Top ten sports: Former Saints player Will Smith shot dead in New Orleans (Watch On-line )

Former NFL athlete Will Smith was killed and his wife injured by a gunman who shot the retired football player several times after ramming into his car in New Orleans, police and a local media report said on Sunday.

Suspected shooter Cardell Hayes, 30, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder, the New Orleans Police Department said in a Tweet.

Smith, 34, a retired defensive end with the National Football League's New Orleans Saints, was traveling in a Mercedes in the city's Lower Garden District shortly before 11:30 p.m. on Saturday when his car was rear-ended by a Hummer.

Smith exchanged words with the driver of the Hummer, who took out a handgun and shot him several times, New Orleans Police Department spokesman Juan Barnes said in a statement.

Smith played American football for the Saints for a decade, including in the team that won the Super Bowl in February 2010. His professional football career ended in 2014.

During the Saturday night incident, a 33-year-old woman who was with Smith was shot in the legs and taken to the hospital, the statement said. The Times-Picayune newspaper identified the woman as Smith's wife, but did not name her.

Police said the shooter stayed on the scene after the incident and that they recovered the weapon used.

Smith's family posted a brief statement on his Facebook page expressing thanks for the outpouring of support and asking for respect for their privacy.

Smith had three children and was married to Racquel Smith, according to the ex-player's official website.

Today:World T20 final: Joe Root the hero as England take three quick wickets against West Indies.

 
Listen to England v West Indies on talkSPORT 2 from 1pm on Sunday afternoon

England assistant coach Paul Farbrace has urged his players to be aggressive in the World Twenty20 final against the West Indies.
Stokes v Samuels round two. Once again the England man begins with a long-hop dirtier than a Louis CK joke, only this time Samuels misses out with the cut. And if that ball was Louis CK then the wide that follows is positively GG Allin. Stokes goes short, Bravo top-edges a big hook and Sam Billings, the 12th man running round from square-leg, misjudges the flight completely and drops it! Equally crucially, the ball skips away for four. Stokes looks to be badly dripping with sweat out there. Ah then another missed chance off the last ball! Bravo slaps to Root at mid-on, his throw is good but Stokes fails to complete the run-out with the batsman short! For good measure, Bravo bundles straight into Stokes when he does make his ground.
England lost their opening clash in the Super 10s to their opponents in Sunday's final, but their form has improved greatly since - aside from the wobble against Afghanistan.

And with it all to play for at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, Farbrace - who led Sri Lanka to the short form, title in 2012 - wants his players to come flying out of the traps.

He told the ECB's website: "They've coped with that pressure, they've coped with people writing them off, saying they lack experience and lack knowledge of India.

"They just keep getting better and better and the one thing we've talked about a lot is not only being a team that's learning and developing but being a team that's winning because international sport is about winning.

"To keep not only learning but understanding the conditions, understanding the way cricket is played in this part of the world and how you have to think on your think but to win against proper opposition is fantastic.

"Our job between now and Sunday is just to keep the lads calm and talk to them about the fact it's a fantastic opportunity.

"Our focus will be all on us, it will be talking about reminding the players what they do well, reminding them how they practice and why they practice in the way they have and so that when they come to the game situation that will be as instinctive as possible and go and play your way – that's all we've ever said.

"Let's make sure we're aggressive with our intent and take the game to the opposition. Play the way you've played for your county and enjoy playing like that."


Read more at http://talksport.com/cricket/england-world-t20-news-paul-farbrace-urges-player-be-aggressive-160401190432#Bp1wWLsYWeeUVjU4.99

OVER 13: WI 76/3 (Samuels 48* Bravo 17*)
Oooh, big moment. Sam Billings, who is on as a sub fielder for Hales (?), has dropped one down at deep backward square. Stokes digs in a slower ball bouncer. Billings runs round to get it  and over-runs, his foot slips a bit, he has shelled it. Oh that could be a massive drop. Barvo reprieved. And a four to boot.
Excellent over from Rashid. Very full, and that big ripping leg-break in the previous over is playing on the mind of Samuels I think... He's not confident enough to play a big shot. And he's got his hands full with the googly in this over, that turns back into him a touch. Keeps it out. This is fine stuff from Adil, keeps them to singles, four off the over and England have their noses in front at the 3/4 point of the match.

Top Sports:Left for dead, Big East still alive and thriving thanks to Villanova's surprising run

HOUSTON – Over the last decade or so, the football-driven machinations of conference

realignment attempted to make impossible the following bit of reality: Villanova, of the Big East, is playing for the national title on Monday.

If College Sports Inc. couldn’t rewrite the rules of basketball so you received a couple extra baskets if you had an 80,000-seat stadium on campus, it could try to squeeze everyone out with money and TV contracts and bloated conference memberships. It could try to leave the Big East, where basketball matters most, as some relic of the past, a quaint but ultimately quiet old place.

Villanova 95, Oklahoma 51 – and, yes, you could hear that Big East roar here.

Try as it might, football couldn’t kill the basketball star.

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.Josh Hart scored 23 points on 10-of-12 shooting to lead Villanova over Oklahoma. (Getty)
Josh Hart scored 23 points on 10-of-12 shooting to lead Villanova over Oklahoma. (Getty)
“Well, the game was played in a football stadium,” John Paquette, the Big East's longtime associate commissioner, said with a smile in reference to the NFL’s cavernous NRG Stadium. You can’t fault the conference for enjoying every moment of this.

It was rocked by realignment that saw even bedrock programs leave for football reasons – even as most found more money but less actual competitive success. So in 2013, the Big East reinvented itself.

An awkward marriage with football was out. Back in was something akin to its roots, 10 teams, all private schools, mostly Catholic and big-city-based. Mostly it was filled with schools that unapologetically embraced hoops as their preferred sport.

You wouldn’t think loving basketball could possibly be seen as a negative in the sport of basketball, but college athletics employs plenty of inexplicable conventional wisdoms. This one said that private schools, especially without football money flooding in, were going to struggle.

The Big East has been a dominant conference in this sport since its inception in 1979 – league teams captured seven national titles. With Syracuse and Connecticut and Louisville and others gone though, it needed to reprove that this could still happen.

“A lot of pride,” Jay Wright, who has coached Villanova since 2001, said of reaching the title game. “We reinvented ourselves. That's what we did in a time when college athletics is really being run by football."

“I'm a huge college football fan,” Wright continued. “I love it. But there are a lot of great basketball schools. We all got together. That's just what we are. We're basketball schools. We make all our decisions athletically about basketball. That's our lead sport. We just wanted to get together and see where we fit in this world of football."


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.Villanova head coach Jay Wright reacts to a call during his team's blowout win over Oklahoma. (AP)
Villanova head coach Jay Wright reacts to a call during his team's blowout win over Oklahoma. (AP)
“We don't have a goal to be the greatest league in the world," Wright said. "We're authentic. We're all basketball schools. We're in metropolitan areas. It's the biggest sport.”
What Villanova showed Saturday in trouncing Oklahoma is what league schools have been showing all season. Whether it's tradition, or the fact hoops matters most, or facilities, or coaching, or proximity to talent, or major markets, or the league tournament still being played in Madison Square Garden, great players still want to play here.

Butler, Providence, Seton Hall and Xavier also made the tournament. The league feels like it has regained its footing and is on the upswing.

 “It's sort of a dream come true because when we went down this path a couple years ago, this was the ultimate goal,” commissioner Val Ackerman said. “Not just to compete for a national championship but to win one with this group of schools. It was to prove that the Big East could be good with this group of schools ... it’s surreal in many ways.”

It’s surreal because of how this is being done, via blunt force. Nova is deep and dominating and dangerous. Offensively, the Wildcats shot 71.4 percent on Saturday and had seven players reach double figures, unheard of numbers in college hoops. Defensively, they shut down Sooner star Buddy Hield, holding him to just nine points. About midway through the second half, if not earlier, a thoroughly humiliated OU effectively quit on the game.

The 44-point margin of victory was the biggest in Final Four history, yet sort of par for the tournament for the Wildcats. There was a thrilling five-point victory over the tournament's top seed, Kansas, in the Elite Eight. The other four victories thus far, however, are by an average of 29 points a game.

This is no underdog. This is one of those old Big East bullies, coming into Monday night brimming with well-earned confidence.

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.The Wildcats' bench reacts to a shot in the second half of their rout of Oklahoma. (AP)
The Wildcats' bench reacts to a shot in the second half of their rout of Oklahoma. (AP)
That the old days are still here again is not taken lightly. Everyone at a basketball school across the country knows how precarious things felt back in the churn of realignment, how schools were jumping for life rafts believing football is all that mattered.

It turns out the Titanic is still cruising along rather well.

“This event is bigger than the four-team football championship to our schools,” Wright said. “You can see by our fans out there. It's just what we are. We're just trying to be the best we can be.

“We know we have to prove ourselves because we're new. Not because we're not good, because we're reinvented. I'm really happy for our league, happy that our league is in the finals, as happy as I am for Villanova.”

Left if not for dead, but for mid-major mediocrity, the Big East is alive and fine and proudly playing on Monday ... in a football stadium in Texas. Kickoff is 9:19 p.m. ET.

India vs West Indies Live Score, T20 World Cup 2016

OUT! R Ashwin gets a wicket in his first over but wait, its a no-ball, a front-foot no-ball. Free hit! Dot ball. Bowls it full, bowls it wide to the off. WI 51/2 in 7 overs.

11 runs came from Ravindra Jadeja's first over. West Indies need a partnership here and they also need to score at a good pace also.
ALSO SEE Live Scorecard

Three dot balls followed by a single and a boundary. Good over from Nehra. West Indies 33/2 in 5 overs.

West Indies need 165 runs in 16 overs to win the match.
ALSO SEE INDvsWI: Key battles

After Virat Kohli's 47-ball 89 powered India to a big total in Mumbai, West Indies lost Chris Gayle (5) and Marlon Samuels cheaply to India seamers.

Johnson Charles hits consecutive fours off Jasprit Bumrah. WI 28/2 in 4 overs.
ALSO SEE India - road to semi-finals

Four runs. Charles plays Nehra straight down the ground. OUT! Here goes another one. Ashisn Nehra dismisses Marlon Samuels for 8. WI 19/1 in 3 overs.

OUT! Jasprit Bumrah gets rid of Chris Gayle on his first delivery. Chris Gayle bowled for 5. West Indies 6/1 in 1.1 overs.
ALSO SEE West Indies - road to semi-finals

Chris Gayle and Johnson Charles are opening the batting for West Indies. Ashish Nehra starts with four dot ball in a row. Four runs. Gayle pulls it to deep midwicket. ENd of over 1: WI 6/0

Rohit Sharma (43) and Ajinkya Rahane (40) gave India a flying start and then Virat Kohli played another brilliant innings to take the hosts to a big total in the 1st semi-final in Mumbai.

Bravo bowling 20th over. Single followed by a double. What a running. A tripple on a misfield. FOur runs. Kolhi again. What a shot. Single off the last ball. India 192/2 in 20 overs.

Andre Russell comes in to bowl. Single followed by a double. SIX! Kohli plays it over long on. Two fours in a row. What a player! India 180/2 in 19 overs.

Dwayne Bravo comes in to bowl the next over. Three singles from first three balls of the over. Four runs. Braithwaite misses a tough catch at the boundary and its a boundary. Four runs. Inside-out to deep extra cover from Kohli. India 161/2 in 18 overs.

Fifty up for Kohli. What an outstanding form is he is right now. Another brilliant over for India. 17 runs came from the over. India 150/2 in 17 overs.

OUT! Ajinkya Rahane falls to Andre Russel for 40. India 128/2 in 15.3 overs.

Another good over for India. 11 came from Benn's over. INDIA 120/1 in 14 overs.

Rohit Sharma (43) gave India a flying start before Samuel Badree broke the 62-run opening stand but Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane kept the momentum in India's favour.

Ajinkya Rahane and Virat Kolhi have not put India in a strong position. They are scoring runs at a quick pace without taking much risk. Four runs. Kolhi plays Bravo to the leg side. 11 runs came from the over. India 109/1 in 13 overs.

Brathwaite comes in to bowl his second over. Single followed by a double. End of over 11: India 91/1 in 11 overs.

Samuel Badree comes in to bowl his last over. Wide balls followed by a double. Four runs. Short balls and Kohli hammers it to deep midwicket. 10 runs came from the over. India 86/1 in 10 overs.

No-ball and its a free hit! WOW! West Indies have missed a run out. Another run out missed and Kohli's outside edge goes to third man for four runs. India 76/1 in 9 overs.

End of over 8: India 66/1 vs West Indies.

Rohit Sharma (43) and Ajinkya Rahane gave India a quick start in the 1st semi-final in Mumbai before Samuel Badree broke the 62-run opening stand in the eighth over.

OUT! Rohit Sharma falls to Samuel Badree for 43. India 62/1 in 7.2 overs.

India innings:

SIX! Rohit hits a big one off Andre Russell for a big one. And its a no-ball. Free-hit! SIX! 92 metres. Straight down the ground. Four runs. This time to deep midwicket. End of over 6: India 55/0

Rahane hits back-to-back boundaries off Samuel Badree. Nine runs came from the over. IND 35/0 in 5 overs.

Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane gave India a positive start after West Indies won the toss and opted to field in the first semi-final at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

Sulieman Benn comes in to bowl the fourth over. Two runs off the first ball followed by two dots. Four runs. What a shot from Rohit! Perfect timing. Four more. This time to backward square leg. End of over 4: India 26/0.

Carlos Brathwaite comes in as the first bowling change and Rohit welcomes him with a boundary over long on boundary. Dot ball followed by two singles. Nine runs from the over. India 15/0 in 3 overs.

Samuel Badree comes in to bowl the next over. Two singles followed by two dot balls. Another good over for West Indies. Four runs came from it. India 6/0 in 2 overs.

Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane are opening the batting for India. Andre Russell starts the first over. Three dot balls followed by a misfield that goes for a single. Good start from West Indies. India 2/0 after 1 over.

Playing XIs

West Indies: Johnson Charles, Chris Gayle, Marlon Samuels, Lendl Simmons, Denesh Ramdin(wk), Dwayne Bravo, Andre Russell, Darren Sammy(c), Carlos Brathwaite, Samuel Badree, Sulieman Benn

India: Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Manish Pandey, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni(wk/c), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ashish Nehra, Jasprit Bumrah.

Manish Pandey comes in to replace injured Yuvraj Singh while Ajinkya Rahane gets a chance in the playing XI of India. For WI, Lendl Simmons has come in for Andre Fletcher.

Last-gasp Ramsay dashes N.Korean World Cup hopes

Manila (AFP) - Iain Ramsay's last-minute winner put paid to North Korea's World Cup hopes on Tuesday as the substitute clinched a shattering 3-2 upset victory for the Philippines in Manila.

Ramsay rounded off a flowing team move in the 90th minute as the hosts completed a comeback from a goal down and ended North Korea's qualifying campaign.

The visitors had been expected to easily beat the Philippines as they seek to return to the World Cup, after appearances in 1966 and 44 years later at South Africa in 2010.

But they let a place in the next round, as well as a berth at the 2019 Asian Cup, slip through their fingers as they failed to go through as one of the four best-performing group runners-up.

"If we had at least gotten a draw today we would still have been hopeful to qualify for the next stage. But we did not and I think there's hardly a hope of going to the final stage," North Korean coach Kim Chang Bok told reporters immediately after the game.

"The problem was, in the first half we lost two absolute chances of scoring and I think that became the turning point," he added.
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Iain Ramsay (C) of the Philippines celebrates a goal …
Iain Ramsay (C) of the Philippines celebrates a goal against North Korea during their 2018 World Cup …

Misagh Bahadoran put the Philippines in front in the 43rd minute, heading into an empty net after North Korean keeper and captain Ri Myong-Guk parried Javier Patino's stinging shot with his right foot.

The Koreans had been the better team until then, hitting a post and having another shot cleared off the line.

And the visitors were level in first-half injury time as So Kyong-Jin smashed home after the Philippine defence could only half-clear the midfielder's initial shot.

Within seconds of the restart North Korea were ahead after a free kick caused panic in the Philippine goalmouth, presenting midfielder Ri Hyok-Chol with a simple tap-in.

But the Philippines rallied and midfielder Manuel Ott levelled in the 84th minute.

And as the seconds ticked down, a sweet move highlighted by a back-heeled assist from forward Miguel Tanton put Ramsay through for the raucously celebrated winner.

Report: Lakers angry at D'Angelo Russell for taping convo with Nick Young

Teenagers have always done dumb things. And now that just about all of them are outfitted with cell phones featuring cameras, we’re reminded of as much just about daily.

[Follow Dunks Don't Lie on Tumblr: The best slams from all of basketball]

And, because teenagers are capable of being good NBA players, they will (rightfully) earn employment in this league. As a result, the league and its older players will have to sit through the same sort of growing pains that come from having to mind a kid that is about to turn 19 into 20. A report from ESPN early on Wednesday reminded us of that.

Allegedly, newly-turned-20 Lakers rookie D’Angelo Russell reportedly filmed a conversation with teammate Nick Young, who is famously engaged to rapper Iggy Azalea, without Young’s knowledge. The clip somehow found its way online recently, and as a result Russell has become a bit of a pariah inside the Lakers' locker room.

From Marc Stein and Baxter Holmes:

    "It's bad," one team source told ESPN.com's Ramona Shelburne. "It's about as bad as it can get. There were trust issues already. Now there's no trust."

    In the video, Russell asks Young at one point, "You was 30 and she was 19?" referencing Young's age and the age of another woman that Young said that he met in a nightclub.

    "What about Amber Rose?" Russell later says, mentioning another celebrity.

    "No, she knows my girl," Young is recorded as saying.

    Later in the conversation, while apparently still recording, Russell is heard telling Young, "I'm glad you told my video all that."

    "Huh?" Young says, turning his face toward Russell before the video cuts off.

All of this comes toward the end of the Lakers’ literal and figurative Worst Season Ever, the most recent example of such coming in the team’s embarrassing 48-point blowout loss to the Utah Jazz on Monday. A breach of Bro Trust doesn’t excuse the squad’s insistence on playing “wow, really … and you get paid for this?”-defense in Salt Lake City (Young sat out the game due to a stomach ailment), but our reaction to that malaise was truly telling.

It’s true that the one-sided scoreboard in Utah on Monday could have been expected – the Lakers are the worst team in the West, while the Jazz are a current playoff team just starting to turn into gear.

Outside of the lopsided score, though, nothing seemed all that shocking: Los Angeles does not care about defense, and in handing the reins over to a skinflint front office, coach Byron Scott, while making Kobe Bryant the NBA’s highest-paid player (to say nothing of employing Nick Young’s shot selection), little seemed awry. The saddest part is that the record-setting loss seemed so normal.

ICC Women’s World T20: England women’s sqaud spurred on by history, propped up by form

ENGLAND CAPTAIN Charlotte Edwards played a match-winning knock of 77 against Pakistan in their final league encounter in Chennai to steer her side through to the semifinals of the World T20. In doing so, she became the first player to go past 2,500 runs in the shortest format. That’s a mind boggling stat, considering women don’t play as frequently as their male counterparts. However, Edwards is a bit of a doyen in England women’s cricket. Since her international debut in July 1996, the 36-year-old has gone on to feature in 23 Tests, 191 ODIs and 94 T20s. In the interim, she would play key roles in her side winning two premier ICC events — the 50-over World Cup and the World T20 triumphs — both of which came seven years ago. (STATS || POINTS TABLE || FIXTURES)

For a player with such wealth of experience, Edwards found herself at the receiving end of the selectors’ wrath after England’s embarrassing loss to Australia in last summer’s Ashes. Questions were raised about her commitment to the team, and to women’s cricket in England. Sections in the British press questioned her viability in the team and sought her immediate sacking.

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Edwards survived the bad press, and she stayed on as England captain. However, all the negativity surrounding the Ashes debacle only strengthened her resolve to prove her detractors wrong, and help her in the team’s rebuilding process. Much has changed since last summer’s Ashes defeat. For starters, the appointment of Mark Robinson as the coach late last year proved to be the change Edwards and the team were looking for. Robinson injected positivity into the side and urged his team to play more aggressively.

Change in approach

“Robinson has always urged us to bat more aggressively and show a bit more intent, especially in the Powerplay. He wants us to bring out those T20 shots from our locker.” Edwards noted. There was ample proof of that aggression in this edition of World T20. In the game against Pakistan, England scored 55/0 in their 6 overs. This was incidentally the highest score in Powerplay in World T20 this year. England won four league games on the trot to seal their spot in the semis. And leading the team’s charge was their captain Edwards.

Opening the batting, she has scored 171 runs in four games to become the joint-leading scorer. She was ably supported by her opening partner Beaumont. Together, they have invariably given England good starts — one of the reasons why they have progressed so deep into the tournament.

Suddenly that Ashes debacle last summer appears to be a thing of the past. But Edwards is more measured. “The great thing about that loss last summer is that it has only increased our drive to improve and do well. The important thing is that as a side we are more relaxed and are not putting too much pressure on ourselves.”

In the semifinals, they are up against arch rivals Australia. Edwards and her team will be seeing this as the perfect platform to avenge their Ashes loss. However, she chose to quell such talk, and insisted Australia were the favourites. “We have been in the finals the last two editions. Let us hope its third time lucky for us. The good thing is that we have not put too much pressure on ourselves. It is a great rivalry, both teams know a lot about each other so there will be no secrets out tomorrow,” the captain said.

Both sides have a history at the World T20s. England won the opening edition in 2009, while Australia won the three subsequent editions. Interestingly, Australia had defeated England in the finals of the 2012 and 2014 editions. In many ways, this match is being billed as the repeat of the thrilling semifinal played between these teams during the 2009 edition at The Oval.

Fresh from their emphatic win in the 50-over format three months ago, England were the favourites at home. Batting first, Australia scored 163 in their 20 overs, just one run short of equalling their highest score. England then lost two early wickets, but Claire Taylor and Ben Morgan saw them through with their remarkable 122-run stand for the second wicket. It was a record chase in women’s cricket, and that match heightened the drama each time the two teams met in subsequent ICC events. “It’s a similar feel to 2009. We didn’t play that well in the group stage. We went into that game as not the favourites. Hopefully, we will have a similar result as well,” Edwards added with a smile.

Australia too had a smooth run in the tournament, and have lost just the game to New Zealand. Despite playing on the spin friendly tracks here, the Aussies have preferred to use their fast bowlers Megan Schutt and Lauren Cheatle. Going forward, captain Meg Lanning will be hoping her fast bowlers make early inroads and test the English middleorder.

“Their openers have been prolific. But, if our fast bowlers can get them out early, their middleorder will be tested,” Lanning said. Going by their current form and history, these are the two best teams in women’s cricket. The English batters will be up against the might of the Aussie bowlers. This will surely be a humdinger at the Feroz Shah Kotla.

Make PCB officials accountable for team’s poor show: Mohammad Yousuf

Former Pakistan captain Mohammad Yousuf has urged the fact-finding committee of the PCB to not only blame the coach, captain and players for the national cricket team’s dismal performance but also make the board officials accountable.(STATS || POINTS TABLE || FIXTURES)

“I told the committee that it is fine they are inquiring into the team’s performances and those of the captain and coach but what about the board officials who are also responsible for the steep decline in our cricket,” Yousuf told PTI on Wednesday from Lahore.

“Every time the team performs badly, the responsibility is put on the captain, coach and the players but I have never seen anyone in the board being held responsible,” he added.

READ: Shahid Afridi was non-serious during World T20, alleges Waqar Younis report

The fact-finding committee was constituted by the Pakistan Cricket Board to probe into the team’s poor performances in Asia Cup and World T20, as well as in earlier series against England and New Zealand.

The committee includes Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq and senior batsman Younis Khan both of whom have not attended the first two days of the fact-finding committee’s three-day meeting in Lahore.

Present in the meeting were Shakil Sheikh, the head of the PCB’s cricket committee and a senior member of the board of governors, Subhan Ahmed, PCB’s chief operating officer and Iqbal Qasim, former Test player, besides Yousuf.

READ: Shahid Afridi apologises for Pakistan’s dismal World Twenty20 show

Yousuf said he had conveyed to the committee that there was an urgent need to introduce new faces in the management at all levels who have fresh ideas to improve the situation.

“I also told them clearly that I had serious doubts over the sincerity of the board in forming the committee and taking decisions to improve things,” he added.

The former cricketer said that apologies from Waqar Younis and Shahid Afridi wouldn’t resolve the crisis in Pakistan cricket.

READ: It was painful to see Waqar Younis apologising, says Shoaib Akhtar

“This is not the first time Afridi has apologised. I appreciate Waqar for having the courage to face the people and come out with a public apology. I think Afridi also needed to face the media instead of apologising through the social media,” Yousuf said.
- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/make-pcb-officials-accountable-for-teams-poor-show-mohammad-yousuf/#sthash.PoWFd01A.dpuf

India vs West Indies: All our bowlers will target Chris Gayle, quips Ravi Shastri

 India’s team director Ravi Shastri on Wednesday called on the side’s under-performing batsmen to raise their game in the ICC World Twenty20 semifinal against West Indies in Mumbai, saying the hosts can’t rely on one or two individuals at this stage of the tournament. (STATS || POINTS TABLE || FIXTURES)

Shastri hoped that batsmen such as Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina, after an indifferent run, step up and show their mettle at the Wankhede Stadium inThursday.

“I still believe we have played only 70 per cent to our abilities in this tournament. There are still areas where we can improve. Let’s hope it happens tomorrow (Thursday),” Shastri said at the match-eve media conference.

ALSO READ: Virat Kohli’s journey:The top four reads about the batsman from World T20

“In a semifinal you got to get your ‘A’ game in. You can’t depend on one or two players, you need 6-7 players to step up to the plate. It has not happened so far in this tournament. Let’s hope it happens.”

The former captain was referring to the misfiring top-order, barring Virat Kohli who has been outstanding.

Effusive in his praise for Kohli’s unbeaten 82 against Australia in the quarterfinal at Mohali, Shastri said the Delhi stalwart turned around his fortunes through sheer hard work after an indifferent show in England in 2014.

ALSO READ: India’s road to the semi-final

“It was outstanding innings, one of the best you will ever see in T20 cricket, considering the occasion, the pressure. The kind of crickting shots he played was unbelievable.

“I had absolutely no doubt when I took on the job, seeing the form he was in, knowing fully well that he will be back on track. It was just case of mind over matter. You got to give him the credit for really believing that he can be right up there with the best and putting in the hard yards.

“No one trains harder than Virat. If he’s as successful as he has been over the last 18 months, credit must be given to him for putting that much of hard work and believing in his ability.”

PHOTOS: India’s roller-coaster ride to semis

Shastri said the team will miss injured Yuvraj Singh, both as a batsman and bowler, and will have a good look at the net session on Wednesday before deciding on who will be his replacement in the playing XI.

“It will have an impact. He’s had his moment and I thought his three overs were brilliant in the last game (against Australia) that really put the checks and brakes on the scoring and allowed us to come back into the contest.

ALSO READ :  Factbox on the Wankhede semi-final

“After the first four overs (when Australia had raced to 53 for no loss) it was a no contest. At one stage it looked that (target for India would be) 200 or 200-plus which would have been very difficult to chase on that pitch.

Shastri called Yuvraj’s injury unfortunate.

“He will be missed. It was an unfortunate injury which happened during the game when he took off for a run. I believe it’s a minor tear in the ankle. We will miss him.

ALSO READ: Yuvraj Singh ruled out of World T20, Manish Pandey replaces him

“We have not decided (on who will replace Yuvraj). Manish (Pandey) joined the party yesterday (Tuesday), we will take a good look at everything in the nets and look at our best options for tomorrow’s (Thursday) game and, yes, we have to keep those overs (by Yuvraj) in mind.”

The Indians had been granted the replacement (Manish Pandey) for Yuvraj by the ICC’s technical committee.

Shastri pointed out that he had maintained before the tournament that the Windies, led by Darren Sammy and with Chris Gayle, are a dangerous side.

“I have said this at the beginning. They are probably one of the most dangerous sides in this format. They have got explosive players, match-winners. We know what we are up against and we are up and ready as well. This is not a knock-out game for us. The knock-out was the last game. That was the quarter final. This is the semifinal.”

To Gayle’s claims of rising to the big occasion, Shastri shot back, “Bring it on. All our bowlers will target him (Gayle).”

“Bangalore was a good surface, Mohali was good and this (Wankhede track) has always been good. Repeating what they have been doing keeping things simple,” he retorted when asked what the Indian team should do on the Wankhede track which is known to favour batsmen.

Shastri said the Indian team’s philosophy in the tournament was to take it one step at a time, a point he repeated when asked what his plans were post the World T20 when he is to be relieved of his duties.

“At the end of the day you want to be consistent. You got to take it one game at a time. That has been our approach. With every T20 game we played we knew a World Cup was coming. We wanted to respect the format and treat every game as a knockout. It does not matter who the opposition is.
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India vs West Indies: West Indies’ road to the semi-finals

Despite some rifts and conflicts off the field, West Indies cruised into the semi-final stage of the ICC World T20. They managed to wrap up consecutive wins in first three matches of the Super 10 stage but faced an upset against Afghanistan in the final group game in Nagpur.

West Indies vs England (won by 6 wickets)
India vs West Indies, Ind vs WI, WI vs Ind, West Indies India, Darren Sammy, Chris Gayle hundred, sports news, sports, cricket news, cricket Chris Gayle scored a hundred against England to guide West Indies home by 6 wickets. (Source: PTI)

West Indies locked horns with England in their first match in Mumbai and the Calypso team and more importantly Chris Gayle didn’t let go of any opportunity to announce their arrival in World T20. After getting a target of 183 runs, a close encounter was surely on the cards. But Chris Gayle came up with a riveting display of stroke making and scored a brilliant hundred. West Indies achieved the target in 18.1 overs with 6 wickets in hand.

West Indies vs Sri Lanka (won by 7 wickets)
India vs West Indies, Ind vs WI, WI vs Ind, West Indies India, Darren Sammy, Chris Gayle hundred, sports news, sports, cricket news, cricket West Indies chased down the target against Sri Lanka with ease by 7 wickets. (Source: PTI)

West Indies then had a clash with defending champions Sri Lanka in Bengaluru and this time it was the West Indian bowlers to turn on the charm. Batting first Sri Lanka managed 122/9 as West Indies chased down the target with ease.

West Indies vs South Africa (won by 3 wickets)
India vs West Indies, Ind vs WI, WI vs Ind, West Indies India, Darren Sammy, Chris Gayle hundred, sports news, sports, cricket news, cricket West Indies rode on Marlon Samuels’ 43 to clinch a last-over win by 3 wickets against South Africa. (Source: PTI)

A close encounter between the two cricketing giants was witnessed in Nagpur. South Africa extracted their 20 overs to score 122/8. In reply, West Indies rode on Marlon Samuels’ 43 to clinch a last-over win by 3 wickets.

West Indies vs Afghanistan (lost by 6 runs)
India vs West Indies, Ind vs WI, WI vs Ind, West Indies India, Darren Sammy, Chris Gayle hundred, sports news, sports, cricket news, cricket West Indies lost to Afghanistan in their last Super 10 match. (Source: PTI)

After making it three out of three, West Indies were already into the semi-finals and this one against the minnows of world cricket looked a mere formality. But what transpired in Nagpur was simply magnificent from Afghanistan’s point of view. After batting first, Afghanistan set up a target of 124 runs for West Indies. They restricted West Indies to 117/8 to clinch the first World T20 win in Super 10 stage.

India vs West Indies: This could be the year for West Indies, says Darren Sammy

West Indies captain Darren Sammy on Wednesday insisted that his side would be no pushover in the World Twenty20 semifinal clash against India on Thursday even though it seems like a “David vs Goliath contest”.  (STATS || POINTS TABLE || FIXTURES)

“I think it is 80-20 to India, so it feels like David vs Goliath contest but people tend to forget David won the fight, so it’s something similar to that,” said Sammy on the eve of the clash in Mumbai.

“We haven’t played the perfect game yet. We are stressing on rotation of strike. It is clear that we are a big boundary -hitting team. We look at the dot-ball percentage, probably it is 40-50 per cent for us, and we could improve on that. So far, we have bowled really well in the tournament and on a few occasions, one batsman has taken responsibility,” he said.

ALSO READ:  All our bowlers will target Chris Gayle, quips Ravi Shastri

Sammy said he has a feeling that it is going to be West Indies’ year.

“It (tournament) means a lot. No team has won the event twice. Later today, we will know if New Zealand or England wins, if we will have a possibility of that. Our game tomorrow creates that opportunity as well. For me, I have always enjoyed playing for the West Indies.

“I think this year could be the year for the West Indies. The Under-19 team started it in Bangladesh (by winning the U19 World Cup) and both the men and the women’s teams took that as inspiration.

“Come tomorrow, we have two West Indian teams (men and women) vying for a spot in the final. I really wish both teams could go to the finals and win it. So, 2016 could be the year where West Indies take home everything,” he concluded.

ALSO READ: Virat Kohli’s journey: The top four reads about the batsman from World T20

Although Sammy admitted that star India batsman Virat Kohli would be a big factor in Thursday’s game, but having the world’s “best T20 cricketer” in Chris Gayle does even out the scales to an extent.

“…have you ever heard of Chris Gayle?” he asked, adding “There’s no taking away from Virat, he’s a very good player, but like I’ve said in my press conferences, we tend to focus on what we could do in our dressing room.

“Like we’ve shown throughout the tournament once we execute our plans right we’ve won the games. When we’ve not, we’ve lost. So it’s going to be a hell of a game, it’s going to be 15 West Indies players versus 78,000, plus billions of Indians.

ALSO READ: India’s road to the semi-finals

“Yes, it’s a challenge we’re ready to face, We all know that India is always difficult at home, but main focus in our dressing room is doing what we do best,” he said.

In the run-up to the World T20, the West Indies players had a pay dispute with their cricket board, which was resolved just in time, but Sammy said there was a total lack of support for his team from the region’s cricket authorities.

“The lack of respect for our T20 team. A lot has been said about this team and we as a group. But it just brought us closer together,” said the 34-year-old.

PHOTOS: India’s roller-coaster ride to semis

“I said it before, we have number of guys in 30s and we came here in this tournament not playing a T20 in the calendar year, where we saw lot of (things) against us. That really brought the team closer together,” Sammy added.

“You’ve to see the way we’ve played. We think it’s us against the world. That 15 players and the support staff, it’s just us, our own new circle against the world and that’s how we’ve gone out and played.”

High on confidence after some good performances in Super 10 stage, the West Indies captain said his team was looking forward to playing the home team.

ALSO READ: Quick look at the Wankhede semi-final

“Nobody gave us a chance and a lot was said about us which we’ve not spoken about. We had our moment but as I said (there are) six steps to (win) the World Cup. We’ve taken four. We had a little wobble in the match against Afghanistan but we’ve dusted ourselves up and the step tomorrow is against India and we’re looking forward to it,” he said.

Sammy pointed out that both the teams have players who are very good in the shortest format.

“You look at the two sides, especially with the experience in the dressing room playing T20s in both sides. We have players who play all around the world with a lot of experience. When you have somebody like Chris Gayle in the dressing room, who I think is the best T20 batsman in the world, his record speaks for itself. Other quality players in our team — Bravo, Russell, Badree, Benn. It’s a good combination which allows you to win cricket matches.

ALSO READ: Yuvraj Singh ruled out of World Twenty20, Manish Pandey comes in as replacement

“On the other hand, you have somebody like Virat in India team, MS Dhoni and (Suresh) Raina, and all these guys. Both teams are really good and we are looking forward to that. What better place to play (than) here in Mumbai, (which is) one of the best wickets in India. It’s going to be exciting,” he said.

Stating that West Indian players always enjoy playing in India, he said: “A number of our players play here (in IPL). We have a lot of respect and camaraderie in the group.”

On Wankhede pitch, Sammy gave a tongue-in-cheek reply, saying: “To be honest, I just want (a pitch) 22 yards long and probably 6 feet wide. That’s a good cricket wicket. We play on whatever wicket is given. It is a semifinal, a lot is at stake. Whatever is given, we’re ready to face the challenge.”
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India vs West Indies: Watch as Harbhajan Singh speaks Tamil, R Ashwin Punjabi

As India is realted to ‘Unity in Diversity’, the Indian team too didn’t leave a chance to prove this. The two Indian off-spinners R.Ashwin and Harbhajan Singh indulged in a switch of languages.(STATS || POINTS TABLE || FIXTURES)

Ashwin tried to teach Bhajji Tamil while Harbhajan Singh too tried to train Ashwin some Punjabi. Here’s what happened when the two Indian cricketers tried their hands on different languages.

Live Cricket Score, New Zealand (NZ) vs England (Eng), ICC World T20 semifinal: New Zealand lose set pair in a hurry against England at Kotla - See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/live-cricket-score-new-zealand-nz-vs-england-eng-semifinal-live-cricket-streaming-video-kotla-new-delhi/#sthash.K9rhU0dy.dpuf

New Zealand come into the first semi-final of ICC World Twenty20 with things hinged their way. They have been unbeaten and gone through tough opposition without breaking a sweat. On the other side, England kept things the hard way to seal a berth though they have the benefit of playing in Delhi twice already. The winner will book a place in the final on Sunday. Live Cricket Score, Updates and comments from first semi-final.  (STATS || POINTS TABLE || FIXTURES)

LIVE SCORECARD OF NEW ZEALAND vs ENGLAND AND STATS (click here)

LIVE SCORE AND UPDATES:

2008 hrs IST: Death specialist Jordan into the attack now. He bowled well against Sri Lanka, need a similar effort today

2002 hrs IST: FOUR! Anderson powers one down the ground. Rashid concedes a boundary off the last ball of his spell. Ends with ordinary figures of 4-0-33-0

2000 hrs IST: We are into the last six overs now. New Zealand started well, important they finish too

1955 hrs IST: WICKET! Munro slashes at a wide Plunkett delivery and hits it to third-man. New Zealand 107/3

1947 hrs IST: New Zealand have got off to a brilliant start here. Ideal platform for the likes of Anderson and Taylor to fire on all cylinders

1946 hrs IST: FOUR! Munro with the switch-hit again and finds the gap. He moves on to 42 off only 25
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Inu gets three-game Super League ban

Former Parramatta, Canterbury and Warriors NRL centre Krisnan Inu has copped a three-game ban for a dangerous throw in the Super League.

Catalans star Inu dumped Huddersfield prop Eorl Crabtree during the French side's 46-26 win over the Giants in a fiery clash on Sunday.

Inu was also fined STG300 ($A560) after being charged with a grade D offence by the Rugby Football League's disciplinary panel.

Huddersfield centre Joe Wardle copped the same fine and was given a two-game ban after being sent off for a high tackle on Catalans' former Sydney Roosters prop Remi Casty.

Soton's Mane red card rescinded on appeal

Sadio Mane's red card for serious foul play in Southampton's Premier League game against Stoke City on Saturday has been overturned.

Mane was sent off by referee Lee Mason in the dying minutes of the match, which Southampton won 2-1, after clashing with Stoke's Erik Pieters.

Southampton appealed against the decision and an independent commission upheld the challenge, the Football Association said on its website on Tuesday.

The Senegal striker will not now have to serve any suspension and is available for Southampton's next match, at home to Liverpool on Sunday.

Valeri returns to Victory contention

Melbourne Victory captain Carl Valeri is back in the first-team fold after four months away from the A-League with inflammation affecting his brain.

The midfielder will travel with the Victory squad to Wellington for Saturday's A-League penultimate round clash with Wellington Phoenix.

He's unlikely to be handed a significant match-day role but Valeri, 31, says he's delighted to be back training after developing the serious condition.

At his worst, Valeri struggled to even walk.

Coach Kevin Muscat was so concerned by Valeri's deterioration that he ruled out his skipper for the entire season back in February.

Valeri said it was the intervention he needed to make a proper recovery.

"A few months ago we didn't know what was going to happen," he said.

"Musky saw me pushing myself when I wasn't quite ready. He pulled me aside and that was an eye-opener.

"It's not often you get a coach that calls you in and says `just have the season off, we're worried about you'.

"He wasn't talking to me as a coach, he was talking to me as a friend.

"There was no pressure on me and look where I am. I'm on the verge of coming back in a season where I didn't think I'd play again.

"I've got a lot of thank yous to give ... I'm very well looked after and I'm very thankful and grateful."

Those thank yous extend to his teammates, who wore tribute shirts while warming up for December's derby with Melbourne City.

"I didn't expect that. I didn't get rattled very easily but that did rattle me," he said.

Victory football boss Paul Trimboli said a lack of recurrence of the inflammation issue over a month of training gave the club confidence to return Valeri to the first-team.

He will be part of a 17-man travelling party and may yet not feature in the match.

Valeri will also miss next week's Asian Champions League trip to Korea to face Suwon Bluewings, making the final-round home match with Adelaide United his best chance for a strong hit-out to show whether he can play a significant role during the finals.

It has become accepted A-League wisdom the side's troubles this campaign coincided with Valeri's departure from the squad.

The midfielder was the only man to play every match of their 2014/15 championship-winning season and played in four matches for three wins at the start of this campaign.

While he'll be doing everything he can to help Victory defend their championship status, it's not what pushed him to return to on-field action.

"It'd be great to win back-to-back championships. I think the club deserves it but we've got to prove it on the football pitch," he said.

"But it wasn't what drove me to be back. It was purely being healthy again and being fit."

VICTORY AND VALERI

Melbourne Victory's A-League record with and without Carl Valeri since the start of their championship-winning season.

ICC T20 World Cup 2016: West Indies captain Darren Sammy calls loss to Afghanistan a 'blip'

                           Afghanistan created one of the biggest upsets in T20 history after beating the West Indies by six runs in their Group 1 ICC World Cup T20 2016 encounter on 27 March. Skipper of the Caribbean side, Darren Sammy, brushed off concerns over the loss, calling it just a "blip".

Afghanistan set a target of 124 runs before the West Indies, who managed only 117 runs in 20 overs, eventually falling short of the target by six-runs. The loss, however, has had no impact on West Indies's fortunes, as they have topped Group 1 with six-points, just ahead of second placed England on net run rate.
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               Speaking to reporters at the post-match press conference, Sammy said, "We lost the match, they didn't win it. We didn't take it lightly, they are a side we are supposed to beat, but we just didn't do that today. But the main objective coming out of the Super 10s was to qualify for the semis and we did that."

"It was a total we should have got, but we just kept losing wickets all through the innings. We're pretty disappointed we lost, but we won't let that define our tournament. Whatever happened today isn't going to affect how we play in the semis."

"The only thing on our mind is to win, that is why we play cricket games. We wanted to come out of this group winning all four, but looking at the history of the tournament no team has done it undefeated. So we'll leave this game here and see it as a blip in the tournament. Now we have two more steps, semi-finals in Mumbai take that step, and then Kolkata here we come," he added.

West Indies are scheduled to play hosts India in the second semi-final on 31 March at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. India cannot afford to take them lightly considering they are ranked number one in the T20 format and won the title in 2012.

ICC T20 World Cup 2016: A look at the semi-final fixtures dates, time and venues

The ICC T20 World Cup 2016 was billed as the most exciting cricketing event of the year and it has not failed to disappoint. The group stages have provided both thrills and chills for cricket fans, giving us some great performances and quite a few unexpected results.

From Chris Gayle's second T20 International century to James Faulkner's five-wicket haul against Pakistan, the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup has lived up to the hype. Who would have thought that New Zealand would progress to the semi-finals unbeaten while South Africa choked once again on the world stage?
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Afghanistan provided the shock of the tournament beating West Indies in a famous win that will go down in T20 folklore.

The top two teams from each group qualify for the knock-out stages. Here is the semi-final line-up:
1st semi-final: New Zealand vs England (Group 2 winner vs Group 1 runner-up)
Wednesday, 30 March – 1.30pm BST/7.30pm IST
Venue: Feroz Shah Kotla, New Delhi

South Africa vs Sri Lanka, T20 World

It's South Africa vs Sri Lanka in Delhi on Sunday in the final Super-10 match of the ICC T20 World Cup 2016. Both teams have been knocked out of the World T20 and are playing only for pride. You can see live streaming of the Sri Lanka vs South Africa game on http://www.hotstar.com/sports as we bring you live cricket score updates on http://sports.ndtv.com/icc-world-twenty20-2016. (POINTS TABLE | NEWS | VIDEOS | GALLERIES)

The South Africa vs Sri Lanka T20 World Cup at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Nagpur starts at 7:00 PM IST (13:30 hours GMT). South Africa hold a 3-2 head-to-head advantage against Sri Lanka while their record in the World T20 is 1-1. Live coverage is on Sky Sports 2 and Sky Sports 2 HD in the UK. STAR Sports 1 and STAR Sports 3 will telecast it in India. UK fans can also see live streaming of the match at http://www.skysports.com/watch/sky-sports-2.

The tournament is expected to have the biggest reach ever, with close to 2 billion fans able to watch the ICC World Twenty20 India 2016 action televised by a global compliment of ICC Broadcast Partners including ICC's Global Broadcast Partner Star Sports (India and Indian sub-continent), OSN (Middle East and North Africa), BSKYB (United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland), Willow TV (USA) SuperSport (South Africa and Africa), Fox Sports (Australia), SKY TV NZ (New Zealand), ESPN (Caribbean), PTV and Ten Sports (Pakistan), Maasranga, GTV & BTV (Bangladesh) as well as reaching Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Fiji, Netherlands, Singapore and Malaysia.

Free-To-Air broadcasters like Doordarshan (India), SABC (South Africa) and Channel 9 (Australia) are adding to the reach of the event. Additionally Highlights of each televised match will be available on all the official broadcasters and some more free-to-air broadcasters around the world.

Fans who cannot watch the broadcasts live have the option of listening to live audio commentary on Cricket Radio, produced by ICC's Global Audio Rights Partner, Channel 2, or on the various other official audio broadcasters - BBC & TalkSport (UK), Radio 4 (UAE), Karachi 107FM (Pakistan), Zircon (Bangladesh), SLBC (Sri Lanka), Guardian (West Indies), SABC (South Africa).

India vs Australia, ICC T20 World Cup: Twitter reaction of sports personalities and celebrities after Virat Kohli shines against Aussies in Mohali

India progressed to the semi-final of the ICC T20 World Cup 2016 after registering a six-wicket victory over Australia at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali, on 27 March. It was Virat Kohli's unbeaten 82 that helped his side seal a berth in the last four of the tournament.

Kohli was named the Player of the Match for his impressive performance against Steven Smith's side. The right-handed batsman admitted that his knock in Mohali was his best performance in his T20 career. It is for the second time that Kohli has helped India to cross the finish line. The first one came against Pakistan.