St John’s [Antigua], March 1 (ANI): Cricket West Indies (CWI) selection panel on Monday named 26 players to participate in a “Best v Best” four-day practice match in preparation for the upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka.
The match will be held on March 8-11 at the Coolidge Cricket Ground (CCG) ahead of the two-Test matches which will be played at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, in Antigua.
Several members of the West Indies Test team which beat Bangladesh in the recent series have been named for the match, while other recent Test squad players are participating in the three-match ODI series from March 10-14.
“The ‘Best v Best’ game is firstly part of our preparation for the Test series against Sri Lanka. It gives the players who performed well in the last West Indies Championship an opportunity to showcase their skills, playing against each other, which we expect to be very competitive and put forward a case for themselves. It is a chance to raise their stock and show what they can do,” CWI Lead Selector Roger Harper said in an official release.
“The Test series win in Bangladesh was a real joy to watch. The results were brilliant, but it was the passion, the application, and the determination, as well as the team spirit that were exactly what we wanted to see. It was most encouraging to see everyone pulling together and working hard for each other and enjoying each other’s success. I think the team performed much better than many people thought they were capable of doing. I am really looking forward to seeing the team move forward and build from here,” he added.
SQUAD A: Kraigg Brathwaite (captain), Shamarh Brooks, Rahkeem Cornwall, Joshua Da Silva, Derval Green, Keon Harding, Shimron Hetmyer, Kavem Hodge, Paul Palmer Jr, Veerasammy Permaul, Kieran Powell, Preston McSween, Jayden Seales.
SQUAD B: Roston Chase (captain), Sunil Ambris, Nkrumah Bonner, Jermaine Blackwood, John Campbell, Jahmar Hamilton, Chemar Holder, Imran Khan, Marquino Mindley, Shayne Moseley, Raymon Reifer, Nial Smith, Jomel Warrican.
Kemar Roach and Shannon Gabriel have been rested for this match due to their workload management. The Test series between West Indies and Sri Lanka will begin on March 21.
Before the Test series, West Indies and Sri Lanka will be locking horns in three T20Is, beginning March 3. (ANI)

Wellington [New Zealand], March 1 (ANI): New Zealand Cricket (NZC) on Monday announced that the final T20I of the five-match series between New Zealand and Australia has been shifted to Wellington from Bay Oval and it will now be going ahead behind closed doors.
The final T20I of the three-match series between New Zealand women (White Ferns) and England women will also be played in Wellington behind closed doors.
“The final BlackCaps v Australia and White Ferns v England T20 double-header, scheduled for the Bay Oval on Sunday March 7, will now be played on the same date and time at Sky Stadium in Wellington. The change has been forced on NZC because of logistical complications arising from the transfer of this Friday’s second double-header from Auckland to Wellington,” the NZC said in an official statement.
The current Alert Level 2 protocols in Wellington mean all three double-headers – on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, will be played behind closed doors,” it added.
Earlier, it was confirmed that the upcoming third and fourth T20Is between New Zealand and Australia will be played behind closed doors. The first and second T20I between New Zealand Women (White Ferns) and England Women will also be played behind closed doors following the change to New Zealand’s alert levels with an eye on the Covid-19 pandemic.
On Saturday, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that Auckland would return to level 3 for seven days. As a result, no sport can be held at level 3, reported stuff.co.nz.
The fourth T20I between New Zealand-Australia and White Ferns-England was to be played in Auckland, but as per the new guidelines, the matches were relocated to Wellington.
The rest of the country has moved to alert level 2 and the restrictions will last for a period of seven days. While announcing the new restrictions, Ardern said that the lockdown was needed due to there being no immediate transmission link between the new mystery case and the latest Auckland cluster. (ANI)

Sheffield [UK], March 1 (ANI): Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool finally managed to break its losing streak in the Premier League 2020-21 season as the side defeated Sheffield United 2-0 on Monday.
The defending Premier League champions are now at the sixth spot in the standings with 43 points from 26 games and the side is just one point behind fifth-placed Chelsea.
The first-half between Liverpool and Sheffield United saw no goals being scored and the honours were level at the halfway mark.
However, in the second half, Liverpool picked up its intensity and they were immediately rewarded as Curtis Jones got among the scoring sheets to give Liverpool a 1-0 lead.
In the 64th minute, Sheffield’s Kean Bryan registered an own goal and this ended up giving Liverpool a 2-0 lead.
No more goals were registered and as a result, the visitors walked away with a 2-0 victory to end their losing streak in the ongoing premier English football competition.
In the entire match, Liverpool had eight shots on target as compared to two of Sheffield United.
Ball possession was also dominated by Liverpool as they held on to the ball for 61 per cent of the game as compared to Sheffield’s 39 per cent.
Liverpool will next take on Chelsea in the Premier League on Thursday, March 4. (ANI)