The equipment supplier is continuing a long line of service to aspiring athletes

Neuff has a long history of being more than just a shop selling athletics equipment. The company created by Dr Alan Neuff back in 1966 seemed to just “happen” rather than it being consciously created.

Alan was originally a sprinter in the 1950s (he ran against Roger Bannister!), then a teacher and coach (multi-events and pole vault), then an official. Due to this he developed the first fibreglass vaulting pole to be used in the UK (originally built from ships aerials!).

What started out as helping friends source the equipment they needed turned into the go-to brand for athletics equipment in the UK.

“The company was dad’s passion – now it’s mine and I will continue to run it with the same ethos he did” – Sara, Neuff

Sadly, Alan passed away last year and his daughter Sara has taken over the business with her husband Matt.

Together they want to bring in innovations whilst maintaining the heart and soul of what made Neuff so well respected and supported by the athletics community.

Sara explains more about the company’s ethos.

“We might be at the English Schools and a young athlete will perhaps take a look at the top of the range Denfi discus,” she says.

“It looks great and they want it, but they are a 20m thrower and, if they bought it, it would probably only result in them throwing 18m as it’s designed to fly that much further. We therefore want to advise and support young athletes in particular on what products to buy.”

NEUFF: ALWAYS INNOVATING

All those years ago Alan Neuff was an innovator in the field of athletics and that innovative spirit is continuing though his daughter Sara and her husband Matt.

It’s this innovative spirit, and a willingness to impart knowledge as to “what’s best” for an athlete and coach in an almost club like spirit, that has long been a part of the company’s lineage and which looks set to continue.

“It’s not all about selling,” adds semi-professional triathlete Matt, who aspires to create a community around the brand.

“We want to be able, through Neuff, to help athletes become better without a financial cost to them – without actually buying anything.”

Neuff’s website, blog and YouTube channel now offers athletes information from how to choose equipment to how to use it properly. Neuff will also be working with athletes and top UK coaches to offer tips and advice on how to be the best you can be, including which products work best for certain athletes.

Neuff will also be looking to use social media to move closer to its audience, listening and sharing athletes’ experiences.

“My vision for Neuff is to offer those ‘packages’ of information, choices and experiences to help athletes identify their own personal sporting solutions” – Matt, Neuff

Sara adds: “What was confined to dad’s personal experiences can now be amplified. We can essentially listen to and advise people on a much larger scale than was previously possible.”

For more information visit neuff.co.uk

Follow @NeuffAthletic on Twitter

With Six Nations rugby and Formula 1 already hit by fears over the coronavirus outbreak, other major 2020 sporting events are under the spotlight.

Here, we look at at the potential impact elsewhere from the virus, which has killed more than 2,600 people in China and spread to Europe and the Middle East.

Six Nations

Remaining fixtures: Men's Six Nations - 7 March: Ireland v Italy (postponed), England v Wales; 8 March: Scotland v France; 14 March: Wales v Scotland, Italy v England, France v Ireland.

Women's Six Nations - 23 February: Italy v Scotland (postponed); 7 March: England v Wales, Scotland v France; 8 March: Ireland v Italy (postponed); 15 March: Wales v Scotland, France v Ireland, Italy v England.

Ireland's Six Nations men's and women's matches against Italy in Dublin on 7 and 8 March have been postponed.

They were set to take place on the penultimate weekend of action, with England's sides due to play their final games in Italy a week later. Twelve people have died in Italy and more than 300 tested positive for the virus, while 11 towns are in lockdown. UK Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston is in talks with a host of sports governing bodies about the ramifications of coronavirus.

Scotland women's match in Italy on Sunday was called off and is yet to be rearranged.

Plans to reschedule the Irish fixtures have yet to be finalised and organisers will be hoping to avoid the disruption caused by foot-and-mouth disease in 2001. That tournament took eight months to complete, with three of Ireland's Tests held over until the autumn, and the final match - the Irish victory over champions England - taking place on 20 October.

Euro 2020

Venues across Europe: 12 June-12 July

The football tournament, which has its semi-finals and finals at Wembley Stadium in London, is being staged at 12 venues across Europe, with Italy hosting the opening match against Turkey in Rome on 12 June.

Italian Michele Uva, a member of the Uefa executive committee, told state broadcaster Rai: "We are at the waiting stage. We are monitoring country by country, and football must follow the orders of the individual countries.

"The sporting path will only be closed if the situation gets worse."

Euro 2020 games in Rome

Uefa says it is in touch with the relevant international and local authorities.

"For the moment, there is no need to change anything in the planned timetable. The issue will be kept under constant scrutiny," said a spokesperson.

Five Serie A league matches in Italy are being played behind closed doors this weekend, including Juventus v Inter Milan on Sunday, although Juve fans were free to travel to French club Lyon for Wednesday night's Champions League fixture.

Inter's Europa League last-32 home match against Ludogorets on Thursday will also be played behind closed doors because of fears about possible spread of the virus.

Olympics and Paralympics

Olympics, Tokyo, Japan: 24 July-9 August. Paralympics: 25 August-6 September

Tokyo 2020 organisers have said the torch relay before the Games, which was due to travel across Japan starting on 26 March, will be scaled back but they are not discussing calling off events.

"Preparations for the Games are continuing as planned," a Tokyo 2020 spokesperson said.

However, International Olympic Committee member Dick Pound has said organisers would "reluctantly" have to cancel the Games if the coronavirus developed into a serious pandemic.

And Australian swimming great Ian Thorpe believes athletes should not put Olympic dreams before their health in deciding whether to compete.

"I would most definitely be concerned," said the five-time Olympic champion.

Dr Brian McCloskey, public health director for London 2012, told the BBC this month cancellation need not be on the cards at this stage.

"It is important to remember there was a huge clamour for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games to be cancelled because of the Zika virus outbreak, but those Games went ahead without any problem," McCloskey said.

Formula 1

Opening races: 15 March - Australia; 22 March - Bahrain; 5 April - Vietnam; 19 April - China (postponed)

The Chinese Grand Prix, which had been scheduled for 19 April, has already been postponed, while there are questions surrounding other early-season races.

A spokesman for F1 said the sport would continue to monitor the global situation but that there were no plans "at the moment" to postpone further races, which include the Vietnam GP on 5 April.

Vietnam's inaugural race is being held in Hanoi, 100 miles from the border with China.

Cheltenham Festival & Grand National

Cheltenham Festival: 10-13 March, Gloucestershire.

Grand National meeting: 2-4 April, Aintree, Merseyside.

Horse racing has been down this road before, most recently with last year's equine flu crisis which led to a six-day shutdown of racing - although the biggest meetings survived.

An industry steering group, which includes representatives of the British Horseracing Authority and Racecourse Association, has been set up as a precaution to monitor any potential implications.

Organisers say it was "full steam ahead" for the Cheltenham Festival, which is due to start on 10 March, but punters are not so certain. On Wednesday, the odds of racing not going ahead on the first day were rated at just over 2-1 on betting exchange Betfair.

It is understood the meeting would not take place without spectators if any restrictions were placed on large crowds gathering in one place - 250,000 racegoers are expected over the four days.

Racing's rulers privately point to the fact that 17 Premier League matches are expected to take place before the Festival starts and there appears to be no question mark over those games.

During the foot-and-mouth crisis, after much will they/won't they debate over Cheltenham, the meeting was finally scuppered when a group of sheep grazing on the course meant guidelines had been breached.

The Grand National went ahead in April, with vehicles sprayed with disinfectant and horses and racegoers required to walk over special mats at entrances.

Any other business?

Athletics: A date is being worked on to host the World Athletics Indoor Championships in 2021 after this year's event, scheduled for Nanjing in China from 13 to 15 March, was postponed.

Cricket: Precautionary measures are being taken by the ECB for England's tour of Sri Lanka in March but the two-Test series is not currently under threat. "To our knowledge, there is only one reported case of the virus in Sri Lanka, less than the UK, and it is not considered a high-risk country for further spread of the virus," said a spokesperson.

Cycling: Organisers have said the Milan-San Remo race, due to start in Italy on 21 March, is under threat of cancellation and there are fears the Giro d'Italia in May could be in danger.

Football: England's friendly against Italy is scheduled to go ahead at Wembley on 27 March, although it is understood the FA has been in talks over the fixture.

China's 2022 World Cup qualifiers against Maldives at home and Guam away next month have been moved to Buriram, Thailand, and will be played behind closed doors.

Golf: Italy's Lorenzo Gagli and Edoardo Molinari have been reinstated in the Oman Open field after Gagli - who had shown flu-like symptoms - tested negative for coronavirus.

The Italian Open does not take place until October, and before that is the biennial Ryder Cup in Wisconsin, United States, which has only been disrupted once in recent times - after the 9/11 attacks in the United States in 2001.

The competition between Europe and the USA's top players was postponed for a year and eventually took place at The Belfry in September 2002.

Ice skating: Next month's Short-Track Speed Skating World Championships in South Korea have been postponed indefinitely. The sport's governing body said the "uncertain worldwide development" of the virus and logistical issues had made it tough to reschedule.

Rugby union: The Singapore and Hong Kong legs of the World Rugby Sevens Series have been postponed from April to October.

Table tennis: The World Championships in the southern Chinese city of Busan have been postponed until June.

The 2020 NHL trade deadline was one of the season's biggest mysteries.

There weren't many obvious sellers, and the standings were so tightly packed that even the Buffalo Sabres -- who have a 2.8% chance of making the playoffs, per Money Puck -- considered themselves in the hunt. There weren't the same All-Star level players traded as in years past, and the total inventory was anyone's guess.

But as the trade market closed on Monday, it had been a dizzying deadline: 32 trades involving 55 players, setting a new NHL record for transactions and tying the previous record for bodies.

Which teams made out the best, and which teams were fleeced? Here is our NHL trade deadline report card, where there were many more winners than losers.

Note: Metro and Central Division teams were graded by Emily Kaplan, while Atlantic and Pacific Division clubs were graded by Greg Wyshynski. Teams are listed alphabetically within each grade tier.

Jump ahead to a team:
ANA | ARI | BOS | BUF | CGY | CAR | CHI
COL | CBJ | DAL | DET | EDM | FLA
LA | MIN | MTL | NSH | NJ | NYI
NYR | OTT | PHI | PIT | SJ | STL
TB | TOR | VAN | VGS | WSH | WPG

A grades

Carolina Hurricanes: A

Key additions: D Brady Skjei, F Vincent Trocheck, D Sami Vatanen
Key subtractions: 2020 first-round pick, F Erik Haula, 2020 conditional fourth-round pick, F Janne Kuokkanen, D Fredrik Claesson, D Chase Priskie, F Lucas Wallmark, F Eetu Luostarinen

Missed opportunity: Not getting goaltending help. The team says it has faith in its AHL goaltending duo of Anton Forsberg (45 games of NHL experience) and Alex Nedeljkovic (who led the Charlotte Checkers to a Calder Cup), but the Canes could have used insurance with James Reimer and Petr Mrazek potentially out long term.

General manager Don Waddell isn't going to let some bad injury luck halt the momentum the Canes have been building since last season. Carolina knew it needed defensive help ever since Dougie Hamilton -- having a Norris Trophy-caliber season -- went down with injury. That need was only accentuated this weekend, when the Hurricanes lost Brett Pesce, too. Waddell acquired Vatanen -- regarded as the top rental D-man available -- and doubled down by trading for Skjei from the Rangers. The Canes had dangled their first-round pick for a while and didn't mind giving it up for Skjei, considering he's under contract for another four seasons at $5.25 million; that means cost certainty, something owner Tom Dundon highly values. The most intriguing move was trading for Trocheck, under contract for two more years, at $4.75 million in average annual value. It's really incredible Trocheck was even available, and he should slide in nicely at the No. 2 or No. 3 center spot. Overall, Waddell added two core players to an already exciting group, didn't have to give up too much, and gave his team the best chance to win right now and in the future. It was an excellent deadline.

Manchester City should have inflicted more damage on Real Madrid, according to midfielder Rodri.

Pep Guardiola's side have put themselves in the driving seat to progress from their round-of-16 tie after a 2-1 win in the Bernabeu on Wednesday. Rodri hailed the result and said afterwards it could have been even worse for Zinedine Zidane's men.

"They dropped in the last 10 minutes, we detected that and if the game had lasted a little longer, we could have done more damage still," Rodri said. "But given the way the game was it is a very good result for us.

"We showed strength when things went badly and that's what we have lacked this season. We managed to do something that we have lacked all season which is hold on in the bad moments, have personality, demonstrate that and not lose our shape or control."

It had looked like Guardiola's tactical tinkering -- Raheem Sterling, David Silva, Fernandinho and Sergio Aguero were left on the bench -- might backfire when Isco gave the hosts a second-half lead.

But Gabriel Jesus and a Kevin De Bruyne penalty handed City a historic first victory over Real Madrid, who Rodri claims might have lost their fear factor now Cristiano Ronaldo has departed.

"Of course you can tell [when someone like Ronaldo is not there]," Rodri said. "Those kind of players, of which there are basically two in the world, who tip the balance, you notice when they're not there. they're a bit flatter."

Real Madrid now head to the Etihad Stadium on Mar. 17 needing to win by two clear goals to book their place in the quarterfinals. In the immediate aftermath Guardiola claimed Real Madrid were one of the only teams in the world capable of pulling it off and Rodri was also quick to urge caution.

"It is a good result but it's not done at all, knowing the opponent we have before us," Rodri said. "We will approach the game with the greatest seriousness and I am sure they will battle. We know this is open."

The 2020 IPL will have a new venue in Guwahati, which will host two of Rajasthan Royals' home matches. The games, which will begin at 8pm IST, will be played at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium. The first match is scheduled for April 5 against the Delhi Capitals and the second on April 9 against the Kolkata Knight Riders.

The IPL had earmarked Guwahati as an alternate venue for both matches in its original schedule for the league phase of the tournament which starts on March 29. On Thursday, the BCCI confirmed through a media release that Guwahati was the final venue, making it the first city in the north-east of India to host an IPL match.

Initially, the Royals franchise had requested the IPL to play three matches in Guwahati. However, the IPL Governing Council had put the decision on hold in the wake of the Rajasthan Cricket Association filing a plea in the Rajasthan High Court against playing the Royals' home matches outside the original home base in Jaipur.

Reacting to the IPL's decision, the franchise said in a media release that it felt "motivated" about them allowing the "team's aspiration to play and expand footprints of cricket" in a region where the sport is not predominant unlike in the rest of India.

The franchise said that every team is allowed the option to play a maximum of three home matches outside the home base and hence it "reviewed" several venues, including Trivandrum, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Guwahati.

Guwahati emerged as the popular choice primarily after the franchise witnessed a spike in support in the north-east on the back of "impactful" performance from Riyan Parag, who plays for Assam in domestic cricket.

"Jaipur is our home, and will continue to be so with the support of the Rajasthan Cricket Association," Manoj Badale, the lead owner of the Royals, said. "The magnificent backing that we get from the fans in Rajasthan is unparalleled and it is something that keeps us going in our ambitions to further expand our fan-base in other parts of the country. During a season, we are allowed a maximum of three matches at another venue, like we have done in the past in Ahmedabad and Mumbai.

"However, last season, we witnessed the enthusiasm of the people from the Northeast when the young gun of Assam, Riyan Parag, played many impactful innings for our team. The region that once lacked resources and facilities for cricket has seen so much growth, investing funding from the BCCI very effectively. The stadium is top quality and therefore we feel the time is right to grow our Royals' family and get the love and support from fans across the Northeast."

Ranji Barthakur, the executive chairman of the Royals, said that the two matches had the potential to unlock the enthusiasm of the fans in the region which has been "deprived" of watching cricket.

"We…are very excited of the historic decision that we have collectively made in an attempt to take cricket to a region that was deprived of it for a long time," Barthakur said. "The idea is to give the fans from across India the opportunity to come and experience a fantastic match-day at the stadiums. Having a spread over Rajasthan and Guwahati will give more choice to fans from the Northeast, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha and adjoining areas to get an incredible stadium experience."

February 28: Multan Sultans v Karachi Kings, Multan

Our XI: Babar Azam, Alex Hales, James Vince, Rilee Rossouw, Cameron Delport, Moeen Ali, Imad Wasim, Chris Jordan, Mohammad Amir, Sohail Tanvir, Mohammad Ilyas

Captain: Alex Hales

Hales scored a sluggish 29 on a tough Karachi pitch in his first PSL game this season. On a flatter deck at Multan, however, he is expected to do better. Hales has scored at a strike rate of 145.28 in the powerplay in all T20s since 2018. He strikes at 149.20 against left-arm pace while his strike rate against right-arm pace drops to 142.70 in all T20s. With three left-arm pacers in the Multan attack, Hales could score big.

Vice Captain: Chris Jordan

Jordan has been slightly on the expensive side in the two games he has played so far, but has also picked up three wickets. He is a genuine wicket-taker and on a pitch that offers assistance for bowlers with variations, he could prove effective. In all T20s since 2018, he has picked up 41 wickets in the death overs at an economy rate of 9.50 and a strike rate of just over 15.

Hot Picks

Babar Azam

Azam managed only 26 against Quetta Gladiators after a series of big knocks. Only Colin Munro has more runs than Azam (2742) in all T20s since 2018. Azam has scored 147 runs in three innings against Multan at an average of 49 and a strike rate of 126.70.

Rilee Rossouw

Rossouw finally found his touch against Peshawar after a few tough games. He scored an unbeaten 49 to take his team home. In all T20s, he has a strike rate of 142 against pace and it goes down 119.7 against spin. But since Multan might go with just one spinner, who usually operates in the powerplay, expect Rossouw to do well.

Imad Wasim

He started the tournament with a 50, but brought himself on a little too late with the ball. In the last game, though, he opened the bowling and had figures of 1 for 20. His economy rate in the powerplay in all T20s since 2017 is 6.62, the third best among spinners with at least 25 wickets.

Value Picks

Cameron Delport

He could play a big role for the Kings. He has had a couple of starts so far, scoring 20s in both his outings. He will be keen to play a longer innings at Multan. Delport has a strike rate of 145 in the middle overs in T20 cricket.

Mohammad Ilyas

Sohail Tanvir was the star with the ball in Multan's last game against Peshawar but Ilyas too made his presence felt by picking up two key wickets in the powerplay. He has an economy rate of 6.14 in the powerplay in the PSL across seasons.

Point to note

The average first-innings score at Multan in T20s since 2018 is 135. So the more bowling options you have, the better.

(Stats as on 26 February, 2020)

Joe Root has advocated the use of the Kookaburra ball for half of the County Championship season and an increase in the value of batting bonus points.

A switch from the current Dukes ball, which has a more prominent seam and favours old-fashioned swing bowlers, to a Kookaburra for some rounds of Championship games was discussed by the ECB's Cricket Committee at the end of 2019, but no change has been made ahead of the upcoming season.

But in an interview with the Daily Telegraph, Root suggested that a change to the status quo in the county game "would be great" for England's Test team, in helping to close the gap between the Championship and international cricket.

ALSO READ: Kookaburra would bring 'a different skillset' into Championship - Mahmood

"I would like to see a few big changes in county cricket to benefit the Test team," Root said. "There are things we won't be able to change, like when the games are going to be played. That is going to be a struggle with the Hundred coming in and T20 Blast not moving.

"But things like using the Kookaburra ball for half a season. It is a flat seam, does not stay as hard for as long, so our bowlers get used to bowling with something that does not do as much. Batters get used to that style of cricket, which can be slow and attritional at times."

The Kookaburra is used in the majority of Test-playing countries, with India (SG), England, Ireland and West Indies (Dukes) the exceptions. In 2016, Cricket Australia mandated the use of a Dukes ball for the post-Big Bash part of the Sheffield Shield season, in an attempt to familiarise their players with the ball ahead of future Ashes tours.

As Test captain, Root is among the most influential players in the English game, so his intervention could be significant. Saqib Mahmood, the Lancashire seamer, has previously called for the use of the Kookaburra for some rounds of games, while Ashley Giles, the ECB's managing director for men's cricket, told the Times that it was an issue that "we should get our heads round" in 2020, but Root is the most high-profile figure to come out in support of a change.

"We have a clear plan of how we want to go about playing, which is different to before" Joe Root

During England's 1-0 defeat in New Zealand at the end of last year, Jos Buttler and Joe Denly both called for better pitches in county cricket in order to give batsmen more experience batting for long periods of time, and Giles has been keen to emphasise that he is hoping that can be achieved.

As reported by ESPNcricinfo, the 'uncontested toss' rule that had been introduced ahead of the 2016 season will be scrapped next year in order to encourage a better difference between bat and ball, a change which has since been approved by the ECB board.

But Root, who is likely to play at least five early-season Championship games for Yorkshire on account of his non-involvement in the IPL and a later start to England's international summer, suggested that doubling the number of batting bonus points on offer would help prolong games and bring spinners into play.

Currently, teams receive one batting bonus point for scoring more than 200 runs in the first 110 overs of their first innings in the Championship, with an extra bonus point for every 50 additional runs up to a maximum of five points for a score of 400 or more. In Division One last season, the top two teams - Essex and Somerset - compiled 26 and 25 bonus points respectively, with sixth-placed Surrey managing 33 and Warwickshire in seventh managing 26.

"Incentivising batting and scoring big runs I would like to see," Root said, "so perhaps doubling batting bonus points which in turn will bring spinners into the game because the matches will last longer.

"Anything to prolong games and incentivise bowlers in particular to be more skilful and encourage them to bowl fast, or really accurate, have good reverse-swing skills that can travel well in Australia and Asia, would be great for us."

Root also admitted that England "did not prepare for the Tests as well as we should have done last summer," highlighting the fact that some players only played one red-ball game between the end of their series in the Caribbean in February and the start of the Ashes in August.

But he stressed that things "feel different now", having sat down with Giles and head coach Chris Silverwood to map out the 18 Tests that England play before the start of the 2021-22 Ashes series, a campaign that they have made a point of publicly targeting.

"The thing about playing well there is because the wickets are flatter, the ball does not do as much, so performing well in Australia carries well everywhere in the world," he explained.

"That is why for a lot of the time they have been a successful team in Test cricket, because in Australian conditions it is so difficult to take 20 wickets, batters get used to scoring big hundreds, teams are used to scoreboard pressure when batting second and staring at 500-run leads, so over a period of time they have got used to playing that Test-style of cricket.

"If we can shape a model of how we want to play in Australia - big first-innings scores and not always picking our best players but picking the best players for certain positions. I think that is a big part of it.

"We have a clear plan of how we want to go about playing, which is different to before. We felt for a while it could get a bit muddled, which was down to the interpretation by individual players rather than a really clear method that everyone could fall into line with."

Australia 189 for 1 (Healy 83, Mooney 81*) beat Bangladesh 9 for 103 (Fargana 36, Schutt 3-21) by 86 runs

Australia flexed their muscles on the back of a record opening stand to set themselves up for a likely winner-takes-all final group match against New Zealand as Alyssa Healy and Beth Mooney added 151, Australia's highest first-wicket partnership in T20Is, which propelled them to a handsome 86-run victory.

India's narrow win in the afternoon meant that, barring Bangladesh causing an upset against New Zealand, or intervention from the weather, it had become a simple scenario for both Trans-Tasman sides without any complications from net run-rate which would have made the margin of this victory much more important.

Still, Australia will have wanted to lay down a marker after their stuttering start to the tournament in the manner they have been accustomed to against weaker opponents. Bangladesh had an awful night in the field as they dropped four chances amid Australia's onslaught. With the bat, it appeared they may crumble early when they slipped to 3 for 26 but Nigar Sultana and Fargana Hoque added a 50 for the fourth wicket to provide a little encouragement amid the heavy defeat.

Healy sets the tone

Australia's batting has been nervy so far in this tournament but right from the start this felt like an innings where they would stamp their authority as Healy threaded three off-side boundaries in the opening over from Jahanara Alam. Wherever Bangladesh placed their cover sweeper, Healy picked the gap either side and within the first couple of overs fielders were moving all over the shop in response to Australia's rollicking start. Healy swung the first six of the innings off Khadija Tul Kubra and by the end of the powerplay Australia with 53 for 0. In the eighth over consecutive sixes off the same bowler - a lofted drive over long-off and a slog sweep - took her to a 26-ball half-century.

Bangladesh lose their grip

Healy and Mooney eased past Australia's previous best T20I opening stand - 121 between Ellyse Perry and Elyse Villani in 2015 - and significant errors crept into Bangladesh's fielding which was suspect throughout the innings. Wicketkeeper Sultana was very slow getting the ball back to the stumps to try and stump Mooney on 47 and there were then three dropped catches in the space of 10 balls as Mooney got two more lives and Healy was spilled on 82 - a comfortable chance at backward point to Murshida Khatun. However, Healy fell three balls after her reprieve when she sliced a short delivery to point to miss the chance of a second T20I hundred.

Mooney's invention

For the first part of her innings Mooney - who had been Australia's standout batter in the build-up to the tournament before missing out in the first two matches - ticked over at around a run-a-ball while Healy did her thing, but she upped the tempo impressively in passing a 40-ball half-century. She also showed some smart thinking when she took guard outside off stump to counter Alam's attempts to bowl wide outside off in the closing overs, producing a flick over fine leg as she toyed with the bowling. Ash Gardner brought some brute force to the end of the innings as she clubbed 22 off nine balls having also been dropped at deep midwicket and the ball being parried over for six. There was a slightly bizarre sight on the final ball of the innings when Bangladesh reviewed for an lbw, but it soon became clear it was nowhere near and the players were off the field by the end the on-field decision was confirmed.

Open and Schutt case

Megan Schutt removed both Bangladesh openers in the space of two balls, Khatun well caught at mid-on by Jess Jonassen and then a sharp inswinger dismantled Shamima Sultana's stumps. There was then a maiden World Cup wicket for Annabel Sutherland, a sharp short ball gloved down the leg side by Sanjida Islam. That wicket may have added significance in its manner as having lost Tayla Vlaeminck, Australia would like someone to be an enforcer, although she did get taken for 13 in her third over as Fargana unfurled some thumping shots to suggest she could be batting higher than No. 5 before the innings faded away. The match closed with a team hat-trick as Jonassen's wicket was followed by a brace of run outs. It was the type of convincing display Australia needed to put on. The big one is still to come.

Thisara Perera has made a return to Sri Lanka's T20I squad after missing the series in India, while fast bowler Nuwan Pradeep and spin-bowling allrounder Shehan Jayasuriya also earn recalls.

There was no room, however, for batsmen such as Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Oshada Fernando, who had both impressed in the series against Pakistan last year. Opener Danushka Gunathilaka continued to be unavailable through injury.

Thisara last played a T20 international back in March last year, and has been overlooked since then largely on account of poor returns. He appears to have regained form in the past week, however, playing two important lower-order innings in the ongoing ODI series against West Indies, in addition to doing a decent job with the new ball. With him in the squad, Sri Lanka have three seam-bowling allrounders to choose from, with Angelo Mathews and Dasun Shanaka retaining their places.

On the fast-bowling front, Sri Lanka opted for the experience of Nuwan Pradeep over Kasun Rajitha, who has been omitted. Lahiru Kumara, Isuru Udana and Lasith Malinga are the other frontline options. Wristspinners Wanindu Hasaranga and Lakshan Sandakan headline the slow-bowling contingent, with left-arm spinning allrounder Shehan Jayasuriya and offspinning allrounder Dhananjaya de Silva also around.

The first of two T20Is, both of which will be hosted by Pallekele, is set to be played on March 4, after the ongoing ODI series concludes. Sri Lanka have already won the ODI series 2-0, with one game to play.

Sri Lanka squad: Lasith Malinga (capt.), Avishka Fernando, Kusal Perera, Shehan Jayasuriya, Niroshan Dickwella, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya De Silva, Thisara Perera, Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Lakshan Sandakan, Isuru Udana, Nuwan Pradeep, Lahiru Kumara