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'Still reaching US Open finals 20 years on? I'd have said you were joking' - Williams

Published in Tennis

Thursday, 05 September 2019 22:07

Serena Williams says she would not have believed after her first US Open title in 1999 that she would be playing in a record 10th final 20 years later.

Williams, 37, stormed into the Flushing Meadows final with a 6-3 6-1 win over Ukrainian fifth seed Elina Svitolina.

The American will bid for a record-equalling 24th major singles title on Saturday against Bianca Andreescu.

"I would have thought it was a sick joke," Williams said of being in a final 20 years after her first.

"At 17, I thought for sure I'd be retired at 28, 29, living my life. I would definitely not have believed somebody saying that."

Williams is aiming to equal Australian Margaret Court's all-time record of Grand Slam singles titles.

The eighth seed has competed in three major finals since returning from giving birth to daughter Olympia in September 2017. She lost in the past two Wimbledon finals as well as a controversial US Open showpiece against Naomi Osaka in New York last year.

"I think it's cool that I've been in more finals than I think anyone on tour after being pregnant. That's kind of awesome," she said.

"I look at it that way because it's not easy to go through what I did and come back, and so fast.

"To keep playing, to also not be 20 years old, I'm pretty proud of myself."

Williams is the favourite to beat 19-year-old Canadian Andreescu, who will be competing in her first Grand Slam final after beating Switzerland's Belinda Bencic in the last four, particularly after the way in which she destroyed semi-final opponent Svitolina.

Williams hit 33 winners in a powerful display that Svitolina could not cope with, although Williams agreed with the Ukrainian's assertion she could have played even better.

"I think it was solid. It definitely wasn't my best tennis," Williams said.

"It's interesting that she knows that. She's a super professional to know that.

"She probably could have played better as well. I definitely know I could have played better."

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Brilliant Williams to face Andreescu in US Open final

Published in Tennis

Thursday, 05 September 2019 20:50

Serena Williams has another shot at winning a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam singles title after demolishing Elina Svitolina to reach the US Open final.

The American, 37, overpowered the Ukrainian fifth seed to win 6-3 6-1.

Williams, seeded eighth, is aiming for her first Grand Slam win since giving birth in September 2017.

The six-time champion will face Canadian 19-year-old Bianca Andreescu in Saturday's final in New York.

In a gripping encounter, Andreescu defeated 22-year-old Swiss Belinda Bencic 7-6 (7-3) 7-5, winning the last five games of the match.

Andreescu, who is playing in the US Open main draw for the first time and competing in only her fourth Grand Slam, was born nine months after Williams won her first title at Flushing Meadows in 1999.

Williams underlines why she is favourite for victory

Williams is already considered by many as the greatest female player ever, yet will not be satisfied herself until she has levelled - and then overtaken - Australian Margaret Court's total of all-time Grand Slam singles titles.

Following the difficult birth of daughter Olympia two years ago which almost cost Williams her life, she has reached consecutive Wimbledon finals - plus last year's controversial US Open showpiece against Naomi Osaka - without capping what has already been a remarkable comeback with another major win.

For Williams to not go on and win a seventh US Open title - an Open era record in the women's singles - would be a major shock on the evidence of her performances over the past two weeks.

Free of the knee injury which bothered her earlier this year, she is looking as sharp, powerful and clinical as she has in a long time.

That was illustrated by the ease with which she swatted aside Svitolina, the highest ranked player to reach the last eight at Flushing Meadows and competing in her second successive Grand Slam semi-final.

The 24-year-old has one of the most impenetrable returning games on the WTA Tour, yet even she could not keep Williams at bay.

After a slow start where Svitolina could conceivably have led 2-0, it was the American who broke at the first attempt and from that point it was all one-way traffic.

Williams found her range quickly and dominated with her powerful, precise hitting which resulted in 33 winners in a match which lasted only one hour and 10 minutes.

"The first two games were long games and I know how she can play - she is a good player," Williams said.

"I wanted to not get off to a slow start and I wanted to hang in there."

Svitolina rues missed opportunities

Svitolina was expected to provide a tougher test for Williams after clinically dispatching British number one Johanna Konta in their quarter-final on Wednesday.

With her fleet of foot and ability to return, she would have been hoping to withstand everything fired by Williams and then outlast her older opponent.

But even she could not cope with the pummelling produced by the American.

Svitolina's inability to take any of six break points in the early part of the first set proved terminal to her hopes.

Helped by three unforced errors from Williams in the opening game, Svitolina created three break points which she could not convert and then saw her illustrious opponent fight back from a 0-40 deficit to break for a 2-0 lead after a hard-fought 15 minutes.

Another 0-40 lead disappeared as Williams held for a 4-1 lead and from that point Svitolina's confidence sapped, along with her ability to push her opponent.

"I just wish I could have taken those opportunities," said Svitolina, who won the season-ending WTA Tour Finals last year.

"It could be maybe a 2-2 or 3-3 instead of 0-3, which allows you to push to play more freely."

In the second set she was not able to touch Williams's serve, winning just three receiving points.

"She has unbelievable strength. She gives lots of power," Svitolina said.

"There's lots of power behind her shots all the time. That's what makes her an unbelievable, legendary tennis player."

Determined Andreescu battles through

Saturday's final at Flushing Meadows comes four weeks after Williams tearfully retired with a back injury against Andreescu in the Rogers Cup final in Toronto.

Andreescu and Bencic were both competing in their first major semi-final, with the Canadian becoming the first teenager to play in a US Open last-four match since 2009.

Bencic made the running in the opening set but was undone as Andreescu saved all six break points created by the Swiss.

Andreescu raced into a 5-0 lead in the first-set tie-break, and despite Bencic attempting a comeback, she made her lead count as her visibly frustrated opponent came to rue her missed opportunities.

Perhaps it was the spur that Bencic - who reached the quarter-finals in New York as a 17-year-old in 2014 - needed as she replied in stunning fashion, quickly going a double break up, and despite having her own serve broken, immediately broke again to extend her lead to 5-2.

But Andreescu refused to go away and won the next five games, breaking Andreescu once more on her third match point to book her place in the final.

"I think it's just all the hard work I've put in through the years," she said. "If someone told me a year ago I would be in the US Open final this year, I'd tell them they were crazy.

"It's just surreal. I really don't know what to say. It's a dream come true playing against Serena in the final of the US Open. It's crazy."

Analysis

BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller at Flushing Meadows

Bianca Andreescu may not wish to dwell for too long on the highlights of Serena Williams' semi-final performance.

The power could be taken for granted, but perhaps not the quality of the angles she produced and her movement around the court.

The stakes rise enormously in a Grand Slam final, and Williams has lost her previous three, but in terms of preparation and confidence-building this was extremely handy.

Not that Andreescu has much to worry about, as the 19-year-old has won her last 22 completed matches, either side of a shoulder injury.

No wonder she never knows when she is beaten. Belinda Bencic made the running in both sets, but still ended up losing them.

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Feeling the tension, last eight teams decided in Nantes

Published in Table Tennis

Thursday, 05 September 2019 15:41

England and Portugal emerged the nations to upset the seeding in the men’s event, in the women’s competition the distinction belonged to Poland.

The no.9 seeds, England overcame Belarus, the no.6 seeds; a 3-1 success being the margin of victory, Liam Pitchford the mainstay. He beat Pavel Platonov (11-4, 11-6, 8-11, 11-7) in the opening match of the fixture before bringing matters to a close by overcoming Vladimir Samsonov (10-12, 11-9, 12-10, 11-8). The one further success for England was recorded in the third match of the engagement when Sam Walker accounted for Aliaksandr Khanin (11-8, 5-11, 11-7, 11-5).

Convincing performances

A four match win for England; it was even more convincing for Portugal, the no.10 seeds, in opposition to Greece, the no.8 seeds. Marcos Freitas, João Monteiro and Tiago Apolonia showed no charity as they posted a 3-0 win against the outfit comprising Panagiotis Gionis, Kalinikos Kreanga and Ioannis Sgouropoulos.

Impressive from the Portuguese trio, in the women’s event it was impressive from Poland, the no.11 seeds, especially from the reigning European champion, Li Qian. Lining up alongside Natalia Bajor and Natalia Partyka, a 3-1 victory margin was posted against the no.6 seeds, the Swedish combination of Matilda Ekholm, Linda Bergström and Christina Källberg. Li Qian beat both Linda Bergström (9-11, 11-3, 11-3, 11-2) and Matilda Ekholm (11-6, 11-6, 11-8); the one further Polish win was secured by Natalia Bajor, in the fourth match of the fixture she overcame Christina Källberg (11-13, 11-3, 11-2, 11-9).

Narrow margin

Upsets and there were close calls, none more so than in the men’s team contest between Poland, the no.7 seeds and Belgium, the no.12 seeds; supported by Jakub Dyjas and Samuel Kulczycki, Marek Badowski emerged the Polish hero against the unit comprising Cédric Nuytinck, Florent Lambiet and Martin Allegro. In the opening match of the fixture he beat Cédric Nuytinck (11-5, 11-4, 13-11), before in the vital fifth and deciding match of the contest, after Jakub Djyas had levelled matters by overcoming Cédric Nuytinck (11-9, 11-7, 11-9), he accounted for Florent Lambiet by the very narrowest of five game margins (11-8, 11-5, 6-11, 3-11, 15-13).

A full distance five match contest, it was the same in the men’s team event for the no.4 seeds, Austria’s Robert Gardos, Daniel Habesohn and Stefan Fegerl in opposition to Denmark’s Jonathan Groth, Anders Lind and Tobias Rasmussen. Just as Marek Badowski was Poland’s hero playing in the first and fifth matches, so Robert Gardos was the Austrian star. He beat both Jonathan Groth (11-6, 14-12, 11-8) and Anders Lind (11-6, 7-11, 11-5, 11-2); the one further Austrian win was secured by Stefan Fegerl, in the third match of the fixture. He overcame Tomias Rasmussen (11-7, 11-5, 11-8).

Similarly, in the women’s event the French outfit formed by Laura Gasnier, Pauline Chasselin and Audrey Zarif, the no.8 seeds, needed the full five matches to overcome the no.12 seeds, the Luxembourg team of Sarah de Nutte, Ni Xia Lian and Tessy Gonderinger. The player to cause the problems being Ni Xia Lian, she accounted for both Pauline Chasselin (11-0, 11-3, 13-11) and Laura Gasnier (11-6, 11-7, 12-10).

Comprehensive wins

Moments of trepidation for the French women, not for their male counterparts; the no.3 seeds, selecting Simon Gauzy, Emmanuel Lebesson and Can Akkuzu, in their concluding group stage encounter, a 3-0 win was recorded in opposition to the no.15 seeds, the Slovakian combination of Alexander Valuch, Lubomir Pistej and Wang Yang.

Imposing from France, in the men’s event it was the same from Germany. The top seeds; fielding Timo Boll, Patrick Franziska and Dimitrij Ovtcharov, a 3-0 win was recorded against the no.13 seeds, the Russian combination of Kirill Skachkov, Alexander Shibaev and Vladimir Sidorenko.

Likewise, for the women, the top seeded Romania trio of Bernadette Szocs, Elizabeta Samara and Daniela Monteiro-Dodean was totally focused; they reserved first position in their group courtesy of a 3-0 win when facing the no.14 seeds, the Spanish combination of Galia Dvorak, Maria Xiao and Zhang Xuan.

Quarter-final draw

The last eight teams decided. At the quarter-final stage of the men’s event, Germany plays Slovenia, Poland opposes France; in the adjacent half of the draw Austria confronts Portugal, England meets Sweden. In the women’s competition it is Romania versus France, Poland against the Netherlands; in the lower section of the draw Hungary opposes Ukraine, Portugal meets Germany.

All quarter-final fixtures will be played on Friday 6th September.

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Quarter-final place secured, what makes Team England tick?

Published in Table Tennis

Thursday, 05 September 2019 16:18

A 3-1 victory over Luxembourg in the opening round of group phase action handed England a fighting chance of qualifying from Group 6, but a mighty test was still to come with Belarus also in contention.

In a winner takes all affair, it was England that established the early advantage against their Belarusian counterparts through Liam Pitchford. He led by example with a four games win over Pavel Platonov (11-4, 11-6, 8-11, 11-7). However, it didn’t take long for Belarus to level the score at 1-1 as the legendary Vladimir Samsonov showed little sympathy for Paul Drinkhall (11-7, 11-9, 11-7).

With the match hanging in the balance, the third fixture carried added importance for both sides with the flow of momentum being affected significantly. A young man fully capable of producing big wins under high pressure conditions, Sam Walker restored his country’s lead with a 3-1 victory at the expense of Aliaksandr Khanin (11-8, 8-11, 11-7, 11-5) to move England to within touching distance of the quarter-finals.

Up against the ropes at 2-1 down, Belarus needed its talisman Vladimir Samsonov more than ever. But, it was not to be as the former World Championships finalist succumbed to a four games defeat at the hands of Liam Pitchford (10-12, 11-9, 12-10, 11-8). The match was over and after a gruelling session, it was England’s day!

“It is always nice to beat a legend. It was really difficult. All the games were very close. I didn’t let him control the match and I was very fast in the rallies. We were very well prepared. The third match involving Sam Walker was very important. He had to win that one! Coming to the table at 2-1 for me was obviously a much better position then it was for Samsonov.” Liam Pitchford

What makes this England team so dangerous? Over the past few years England has firmly established itself amongst the world elite in team competition following tremendous bronze medal winning campaigns at the Perfect 2016 World Team Championships in Kuala Lumpur and the 2018 ITTF Team World Cup on home soil in London.

Perhaps it’s the impressive balance found throughout the team: not only does the team boast a World top 30 player in Liam Pitchford, but also two well versed fighters in Paul Drinkhall and Sam Walker along with the exciting young talent of Tom Jarvis. Then there’s the great heart and togetherness the squad possesses, traits which have helped dig them out of dangerous positions on multiple occasions. The belief and courage really does shine through for all to see, making them formidable opposition for whoever stands in their way.

Awaiting England in the quarter-finals is a fierce challenge in the form of Sweden – the last head-to-head at 2018 World Team Championships Sweden secured a convincing 3-0 quarter-final victory in Halmstad. However, plenty of water has flowed under the bridge since then and the Swedish team aren’t taking anything for granted in Nantes with both Mattias Falck and Kristian Karlsson anticipating a close contest:

“Our next one will be against England and they are a really strong team.” Mattias Falck

“I am looking forward to our match against England. They are our friends and I am sure it will be good match to watch.” Kristian Karlsson

Will it be another victory for Sweden to celebrate or can England strike another magical team performance to stun the second seeds?

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Brazil and United States claim team titles

Published in Table Tennis

Thursday, 05 September 2019 19:26

by Ian Marshall, Editor

After recording a 3-1 semi-final win in opposition to the Chilean outfit comprising Daniela Ortega, Valentina Rios and Paulina Vega, a full distance 3-2 defeat was experienced in the final at the hands of the United States combination formed by Amy Wang, Crystal Wang, Wu Yue and Crystal Wang.

Against Chile, Bruna Takahashi had beaten both Valentina Rios (11-2, 11-9, 14-12) and Paulina Vega (8-11, 11-7, 9-11, 11-8, 11-7); facing the United States, she repeated the feat. She accounted for Crystal Wang (12-10, 8-11, 11-9, 11-6) and Wu Yue (12-10, 11-9, 8-11, 7-11, 11-6).

However those were to prove the only Brazilian successes; the agony being that in the decisive fifth match of the fixture, Jessica Yamada experienced defeat by the very narrowest of possible margins. She was beaten by Crystal Wang (11-7, 6-11, 11-6, 9-11, 11-9).

Impressive semi-final success

A fine effort by the United States outfit and a fine effort one round earlier; Amy Wang, Wu Yue and Lily Zhang on duty, a 3-0 semi-final win had been recorded against Puerto Rico’s Adriana Diaz, Melanie Diaz and Daniely Rios, the winners of the women’s team event at the recent Pan American Games in Lima.

One step short for Brazil in the women’s team competition; in the counterpart men’s event, it was the top step, a 3-1 win being the margin of victory in opposition to Puerto Rico in the title decider. Backbone of the success was the experienced Gustavo Tsuboi. He beat both Angel Naranjo (11-4, 11-7, 11-9) and Daniel Gonzalez (11-4, 11-5, 11-3).

The one further win for the Brazilians was secured by Eric Jouti, in the third match of the engagement he accounted for Brian Afanador (11-9, 10-12, 11-2, 11-9). Meanwhile, the one success for Puerto Rico was gained in the opening match, Brian Afanador and Daniel Gonzalez combined to beat Vitor Ishiy and Eric Jouti (9-11, 11-3, 11-7, 6-11, 11-9).

Earlier at the semi-final stage with no changes to the selection, Brazil had recorded a 3-1 win against the United States combination of Kanak Jha, Nikhil Kumar and Zhang Kai; Puerto Rico, similarly with the same players on duty had secured a 3-0 success when facing Canada’s Jeremy Hazin, Edward Ly and Marko Medjugorac.

Angel Naranjo excels

The one win for the United States was recorded by Kanak Jha; in the second match of the fixture he beat Gustavo Tsuboi (11-9, 6-11, 13-11, 11-9); the player to shine for Puerto Rico was 15 year old Angel Naranjo; he excelled to beat Jeremy Hazin (11-7, 13-11, 8-11, 6-11, 11-8).

The individual events now follow; play concludes in Asuncion on Sunday 8th September.

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'Tata' backs Berhalter: Mexico has edge on U.S.

Published in Soccer

Thursday, 05 September 2019 18:54

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Mexico head coach Gerardo "Tata" Martino agrees with U.S. boss Gregg Berhalter: Mexico has the edge over the Stars and Stripes right now.

Berhalter said earlier Thursday ahead of the friendly between the two sides in MetLife Stadium on Friday that he believed Mexico was "slightly ahead of us, having beaten us in the last game and having performed well over the last few years."

Martino concurs, but doesn't believe there is much in it.

"What I think is that Greg and I have a quite similar amount of time [in charge of our teams]," said Martino in a news conference on Thursday. "He probably had more knowledge of MLS when he took over than I had of Mexican football and the Mexican league.

"I think that as a general panorama, our players are competing in leagues that are better than the players in the United States national team and I also think that the Mexican league is above MLS, which means it's very probable that [Berhalter] is right and that from his position he sees the Mexican national team as a little bit better than the U.S. in a general context.

"Having said that, these are two teams that compete well together," continued the Argentine. "We won the Gold Cup final, I think justly, but it was quite an even game and I'm expecting as difficult a game [on Friday]."

Former Atlanta United manager Martino, who won MLS Cup in his second year in the league, praised the way players are increasingly being developed and exported from the United States to European leagues, but believes that Mexico also has the potential to export more youngsters.

"The United States has transformed into a country that exports a lot of young players to Europe," said Martino. "Evidently the development of those players will bear fruits in the future for the United States national team.

"That doesn't mean we don't have the same possibility. I think we have some young players, and others that are already there, that could go to Europe soon and that would be beneficial for us."

Martino will be without Monterrey center-back Cesar Montes and Tigres full-back Luis "Chaka" Rodriguez on Friday and confirmed that the team that faces the United States will be vastly different to the one to play Argentina on Tuesday in San Antonio.

Javier Hernandez, Hirving Lozano, Miguel Layun, Jesus Corona and Hector Herrera are all in El Tri's squad after missing the Gold Cup, but there have been some criticism of Martino for not including 19-year-old striker Jose Juan Macias, who is currently leading the Liga MX goal-scoring chart.

"The hurry comes from you guys [the press], not him and not me," explained Martino, who hinted Macias would be included in the squads to play the CONCACAF Nations Leagues in October and November.

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Chris Green, Shadab Khan lead Guyana Amazon Warriors to opening win

Published in Cricket

Thursday, 05 September 2019 22:23

Guyana Amazon Warriors 155 for 9 (Paul 38, Green 28, Malik 28, McCoy 4-41, Fawad 2-25) beat St Lucia Zouks 142 for 9 (Cornwall 36, Shadab 3-16, Shepherd 2-18, Green 2-28) by 13 runs

Left-arm seamer Obed McCoy bagged career-best T20 figures of 4 for 41 and Rahkeem Cornwall blitzed 36 off 14 balls, but it still wasn't enough for St Lucia Zouks as Guyana Amazon Warriors opened their CPL 2019 campaign with a 13-run win in front of a boisterous home crowd at Providence.

In pursuit of 156, Zouks enjoyed a blistering start, with Cornwall carting six boundaries in a mere eight balls. However, spinners Shadab Khan and Chris Green claimed five wickets between them to put the target beyond the opponents' reach.

ALSO READ - CPL updates: St Kitts and Nevis Patriots penalised for slow over rate

It was stand-in captain Green who took the prized scalp of Cornwall and marshalled his resources smartly after regular captain Shoaib Malik copped a blow on his right forearm in the batting innings and did not take the field in the chase. His arm was seen in a sling at one point, but Green said later that it was just a precautionary measure.

The calm before the storm

Zouks will be without Lasith Malinga for the entire CPL 2019, but Krishmar Santokie and Kesrick Williams made an early impression with their pace variations and reduced Amazon Warriors to 25 for 2 in the fourth over. Shimron Hetmyer tempered his naturally attacking strokeplay and set about working past the early strikes along with Malik on a slow Providence track.

They put on 48 together in 47 balls before McCoy duped Hetmyer with his back-of-the-hand variation in the 12th over. Guyana's new marquee player Nicholas Pooran fell for a golden duck and then Fawad Ahmed had both Malik as well as Sherfane Rutherford stumped with fizzing wrong'uns, but Keemo Paul and Green landed the mighty blows at the death. They, too, forged a 48-run stand, but this came at a breakneck speed off only 21 balls.

Paul showed why he was named West Indies' T20 player of the year, marrying power with composure. He took seven balls to get off the mark, but then teed off with a rasping slogged six over midwicket against the break off Fawad. He pressed on to smash Santokie for three successive boundaries in the penultimate over of the innings, helping Amazon Warriors breach 150.

Jimbo's opening salvo

Shadab had Andre Fletcher chopping on for 8, but Cornwall showed off his T20 prowess a week after making his Test debut. He golf-swung Paul down the ground, short-arm jabbed Ben Laughlin over the midwicket boundary, and laced Green against the turn over extra-cover. However, moments after he had taken Green for back-to-back fours, he was pinned lbw by a Green slider that straightened enough.

Where's your middle order, Zouks?

Malinga's Sri Lanka team-mate Niroshan Dickwella, too, had pulled out of the tournament while big-hitting New Zealand allrounder Colin de Grandhomme is away on international duty. The onus was on Darren Sammy, Thisara Perera, Najibullah Zadran and Chris Barnwell to see off the chase. But the spin of Shadab and the seam of Romario Shepherd were too much for the allrounders. From 52 for 2, Zouks slid rapidly to 109 for 7. Shadab, in particular, excelled with his legbreaks and googlies that gripped and turned sharply.

Santokie made a late cameo (15* off 9 balls), but all it did was to reduce the margin of defeat. These are still early days in the tournament, but Zouks need to patch up their flimsy middle order.

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Bob Carter named New Zealand Women's coach

Published in Cricket

Thursday, 05 September 2019 22:17

Bob Carter has been named coach of the New Zealand Women's team with a contract that will take him up to the end of 2021 Women's World Cup on home soil.

Carter, who has twice been assistant coach to the men's team, replaces Haidee Tiffen, who stood down from the tour of Australia earlier this year following a review that was put in place after New Zealand's disappointing T20 World Cup, before deciding not to reapply for her position.

Carter initially took temporary charge of the team on the Australia tour. He will now work on preparing for the home season, which involves a visit by South Africa ahead of the T20 World Cup in Australia.

"I see a lot of potential in this particular group of cricketers,'' Carter said. "We have a good blend of youth and experience that we can build from and I feel very positive about this next chapter of White Ferns cricket.

"It's an exciting time to come on board with two big world tournaments on the horizon. We have a number of senior players who have been performing at the top of the international game and remain committed to working hard in bringing success. With two ICC World Cups coming up and the women's game growing at all levels, it's a great time to be involved."

NZ's head of high performance Bryan Stronach said that a number of candidates had been interviewed for the position with the process involving representatives from the players.

"We're delighted to have Bob signed on and working with our top female cricketers," he said. "The recent Women's MOU has been a good development for the women's game but with the added funding and support comes an added professional responsibility. The players have endorsed Bob as a coach and enjoyed working with him in Australia."

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Lanning and Healy hundreds crush West Indies

Published in Cricket

Thursday, 05 September 2019 20:51

Australia Women 308 for 4 (Healy 122, Lanning 121) beat West Indies Women 130 (Taylor 70*, Perry 3-17) by 178 runs

Australia began their tour of the West Indies in fine style as Meg Lanning and Alyssa Healy flayed centuries as part of a 225-run stand to set up a crushing 178-run victory in Antigua.

Lanning's was her 13th ODI century - the fastest player, male or female, to reach that landmark, in 76 innings, ahead of Hashim Amla's 83 - while Healy made her second as the pair dominated the majority of Australia's innings following the shock of losing Rachael Haynes first ball.

Healy was the first to her landmark off 95 balls with Lanning reaching three figures from 137 deliveries with a six off Stafanie Taylor. In all, Lanning struck four sixes with one of them landing in the swimming pool at the Coolidge Ground. Australia's eventual margin of victory was their largest by runs against West Indies.

The stand of 225 in 38 overs, in oppressively hot conditions, was Australia's second highest for any wicket in ODIs, behind the 244 added by Karen Rolton and Lisa Sthalekar against Ireland in 2005. Both players were given lives in what was a ragged display from West Indies.

"It was a tricky wicket, never really coming through at any great pace so was tricky to adapt to and you never really felt in," Healy said. "It was very hot, very different coming straight from the UK over here, but I enjoyed it - sweat out a few beers I've had in the last month and a bit celebrating the Ashes.

"It was probably one of the more scratchy innings I've played, never really felt in, and probably hit a few in the air that I didn't want to. Hopefully next game I can rectify it, but there's a hundred on the board and wouldn't change it for anything."

When Healy departed, Ellyse Perry chipped in with an unbeaten 33 off 31 balls - Australia's innings saw steady progression throughout with the five 10-over splits bringing 55, 51, 62, 66 and 74 runs.

There was precious little for West Indies to take from the innings after the early high of Shamilia Connell having Haynes caught behind although she and Afy Fletcher kept their economy rates under six an over in their allocation of 10 overs.

Perry, getting the new ball to swing, then played a leading role in blowing away West Indies' top order which was missing the suspended Hayley Matthews who had been withdrawn from the ODI squad hours before the match started for breaching the code of conduct.

Both openers, Natasha McLean and Stacey-Ann King, fell for ducks as did Kyshona Knight as West Indies stumbled to 8 for 3 at the end of the second over and Perry's third wicket, trapping Reniece Boyce lbw, compounded the problems.

Taylor, who offered the majority of what resistance there was, with 70 off 114 balls, and Chinelle Henry briefly rallied before the latter drove a return catch to legspinner Georgia Wareham who claimed her second wicket when Lanning added to her stellar day by grabbing a stunning catch, full-stretch to her right, at slip to remove debutant Shabika Gajnabi.

Taylor showed her team-mates what was possible but was left stranded when Connell pulled to mid-on with Kycia Knight unable to bat. The only area where Australia slipped was conceding 26 wides.

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Afghan's 92 and Rashid's blitz lift Afghanistan to 342

Published in Cricket

Thursday, 05 September 2019 23:06

Innings Afghanistan 342 all out (Rahmat 102, Afghan 92, Rashid 51, Taijul 4-116) v Bangladesh

Afghanistan lasted 90 minutes in the second morning in Chattogram, after Bangladesh bowled them out for 342 runs in 117 overs. There was enough time for the captain Rashid Khan to blast a quickfire half-century to boost their scoring. Thanks to his late runs, Afghanistan added 71 runs in the morning session, useful enough to hand the home side a proper challenge chasing the score. But their bowlers gave them some momentum by getting among the wickets early in the day.

Bangladesh found success in the fourth over of the morning when Asghar Afghan top edged him for 92. He added just four runs to his overnight total, and although this is his highest Test score, a century was very much in the offing. He had struck three fours and two sixes in his 174-ball knock.

Taijul Islam, who removed Afghan, then produced a beautiful delivery to knock out Afsar Zazai, getting the ball to spin from leg-stump and hitting his off-stump. Zazai could add just six runs to his overnight score, getting out on 41 off 115 balls.

Debutant Qais Ahmed became Shakib Al Hasan's first wicket in the match, before Yamin Ahmadzai was caught at slip for a duck.

Rashid, who survived a lbw review on 32 after Taijul was found to have overstepped, farmed the strike with the tail-enders to hit three sixes and two fours. Mehidy Hasan finally dismissed him with a sharp return catch as Rashid attempted to pinch a single off the last ball of the 117th over.

Taijul finished with a four-wicket haul while Shakib and Nayeem Hasan took two each.

On the first day, Afghanistan reached 271 for 5 with Rahmat Shah's historic century being the main highlight. He shared a 120-run third wicket stand with Asghar Afghan who reached his second Test fifty, as Bangladesh's spinners strived hard to bowl them out.

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