Australia upset Pakistan, join New Zealand in final
Matthew Wade and Marcus Stoinis added an unbroken 81 in 40 balls to help Australia beat Pakistan by five wickets in the second semi-final of the Men's T20 World Cup 2021 in Dubai. Chasing 177, Australia were reduced to 96/5 in 12.2 overs. Wade and Stoinis then got the job done with an over to spare. They will clash against New Zealand in the final.
Earlier, Pakistan rode on Mohammad Rizwan's 52-ball 67 and Fakhar Zaman's unbeaten 32-ball 55 to reach 176/4 after being put in, but it was not enough. Adam Zampa was the pick of the Australian bowler, with 1-22.
Harris to open in first Ashes Test for Australia
Marcus Harris will open for Australia with David Warner in the first Ashes Test against England, as confirmed by their chair of selectors George Bailey. Harris will replace Will Pucovski, who will miss the series opener due to concussion after being hit on the head last month.
Harris aggregated 655 runs at 54.58 for Leicestershire in this summer's County Championship. He has played 10 Tests for Australia, and got 428 runs at 23.77.
The first Test will begin on 8 December, at the Gabba.
Pieter Malan to lead South Africa A against India
Pieter Malan will captain South Africa A squad for their series of three four-day matches against India A, starting 23 November in Bloemfontein. Malan has played three Tests for South Africa in January 2020 against England, scoring 156 runs.
Barring Malan, George Linde, Lutho Sipamla, Senuran Muthusamy, Beuran Hendricks, Glenton Stuurman and Sinethemba Qeshile are the others who have represented South Africa’s senior Men squad before.
South Africa A squad: Pieter Malan (c), Sarel Erwee, Dominic Hendricks, Raynard van Tonder, Sinethemba Qeshile, Senuran Muthusamy, Marco Jansen, Migael Pretorius, Beuran Hendricks, Lutho Sipamla, Glenton Stuurman, George Linde, Jason Smith, Tony de Zorzi.
Mirwais Ashraf named as acting ACB chief
The Taliban-led Afghanistan government has appointed Mirwais Ashraf as the acting chair of the Afghanistan Cricket Board. Mirwais will replace Azizullah Fazli, who was in charge for the last two months.
‘The Prime Minister of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has appointed Mirwais Ashraf as acting chairman of the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB),’ a Taliban statement read.
Mirwais last played in the domestic circuit in October 2020. He made his international debut in 2009, and played 46 ODIs as well as 25 T20Is. His last match in national colours was in 2016.
Conway to miss final after broken hand
Devon Conway has been ruled out of the T20 World Cup final against Australia as well as the upcoming India tour after he broke his right hand during the first semi-final against England. He struck his bat right after being dismissed by Liam Livingstone. An X-ray confirmed the seriousness of the injury on 11 November.
New Zealand head coach Gary Stead further confirmed they would not bring in a replacement for Conway for the final as well as India tour.