Cricket

Vanuatu will enter ICC WCL Div 4 for the first time in 2018 after previously making it to Division 5 on three separate occasions in 2008, 2016 & 2017. 

The date for the event has been slated for Saturday the 28th April to Saturday the 5th of May 2018.

The claims by Fairfax Media were not true, a jury in Sydney ruled on Monday.

Massage therapist Leanne Russell had told the hearing that Gayle exposed himself to her in Sydney in 2015.

However, Gayle successfully argued the incident did not happen. It is unclear how much he will seek in damages.

"I am a good man. I am not guilty," Gayle told reporters outside Sydney's King Street court complex.

"I am glad the public actually get a chance to read into things and they can hear what actually transpired."

The Melanesians finished fourth in Division 5 last year after being a late call-up to the competition and earned another shot at promotion after winning the East Asia Pacific regional qualifying tournament in February.

RNZI reports eight teams are competing for two promotion places in Benoni, South Africa, with Vanuatu up against Jersey, Ghana and Germany in pool play once the tournament gets underway at the weekend.

Head coach Shane Dietz said they had learnt a lot from their experience last year.

The road to India 2023 sees fierce competition to progress up the ladder with eight teams representing five regions. Cayman Islands, Germany, Ghana, Guernsey, Jersey, Italy, Qatar and Vanuatu will all take part in the six day competition hosted in Benoni, South Africa.

27 Associate Members battled it out in the 2017 regional qualifiers with one team from each region qualifying to Division 5. Two teams from the tournament will qualify for Division 4 to be played in mid-2018 and five teams will be relegated to the regional divisions.

The Garamuts backed up their day one win over Fiji with a mammoth 212 run win over a young Samoan side.

Opener and player of the match Igo John Mahuru (98 off 139 balls) led from the top to bring up the tournament’s first half century, unfortunately falling just short of his hundred after trying to go long down the ground.

He was ably supported by his captain Vagi Karaho (41 off 37 balls) and Kevau Tau (32* off 34 balls) as PNG set an imposing total of 295 from their 50 overs.

The sport has only featured in one Olympics so far, the 1900 Games in Paris, but the International Cricket Council (ICC) is understood to be close to announcing a formal application to join the programme for 2024.

Earlier this year, ICC chief executive David Richardson told Press Association Sport a decision would have to be reached by the end of July and the "time was right" for cricket to make a concerted push for Olympic inclusion.

Dean Elgar, Hashim Amla and returning captain Faf du Plessis all brought up half-centuries, with the home attack forced to toil for their wickets before the Proteas declared on 343-9.

Alastair Cook had a first-ball lbw dismissal by Morne Morkel overturned on review as England began an improbable attempt at what would be a world-record chase of 474 and, even though he and Keaton Jennings nervily reached one without loss at the close, Joe Root's side are likely to head to The Oval at 1-1 in the four-match series.

Fakhar capitalised on a lucky escape to strike a superb 114 and lift Pakistan to a commanding total of 4-338 and fast bowler Amir ripped out India's top three batsmen before the defending champions subsided to 158 all out.

Pakistan had come into the tournament as the lowest-ranked team and lost heavily to India in their opening group match but they beat South Africa and Sri Lanka to make the semi-finals where they knocked out hosts England.

The result saw the Tigers claim their first triumph over the Black Caps outside of Bangladesh and also served as a dose of revenge for last week's four-wicket loss against the same side. 

Fittingly, Mahmudullah (46) struck the winning runs in a contest that saw him surpass 3,000 runs in one-day internationals, as Bangladesh enjoyed a pre-ICC Champions Trophy morale boost.

After the early loss of Luke Ronchi (2), New Zealand upped the run rate as captain Tom Latham (84) and Neil Broom (63) compiled a 133-run partnership.

PNG’s captain Pauke Siaka (33 runs and 1 for 7) put in a player of the match performance to lead her team to their third victory.

For Vanuatu Judy Avok’s 47 was the highlight of their batting innings as they made 8 for 81 from their 20 overs.

Ravini Oa (2 for 10), Sibona Jimmy (2 for 13) and Kaia Arua (2 for 13) all picked up two wickets for PNG.

With two days of play to come, Samoa and PNG remain the teams to beat with the winner most likely to be decided in their final match on Thursday.