England beat NZ to reach ICC World T20 Final

England stormed into the ICC World Twenty20 final after their comprehensive win over New Zealand by seven-wickets, ending Black Caps’ unbeaten run in the competition.
The opening partnership of Jason Roy and Alex Hales scored 82 runs as the Lions achieved the target score of 154 with 17 balls in hand.


The 2010 champions will now face either the West Indies or hosts India in the final on Sunday, who both face off against each other on Thursday in Mumbai.







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Pakistan face NZ in must-win T20

New Zealand will be eyeing a semifinal berth when they take on a deflated Pakistan in a World Twenty20 group match in Mohali on Tuesday.

Smarting under a six-wicket defeat to arch rivals India, Shahid Afridi's men need a victory against the table-topping Kiwis to keep their hopes alive of winning the trophy for a second time.

Pakistan won their opener against Bangladesh comfortably but things have since gone downhill as they unravelled against the Indians on Saturday, sparking an angry backlash from fans back home.

The Black Caps in contrast have been riding high with their horses for courses policy paying rich dividends against India and Australia.

New Zealand are perched on top of Group 2 with four points followed by India and Pakistan on two each from as many games.


Skipper Kane Williamson has won plaudits after he packed his side with unheralded spinners and leaving out tested fast bowlers Trent Boult and Tim Southee in the key opening game against favourites India.

Their strategy worked well against Australia too with rookie spinners Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi combining with recalled paceman Mitchell McClenaghan to wreak havoc in the opposition ranks.

McClenaghan was a surprise replacement for Nathan McCullum, one of the heroes of New Zealand's dramatic victory over India.

"I think we were fortunate to play on two wickets which were very similar. We adopted similar tactics," Williamson said after the win over his trans-Tasman rivals.

"You have to try and read the conditions and select accordingly."

Another win will see New Zealand cruise through to the knockout stage of the tournament which would be a commendable feat for a young side.

Afridi, 36, will be under pressure to deliver after taking flak for his tactics against India.

Former Pakistani spin great Saqlain Mushtaq was surprised at the team selection by Afridi, who is tipped to retire at the end of the WT20.

"They couldn't read the pitch. For such a high profile match they should have played a proper spinner," Mushtaq was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India news agency on Sunday.

"It was not a pitch to field four fast bowlers," he said.

Teams:

Pakistan (from): Shahid Afridi (captain), Anwar Ali, Imad Wasim, Khalid Latif, Khurram Manzoor, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Sami, Sarfraz Ahmed, Shoaib Malik, Sharjeel Khan, Umar Akmal, Wahab Riaz

New Zealand (from): Kane Williamson (captain), Corey Anderson, Trent Boult, Martin Guptill, Grant Elliott, Colin Munro, Mitchell McClenaghan, Nathan McCullum, Adam Milne, Henry Nicholls, Luke Ronchi, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor
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Shane Watson hints at T20 international retirement after World T20


Australian all-rounder Shane Watson will consider on his international cricket future at the end of the ICC World T20 being held in India.

The 34-year-old admitted that he was "pleasantly surprised" when he was selected for T20I side to take on India in January after he was overlooked for the five-match ODI series. 

"There's no doubt I'll have a bit of time to think about it (international retirement) after the T20 World Cup. I'll reassess from there," he told cricket.com.au on Wednesday. 



But for now, the world No. 1 all-rounder in Twenty 20 International has a bright opportunity ahead by winning the World T20 trophy that has eluded Australia. 

"There's no doubt to win the T20 World Cup, we came very close in 2010 making the final, so that certainly would be an incredible thing to be a part of," he added. 

"At this point in time I'm still just living the dream with the cricket that I'm able to play and the teams I'm able to play in. 

I'm not sure where that's going to take me in the short term. At the moment I'm loving the opportunity of being back in the Australian squad and hopefully we can win the T20 World Cup." 
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Ryan Harris keen on Australia’s bowling coach

Former Australian fast bowler Ryan Harris has expressed his desire to become the bowling coach with the national side. 

The 36-year-old, who retired from all-forms of cricket last year, has expressed his thoughts to work with head coach Darren Lehmann.

“I think deep down if they asked me to do it tomorrow, I’d jump at it. But that’s something Darren and Pat Howard and the guys have to decide, Harris told cricket.com.au.


“There are obviously other guys who are doing a great job in state cricket as well who could get the opportunity. It’s definitely a goal for me to take over that position at some stage. It’s definitely something I want to do. I see (coaching) as similar to your playing career; you want to coach the best teams at the top level and that’s something I’m definitely aiming to do, absolutely.”

“It’d huge to be able to work alongside him. I’ve learnt a lot off him in my playing career and most of (my) coaching off him as well. So it’d be great to be reunited with him … working in that environment he creates, Harris said.

Australia are currently in search for a bowling coach after Craig McDermott announced to step down from the role after this year’s ICC World T20 in India.
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West Indies ODI squad against England

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