try to construct a lead in excess of 300 before giving Bangladesh a target to chase. The Bangladesh team has to play with a lot of determination in the fourth innings in order to earn a positive result. Therefore, the last two days of the match would be very interesting to watch. Read Pakistan level ODI series with 6-wicket win over Australia Bottom Line Mahmudul Hasan Joy showed real promise in the first innings. Joy's knock displays that anyone can play long innings on this surface if they can give themselves some time to adapt to the pitch conditions. Joy’s determination was on a different level, and the rest of the Bangladesh players needed to learn how to stay long at the crease in order to play long innings. The first Test match of the SA vs BAN series 2022 is evenly matched. Both Bangladesh and South Africa have the potential to win the opening match if they play with confidence for the remaining two days and execute their respective game plans properly. Read Tigers to host Lankan Lions in May for two Tests

Pakistan romped to a nine-wicket win over depleted Australia in the third one-day international on Saturday and clinched the series 2-1. Captain Babar Azam made his second successive century in an unbeaten 105 and Imam-ul-Haq continued his dream run of form with an unbeaten 89 as Pakistan cruised to 214-1 in 37.5 overs. Read: Bangladesh 298 all out, South Africa lead by 75 in 1st Test Australia, which posted 300-plus scores in the last two ODIs, crashed against Pakistan pace and was all out for 210 in 41.5 overs after Babar won his third consecutive toss and opted to bowl. Haris Rauf (3-39) and Shaheen Afridi (2-40) jolted the top order with their pace and young fast bowler Mohammad Wasim polished off the lower order to take 3-40.

South Africa bowled Bangladesh out for 298 in its first innings despite opener Mahmudul Hasan Joy’s 137, giving the Proteas a clear lead in the opening test on Saturday. South Africa took that advantage to 75 runs on the third day by reaching 6-0 in its second innings by stumps, which was forced by bad light and then rain. South Africa made 367 in its first innings after being put in to bat at Kingsmead in Durban. Read: Magnificent Mahmudul hits ton against South Africa Bangladesh was 98-4 overnight in reply and slumped to 101-5 in the third over of the day when nightwatchman Taskin Ahmed fell for 1. But Mahmudul celebrated his first test century in the afternoon session and eventually hit 15 fours and two sixes before he was the last man out. He was pivotal to Bangladesh’s score, sharing an 82-run stand with Litton Das (41) for the sixth wicket and then a partnership of 51 with Mehidy Hasan Miraz (29) for the eighth wicket. Mahmudul cleverly shepherded the tailenders and 197 of Bangladesh’s runs came from the last five wickets. Read: Bangladesh lose quick wickets to end Day 2 in Durban Debutant Lizaad Williams collected his first test wickets to finish with 3-54 for South Africa. His haul included the wicket of Mahmudul, who was finally beaten when he edged to Simon Harmer at slip to end the Bangladesh innings. Despite Mahmudul’s knock, South Africa had clear control of the match by way of a 69-run first-innings lead. South Africa openers Dean Elgar (3 not out) and Sarel Erwee (3 not out) extended that lead by six runs and avoided any late blows as the light faded in Durban.

Mahmudul Hasan Joy hit his maiden Test ton on Saturday against South Africa in the ongoing Test in Durban. Mahmudul completed the magical three-figure off 269 deliveries. And along the way, he became the first Bangladeshi to hit a Test ton against South Africa, and that is in South Africa. It was also Mahmudul’s first Test against South Africa. During the 97th over of Bangladesh’s first innings, Mahmudul cut Keshav Maharaj to the deep backward point region and ran for a couple which brought up his hundred. At the end of day two, Mahmudul was unbeaten for 44. Along the way to smashing his first hundred for Bangladesh, Mahmudul hit 10 fours and one six. Read: Bangladesh lose quick wickets to end Day 2 in Durban While replying to South Africa’s first innings total of 367, Bangladesh lost opener Shadman Islam quickly for just nine runs. In the absence of Tamim Iqbal, it was Shadman’s onus to guide the innings early. But he failed to do so. On the second wicket, Mahmudul and Najmul Hossain were going well but Najmul failed to carry on. After him, Mominul Haque suffered a duck and Mushfiqur Rahim was also dismissed quickly. Mahmudul, however, was firm at the other end of the wicket. The gritty batter kept his wicket safe and scoreboard afloat. Liton Das partnered Mahmudul in an 82-run stand for the sixth wicket. The right-handed wicketkeeper-batter looked confident and comfortable at the wicket. But suddenly he lost his concentration and lost his wicket to Lizaad Williams. After Liton’s dismissal, Yasir Ali trapped run-out for 22 off 37 balls. Mehidy Hasan Miraz joined Mahmudul in the eighth wicket stand. Read: Tigers to host Lankan Lions in May for two Tests Earlier, Simon Harmer, the left-arm spinner, bagged four wickets for the hosts and put immense pressure on Bangladesh. At the end of 106 overs of Bangladesh’s innings, the visitors are trailing by 111 runs with only three wickets in hand.

Left-arm spinner Simon Harmer grabbed four top-order Bangladesh wickets to put South Africa in dominance on the second day of the first Test in Durban. Bangladesh ended day two at 98 for four wickets in their first innings with opener Mahmudul Hasan Joy unbeaten on 44, along with nightwatchman Taskin Ahmed yet to open his account. The visitors are trailing by 269 runs with six wickets in hand after bowling the hosts out for 367 in the first innings. After a cautious start, Bangladesh lost three quick wickets in the last session of day two. Simon Harmer, the left-arm spinner bagged four wickets conceding 42 runs in 20 overs. Bangladesh scored 25 in the first wicket stand. After Shadman Islam fell for 9, Mahmudul and Najmul Hossain added 55 runs on the board. From 80 for one wicket Bangladesh suffered a mini-collapse when they lost three wickets to reach 94 runs. Najmul scored 38, Mominul Haque suffered a duck and Mushfiuqr Rahim added 7 only. Earlier, Khaled Ahmed took four wickets for 92 to help Bangladesh restrict South Africa to 367 runs. Read: Pakistan level ODI series with 6-wicket win over Australia This was also the best bowling by any Bangladeshi pacer on the soil of South Africa. He surpassed Subashis Roy’s 3/118 in 2017. South Africa began the second day with 233 for four. They added 134 runs more in their first innings losing the remaining wickets. Khaled bagged the first two wickets of the second day removing wicketkeeper-batter Kyle Verreynne and Wiaan Mulder. While Verreynne posted 28 off 81 balls, Mulder suffered a duck. Temba Bavuma, however, was firm at the other end of the wicket until Mehidy Hasan removed him for 93 off 190 deliveries. In the last two partnerships, South Africa added 69 runs that helped them pass the 350-run mark. Simon Harmer, the all-rounder, remained unbeaten for 38 off 73 balls. Right-arm spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz scalped three wickets for Bangladesh while Ebadot Hossain bagged two. Bangladesh are missing the services of Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal in this match. While Shakib is out of the team due to family reasons, Tamim missed this Test due to illness.

Captain Babar Azam and Imam-ul-Haq smashed powerful centuries Thursday as Pakistan leveled the three-match series against a depleted Australia with its biggest ever successful run-chase in an ODI. Babar made a blistering 114 off 83 balls and Imam scored 106 as Pakistan marched to 349-4 with an over to spare for a six-wicket win. Australia had earlier made another imposing total of 348-8 after Babar won the toss and elected to field for the second game in a row. Ben McDermott’s (104) maiden test hundred formed the cornerstone of Australia’s strong total. Khushdil Shah scored an unbeaten 27 off 17 balls and Iftikhar Ahmed (8 not out) raised Pakistan’s memorable victory with six balls to spare after Babar and Imam had dominated an inexperienced Australian bowling attack. Travis Head (89) missed out on his second successive century while Marnus Labuschagne (59) and Marcus Stoinis (49) also played cameos to set up another challenging total for Pakistan after Australia had defended 313-7 in the first game of the three-match series. The emphatic win broke Pakistan’s 10-match losing streak against Australia, which is missing several leading players and only had 13 fit players to chose from after the white-ball squad in Lahore was hit by COVID-19. The imposing Pakistan chase eclipsed its previous highest successful chase in the 50-over format when it made 329-7 to beat Bangladesh by three wickets in an Asia Cup game at Mirpur in 2014. Two days ago Imam’s century went in vain when Australia recorded an emphatic 88-run, but the left-handed opening batter ensured Pakistan did not slip up for the second successive time by featuring in two solid century partnerships. Imam laid a rollicking platform of 118 runs with Fakhar Zaman, who made 67 before Fakhar was undone by Stoinis’ slower delivery and was clean bowled in the 19th over. Australia’s understrength bowling attack cracked up against the brilliant strokeplay of Babar, who dominated the twin spin threat of Adam Zampa and Mitchell Swepson with flurry of boundaries on both sides of the wickets. Imam, who also scored a century in each innings against Australia in the first test earlier this month, batted resolutely and hit six fours and three sixes before he perished in the 35th over when he holed out at long-on off Zampa. But Babar, who was criticized for his slow strike rate in the first game, took charge against the spinners and inexperienced fast bowlers as he raised his century off just 71 balls. Babar departed in the 45th over with Pakistan needing 40 for victory when he was smartly caught at mid-wicket by Labuschagne in Ellis’ return spell before Khushdil kept his cool and carried Pakistan home with two sixes and two fours. Earlier, McDermott, who scored his maiden ODI half century in Australia’s 88-run win on Tuesday, added 162 runs for the second-wicket stand with Head after captain Aaron Finch was out plumb leg before wicket off the first ball he faced from Shaheen Afridi. McDermott reached his half century with a straight six off spinner Iftikhar and raised his century with an identical shot against left-arm spinner Khushdil. McDermott hit 10 fours and four sixes before he missed a full toss from Mohammad Wasim and holed out to mid-wicket but Stoinis provided a late flourish with his breezy knock off 33 balls. Afridi, who returned after missing the first game due to a knee injury, picked up three late wickets to finish with 4-63, but it was the Pakistan spinners who struggled against Australia’s top-order batters. Iftikhar and Khushdil leaked 95 runs off their combined 10 overs while Zahid Mahmood went for 71 off his 10 overs for the sole wicket of Head, who top-edged a sweep against the leg-spinner. The third and final ODI will be played on Saturday before Australia round off its tour to Pakistan with a one-off Twenty20 next Tuesday.