Captain Morgan Faces Gayle Force

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England and West Indies will attempt to make history when they contest the World Twenty20 final at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday.

No team has won the competition more than once since its inception in 2007.

India, Pakistan, England, West Indies and Sri Lanka have all won the title.

England lost to the Windies in their first group match but have since won four in a row, while West Indies lost to Afghanistan having qualified for the semi-finals, where they beat India.

England's Eoin Morgan: "We know it's not going to be a normal game, even in the semi-final, there was quite a lot of hype around the expectation of playing in a final.

"I want all of our players to embrace it. Everything's going to feel a little bit rushed to start with. It's important that we're in a really good frame of mind to slow things down when needed and more importantly execute our skills.

"Given the strides we have made in the last 12 months in white-ball cricket, I think this would be a great reward for the mindset we've shown, the dedication and the hard work we've put in."

West Indies skipper Darren Sammy: "England is a team we respect. We know the calibre of players they have in the dressing room, they have a lot of match-winners as well.

"But we tend to focus on what we can on the cricket field and as a group we believe that once we do what we know we can do on the cricket field it is going to be difficult to defeat us.

"Since that loss to us England have moved in leaps and bounds, that's why they are in the final. I always want cricket to be the winner and hope the fans are entertained and it will be a very exciting match, but at the end I just want West Indies to be victorious."

The first official T20 matches comprising 20 six-ball overs per side took place in the 2003 English county cricket season and the first T20 international was played between New Zealand and Australia in Auckland in February 2005.

The inaugural World T20 was played in 2007 and won by India but after six tournaments in the first nine years, there will be a four-year gap before the next one in Australia in 2020.

This will be the teams' 14th meeting in T20 cricket. West Indies have won nine, including all four at the World T20. No team has beaten England more in T20 history than those nine wins by the West Indies

Chris Gayle has scored more T20 runs against England than any other player (345)

England captain Eoin Morgan has been out first ball in two of his last three innings

West Indies captain Darren Sammy has scored just six runs in two innings and bowled only once in the tournament

Four of David Willey's wickets in this event have been openers, the most of any bowler

50% of balls bowled by Ben Stokes in overs 16-20 have been dots, more than anyone else in the event to have bowled more than three overs in that period

Four of the five T20 finals have been won by the side winning the toss

Two of those finals have won by the side batting first, three by chasing teams, including England in 2010

Eden Gardens has been staging international cricket since 1934 and hosted its first T20 international in 2011.

The highest score made there in a T20 was the 201-5 Pakistan posted against Bangladesh in this event.

Bangladesh hold the unwanted lowest-score record, with their 70 against New Zealand last month.

Neither finalist has yet played at the ground in this tournament, England playing all their games to date in Mumbai and Delhi, West Indies playing at Mumbai, Bangalore and Nagpur.

Temperatures are expected to be around 31 celsius for the final, which is a night game, beginning at 19:00 local time, with a capacity crowd of 66,000 expected.

Routes to the final:

ENGLAND

lost to West Indies by six wickets, Mumbai: Eng 182-6; WI 183-4 (18.1 overs)

beat South Africa by two wickets, Mumbai: SA 229-4; Eng 230-8 (19.4 overs)

beat Afghanistan by 15 runs, Delhi: Eng 142-7; Afg 127-9 (20 overs)

beat Sri Lanka by 10 runs, Delhi: Eng 171-4; SL 161-8 (20 overs)

Semi-final:

Beat New Zealand by seven wickets, Delhi: NZ 153-8; Eng 159-3 (17.1 overs)

WEST INDIES

beat England by six wickets, Mumbai

beat Sri Lanka by seven wickets, Bangalore: SL 122-9; WI 127-3 (18.2 overs)

beat South Africa by three wickets, Nagpur: SA 122-8; WI 123-7 (19.4 overs)

lost to Afghanistan by six runs, Nagpur: Afg 123-7; WI 117-8 (20 overs)

Semi-final:

beat India by six wickets, Mumbai: Ind 192-2; WI 196-3 (19.4 overs)

Line-ups:

England (probable): A Hales, J Roy, J Root, E Morgan (capt), J Buttler (wkt), B Stokes, M Ali, C Jordan, D Willey, A Rashid, L Plunkett.

West Indies (probable): J Charles, C Gayle, M Samuels, L Simmons, A Russell, D Bravo, D Ramdin (wkt), D Sammy (capt), C Brathwaite, S Badree, S Benn.

Umpires: 

R Tucker (Aus), K Dharmasena (SL).

Third umpire: M Erasmus (SA)

Match referee: R Madugalle (Ind).

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Yorkshire Rows Reach Antigua

After almost 68 days across 3,000 miles, a crew of four Yorkshire women have become the oldest all-female crew to cross the Atlantic.

The Yorkshire Rows – Niki Doeg, Helen Butters, both 45, Frances Davies, 47, and Janette Benaddi, 51 – began their journey at La Gomera in the Canary Islands on 20 December and arrived in Antigua on Thursday after 67 days, five hours and two minutes.

The crew, who all have children in the same school, travelled through a hurricane and had to row naked at one point after running out of clothes. They were raising money for a cancer care centre to be built in Leeds.

“It feels like a dream to have arrived,” Benaddi, the skipper, told BBC. “This race truly deserves to be called the world’s toughest row – it felt like we were battling against the ocean and we are so proud to have achieved something that we originally thought was way beyond our capabilities.

“Less than 100 women have rowed an ocean and now we as four mums have added to that and achieved a world record. What an incredible feeling to share as four best friends.”

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Renegade Gayle Ends Bash with Rant

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Chris Gayle has come out swinging in a long social media rant following the end of a controversial stint in the Big Bash League.

Gayle’s season with the Melbourne Renegades was embroiled in controversy surrounding his sideline interview with television reporter Mel McLaughlin.

The 36-year-old was fined $10,000 by the Renegades for his interview with McLaughlin, which he described as a “simple joke” but Cricket Australia chief James Sutherland deemed “completely out of line”.

During a 4 January match, Gayle asked McLaughlin if she wanted to go out for a drink before adding “don’t blush baby”.

On Tuesday, the powerful Jamaican fired a parting shot in an Instagram post aimed at “the haters” and those who failed to publicly defend him.

Former England Test player and BBL commentator Andrew Flintoff said Gayle had made himself “look like a bit of a chop” in a tweet following the interview with McLaughlin.

'He does it to humiliate': Fox Sports journalist Neroli Meadows unloads on Chris Gayle

Former Australian Test opener Chris Rogers said Gayle had set a bad example for the Sydney Thunder’s young players when the pair both played with the franchise, while allrounder Shane Watson said he expected the behaviour.

The West Indian ended his stint with the Renegades on Monday night when he equalled the world record for the fastest Twenty20 half-century, reaching the milestone from just 12 balls against the Adelaide Strikers.

In a video and audio media release issued by the Renegades on Tuesday, Gayle said he wanted to return to play again in the BBL.

“Definitely – I have always got a soft spot for Australia. And the fans here have been very supportive. They have been really, really tremendous,” he said.

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Renegade Gayle Equals Run Record

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Chris Gayle smashed fifty from 12 balls for the Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash League contest with Adelaide Strikers on Monday to match India’s Yuvraj Singh’s record for the fastest half-century in Twenty20 cricket.

Gayle scored 27 runs from the first over, bowled by the 21-year-old Greg West in only his second T20 match, and hit the last four deliveries for six. Gayle reached 50 from the bowling off Travis Head, although it was the spinner who eventually dismissed the 36-year-old for a 17-ball 56, with the opener caught by wicketkeeper Tim Ludeman from a top edge.

Yuvraj achieved his feat against England in a group match at the inaugural World Twenty20 in 2007 in South Africa, hitting six sixes in one over from Stuart Broad.

Gayle’s thrilling display comes a couple of weeks after he was caught up in a sexism row having asked female reporter Mel McLaughlin out for dinner while she interviewed him following the Renegades’ victory over the Hobart Hurricanes.

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Ex Guatemala Football Chief Arrested

Police in Guatemala have arrested a former head of the country's football federation as part of a major US corruption investigation into the sport's world governing body, Fifa.

The suspect, Brayan Jimenez, had been on the run since last month, when the US issued an arrest warrant for 16 Latin American football officials.

He was detained at a block of flats in the capital, Guatemala City.

His lawyer said he would not fight the extradition request.

"He will prove his innocence in the courts of the United States," said his lawyer, Francisco Garcia Gudiel.

'Six-digit bribe'

Mr Jimenez was head of the Guatemalan Football Federation (Fedefut) from 2010 until last year.

US prosecutors say he and former Fedefut Secretary-General Hector Trujillo took a "six-digit bribe" to sell the television rights to qualifying matches for the 2018 World Cup.

Mr Trujillo was arrested in the US last month.

A younger-looking Brayan Jimenez served in the Fifa Fair Play Committee

The US has now charged some 40 individuals and entities as part of the Fifa investigation.

The Department of Justice said it had asked for the arrests because the alleged offences were "agreed and prepared in the United States" and payments were also processed via American banks.

The first charges, against 14 Fifa executives and associates, were brought in May. Some people have already been convicted.

Many others were indicted in the following months.

On 3 December, US prosecutors announced new charges focusing on corruption at the South American Football Confederation and Concacaf, which governs the game in North and Central America as well as the Caribbean.

The football executives were accused of receiving bribes worth millions of dollars connected to Copa America tournaments.

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Windies Chris Faces Another Gayle

West Indian cricketer Chris Gayle, who on Tuesday half heartedly apologised and was fined for inappropriate remarks he made to a female TV interviewer, is now facing accusations he exposed himself to another woman.

The big-hitting left-hander received an angry backlash for his comments and was branded “disrespectful and simply inappropriate” after he asked journalist Mel McLaughlin for a drink in a live television interview during a Big Bash League clash in Australia.

He said to her: “I wanted to see your eyes for the first time, hopefully we can win this game and then we can have a drink after as well. Don’t blush, baby.”

Gayle, 36, offered a half-hearted apology to McLaughlin, saying his remarks were meant as a light-hearted joke. However, the BBL took a dim view of his comments and fined him £5,000.

Now it has been alleged that he exposed himself to a female member of staff attached to the West Indies squad during last year’s World Cup in Sydney.

The Sydney Morning Herald claims that the woman went into the West Indies dressing room, believing it was empty, as she looked for a sandwich. She encountered Gayle and another player, and the former West Indies captain reportedly allowed his towel to drop, revealing his genitals, before saying: “Are you looking for this?”

She complained to the West Indies management, who have so far declined to comment.

Gayle’s own management team have also not yet given a comment.

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Test Cricket Crowds Given Big Bash

The Big Bash League’s dominance over the summer of Test cricket has been highlighted with another crowd record tumbling.

Defending champions Perth Scorchers announced on Friday their remaining two home fixtures had sold out, making them the first franchise to sell out their full four-match regular season home match schedule in the BBL’s five-year history.

It means the four games at the 20,000-capacity Waca Ground will dwarf the crowd figures from the drawn Test match against New Zealand played at the venue in November.

Only 40,288 people turned out across the five days of the Test, at an average of just over 8,000 fans per day. In comparison, a combined 39,762 fans have already attended the Scorchers’ opening two BBL home games.

It is also anticipated that Saturday’s Melbourne derby between the Stars and Renegades could outdraw the 53,389 who attended the opening day of the Boxing Day Test against the out-matched Windies last week.

Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland has already acknowledged that the BBL has impacted on Test crowds.

“Look, the numbers would indicate that, yes,” Sutherland told ABC Grandstand recently. “The Big Bash League has changed the dynamic a lot, and let’s be open, all over the country it has cannibalised the demand for international cricket.”

Average BBL crowd figures have risen to 22,597 across the 13 matches so far this summer, more than the single-day attendance numbers at any of the Brisbane, Perth and Hobart Tests this year.

The lowest crowd figure at any of this summer’s BBL matches is the 14,868 for the Hobart-Brisbane match, which is still just 475 fans shy of the total attendance across the three days of the Hobart Test match.

CA has already hinted at the inclusion of day-night pink-ball Tests at the Gabba and Blundstone Arena next year to attract more fans, however there is no chance of a shift in Perth given the time zone difference to the east coast.

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Pattinson Five Thumps Windies

Paceman James Pattinson took five for 27 to fire Australia to a thumping first Test victory 

over West Indies by an innings and 121 runs with more than two days to spare at Hobart on Saturday.

Australia enforced the follow-on after dismissing the tourists for 223 inside the first five overs of the third day at Bellerive Oval, and completed the rout by skittling West Indies for 148 in their second innings.

It was Australia’s second largest victory in 114 Tests against the Caribbean islanders and gave the hosts a 1-0 lead in a three-match series, which concludes with Tests in Melbourne and Sydney.

Australia, who could return to the top of the Test rankings with a 3-0 series sweep, made 583 for four declared in their first innings on the back of a world record fourth wicket stand of 449 between Adam Voges and Shaun Marsh.

Darren Bravo scored a fine 108 in the first innings and Kraigg Brathwaite notched 94 in the second but questions will continue to be asked about the long-term future of West Indies Test cricket after an otherwise hapless display.

Despite the poverty of the opposition, Australia will take positives from the match-turning performance from their inexperienced middle order, as well as from Pattinson’s fiery and productive spell in eight overs on Saturday.

Josh Hazlewood (4-45) took the lead as the hosts wrapped up West Indies’ innings with only 16 runs added to their overnight tally of 207-6 on a chilly morning in Tasmania.

It was Pattinson, playing his first Test in 18 months in place of the injured Mitchell Starc, who provided the spearhead after Steve Smith had become the first Australia skipper in six years to enforce the follow-on on home soil.

Opener Rajendra Chandrika lasted just three balls before departing with his third duck in four Test innings before Bravo (4) earned the questionable distinction of being dismissed twice in the same session.

Two overs later and Pattinson sent back Marlon Samuels (3) and Jermaine Blackwood (0) in successive balls, giving Australia a hat-trick chance for the second time in one day.

Pattinson was unable to convert and it was all-rounder Mitchell Marsh who next took advantage of the feeble batting, having Denesh Ramdin caught for four off his first delivery.

Jason Holder put on 30 with Brathwaite before Pattinson returned to claim his fourth five-wicket haul in Tests, the West Indies skipper flicking his 32nd delivery down the leg side and into the gloves of Peter Nevill for 17.

Nevill was again in action to dismiss Kemar Roach (3) off Hazlewood and the right-arm paceman got his sixth wicket of the match when Jerome Taylor holed out in the deep for 12.

Brathwaite was the final wicket to fall, bowled by Hazlewood (3-33), as West Indies pace bowler Shannon Gabriel did not bat in either innings after injuring his ankle on day one.

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