Cricket

Chasing 378 for victory, England got off to a flying start before the loss of three quick wickets forced them on to the back foot.

Root, batting on 76, combined with Bairstow in a 150-run stand for the unbroken fourth wicket to put England's chase back on track.

England were 259-3 at stumps needing 119 for a series-levelling victory.

England's highest successful run chase came in 2019 when they reached a 359-run target in an Ashes test against Australia on the back of Stokes's brilliant unbeaten century.

Bairstow, whose batting heroics was key to ensuring England won the second test, picked up where he left off from Trent Bridge as he brought up his half century in 30 balls and then took England to victory on the last day with an unbeaten 71, finishing it off with a six.

A 111-run partnership with Joe Root, who was 86 not out, saw England reach the competitive victory target of 296 as they completed their first clean sweep of a home series in over a decade.

Chasing a token target of 28 in their second innings, West Indies reached it without loss, captain Kraigg Brathwaite hitting the winning runs to seal a 1-0 series triumph.

It was a stunning result for the home team after being outplayed in the first two drawn tests, and ensured another barren England trip to the Caribbean.

England have only one series win in the West Indies in the past half-century, a 3-0 victory in 2003-04.

With the ecstatic home fans dancing in the stands, the England players shook hands with Brathwaite and John Campbell.

She has seen her side break through social barriers, made them a top 30 team in the world and the highest-ranked sporting side in Vanuatu, overcome personal challenges and lived in other countries alien to her, all things nerve-racking to any person.

However, it was the Holiday Inn Resort Vanuatu National Men’s Team that made her most nervous.

New Zealand made 164 for six in Jaipur, which India reached with two balls to spare.

Indian captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and decided to field first and had immediate success with Daryl Mitchell dismissed for a golden duck.

However Martin Guptil scored 70 and Mark Chapman 63 as they put on 109 for the second wicket.

"We were probably ten runs short at the end, we didn't quite get there in the end but that can happen in cricket and the way we pulled it back with the ball was a fantastic effort," said Guptil.

  The ICC says its "primary target" is being added to the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.

It would end a 128-year wait for the sport to be included, following its only previous appearance in the 1900 Games in Paris.

The sport will feature as a women's event in the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

ICC chair Greg Barclay says the "sport is united behind this bid" and that the Olympics are part of cricket's "long-term future".

"We have more than a billion fans globally and almost 90 per cent of them want to see cricket at the Olympics," said Barclay.

Jamal Vira was feeling a mix of nerves and excitement in his first outing in the Vanuatu T10 Blast. The Vanuatu Cricket Association (VCA) had ambitious plans to broadcast and livestream the tournament, and the men’s team wicket-keeper, who turned out for Ifira Sharks in the debut edition of the T10 competition, knew thousands of cricket fans around the world were watching him play in the beautiful Pacific islands. But he wasn’t used to playing to an audience on TV and online, nor were his teammates, and the Sharks were bowled out for 35 in 7.1 overs in Port Vila.    

Cricket is her passion, as it is for many women in Vanuatu - an archipelago across the Coral Sea from Australia, whose population of 307,000 is roughly the same as Nottingham. Its women's T20 team ranks 28th in the world, making it probably the country's most successful sporting side.

Despite that, traditional values have created barriers that have prevented many of Vanuatu's 'mamas' from playing sport - but the Vanuatu Cricket Association (VCA) is trying to change that.

The teams are set to play the third Test match in the ongoing series at the stadium on Wednesday.

The venue, also known as Sardar Patel stadium, in Ahmedabad city of India's western state of Gujarat has been recently rebuilt.

Both teams have won a Test each in the four-match series.

Players from both teams have been training at the newly-built stadium, which can seat 110,000 spectators. But only 55,000 fans will be allowed in the two Tests to be played at the venue due to Covid restrictions.

Kohli had returned home to attend the birth of his daughter after the opening test loss, leaving behind a deflated side who were skittled out for 36 in Adelaide - their lowest innings score in 88 years of test cricket.

Under stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane, India levelled the series in Melbourne and drew in Sydney before triumphing in Brisbane to retain the Border-Gavaskar trophy.

"WHAT A WIN!!! Yessssss. To everyone who doubted us after Adelaide, stand up and take notice," Kohli tweeted after India's three-wicket victory at the Gabba.