Russell dazzles in heroic effort but Knights miss out on title

TORONTO, Canada, CMC – Recovering West Indies allrounder Andre Russell snatched a four-wicket haul and narrowly missed out on a half-century, before facing and then bowling a nervejangling super-over, as the Winnipeg Hawks edged his Vancouver Knights in a dramatic Global T20 Canada final here Sunday.

Opting out of the recent T20 series against India after a flare up of his chronic left knee injury, the 31-year-old Jamaican showed little sign of discomfort in a Herculean performance which nearly got Knights over the line.

Sending down his medium pace, he claimed four for 29 from his complement of four overs as Hawks, sent in at the CAA Centre, reached 192 for eight off their 20 overs.

United Arab Emirates opener Shaiman Anwar slammed 90 from 45 balls with eight fours and seven sixes, posting a frenetic 73 off 36 balls for the first wicket with Australian Chris Lynn (37) before adding a further 81 for the third wicket with South African JP Duminy (33).

Russell removed Lynn in his first over – the sixth of the innings – and returned to prise out Sunny Sohal for one in the eight over for one.

He returned to take his last two wickets in the penultimate over when he knocked over Kaleem Sana (5) and Umair Ghani (0) in successive deliveries.

Former West Indies batsman Dwayne Smith lasted just two balls for his one before missing one from speedster Ali Khan (2-30) and having his stumps rattled.

In reply, Knights got a top score of 53 from captain Shoaib Malik while Russell blasted a sensational unbeaten 46 off just 20 balls to propel the Knights.

Saad Bin Zafar (27), South Africa batsman Rassie van der Dussen (23) and Daniel Sams (21) all chipped in with valuable contributions.

However, Knights still found themselves slumping at 53 for four in the eighth over after West Indies allrounder and captain Rayad Emrit (2-37) removed both openers cheaply with his new-ball spell.

Shoaib then came to his side’s rescue in an 86-run, fifth wicket stand with Bin Zafar before Russell arrived to dominate a 53-run, sixth wicket partnership with Bin Zafar.

Arriving at the crease at the end of the 17th over, Russell was sensational in West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell.

belting three fours and five sixes to haul Knights back into contention.

He smashed Emrit for two back-to-back sixes in the next over before single-handedly taking 21 runs from the penultimate over from Dutch pacer Paul van Meekeren.

With 17 runs required from the last over, Russell clobbered two sixes off the first three legitimate deliveries from left-arm pacer Kaleem Sana, but could only manage two runs off the next three balls to tie the game.

In the super-over, Russell hit a six off the first ball from Sana as Knights tallied nine runs but then failed to defend the total with the ball in hand. (Reuters) - Cricket could be included in the Olympics in the future with the 2028 Games in Los Angeles being the earliest it can be staged, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) said yesterday.

The MCC, custodian of the sport’s laws, had its World Cricket Committee (WCC) discuss the inclusion of cricket in multi-sports events at Lord’s on Sunday and yesterday.

Last played in 1900, the sport’s Olympic return has been on the agenda of the International Cricket Council (ICC) but India’s powerful board (BCCI) was not keen on the idea, fearing it might lose its autonomy and be answerable to the country’s Olympic committee.

“There is still much to be done if cricket is to be included in the Olympics, with Los Angeles 2028 the earliest likely opportunity, and the ICC continuing to work internally to align cricket to pursue the sport’s Olympic ambitions,” the WCC said in a statement. However, the BCCI is finally set to come under the ambit of the National Anti-Doping Agency, with its compliance paving the way for their cricket teams to take part in the Olympics and Commonwealth Games.

In June, women’s Twenty20 cricket moved a step closer to featuring in the 2022 Commonwealth Games after being nominated by organisers for its potential inclusion in Birmingham.

Cricket has not featured in the Commonwealth Games since its maiden appearance in 1998 when the South African men’s team won the gold medal in Kuala Lumpur.

“The WCC is pleased to see that Women’s T20 Cricket is likely to be included at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, having supported this in their last meeting in March,” it added.

“Cricket is also due to return to the Asian Games at Hangzhou 2022, likely again to be in T20 format. Including cricket at Hangzhou 2022 is the perfect opportunity to showcase the sport to the market in China.”