3 hours ago New Zealand win T20 World Cup after Melie Kerr’s heroics stun South Africa

New Zealand 158-5; South Africa 126-9 – NZ win by 32 runsKerr scored 43 and took three key wickets in final successNew Zealand secured a maiden T20 World Cup title, defeating South Africa by 32 runs after a mammoth effort from the all-rounder Melie Kerr, who was named player of the tournament.After top-scoring with 43 from 38 balls, Kerr was rendered barely able to walk because of cramp brought on by the Dubai heat, but nevertheless she snatched the wickets of Laura Wolvaardt and Anneke Bosch at both ends of the 10th over, turning the match on its head. Continue reading...

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4 hours ago New Zealand beat South Africa to win Women’s T20 Cricket World Cup final – as it happened

Amelia Kerr defies cramp and South Africa to inspire New Zealand to their first T20 World Cup trophyHere come the umpires, here come the teams for the anthems, hand in hand with the children mascots. The Kiwis are in fine voice tonight and Sophie Devine grins wolfishly at the end.Now South Africa’s turn, hands across their chests, with the best anthem in cricket. Continue reading...

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4 hours ago New Zealand beat South Africa to win Women’s T20 Cricket World Cup final – live reaction

Over-by-over updates from the final, 3pm BST startSign up for The Spin | And you can email TanyaHere come the umpires, here come the teams for the anthems, hand in hand with the children mascots. The Kiwis are in fine voice tonight and Sophie Devine grins wolfishly at the end.Now South Africa’s turn, hands across their chests, with the best anthem in cricket. Continue reading...

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5 hours ago New Zealand set South Africa 159 to win Women’s T20 Cricket World Cup final – live

Over-by-over updates from the final, 3pm BST startSign up for The Spin | And you can email TanyaHere come the umpires, here come the teams for the anthems, hand in hand with the children mascots. The Kiwis are in fine voice tonight and Sophie Devine grins wolfishly at the end.Now South Africa’s turn, hands across their chests, with the best anthem in cricket. Continue reading...

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8 hours ago South Africa v New Zealand: Women’s T20 Cricket World Cup final – live

Over-by-over updates from the final, 3pm BST startSign up for The Spin | And you can email TanyaAnd this is a super read on where South Africa and New Zealand sit (as well as the now knocked out West Indies.)I love this from Suzie Bates: Continue reading...

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37 hours ago No Plan B: England women’s sorry T20 World Cup exit means it’s time for change

Lack of leaders exposes overreliance on the captain, Heather Knight, and the flaws in Jon Lewis’s easy-option coachingThe England women’s cricket team were touted as gold medal hopes at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. They didn’t even manage bronze. Heather Knight was ruled out on the eve of the tournament with a hip injury and the stand-in captain, Nat Sciver-Brunt, struggled to assert her authority: her wife, Katherine, was reprimanded for swearing on the field of play; England threw away their bronze-medal match against New Zealand; and Sophie Ecclestone was shown live on television knocking a chair over with her bat.Why hark back to something that happened more than two years ago? Because England’s disastrous group-stage exit from the T20 World Cup, at the hands of West Indi...

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