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October 15 at the Women’s T20 World Cup: England, West Indies with little room for error as semi-finals race heats up

England vs West Indies
Dubai, 6pm local time
Barring a couple of extreme scenarios, which will see both West Indies and England go through, this will be a virtual knockout game, with the winner directly advancing to the semi-finals. South Africa have one foot in the semi-final, but aren’t quite there yet, as England can still get into the next stage with a loss against West Indies, provided their margin of defeat is small enough: a one-run loss if the first innings total is between 97 and 134 or a two-run loss if they are chasing between 61 and 96; if England are batting first, they can afford to lose with one or two balls to spare only.
West Indies will hope Stafanie Taylor is available for their final group game. The experienced Taylor, who opened against Bangladesh, was forced to retire hurt after ten overs in the small chase. Captain Hayley Matthews later said Taylor had been nursing a knee problem through the tournament: “She knows how to manage her body pretty well. She’s a crucial part of our lineup, but once again, she’s a fighter, and I don’t think any of our doctors of physios would have her out here if she wasn’t up for the challenge.”
The last time these two teams played each other, England chased down 136 inside 15 overs to post a seven-wicket win over West Indies, at the 2023 World Cup, in Paarl. Overall, West Indies have won only eight of the 28 T20Is played against England.
England squad:
Heather Knight (capt), Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier, Alice Capsey, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Danielle Gibson, Sarah Glenn, Bess Heath, Amy Jones (wk), Freya Kemp, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Linsey Smith, Danni Wyatt
West Indies squad:
Hayley Matthews (capt), Aaliyah Alleyne, Shamilia Connell, Deandra Dottin, Shemaine Campbelle (wk), Ashmini Munisar, Afy Fletcher, Stafanie Taylor, Chinelle Henry, Chedean Nation, Qiana Joseph, Zaida James, Karishma Ramharack, Mandy Mangru, Nerissa CraftonTournament form guide:
England are the only team in this group to remain unbeaten, having overcome Scotland , Bangladesh, and South Africa. They are top of Group B with six points.
West Indies beat Bangladesh and Scotland after falling short to South Africa in their opener. With four points, they occupy third spot, behind South Africa.
Player to watch:
Sophie Ecclestone will be the main threat in England’s four-spin attack that has worked well for them. The tall left-arm spinner has been economical, having leaked just four runs an over in the tournament and picked up four wickets in three innings. England will rely on her ability to keep the run-rate down and provide crucial breakthroughs.
[Cricinfo]
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Mohamed Salah signs new two-year contract with Liverpool

Egypt forward Mohamed Salah has signed a new two-year contract with Liverpool.
The 32-year-old’s previous deal was scheduled to run out in the summer and there had been doubts he would stay with the Reds following comments from him during the season and speculation linking him with a move to Saudi Arabia.
However, he is staying and will have the chance to add to his 243 goals and 109 assists for the club in 393 appearances.
“Of course I’m very excited – we have a great team now,” said Salah.
“Before also we had a great team. But I signed because I think we have a chance to win other trophies and enjoy my football.
“I have played eight years here, hopefully it’s going to be 10. I’m enjoying my life here, enjoying my football. I have had the best years of my career here.”
Salah has scored 32 goals in all competitions this season, including 27 in the Premier League as the Reds chase a 20th top-flight title. Liverpool are 11 points clear of second-placed Arsenal with seven games remaining.
Salah, who joined Liverpool from Roma in 2017, has won the Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup and Fifa Club World Cup with the Reds.
He was one of three key Liverpool players who will be out of contract this summer, along with right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold and centre-back Virgil van Dijk.
Netherlands defender Van Dijk has said there has been progress on talks over a new deal but Alexander-Arnold has been heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid.
[BBC]
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MS Dhoni to lead CSK after Ruturaj Gaikwad is ruled out of IPL with injury

MS Dhoni will lead Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for the remainder of IPL 2025 after Rutraj Gaikwad was ruled out of the rest of the season with an elbow injury.
CSK head coach Stephen Fleming confirmed the development on the eve of the home game against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Friday. It is a significant blow to CSK, who have made a bad start to their campaign by losing four of their first five matches. They are currently ninth in the points table, above only Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).
Gaikwad suffered the injury during CSK’s match against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Guwahati on March 30. He was struck on his unprotected elbow after stepping out to fast bowler Tushar Deshpande and missing the ball in the second over of CSK’s unsuccessful chase, but continued batting and scored 63 in that game. He played two more games after that and made 5 against Delhi Capitals (DC) in Chennai on April 5 and 1 against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Mullanpur on April 8. After five games, he was CSK’s second-highest run-scorer with 122 runs at a strike rate of 150.61; he was CSK’s highest run-scorer in IPL 2024.
“He [Gaikwad] got hit in Guwahati. He’s been operating with an amount of pain,” Fleming said in Chennai. “We got an X-ray, which was inconclusive, and we had an MRI, which revealed a fracture in his elbow, in the radial neck.
“So we’re disappointed, and feel for him. We appreciate the efforts that he’s gone to in terms of trying to play, but unfortunately, he’d be out of the tournament from now. We have an uncapped player, MS Dhoni, who will take over as captain for the remainder of the IPL.”
Dhoni, 43, had led CSK from 2008 until 2024, when he handed the captaincy to Gaikwad. He had also handed the captaincy to Ravindra Jadeja in 2022, but took back the leadership some way into the season after the team went through a bad run of results. Under Dhoni’s captaincy, CSK have won five IPL titles in 2010, 2011, 2018, 2021 and 2023 and two Champions League trophies as well.
“He [Dhoni] had no hesitation to step up and help guide us out of this if we can,” Fleming said. “So that was never a doubt. We’ll look at replacements. We’ve got some good players in the squad that have been with us a while, so we’ll look from within first. But yeah, there is an opportunity to see how we can enhance the squad probably moving forward into subsequent years.”
After their home game against KKR on today, CSK play two away games against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on April 14 and Mumbai Indians (MI) on April 20.
[Cricinfo]
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