West Indies vs South Africa T20 series is level 1-1  at the moment. Tonight one of the teams will go ahead as the 3rd T20 takes place.  West Indies will want to improve on their batting performance from the last game as they look to regain the momentum they had from the first game. They might look to make a change to strengthen the batting by bringing in  Lendl Simmons.  South Africa on the other hand will want to improve on their batting in the middle overs and their power-hitting towards the end of the innings. Also, they have to find a way to include an all-rounder to balance the side better and give themselves a 6th bowling option. West Indies Probable XI: 1. Evin Lewis, 2. Andre Flecher, 3. Chris Gayle, 4 Lendl Simmons/ Nicholas Pooran, 5. Kieron Pollard, 6. Andre Russel, 7. Jason Holder, 8. Fabian Allen, 9. Dwayne Bravo, 10. Obed McCoy, 11. Kevin Sinclair.  South Africa Probable XI: 1 Quinton de Kock, 2. Reeza Hendricks, 3. Temba Bavuma, 4. Rassie Va...

  The Euro 2021 Round of 16 will Start tomorrow and there are a few interesting matches to watch. Wales vs Denmark will be a very interesting contest to watch as well as Belgium vs Portugal and England vs Germany and Spain vs Croatia. These 4 matches are going to top contest and could go either way as all 8 teams are very strong and have the potential to win the tournament.  The other 4 matches might have one team heavily favoured winning but you never know any team can win on the day if they put in their best performance  These are my predictions for the Round of 16  These were my thoughts on Euro 2021 Round of 16  Writer : Ebrahim Yusuf Omar 

  The Inaugural test championship came to an end with New Zealand being crowned champions of the ultimate format of the game. With rain washing out 2 days of play the reserve day came into play and it was the decisive day as to who would be walking away as the champions of the ultimate test. New Zealand came into Day 6 requiring 6 wickets to bowel India and then come out and chase the score India put on the board. Their bowlers came and stuck to their plans and bowled relentlessly and manage to bowl India out for 170. This meant India had a lead of 138.  New Zealand came out to bat the last 4 and half hours of the match requiring 139 to win from 53 overs. The New Zealand Openers started steadily before R. Ashwin dismissed both of them to give India some hope but the experienced pair of captain Williamson and Taylor made sure they saw their team over the line to be crowned Inaugural test champions. The scorecard looked like this  India 217  92.1 overs A. Rahane 49 ( 1...

  South Africa bowled West Indies out on Day 4 to complete a 158 run win and also finish in 5th in the World Test Championship.  The South African victory was guided by the history-making Maharaj who took a hat trick and became only the second South African player to take a test hat trick. The last being 60 years ago by Geoff Griffin against England in 1960. Maharaj triple strike put South Africa well on the way to victory and they came out after lunch a wrapped the game up as Maharaj got his 6th test 5 wicket haul. The South African bowlers were once again relentless with their line and lengths and they kept the pressure on the West Indies batsman. This Victory sealed the series 2-0 and also a great start to a new era under captain Elgar.  The final Scorecard looked like this  South Africa 298  112.4 overs  De Kock 96 ( 162)                                      ...

  The West Indies fought back in the 2nd test but they still have a huge task of chasing 324 as South African Middle lower order with Van der Dussen manage to take South Africa to 174 all out a lead of 323.  West Indies bowlers were very good at the start of the day but fell away a bit as the South African lower order managed to fight back and get South Africa to a total which they can be confident they can defend.  South Africa will be disappointed with the performance of their top order and middle-order batsman and will want them to come good before their next series which is against India. After that, they have Australia and New Zealand and England as well.  The start of the domestic season will be very important for the South African batsman to rediscover so form and also confidence before they face India. The Scorecard looks like this  South Africa   298  112.4 overs De Kock 96 (162)                ...

  Day 3 of the world test championship ended with New Zealand in control as they bowled India out for 217 and then went to stumps on 101 /2  Kyle Jamieson was the chief destroyer as he took 5 wickets as New Zealand took the last 7 Indian wickets for 71 runs.   The Indian batsman struggled against the pace and bounce of the New Zealand bowlers and also played some unnecessary shots which cost them their wickets. The Indian bowlers also looked a little off. The only threatening bowler was Ishant and Ashwin to an extent. New Zealand will be happy with their day's work as they managed to reduce the deficit to 106 runs. The Indians will know they have a lot of work to do to come back in this test match.  The scorecard looks like this  India 217  92.1 overs A. Rahane 49 (117)                                                    ...

  Tonight is the WWE Hell in a Cell pay per view. these are my predictions as there are 6 matches on the card. Match 1  This match should the end of Lilly so I think Alexa and Shayna should have a great match  Winner: Alexa Bliss  Match 2  This is a match that could tell the show and it's going to be a very good match if given time  Winner: Kevin Owens Match 3  This match is another that could steal the show as both these guys are very talented. I think this is the last of their feud. Winner: Cesaro  Match 4  This should be the last match of this feud and I think these will put on a great match and they have had a much better build to this match. Winner: AND still Smackdown women's champion Binaca Belair  Match 5  This is a match that has had a very terrible build and also I think this should also be the end of this feud. Winner: AND still Raw Women's champion Rea Ripley  Match 6 This should be the main event and also the end o...

  South Africa took control of the 2nd test after an excellent inning from De Kock. South Africa resumed the day on 218/5 went to be bowled out for 298. De Kock continued his great form as he scored 96 of 162 and he with Mulder and then Maharaj continued to score steadily before West indies got a few wickets in quick succession to bowl South Africa out. Lunch was taken straight away. West Indies came out to bat after lunch and their batting order once again failed to put a performance together as the South African bowlers put in an excellent performance to bowl them out.  The South African bowlers were relentless as they kept on asking questions of the West Indies batsman and the West Indies had no answer  The Day ended with the fall of the last West Indian batsman wicket. Tomorrow South Africa will come out to bat and extend the lead that they have. The scorecard for the match looks like this  South Africa 298  112.4 overs Q. de Kock 96 (162)    ...

 The world test championship final finally started after the first day was washed out by rain. New Zealand won the toss and chose to bowl.  India got off to a great start as the openers put together a partnership of 62 before India lost both openers to go to lunch on 69/2.  During the Afternoon we had a stop-start as play stopped a few times due to rain and eventually the day ended with India losing one more wicket as their captain and vice-captain were still standing strong. the scorecard looked like this  India 146/3 64.4 overs V.Kohli  44* (124)                                           K. Jamieson 1-14 (14)                                  R. Sharma 34 (68)                                ...

  The 2nd test between South Africa and West Indies started yesterday and the West Indies won the toss and chose to bowl first.  The West Indies made a good start as they restricted South Africa to 37/3. before South Africa fought back with a partnership of 87 between Elgar and Verreynne and then a partnership of 79 between Elgar and de Kock.  The first session of the day belonged to West Indies as they went to Lunch having reduced the visitors to 44/3. In that session, South Africa lost the wickets of Markram, Peterson and Van der Dussen.  The second session went to South Africa as they scored 81 runs for the loss of the wicket of Verreynne. Elgar and Verreynne steadily built their partnership as they took their team out of trouble. The third session also went to South Africa as they scored a further 93 runs for the loss of Elgar's wicket as they ended what turned to be a good day for them on 218/5. Elgar and De Kock batted very well together as they pushed South Af...

  The inaugural World Test Championship final gets on the way tomorrow in Southampton and both teams look ready. India have announced their starting Xi this evening. New Zealand on the other hand have a decision to make to play an all pace attack or drop a seamer for a spinner. I think they will go with a spinner that's why I think the team will look like this. New Zealand Probable XI: 1. Tom Latham, 2. Devon Conway, 3. Kane Williamson, 4. Ross Taylor, 5. Henry Nicholls, 6. Bj Watling, 7. Kyle Jamieson, 8, Tim Southee, 9. Neil Wagner, 10. Ajaz Patel, 11. Trent Boult India XI: 1. Rohit Sharma, 2. Shubman Gill, 3. Cheteshwar Pujara, 4. Virat Kohli, 5. Ajinkya Rahane, 6. Rishabh Pant, 7. Ravindra Jadeja, 8. R, Ashwin, 9. Ishant Sharma, 10. Mohammed Shami, 11. Jasprit Bumrah  These were my predictions on how New Zealand Xi may look for tomorrows game as India have already announced their XI.  Writer : Ebrahim Yusuf Omar 

 The 2nd test between West Indies and South Africa gets on the way tomorrow at the Gros Islet st Lucia Daren Sammy National Stadium. There is a lot at stake here as a win for South Africa gives them a 5th place finish in the world test championship and they will also be able to collect the 200 thousand dollar prize for finishing 5th.  The West Indies could make 2 changes from the 1st test as Bonner is injured so he has been ruled out and Shannon Gabriel could come in in place of Cornwall as they look to add an extra pace bowler. The rest should be the same.  West Indies Probable XI: 1. Kraigg Braithwaite, 2. Shai Hope, 3. Kieran Powell/Darren Bravo, 4. Roston Chase, 5. Kyle Mayers, 6. Jermaine Blackwood, 7. Jason Holder, 8. Joshua Da Silva, 9. Shannon Gabriel/ Rahkeem Cornwall, 10. Kemar Roach, 11. Jayden Seales The Proteas should go unchanged unless Bavuma is fit then we could see him come in for Kyle Verreynne. Proteas Probable XI: 1. Dean Elgar, 2. Aiden Markram, 3. Ke...

 This week Friday the World Test Championships last 2 test matches for the 2019-21 cycle will be played. The final between New Zealand and India and West Indies vs South Africa 2nd test which is the last test match of an official series for the world test championship.  The New Zealand and India match will give us the inaugural winner of the world test championship as the two teams will battle it out in Southampton to crown the best team of the greats format in cricket history. South Africa vs West Indies test match also has high stakes as if South Africa win the second test match they will finish off in 5th position by having a stronger winning percentage as Pakistan who are currently in 5th have a winning percentage of 43.3% and South Africa will have a winning percentage of 44 if they win the second test match.  If West Indies win the second test match then they will finish in 6th and South Africa will drop to 7th. If the match ends in a draw South Africa will finish i...

 SA A ended their successful tour of Zimbabwe as the last unofficial test was called off due to covid19 cases rasing in Zimbabwe. The SA A side won the unofficial One-day series 3-1 and the unofficial test series 1-0.  There were a few shining stars to come out of this tour. The future stars to come out were Zubayr Humza, Ryan Rickelton, Sinethemba Qeshile, Edward Moore, Senuran Muthusamy, Migael Pretorius, Glenton Stuurman, Daryn Dupavillion, Lutho Sipamla, Tony de Zorzi. This proves that SA have a good backup and also their bench strength is as good as the first team. The manner in which they dominated and won each match as they were all one-sided affairs shows that South Africa are not far from becoming a powerhouse in cricket again. Providing no more political interference and players being awarded on the exceptional performance they put in over the season to get selected for the national side.    The Proteas also started a new era under captain Elgar with a domi...

The Euro 2021 has got off to a good start and after today each team would have played a match. It's going to be interesting to see which teams make it to the round of 16 as the tournament progresses the fight for places are going to be tight.  The teams that come out third will want to be in the best possible position in terms of points and goal difference as this will give them a chance to secure one of the last 4 places available in the round of 16. The top 2 of each group will qualify thus 12 teams of 16 and the last 4 places will be the best four of the teams in the third spot in the group stages.  The main goal of each team will be to claim a top 2 spot thus games in the coming weeks could get very interesting as a third spot finish does not guarantee a place in the round of 16 in actually leaves teams to depend on other teams to help them out and no team wants to be in that position. the round of 16 brack looks like this in the image below  I'm going to predict my t...

  Tonight is NXT Takeover In Your House pay per view and so far there are only 5 matches on the card and these are my predictions. Match 1  This match is going to be an interesting one and could decide the next number, one contender, for the NXT women's championship.  Winner: Zia Lee  Match 2  The winner takes all six-man tag match is going to be a banger as this could be the match of the night if booked right and if each competitor is given enough time to show there skills.  Winner: AND still Noth American and NXT tag champions  Bronson Reed and MSK Match 3  This is a match I'm most excited for as this will be the return of the million-dollar championship and both competitors are very talented and I hope they are given time to show their skills and also this being a ladder match I hope this doesn't disappoint and is a banger like most ladder matches. Winner:   And NEW Million Dollar Champion LA Knight  Match 4  This is going t...

  New Zealand wrapped up the 2nd test-winning by 8 wickets on the morning of the 3rd day. New Zealand put the finishing touches after an excellent 2nd day in which they took an 85 run lead and restricted England to 122/9 as they looked to win their first series in England for the first time since 1999.  On day 2 New Zealand resumed on 229/3 and went on to add a further 159 runs to be bowled out for 388 and also securing an 85 run first-innings lead. They then came out and bowled exceptionally well to restrict England to 122/9 by the end of the day's play. Matt Henry, Neil Wagner and Ajaz Patel went on to run through England batting order as Henry and Wagner both got 3 wickets each and Patel got 2. Boult got 1 to end the day that was fully controlled by New Zealand as they looked certain to wrap up things the next moring and win the series. Day 3 first ball of the morning Boult had Stone caught Blundell to leave New Zealand requiring just 38 to win the match. New Zealand came o...

  Rabada 10th 5 wicket haul lead Proteas to an Innings and 63 runs win over the West Indies in the 1st test to take a 1-0 lead in the 2 match series. Roston Chase was the only West Indies batsman to show some resistance with 62 of 156, this would be the only substantial contribution by a West Indies batsman in this match.  The Proteas bowlers continued from where they left off the previous day as they troubled the batsman regularly with bounce pace and seam movement. Rabada got the first wicket of the day that of Blackwood for 13 of 45 he was caught by Van der Dussen. Next was Holder to go for 4 of 15 bowled by Maharaj and soon after Chase was also bowled by Maharaj for 62 0f 156. From there it was all over for West Indies as Rabada got Cornwall for 0 of 4 he was caught by Van der Dussen and then De Silva was out for 9 of 51 bowled by Rabada and The last wicket to fall was Seales for 3 of 9 he was caught Mulder bowled Nortje. The Scorecard at the End of the Match was Looking l...

  Proteas to full control of the first test match against West Indies as they took a formidable lead on the back of a brilliant century from De Kock and then some excellent bowling from Rabada and Nortje.  Proteas scored 322 to take a lead of 225 and then reduced West Indies to 82-4 in their 2nd innings to as before the close of play on day 2. The Proteas look set to win this match by an innings as the West Indies batsman continued to struggle to tackle the Proteas formidable bowling attack.  Quinton de Kock scored an excellent 141 of 170 deliveries as he pushed the advantage more in the Proteas favour after it looked like they would struggle to cross 250 at one stage.  Rabada and Nortje then took 2 wickets each when the Proteas Came out to Bowl to further strengthen Proteas hold on this match.  Proteas will be happy with their batting performance all though a few top-order batsmen will want to cash in the next opportunity they get. It does not look like they wi...

  Day 2 of the 2nd test went to New Zealand as they took the edge after bowling England out they put in a good batting performance and also look set to take the lead tomorrow if they continue to bat with the positive approach they up until now. England were bowled out for 303 earlier in the day and then New Zealand batted out the rest of the day to end on 229/3. At this point in the match, I feel New Zealand are a bit in front as they look to go for the win. England on the other hand are looking like they are just continuing from where they left off in the last match and trying to secure another draw. They r inexperienced and missing a few key players and I don't think they've got their combinations quite right in this series.  This morning England resumed on 258/7 with Lawrence on 67 and Wood on 16. The Day started well for England as they got to 288 without losing a wicket before they lose 3 for 15 runs to end their innings.  They lost the wickets of Wood for 41 of 80 h...

Day 1 of the 1st test between West Indies and Proteas was dominated by the Proteas as they bundled the West Indies for 97 and went on to take a lead of 31 runs to end the day. Proteas have taken control of this test match although West Indies did have a slight fight back towards the end of the day. The match is still in favour of the Proteas after their bowlers performed exceptionally well.   West Indies will be disappointed with their batting performance after winning the toss and electing to bat first. they were decimated by some excellent bowling from Nortje and Ngidi.  The Proteas will be looking to Van de Dussen and De Kock to extend their first innings lead and put themselves in a commanding position to win the first test by an innings. The first session was won by the Proteas as West Indies went to Lunch on 48/4 as Nortje picked up 3 wickets and Rabada 1. After Lunch Ngidi went on to take 5 wickets and Nortje add 1 more to his telly as they bowled West Indies out f...

  After Day 1 the 2nd test between England and New Zealand is balanced as stumps were called England were 258/7. It is hard to tell who is in control but a good passage of play for either side could move the game in their team's favour.  England had a good start as they played out the first session and went to lunch on 67/0 and it looked like England were setting themselves up for a huge first innings score. New Zealand had different plans as after lunch they picked up 2 wickets and then a further 2 again in the middle session as they put England in a spot of bother. During this session, England managed to score 85/4 as they went to tea on 152/4.  During the session, they lost the wickets of Sibley for 35 of 84 he was caught Blundell bowled Henry and they also lost Crawley for 0 of  4 he was caught Mitchell bowled Wagner, they also got Root for 4 of 7 he was out caught Blundell bowled Henry. Next was Pope to go as he made 19 of 49 and was caught Blundell bowled Patel...

 Tomorrow is the start of the 1st test between West Indies and Proteas at Gros Islet St Lucia Daren Sammy National cricket stadium. Both teams are starting a new era to their cricket history as both have new captains.  There will be a few test caps handed out on both sides ahead of the first test. Conditions have been said to be in favour of seamers so could see both teams go in with 4 seamers. West Indies could give a debut to Jayden Seals who has played just 1 first-class match and the main reason for his debut is an injury to Gabriel. Also, there will be a return for Shai Hope and Kieran Powell to the team.  West Indies Probable XI: 1. Kraig Brathwaite(C), 2. Kieran Powell, 3 Shai Hope, 4. Kyle Mayers, 5. Jermaine Blackwood, 6. Jason Holder, 7. Joshua da Silva, 8. Rakeem Cornwall, 9. Alzarri Joseph, 10. Kemar Roach, 11, Jayden Seales  Proteas will have Keegan Petersen making his Debut in the middle order and he will take the place left vacant by Faf Du Plessis. Wi...

 Tomorrow is the start of the 2nd test between England vs New Zealand at Edgbaston and both teams are going to make a few changes as they continue to apply a rotation  policy to keep players fit throughout the long cricket schedule that both teams have  England will bring in Jack Leach in place of Ollie Robinson who has been suspended after racist comments he made on social media a few years ago resurfaced during the 1st test. Mark Wood could be rested and Ollie Stone could be given a go in his place and Broad/Anderson could be rested as well. The batting order is expected to stay the same. England Probable XI:  1.Rory Burns, 2. Dom Sibley, 3. Zack Crawley, 4. Joe Root(C),5. Ollie Pope, 6. Dan Lawrance, 7 James Bracey, 8. Craig Overton, 9.Jack Leach, 10. Ollie Stone, 11. Stuart Broad/James Anderson New Zealand will be without their captain Williamson who is nursing an elbow injury and also Santner who was struggling with a cut on his index finger during the 1st test....

  The first test has come to an end with it ending in a draw. New Zealand gave it their best shot but the England batsman managed to keep them out and play out a draw. The game did get a little boring during the last session as England were just blocking everything as they were playing for the draw. They never looked like they were going to attempt to win the game at any stage of their innings. New Zealand on the other hand tried their best to get the match to end with a result but the England batsman was just better in executing their plans and batting out the 70 odd overs they were given to survive to get the draw. The match was a good one and if the third day was not lost to rain New Zealand were looking good to win this one and who knows we might have seen a result in the favour of England. As we all know a test keeps changing session by session and from day to day with the conditions varying depending on the weather forecast.  Looking forward to this week the 2nd test get...

 The Afternoon session between England and New Zealand was shared as the draw starts to look like the most likely result. England scored 56 for the loss of 2 wickets during this session. The New Zealand bowlers tried their best but the English batsman kept them out.  New Zealand did get the wickets of Burns who was out for 25 of 81 he was caught Southee bowled Wagner and the other wicket to fall was Crawley for 2 of 25 he was caught Nicholls bowled Southee. When tea was called Sibley was 19 of 83 and Root was 0 of 3. England requires a further 217 to win while New Zealand needs 8 wickets. There are 43 overs of play remaining in the day for either team to try and get a result or play out to a draw. The scorecard looks like this so far New Zealand     378  122.4 overs  D. Conway 200 (347)                                                ...

  The Morning session of day 5 of the first test match saw New Zealand come out with an aggressive approach and look to score as quick as possible to declare and give their bowlers a chance to try and bowl England out.  They managed to add a further 107 runs for the loss of 4 wickets as all the batsman were looking for quick runs. The first wicket to fall this morning was Wagner for 10 of 32. he was out caught Bracey bowled Robinson. The second wicket was Latham who was out LBW to Broad for 36 of 99 and the third was Taylor for 33 of 35 and he was out caught the Bracey bowled Wood and the last wicket to fall was Nicholls for 23 of 36 he was out caught Burns bowled Root.  The session ended with Watling on 15 of 26 and de Grandhomme on 9 of 5. New Zealand was on 169/6. During the lunch break, we came to know that New Zealand has Declared and after Lunch England would come out to chase this score. The scorecard for the match looks like this so far  New Zealand  ...

  England New Zealand has gone ahead with a days play left in the match. England was bowled out for 275 to give New Zealand a lead of 103.  The morning session went to New Zealand as they picked up 4 wickets and conceded 53 runs to reduce England to 164/6 by lunch. Rory Burns and Ollie Robinson were at the crease. In the afternoon session, England added a further 101 runs as they were bowled out. They lost the wickets of Robinson for 42 of 101 he was caught Jamieson bowled Southee, Next was Wood out for 0 of 3 caught Watling bowled Jamieson,  Next Broad was out for 10 of 24 bowled by Wagner and the last Wicket was Burns for 132 of 297 caught Watling bowled Southee. As the last wicket fell Tea was taken  In the evening Session, New Zealand continued to extend their lead as their openers put a partnership of 39 before Conway was out for 23 of 64 bowled, Robinson.  They then lost the wicket of Williamson for 1 of 19  LBW to Robinson. New Zealand then sent in a...

 Smackdown started off with the Tribal chief and Paul Heyman coming to the ring. Roman got on the mic and said he believes in being straight up about how he feels. He said last week he was not happy but after thinking about it over the last week he has had a change of mind about his cousin's tag title opportunity. He then said that Jimmy said last week that they will win so he is saying they better win. He then asks Heyman to get him his cousins.  The Usos come out and Jey hugs Roman. Roman then tells Jimmy it's his turn to acknowledge him. Jimmy says he already did at Hell in a cell and tonight is about becoming 7-time champs. It's about making the family proud. Roman then tells them good luck and that the whole family is watching so better get the job done. Match 1 Mysterios defend the tag championships against the Usos This was a good match as both teams had an equal amount of offence and it ended up with the Mysterios winning after Domnik revered a splash from Jimmy int...