Darren Sammy called heads and it landed tails resulting in Multan Sultans captain Shan Masood electing to field first. According to Masood, the dew factor contributed to his decision in the first match played in Multan for the 2020 PSL.

Both teams are fielding unchanged XIs. A win for either side will pull them into a three-way tie for first place on four points atop the PSL points table alongside Quetta Gladiators and Islamabad United.

Peshawar Zalmi: 1 Tom Banton, 2 Kamran Akmal (wk), 3 Haider Ali, 4 Shoaib Malik, 5 Liam Livingstone, 6 Liam Dawson, 7 Darren Sammy (capt), 8 Wahab Riaz, 9 Hasan Ali, 10 Rahat Ali, 11 Mohammad Amir Khan.

Multan Sultans: 1 Shan Masood (capt), 2 James Vince, 3 Moeen Ali, 4 Rilee Rossouw, 5 Zeeshan Ashraf (wk), 6 Khushdil Shah, 7 Shahid Afridi, 8 Sohail Tanvir, 9 Mohammad Ilyas, 10 Imran Tahir, 11 Mohammad Irfan.

It was a fitting finish. Bismah Maroof skipped down the pitch at her opposite number, Stafaine Taylor, and drove a boundary through off the side to seal a clinical chase from Pakistan. They have had to bide their time to join the tournament as the last team to play a match, but their entry was one of the most complete performances so far.

Some context shows how significant the result was. This was their first T20I in Australia for five-and-a-half years; they lost their one official World Cup warm-up match that survived the weather in Brisbane by five runs to Bangladesh; they had only won two of their previous 12 T20Is against West Indies (although this win did make it two in a row after a victory a year ago in Karachi). Was this upset? The history would suggest so.

ALSO READ: Baig, Javeria star as Pakistan beat West Indies

Pakistan have never moved out of the first round of T20 World Cup. Pre-tournament, when assessments were made about where sides stand, they were generally bracketed in the third tier - those aiming for, perhaps, a solitary win and a sign of progression. This performance suggested that they may be able to offer more than that. Pakistan are now one of four sides with two points in Group B and have Thailand to play. England and South Africa will pose tougher challenges, but they are on notice.

"We needed this win to move ahead," Maroof said. "I think looking ahead versus England, this win has given us some momentum and belief. The way this tournament has gone, it's quite wide open and any team can beat the other."

It all started with the first ball. Diana Baig won an lbw appeal against Hayley Matthews which pitched at least six inches outside leg stump (from a right-arm over bowler to a right-handed batter) but Matthews took too long to decide whether to review. There were some mystified looks in the West Indies dugout when she returned.

"Everything went wrong from the first ball of the game with Hayley getting out," allrounder Chinelle Henry said, aptly summing up West Indies' evening.

The wicket unsettled West Indies and Pakistan took advantage. Baig's opening spell was 3-0-6-2 as she also claimed the scalp of Lee-Ann Kirby when she carved a catch into the off side. Javeria Khan, who was named player of the match for her momentum-seizing 35 off 28 balls, believed the award should have been Baig's. "I am really surprised that I got this award. I think more than me, Diana [Baig] deserves it because she gave us the start which we never expected and I think she deserved it," she said at the presentation.

Deandra Dottin was clearly still struggling from the effects of the shoulder surgery that made her briefly ponder quitting the game - she can't throw in the outfield, relaying everything to a team-mate, and has yet to bowl - and laboured to 1 off 10 balls before picking out long-on in Nida Dar's first over. Then, as West Indies were staging a recovery through Taylor and Shemaine Campbelle, Maroof showed the value of getting a DRS call correct when Campbelle was initially given not out when she missed a reverse sweep.

There was a contrast to the energy in the two teams throughout. West Indies had scrapped together a total that could have challenged Pakistan with early wickets, but they were poor from the start in the field and by the time Khan and Muneeba Ali had added 58 for the first wicket, the game was Pakistan's to lose. The fact that never came close to happening emphasises how well controlled the chase was. There was a calmness about the batting, and a crispness to the strokeplay, that has not always been associated with Pakistan batting - one shot, a scything hit by Khan off Henry, stood out.

"We've struggled at times in the past, but we focused to stay calm and stay in the middle…and I think credit to Nida, as well, how she played and finished the game," Maroof said. "I think how the openers played set the tone for us, and we just needed to get the run rate going. We want to play aggressive cricket and get the bad balls to the boundaries."

When Maroof struck the winning boundary and ran up the pitch there was a little punch of the air. A job very well done. "Pakistan, Zindabad!" came the chant from a couple of small pockets of Pakistan supporters at Manuka Oval. Could this be their breakout tournament?

Five Serie A matches, including Juventus' home clash with title rivals Inter Milan, will be played behind closed doors this weekend following an outbreak of coronavirus in northern Italy.

There were four games cancelled for the same reason the previous weekend as preventative measures were put in place.

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As well as Juve-Inter, Udinese's home match with Fiorentina, Milan vs. Genoa and Sassuolo against Brescia will all be played behind closed doors.

Matches taking place in the south of the country, including Lazio-Bologna, Napoli-Torino, Lecce-Atalanta and Cagliari-Roma, will all be played with fans inside the ground.

No decision has been made over Monday night's contest between Sampdoria and Verona, which takes place in the northern city of Genoa.

Last weekend saw Verona-Cagliari, Atalanta-Sassuolo, Torino-Parma and Inter-Sampdoria all cancelled, with no decision on when they will be rescheduled for.

It could prove a problematic situation for title-challengers Inter, who are still in the Europa League and Coppa Italia, with suggestions their match Sampdoria could now take place at the end of the season.

Five-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova has announced her retirement.

"Tennis -- I'm saying goodbye," she wrote in an essay that appeared Wednesday in Vogue and Vanity Fair.

Sharapova turned pro in 2001 at age 14. She won Wimbledon in 2004, the US Open in 2006, the Australian Open in 2008 and the French Open in 2012 and 2014.

The 32-year-old Russian reached No. 1 in the WTA rankings in 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2012, but she has dropped to No. 373. She lost in the first round of this year's Australian Open to Croatia's Donna Vekic in straight sets. She played only two matches this season and lost both.

"Throughout my career, Is it worth it? was never even a question -- in the end, it always was," she wrote. "My mental fortitude has always been my strongest weapon. Even if my opponent was physically stronger, more confident -- even just plain better -- I could, and did, persevere.

Sharapova received a two-year suspension from the International Tennis Federation in 2016 for testing positive for the banned substance meldonium. The suspension was reduced to 15 months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport after Sharapova appealed. The CAS said there was "no significant fault" by her.

"In so many ways, I feel like something I love was taken away from me, and it will feel really good to have it back," Sharapova said in a statement after her successful appeal.

Since that suspension, Sharapova managed to reach only one major quarterfinal.

Shoulder injuries hampered her career, and she had multiple surgeries.

Sharapova compiled a 645-171 singles record that included 36 titles.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Running shoe company signs three-year deal with parkrun in the UK and Ireland

The growth and impact of parkrun shows little sign of slowing down and this week it enjoyed a further boost with Brooks agreeing to a three-year partnership deal.

Both organisations believe that the ‘run happy’ spirit of Brooks fits in nicely with the ethos of parkrun and its weekly free series of running events.

The new relationship between the two organisations will see Brooks holding activation zones at a select number of parkrun events from this month where runners can test out shoes in the parkrun followed by a discussion with a running coach about their running style and potential best shoe choice.

Brooks are also keen that they can also help the runner tell their own story during these interactions.

“People come into parkrun for a lot of different reasons and the stories behind that are personal and powerful and a great source of inspiration not only for that person but for others,” says Matt Dodge from Brooks.

Nick Pearson, chief executive of parkrun, adds: “We’ve been really in love with the ‘run happy’ message that sits with the Brooks brand and is represented by their activity. More and more it feels like it’s an increasingly good cultural fit.”

NEW YORK -- For the past six years, affluent African-American families from around the United States have converged on Martha's Vineyard for a festival called the O.B. Boogie. Friends reconnect, and children play on the beach in front of corporate logos as sponsors ranging from BMW to Essence to Comcast eagerly cater to this audience.

Last summer's O.B. Boogie, held on a rainy afternoon and attended by roughly 900 people, had only one professional sports league as a sponsor, and it was an unlikely one, given the demographics: the National Hockey League.

The NHL partnered with Franklin Sports to present street hockey demonstrations and give away gear. Willie O'Ree, the player who broke the NHL's color barrier in 1958, took pictures and signed autographs. African-American parents watched their children pick up hockey sticks for the first time and play under a large tent as rain fell during the afternoon.

"I think there's this perception that because our sport is a very white sport, it's not welcoming. And I'm not sure that's necessarily correct," said Kim Davis, NHL executive vice president for social impact, growth initiatives and legislative affairs.

"The level of engagement that created was astounding. We got some kids that are now inspired, signing up for learn-to-play programs. Those people are going back to their communities across the country and talking about hockey in a very different way."

This has been the primary mission for Davis since she joined the NHL in December 2017: changing the conversation about hockey and diversity and changing the conversation about hockey within diverse communities.

As marketing challenges go, it's a considerable one: Davis said there are fewer than 30 black players in the NHL, of the 954 skaters and goaltenders who have appeared in the league so far in the 2019-20 season. The diversity in the coaching community and team hockey operations departments lags far behind even that small percentage of representation.

But Davis is meeting this challenge in ways the NHL hadn't considered before, such as bringing street hockey to an African-American beach party or presenting the NHL's plan to make the sport more inclusive to 3,000 attendees at the National Association of Black Journalists conference last summer in Florida.

"Just the fact we were there ... it was like, 'We didn't even know you were interested in our community, let alone coming and talking about the things that you are doing.' It built a new kind of excitement and changed the conversation," Davis said.

Her work in the past two years has won the admiration of many NHL players of color.

"She's awesome. What she's trying to implement in the NHL as far as trying to bring more diversity to the league and create awareness, especially to black hockey players and black youth, it's great," said Evander Kane of the San Jose Sharks.

"She has her views of where the game is going. And she's not someone that's going to be pushed around. That's what I like about her. She's a very strong woman, and it gives players like myself comfort knowing that she's in the position that she's in."

Especially when she's willing to take on critics of the NHL's diversity -- critics such as Evander Kane.

Davis arrived in the NHL after a two-decade career at JPMorgan Chase in which she served as managing director of GLOBAL CSR and president of the JPMorgan Chase Foundation. The small, Connecticut-based bank where she started was acquired by Chase in 1991, and she was one of only two employees who survived the absorption. In 1995, she became the first African-American promoted to a senior vice president position at Chase.

"Kim's professional experience uniquely qualifies her to ensure that our league is continuing to improve lives and strengthen and build vibrant communities through hockey as well as provide a safe, positive and inclusive environment for anyone associated with our league," NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said when Davis was hired.

It was a very different time when she started on her career path. "When you're in that position in any industry, you have to have a certain level of courage and fearlessness to be successful," she said. "There are always going to be stereotypes, always things that people say and do. I could spend hours with you telling you about the experiences I had in the course of my career."

Davis applies the lessons she learned from that journey to her work in the NHL.

"What I'd like to see our players do is to not ignore the harsh realities of racism -- because they're real -- but to rise above them, to think about the leadership that they can demonstrate for the next generation," she said. "That's not always easy, but it's necessary."

That's why Davis understood where Evander Kane was coming from when he criticized the NHL in ESPN The Magazine's 2019 Body Issue. He said the league didn't have the right approach to growing the game with diverse audiences. Kane also said the league's prominent black players are "wary about stepping outside and doing something that might disrupt the norm" when it comes to standing in solidarity on social issues.

"I think there are perceptions and realities from every angle of that prism. I don't think there's anything the league has done, or demonstrated, that would suggest that there wouldn't be an opportunity for players of color to show social bravery," Davis said. "But the experiences of racism would be something that would make you feel that way."

Davis wanted to have a dialogue with Kane on these matters. She met him for the first time at a humanitarian awards town hall, at which Kane spoke candidly about the league while on a panel. "Some of what he was saying was spot-on, and some of what he was saying wasn't fact-based," she said.

So Davis stood up and introduced herself at the event -- to correct the record and to connect with Kane. She sent him emails over the summer about the work the NHL was doing "as a way to hopefully inspire him to channel that energy into a partnership," she said. "I hope that him seeing the facts with what we're beginning to accomplish, the points we're putting on the board, will inspire him to [action]."

In November, Kane and Davis appeared together at an event that brought pickup hockey to Westlake Middle School in Oakland, California. Kane said his friendship with Davis continues to grow.

"We've had a lot of candid conversations over the last couple of years. She gets it. She's someone that does everything she can to understand both sides of issues and use them to her advantage to get stuff done," he said.

But to accomplish what she hopes for the NHL, Davis said she needs to deputize players such as Kane as prominent voices on diversity and ones who can point out inequities.

"More and more, we're hearing the voices of those players, and they're seeing the league become more engaged in those multicultural issues. And I do think they're going to be stronger voices," she said.

"What we do have to do a better job of is educating and inspiring our players of color so that they become more integrated as ambassadors. Because when I talk to people in the market, and I ask how many black or brown players we have in the league, I get a number somewhere between one and five. So when I say there are 27 active, people are astounded."

To that end, representation among the player pool is vital, but it isn't something the NHL is going to change overnight.

"While representation is important, people are smart, and they understand that it's a generational issue and a [player] pipeline issue and that it takes more than a decade to get that going," Davis said. "But there are other ways to create expression and aspiration within communities."

Take, for example, the Black Girl Hockey Club.

The NHL's signature campaign on diversity is called "Hockey Is For Everyone." It's an initiative that has brought NHL players to LGBTQ parades and has everything from Black History Month to Spanish Heritage Month on the league's promotional calendar. Davis said the Hispanic audience is the NHL's fastest growing segment.

Although the campaign has put a spotlight on diversity, Davis sees it transforming into something greater. "As we began to reimagine what our outreach should look like, we decided to expand that campaign to not be, as I like to refer to it, as the flavor of the month but to integrate that campaign into how we approach our marketing and outreach. Make it much more holistic," she said.

In other words, don't just follow the calendar. If there's a place to grow the game among diverse audiences, go to that place, and support it.

For example, in summer 2018, Renee Hess reached out to Davis with an idea. She and other female hockey fans of color were kicking around the notion of a meetup in Washington, D.C., under the banner "Black Girl Hockey Club." Davis responded by asking what the NHL could do to help grow the club and what an ideal meetup would look like.

"Instead of sitting in her office and watching from afar, she met us on the streets, walked with us on our tour of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American [History and] Culture, hung out with our group pregame and talked with the kids and their moms about hockey," Hess said. "That is her personality. Kim Davis not only shows up but she shows out. She's come to a number of our events to meet attendees and support our mission."

This seemed like common sense to Davis.

"Women are 40% of our fan base. That's a big deal. I don't think it's just about women playing the sport. It's about the front office. It's about officiating. That we know this is important to women: that representation, at every level," Davis said. "Women of color are the fastest growing demographic in this country and the most highly educated. That's a segment we can give even more focus to."

The Black Girl Hockey Club has now visited many NHL arenas, from Los Angeles to Pittsburgh to New Jersey, and it was recently featured on NBC's "Hockey Week Across America" coverage.

"I think we learned a lot from organizations like the Black Girl Hockey Club," Davis said. "When we started partnering with them a year ago, the founder said that these girls were all avid fans that felt like they couldn't go and show the expression of their culture in a stadium. I think there were probably some preconceived notions on both sides of that equation there. They didn't know that they could. But when they were invited to a Caps game, they were so welcome. Now they're on, like, a nine-city tour."

Hess appreciated the early support.

"I truly believe that Kim Davis is facilitating a culture change at the NHL from the inside out," she said. "Her hiring reiterates what I will continue to say is the most important factor when it comes to authentic cultural engagement: Hire women of color and LGBTQ and differently abled folks if those are the communities you want to reach. Representation matters. Minority hockey fans are here to stay, and we want more people like Kim Davis, who uses her place within hockey culture to make space for organizations like the Black Girl Hockey Club."

The NHL, in turn, appreciates Hess. Part of Davis' task is to connect diverse audiences with the league. That includes program such as the "Lunch and Learn" events held last year in Washington and Philadelphia. "We engaged thought leaders in the Hispanic and African-American communities in those markets, and we listened," she said. "We asked those leaders, many from the not-for-profit community and politics and grassroots organizers, to tell us what we can do to make the sport feel more authentic."

In November, the NHL put Davis and Hess on a conference call with all 31 teams plus Seattle to discuss authentic engagement with the black community. That included everything from hiring practices to rush programs with historically black colleges and universities to praise for events such as the Vancouver Canucks' Diwali Night and the AHL San Antonio Rampage's 2019 Dia de los Muertos celebration.

"The NHL still has a long way to go in terms of consistency in enforcing their Declaration of Principles, but so does the hockey culture in general. Diversity and inclusion initiatives cannot and should not be a one-and-done marketing strategy. This work is never done. Equality and equity are lifelong struggles," Hess said.

"Having Kim, a black woman who has fought against stereotypes her entire life, working in the C-suite of what is arguably the whitest sport of the top five makes fans like me feel seen. The fact that Kim consistently works to make space for other black women in hockey makes me want to do the same, and that is what Black Girl Hockey Club is all about."

Davis said she understands that the fans' experience at games is "a microcosm of our society," for better or worse.

"We know that we have opportunities for improvement in our society, in particular given the climate today. So you're going to find different experiences in different settings," she said. "I think what we have to continue to do is that when [we] see behavior that's inconsistent with our values, we have to have the bravery to take a stand."

That includes when a coach is accused of using a racial slur against a player.

Akim Aliu took a stand in November. After allegations of mental abuse were levied against former Toronto Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock following his dismissal, Aliu accused "his protégé" of "dropping the N-bomb several times towards me in the dressing room." He later elaborated in a TSN interview about incidents involving that "protégé," otherwise known as then-Calgary Flames head coach Bill Peters. Those accusations led to other players speaking out about Peters' physical abuse while he coached the Carolina Hurricanes, which the team confirmed as having occurred.

Peters resigned as Calgary coach on Nov. 29, 2019, and Davis' role in the NHL became much more vital.

On Dec. 9, 2019, Bettman announced that the NHL would create a "multidisciplinary council to suggest initiatives, monitor progress and coordinate efforts with all levels of hockey" that would also "make resources available to help any organization that might reach out for assistance" on issues of diversity and inclusion. Davis was appointed director of that council.

She said the Peters controversy "accelerated our timeline" for a "three-to-five-year strategic plan" around culture and inclusion.

"There's often some kind of defining moment for an organization that causes that organization to both accelerate its efforts but also to become a rallying call for that organization," she said. "So I see that as positive."

Davis identified three categories of focus for her council.

"[First] is a generational history of individuals who have sort of gone through a certain kind of treatment feeling like, 'Well, I endured it, so the next generation has to endure it.' Until you break that cycle, that continues," she said.

"Then there is the completely unacceptable issues around racial slurs, homophobic slurs and any kind of [abusive] language. The third box is creating an environment where people -- players and people within our sport -- feel a level of trust such that they believe they can now step forward and speak the truth. Speaking truth to power is hard."

When Bettman announced the new council at the Board of Governors meeting in Pebble Beach, California, Davis held a small media conference with reporters. It was there that she was asked the question that all of these campaigns, councils and conversations seem to inevitably lead to:

Does hockey have a racism problem?

Davis paused to consider her answer.

"To say that the culture of hockey is racist is inappropriate and inaccurate," she said. "I believe society has a racism problem. To categorize this as a 'hockey problem' minimizes our ability to use this moment in our sport to understand that we are a microcosm of society."

Societal change doesn't happen rapidly. There can be incremental progress, small victories and truths spoken. But ultimately, what Kim Davis hopes to witness is a generational shift in diversity and inclusion. That includes everyone from millennials to Gen-Z to whatever label would apply to a young African-American child picking up her first hockey stick at a Martha's Vineyard picnic.

"When talking about them, you can't dismiss the fact that 'minority' is a misnomer," she said. "These generations are the most diverse that we've ever seen in the history of our country. And that's the case in Canada as well, with new Canadians. It's not just the ethnic and the racial diversity issues. It's that these generations think of multiculturalism as a way of thinking and a way of being. They're thinking about the integration in social media and food and fashion. So as a league, it causes us to think very differently.

"This change is going to be evolutionary, not revolutionary."

Former USMNT coach Jurgen Klinsmann has launched a scathing attack on Hertha Berlin's leadership in a revealing leaked diary of his ill-fated 76-day tenure at the Bundesliga club.

Published by German outlet Sport Bild on Wednesday, Klinsmann accused the club of a "culture of lying" and said its leadership were incompetent.

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Klinsmann's management has confirmed the authenticity of the document to German news agencies DPA and SID. They added they do not know who leaked the diary.

Earlier this month, Klinsmann resigned from his role, leaving Hertha shocked by his decision.

In the leaked 22-page diary, written during his time in Berlin, Klinsmann said: "The leadership must immediately be sacked. Should this not happen, all the good signings will turn into average players because there is one basic rule in football: You are only as good as the environment you play in."

The document alleges that issues at the club began once Klinsmann was appointed to the supervisory board and before being named interim coach.

On Nov. 25 the document said: "Klinsmann calls Ralf Rangnick, who has twice shown at Hoffenheim and Leipzig that he can do such jobs successfully. Rangnick makes it clear that he believes the project in Berlin is exciting but he would never join with [sporting executive] Michael Preetz."

On Nov. 29, just days after his appointment as head coach, Klinsmann wrote: "The planning for the winter preparation for the second half of the season for which Michael Preetz is responsible is a catastrophe.

"The club is in a relegation battle but they are planning like they are an international top club with numerous top players."

In response to the claims, Hertha released a statement to members, claiming the ex-Bayern Munich boss "deceived" the club. They allege he is attempting to "justify his resignation with absurd allegations."

Speaking at a news conference on Wednesday, Preetz said: "We took note of our former coach's allegations with deep concern.

"The club takes damage through things like that. We reserve the right to take legal action."

Klinsmann depicts president Werner Gegenbauer as an "ill-tempered" person who does not stick to his word and claimed director Preetz's relationship with the team was shaped by a "culture of lying which destroyed the mutual trust with the players."

He added that Preetz's reign, which started in 2009 has led to "catastrophic failings in the sporting department."

"The club would have been directly relegated to the second tier without the change in the dugout in November," the diary concludes following Klinsmann's resignation.

"They were just not prepared for this situation. Years and years of catastrophic failings from Michael Preetz in all things related to the sporting sector. Catastrophic squad planning by Michael Preetz.

"There is a culture of lying which destroyed the mutual trust between Michael Preetz and the players."

In further jibes at the club's media department and medical staff, Klinsmann said that sponsorship deals with Amazon and TESLA were tied to his name as well as a further €150 million cash injection by investor Lars Windhorst.

Hertha spent around €80m on new players in the January transfer window -- more than any other club in Europe -- but with 11 matches left to be played in the 2019-20 season, they remain in a battle against relegation.

Interim coach Alexander Nouri remains in charge ahead of Friday's trip to Dusseldorf, who are six points behind Hertha in the relegation playoff place.

Klinsmann, 55, was appointed by Hertha on Nov. 26, 2019, and won just three of his 10 matches in charge, losing four and drawing three.

Keshav Maharaj, South Africa's premier Test spinner, has been included in the ODI squad to face Australia in a three-match series which starts on Saturday. Maharaj, who has four ODI caps to his name, is currently the joint-leading wicket-taker in the domestic one-day competition and will be pushing Tabraiz Shamsi for a spot from in the white-ball XI. Maharaj last played ODI cricket in 2018, when he was part of South Africa's squad to Sri Lanka.

Faf du Plessis, Rassie van der Dussen and Dwaine Pretorius have been rested for the series with Lutho Sipamla, Janneman Malan and Kyle Verreynne included. Neither 19-year-old Thando Ntini, who shares top spot on the bowling charts with Maharaj, nor Zubayr Hamza, who leads the batting list with 525 runs at 75.00, have been considered. Temba Bavuma, who is currently nursing a hamstring injury is sitting out the deciding T20I against Australia, and Heinrich Klaasen, who has recovered from a hip injury to play at Newlands on Wednesday, have both been included.

That means South Africa go into the series light on batting experience, with David Miller the senior man in the line-up but with several bowling options. Kagiso Rabada, who has rested for the entire white-ball leg of the England series, leads the attack with Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Beuran Hendricks and Sipamla making up the rest of the pace pack. Andile Phehlukwayo is the lone seam-bowling allrounder and there are three spin options in Maharaj, Shamsi and Jon-Jon Smuts.

The squad is very much an experimental outfit, focused on providing opportunities for consistent domestic performers and one eye on the 2023 World Cup. "With the completion of the 2019 Cricket World Cup and the next one being three years away from now, we always saw the series against England and Australia as an opportunity to play some fresh talent," Mark Boucher, South Africa's coach, said. '"If we feel that we need to rest players, we will, as we have done in the recent past. Faf has been fantastic for us in white-ball cricket and remains very much in our ODI plans and we will manage his workload for the near future diligently."

South Africa play three more ODIs before their international season ends, in India and then have an extended break for most of April and May. They come out of that with a limited-overs series in Sri Lanka, and two Tests and five T20s in West Indies, in preparation for the T20 World Cup. There is also talk of three T20Is being played in Pakistan when the schedule allows.

Pakistan opened their T20 World Cup campaign with a comprehensive win against a sloppy West Indies at Manuka Oval in Canberra, only their second win over the opponents in the format. Diana Baig and Nida Dar did the job first up, rattling the West Indies' line-up to restrict them to 124 for 7. It was then chased down with ten balls to spare as Javeria Khan and Bismah Maroof hits 30s.

Pakistan got off to a flying start in their chase with Javeria and Muneeba Ali knocking off nearly half the runs within the first eight overs. But a couple of quick wickets and a slowdown in the middle made it seem like we were in for a close finish, but captain Bismah and Nida, with the help of some poor West Indies fielding, took Pakistan over the line with enough to spare. The win also means that four out of the five teams in Group B are now tied at two points with one win each.

Slow and steady wins the day for Pakistan

Openers Javeria Khan and Muneeba Ali made 48 in the Powerplay, scoring at eight an over at that stage, and it looked like it would be a quick and easy finish. Stafanie Taylor introduced herself in the eighth over and immediately made an impact, striking Javeria, who was attempting a sweep, on the pads. The wicket led to Pakistan slowing down a bit, with Bismah and Muneeba avoiding any risky shots and taking to a more cautious approach, but not quite hitting the panic button.

Muneeba's wicket saw Nida joining Bismah at the crease, and the two seamlessly rotated the strike from then on, finding boundaries occasionally as they kept a watch on the asking rate. From needing a run a ball at the end of 14 overs, they brought down the equation to six runs needed off three overs, bringing West Indies' hopes to a halt. The 18th over, which saw a dropped catch off Nida at the boundary and a missed run-out chance, further underscored West Indies' woeful day on the field. Bismah ensured the opponents did not get any more of those chances, hitting a boundary in the second ball of the 19th over and sealing it for Pakistan.

Diana, Nida keep West Indies quiet

It was a start to forget for West Indies after they opted to bat first. Hayley Matthews was given lbw first ball and didn't review before the DRS timer expired, and it was later confirmed that the ball indeed was pitching outside leg. Her opening partner, Lee Ann Kirby was able to find the gaps a few times in the next three overs but then hit one straight to cover point in the first ball of the fourth over to give Diana her second wicket. Their Powerplay score read 28 for 2, and Deandra Dottin's entry would not turn it much for them as she departing for 1 after giving away a simple catch off Nida to Iram Javed at long-on.

It was captain Taylor and Shemaine Campbelle who ensured West Indies avoided a below-par total, but the rest of the line-up collapsed around them to a disciplined Pakistan bowling performance.

Pakistan, too, had a few lapses in the field - Aiman Anwer dropped Kirby and a missed run-out chance let Taylor off when she was on 23.

Taylor, Campbelle the only bright spots

With little to no help from the rest of the batters, Taylor and Campbelle took on the task of putting up a decent total on board after a dim start. The two were cautious most of the time in the middle, even avoiding using their feet against Bismah's slow-tossed legbreaks.

The first big hit of the match came in the 15th over with Campbelle charged down the track to hit Nida over midwicket, and she would go on to hit another six and a four in the next over off Diana. But in the next over, she fell for a 36-ball 43, lbw to Anam Amin trying a reverse sweep. Taylor smote two sixes in the next few overs before holing out on a 47-ball 43. They were the only bright spots on the day when everything seemed to be going wrong for West Indies.

Allrounder Chamu Chibhabha, who last played white-ball cricket for Zimbabwe in 2018, has been named captain of both the ODI and T20I sides for the ongoing Bangladesh tour. Sean Williams, the regular long-format captain who had missed the one-off Test due to the birth of his daughter, has returned to the side, but not as captain.

Williams had led Zimbabwe in their most-recent white-ball game in Singapore in October 2019. In January earlier this year, though, Chibhabha had been appointed limited-overs captain on an "interim basis". Chibhabha was in fine form in the Pro 50 Championship in 2019, where he was Mashonaland Eagles' top scorer, with 165 runs in five innings at an average of 33.

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Nineteen-year-old allrounder Wesley Madhevere has made a swift step-up from Under-19 cricket, earning his maiden call-up to the senior side. An offspinner who can also bat, Madhevere claimed 4 for 42 and followed it with a 45-ball 52 in the Under-19 World Cup match against England, although in a losing cause. He has also been among the runs and wickets for Eagles in domestic cricket.

Seamer Charlton Tshuma, who made his Test debut earlier this week against Bangladesh, has also found a place in the white-ball sides. Wicketkeeper-batsman PJ Moor was omitted, with Richmond Mutumbami being preferred ahead of him.

The batting line-up has a familiar look, with the likes of Brendan Taylor, Sikandar Raza and Williams lending experience. Carl Mumba, who last played ODI cricket in 2017, is back in the limited-overs mix. The 24-year-old, however, is uncapped in T20I cricket. The vastly experienced Chris Mpofu rounds off the seam attack.

Meanwhile, Tinashe Kamunhukamwe and Ainsley Ndlovu are the frontline spinners in the squad. Williams could assist them with his left-arm fingerspin.

The three-match ODI series begins on March 1, with all three matches set to be played in Sylhet. Dhaka will host the following two T20Is, with the tour set to finish on March 11.