Former West Indies captain Dwayne Bravo has officially come out of international retirement, making himself available for selection in the West Indies T20I side in the lead-up to their men's T20 World Cup defence in Australia next year. Bravo, however, confirmed that he didn't want to play any other format.

"I would like to announce my return to international T20s for West Indies," Bravo told ESPNcricinfo in Chennai. "Once selected I'll be fully committed to represent the region again in T20 cricket, which I think is exciting for West Indies cricket and fans, with the young talents around."

Bravo had turned his focus to exclusively playing franchise cricket around the world after announcing his retirement. The 36-year-old allrounder's change of heart comes following drastic changes in the West Indies administration - Ricky Skerritt has replaced Dave Cameron as the board president, and former T20 World Cup-winning coach Phil Simmons is back at the helm of the national team. As part of the revamp, Kieron Pollard was appointed captain of both the limited-overs teams ahead of the trip to India.

Bravo said that he was impressed by the clarity of thought and transparency in selection from the new management.

"They understand and listen, they will have dialogues going back and forth, that's the difference," he said. "And that's why it was so easy for me to make a decision to come back and represent West Indies again. I speak to the captain, coach, the president, director of cricket and chairman of selectors, and I've confirmed that I'll be available for T20I selection."

More to follow…

The BCB has kept deliberations on - and discussions into a possible investigation into - Krishmar Santokie's massive no-ball "internal", after alarm bells went off across the cricket world on the BPL's opening day. Social media was understandably abuzz, with the image of Sylhet Thunder bowler Santokie going over by several inches during their match against Chattogram Challengers in Dhaka being shared around.

BCB's chief executive Nizamuddin Chowdhury said that that the board wouldn't make a public comment on the matter, but he did mention the steps that have already been taken to guard against corruption.

"As you know, we have deployed more (anti-corruption) personnel in this tournament [one with each team], but about this matter we can't really make a comment as this is an internal thing at this stage," Chowdhury said.

Sylhet captain Mosaddek Hossain said in the post-match press conference on Wednesday that he was unaware of the distance by which Santokie had overstepped, which came in the same over in which the bowler had bowled a big wide down the leg side.

ESPNcricinfo has learned that once the no-ball was brought to the attention of the Sylhet team officials, they expressed their shock, but they didn't discuss it among themselves or with the players and coaching staff in any great detail.

Santokie has since become the only talking point in an otherwise dull start to the BPL, which for the first time in its seven-year history is being run by the BCB without the involvement of franchises.

There's an injury-related question mark over Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who is likely to become the second player after Shikhar Dhawan (leg injury) to drop out of the original squad announced for the ODI series against West Indies. The three-match ODI series begins in Chennai on December 15.

The nature of the injury could not be confirmed, but it is understood that the selectors, who are awaiting a final word from the Indian team's medical staff, are likely to name a replacement for Bhuvnewshar. Going by the choices made by the selectors in the recent past, one of Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed and Shardul Thakur will be picked as a replacement.

The development will come as yet another setback for Bhuvneshwar, for whom injuries have become a constant in the recent past. During the World Cup, Bhuvneshwar had to limp out of the marquee contest against Pakistan in Manchester because of a hamstring strain after bowling just 2.4 overs. He made a comeback in the semi-finals, but then missed the home series against South Africa and Bangladesh recently because of what the selectors called a niggle.

More to follow…

World under-20 heptathlon champion Niamh Emerson is making an encouraging return from injury

She may be my housemate, my training partner and one of my best friends, but pinning Niamh Emerson down for an interview is no mean feat, writes Ashleigh Spiliopoulou.

She’s constantly on the go and always full of energy. One of the most supportive and bubbly athletes you’ll ever meet, she’s always ready to give others advice and, for her age, she’s got a lot of advice to give.

That’s because Emerson has been through her fair share of major competitions, tough training, incredible victories and devastating injuries. At the time of our interview, for example, she is in week 22 of rehab after a patella tendon repair operation.

Our conversation starts with Emerson recalling her heptathlon victory at the IAAF World Under-20 Championships in Tampere last year. She explains how beforehand she so desperately wanted a medal but due to being ranked third going into the competition, she had barely dared to dream of gold. Yet Emerson’s dramatic finish to the 800m, where she collapsed across the line, completely spent, is just one example of the way she gives her heart and soul to athletics.

This incredible moment was just the fuel the new world junior champion needed to kickstart her into a hard winter of training. She describes how she found herself progressing unexpectedly quickly during the winter of 2018-19 due to the addition of new drills.

These drills were partly possible because the Jean Pickering Olympic Scholarship had allowed her coach, David Feeney, to visit the Dutch national training camp where he had discovered new ideas and gained inspiration for his athlete’s training.

Starting working with Goldie Sayers for javelin was also an initiative aided by the scholarship and this has made a big difference to Emerson’s understanding of the event.

After a promising winter, the 2018 Commonwealth Games bronze medallist went into the European Indoor Championships in Glasgow feeling excited. Nevertheless, she remembers feeling “a bit star-struck because it was my first time competing against the current best girls in the world!”

Yet really, she had nothing to feel star-struck about, because at just 19 years old she won an incredible silver medal, beating everyone apart from Katarina Johnson-Thompson.

While her impressive record of performances could suggest that little goes wrong for this heptathlon rising star, she has actually been plagued by more than her fair share of setbacks. For many years now, Emerson has been managing patella tendonitis which has limited the amount of jumping she can do in training. As if this wasn’t enough, prior to the outdoor season, she discovered she had a stress response in her back.

Although it was minor, the injury meant that she could not do any gym exercises that put load through her back and she had to swap running on the track for aqua-jogging and watt-bike sessions.

Her hampered lead up to the outdoor season put doubt into the minds of the coaching team as to whether she should accept her invitation to the big early-season combined events meeting in Gotzis in Austria. However, Emerson explains: “I was desperate to compete at this magical place that I had watched on live stream for so many years, especially as I had declined my invitation the year before.”

Outside of a major championship, competing at Gotzis is every multi-eventer’s dream so Emerson’s desire to compete was completely understandable. The competition started strongly, with a hurdles time very close to her PB. Unfortunately, though, the high jump was up next and it was this event that would test her knee the most.

At her second attempt at 1.86m, she planted her foot badly and felt excruciating pain that forced her to withdraw from the competition. Initially, she had no idea of the extent of the damage done, as she had been used to very painful episodes of patella tendonitis over the years. On her return home, MRI results showed a partial tear of the patella tendon.

There was no option but to operate. Within a week of the competition, she was lying in a hospital bed with screws holding her tendon together and the whirlwind finally caught up with her. She couldn’t believe it.

Ever the optimist, the Loughborough-based psychology student kept herself busy by studying for her exams and then turned her attention toward a much-needed holiday. It wasn’t long though before she was back into the thick of training, beginning with a one-week residential rehabilitation camp. There she trained in the gym and in the pool intensively, 9am-4pm every day.

Although the rehab has been tough, Emerson has thrown herself into it with complete commitment as she always does and she explains how rewarding it has been seeing the progress. Her sights are already set on next year, where she plans to be back into full training by January 1 in order to attempt her Olympic qualifying competition five months later.

Her gratitude to the Jean Pickering Olympic Scholarship for allowing her and her coaches to learn and grow, for funding training camps and for giving her advice and support, is reiterated again and again throughout our interview.

You cannot fail to get behind her in all her efforts due to an infectious personality and work ethic. Watch this space, because who knows what kind of performances she is capable of in 2020 and beyond.

MELBOURNE, Australia – Hey, hey, what do you know? Our man found a new partner. Tiger Woods and Justin Thomas are 2-0 after winning two key matches for the Americans in the Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne.

During Friday foursomes they jumped out to a quick 2-up advantage after four holes and appeared to be cruising before Ben An and Hideki Matsuyama rattled off wins on three consecutive holes to take the lead.

Heading to the final hole tied, Thomas drained a 17-footer for birdie to win the hole and the match. The Americans tied the session and still trail the Internationals by 3 points overall.

Here are some thoughts as we face a marathon two-session day on Saturday where 8 points are up for grabs.

• The Thomas moment on the final hole was the only real memorable moment of the match. Thomas went nuts, Woods went nuts, the whole American team went nuts. “Gives me absolute chills man,” he said.

• Thomas yelled, “I love me some me,” thanks to a YouTube video he had been watching of Terrell Owens. Lost in it all is that Woods said the same thing. They had been watching the video on the team bus earlier in the morning and decided they’d say it if something big happened. “We had our moment on the last hole and we both said it at the same time,” he said.

• The whole round was a grind. It went quickly, but it was in doubt several times. Thomas missed a 5-footer on the sixth hole, An made a 10-footer on the seventh hole, then Woods missed a 12-footer on the eighth hole to lose all three holes.

• It’ll likely be overlooked by the end of the week, but Woods made a huge birdie putt on the par-4 13th hole that he absolutely had to make. They made birdie, won the hole and tied the match at a crucial point.

• Also overlooked will be Thomas’ lag putting. He certainly hasn't played his best golf so far this week, but he came up huge in situations that most will not remember. Thomas stood over a 90-footer on the 10th hole and lagged it to 4 feet, and Woods converted. At 12, Thomas lagged an 80-footer to inside 8 feet, and Woods made it.

• Woods is going to rest Saturday morning fourballs, which means he’ll absolutely play in the afternoon foursomes. Best guess is he’ll team with Thomas again. It would also mean that Thomas would play all five matches.

MELBOURNE, Australia – Justin Thomas drained a 17-foot put to win a crucial match late Friday at the Presidents Cup, dropped his putter and screamed: “I love me some me.”

No, it wasn’t an arrogant cry. Thomas didn’t choose that moment to declare love for himself in the literal sense, although who could blame him? He and Tiger Woods pulled out a 1-up victory against Ben An and Hideki Matsuyama in foursomes that essentially kept American hopes alive.

Thomas and some college buddies have shared a YouTube video of former NFL wide receiver Terrell Owens shouting that exact line. Thomas has been watching it over and over this week on team bus rides to and from the course.

“You get into a deep hole on the Internet and that just happened to be one of them,” Thomas said Friday at Royal Melbourne. “I showed it to the guys this morning. They had not seen it. It’s a really funny video. I said, ‘If I make a big putt today, I’m yelling it.’ That was a pretty big putt, so I thought it was the appropriate time to yell it.”

When Thomas’ putt dropped, Woods threw his putter to the ground as well and started walking toward Thomas, arms wide open. What many didn’t realize is that Woods yelled the same five words back to Thomas.

“We were looking at it and we had our moment on the last hole and we both said it at the same time,” Woods said. “It was a phenomenal moment and it was priceless. I’m glad we were able to experience it together.”

MELBOURNE, Australia – It’s been a weird few days for Cameron Smith at the Presidents Cup, and it’s had nothing to do with his play.

Yes, Smith paired with Sungjae Im Friday to tie Gary Woodland and Rickie Fowler in the day’s final foursomes match, but it is his continued issues with Patrick Reed that have created drama for the Presidents Cup rookie.

Last week at the Australian Open, Smith criticized Reed for his comments following a rules violation at the Hero World Challenge. Reed suggested a camera angle, which clearly shows him brushing back sand twice, didn’t accurately represent what happened in a waste bunker at Albany. Smith called the explanation “bullsh--.”

During Thursday’s session, Smith and Reed reportedly bumped into each other between the fifth and sixth holes in a moment Australian Golf Digest called a “love tap.” Asked about the incident, Smith seemed surprised by the moment.

“Yeah, I'm not really sure what it was about to be honest,” he answered. “I mean, I haven't said anything wrong. I just don't want to really talk about it anymore. I think it's all said and done. I've said my bit. He's said his bit. Let's just get on with our job and try and play the Presidents Cup.”

Smith told reporters at the Australian Open, “I don't have any sympathy for anyone that cheats.” When asked about the comment at Royal Melbourne, Reed denied cheating and suggested the comment would give him extra motivation.

“It goes from wanting to beat those guys to it now turning personal, so it's going to be a fun week,” said Reed, who is 0-2-0 this week.

Phil Mickelson no longer sits alone atop the list of most career Presidents Cup matches won.

Thanks to a thrilling 1-up foursomes victory Friday alongside Justin Thomas, Tiger Woods moved to 2-0 on the week at Royal Melbourne while notching his 26th career match win in the biennial event. That ties the U.S. playing captain with Mickelson for most all-time, six better than Ernie Els, who is captaining the International squad this year.

Woods, playing in his ninth Presidents Cup, holds a career record of 26-15-1. Mickelson, who missed qualifying for this year's American team, is 26-16-13 in 12 appearances.

While Woods won't tee it up in Saturday morning's fourball session, he could potentially get two more tries this week to pass Mickelson. However, at 26 1/2 points earned, Woods has a ways to go to break Mickelson's record of 32 1/2 career points.

MELBOURNE, Australia – As if playing Tiger Woods isn’t hard enough, Marc Leishman’s Day 1 fourball match at the Presidents Cup was made even more demanding by an equipment issue.

After warming up for his match, Leishman, who was paired with Joaquin Niemann, fell behind Woods and Justin Thomas early. Things only got worse when he reached for his 2-iron on the sixth tee.

“I caved my face in on the range. It happens occasionally when you're hitting range balls,” Leishman said.

The issue was complicated by Royal Melbourne’s bouncy fairways which demand a more controlled game off the tee.

“I was going to hit it, and I probably would have hit it on the next five holes. I had to go with 3-iron or 3-wood,” said Leishman, who lost the Day 1 match, 4 and 3. “It was a little frustrating, but it happens.”

Leishman said a replacement 2-iron was ready for him following his Thursday round and it worked well on Day 2 as the Australian teamed with Abraham Ancer to defeat Patrick Reed and Webb Simpson, 3 and 2.

Australia 6 for 337 (Labuschagne 143, Head 56, Wagner 3-77) v New Zealand

Australia pushed their first innings towards 350 even though they lost Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head in circumstances that both batsmen would regret in the first session on day two of the pink ball Test at Perth Stadium.

The captain Tim Pane and his deputy Pat Cummins were left to guide the hosts towards a strong total after Neil Wagner and Tim Southee had both nabbed wickets on another enervating day of Perth heat, the effect underlined by a grass fire burning near the ground and blowing smoke across the stadium.

Labuschagne had begun the day with designs on a third consecutive score in advance of 150, after a fluent start, as he and Head asserted themselves.

But he was left annoyed and confounded by Wagner, who found another way past an international batsman of strong repute when he angled a fullish ball into Labuschagne from around the wicket and snaked it behind the No. 3's pads and into leg stump. Wagner's celebration was prolonged, indicating that like most of his wickets, this was no accident.

Head was then left with the responsibility of building the innings, but on 56 he leaned back to hammer Southee through the off side and picked out the fieldsman at cover. Head threw his head back in disgust at the dismissal, as did the former captain and sometime Australian team mentor Ricky Ponting in the commentary box.

Paine, who had made a circumspect start, was joined by Cummins, and the pair worked their way to the lunch break in the hope of adding plenty more to the total.