The ECB have announced the addition of an extra Women's T20 series to the international calendar for the summer of 2012. It has confirmed that England Women will play a five-match series against West Indies Women to help the two teams prepare for the ICC Women's World T20 in Sri Lanka less than a fortnight later.
The West Indies Women will play Indian Women in a series of eight internationals between 18th February and 4th March.
Merissa Aguillera and Stafanie Taylor have been retained as captain and vice-captain for the three One-Day Internationals and five Twenty20 Internationals.
Powerful West Indian opening batsman Chris Gayle has signed as a permanent member of the Royal Challengers Bangalore squad ahead of the 2012 season.
Gayle, who had previously represented the Kolkata Knight Riders, was signed during last season's tournament as a replacement for Dirk Nannes and he helped the Challengers reach the final by scoring more runs than any other player in the competition.
Kent have chosen former West Indian captain Jimmy Adams from a list of 50 applicants to be their new head coach for next season. He replaces Paul Farbrace, who resigned his position in September, and has since taken up the role of Second XI coach with Yorkshire.
There can only be one winner of Cricket World's Player Of The Week award on the week that Virender Sehwag broke the record for the highest individual score in a One-Day International.
He hit 219 from 149 balls during his epic knock against the West Indies in the fourth match between the two sides in Indore on Thursday and, if he hadn't been dismissed by Kieron Pollard in the 47th over, may well have taken the record into the territory of those deemed to be unbeatable.
A cricket video for Cricket World TV about the latest cricket news looking at four batsmen - Manoj Tiwary, Kieron Pollard, David Warner and Asad Shafiq all scoring their maiden international centuries over the weekend.
Manoj Tiwary and Kieron Pollard both scored their maiden One-Day International centuries before India won the fifth and final game in Chennai by 34 runs.
Tiwary stroked 104 as India posted 267 for six but Pollard's 119 ensured India were pushed hard before they eventually sealed a 4-1 series win.
Virender Sehwag thumped 25 fours and seven sixes as he set a new world-record score of 219 off just 149 balls in the fourth One-Day International against the West Indies in Indore.
India racked up a national record total of 418 for five - the fourth time they have passed 400 - to set up a 153-run win that handed them an unassailable 3-1 series lead after the West Indies were bowled out for 265 in reply.
It is time to celebrate some of the performances of top cricketers and teams who dazzled their way to stake their claims for the 2011 Cricket World Awards.
Now you can nominate the batsman, bowler, and the team, who you think have produced outstanding performances on the cricket field either with the bat or the ball in the last 12 months.
The West Indies smashed 93 runs in the final seven overs of their innings and Ravi Rampaul then took four wickets to condemn India to a 16-run defeat in the third One-Day International in Ahmedabad.
Darren Sammy and Andre Russell combined in belligerent fashion to haul the tourists up to a score of 260 for five after Marlon Samuels had also made 58 before India were bowled out for 244 in reply.
Moving across the border into India, it was Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma who excelled for the hosts in the second ODI against the West Indies, as they recorded innings of 117 and 90 not out to help India overhaul a testing West Indies total.
For Sharma, this capped off what has been a good week for him following his crucial 72 during a tense and low-scoring first ODI, and is enough to earn him this week's award.
A 163-run partnership for the fourth between Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma drove India to a five-wicket victory over the West Indies in the second One-Day International in Visakhapatnam.
Kohli's majestic 117 and Sharma's fluent unbeaten 90 put India 2-0 up in the five-match series after they allowed the West Indies to post 269 for nine as Ravi Rampaul hit a blistering half-century from number ten in the order.
India left it to their last-wicket pair of Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron to scramble a one-wicket victory over the West Indies in the first One-Day International in Cuttack.
Defending 211 for nine, the West Indies looked to be on the cusp of an unlikely win when Rohit Sharma was dismissed for 72 and Ranganath Vinay Kumar for 18 needing ten runs to win but Aaron and Yadav held their nerve to put India 1-0 up in the series.
Ashwin, a finger spinner in every sense of the word, had been a regular presence in India's limited-overs sides before making his Test debut earlier in the series at the expense of Harbhajan Singh. On top of his unrelenting accuracy, the 25 year-old from Chennai, possesses a high action that enables him to extract surprising bounce from any surface - a key factor in his first innings haul at the Wankhede - as well as having exceptionally long fingers that allow him to bowl his famous carrom ball - a delivery that is best described as a finger-flicked leg-break.
West Indies were crowned as champions of the ICC Women's World Cup Qualifier 2011, after defeating Pakistan by 130 runs. By virtue of winning the tournament, West Indies has risen in the Reliance ICC Women’s ODI Team Rankings - West Indies now sits fifth in the world while Pakistan has risen from eighth to now occupy sixth place.
ICC Women's Cricketer of the Year, West Indies' Stafanie Taylor was named Player of the Tournament. Taylor was the highest run-scorer in the tournament after the 20-year-old from Jamaica amassed 325 runs at an average of 81.25, she also claimed 10 wickets at an average of 9.30.
The third and final Test between India and the West Indies was sensationally drawn with the scores level after India were left with one wicket remaining following an extraordinary final day.
17 wickets fell as the West Indies were bowled out for 134 in their second innings to set India 243 to win. They then closed on 242 for nine as wickets continued to tumble throughout the final session.
Indian batsmen Sachin Tendulkar fell just six runs short of a 100th international century early on day four of the third and final Test against the West Indies in Mumbai.
With his side on 322 for four having lost VVS Laxman for 32, Tendulkar edged Ravi Rampaul to Darren Sammy at slip and left the field much to the disappointment of the huge crowd at the Wankhede Stadium.
Hosts of the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier 2011, Bangladesh, have secured One-Day International status for first time for its women’s side after Salma Khatun’s side beat USA in a low-scoring fixture.
Meanwhile, Ireland defeated fellow European qualifier and ODI side Netherlands, to retain its ODI status – the result means that Netherlands has lost its ODI status for the women’s side. Bangladesh and Ireland will now face-off on Saturday in the 5th/6th play-off for the tournament at BKSP* 2.
It is from the enthralling second Test between South Africa and Australia that this week's Cricket World Player of the Week comes. Patrick Cummins, on his Test debut no less, took six for 79 in the second innings to give his side a chance of victory and of levelling the two-match series against the hosts South Africa. That followed his economical haul of one for 38 from 15 overs in the first innings and helped him emerge as Australia's most impressive bowler.
West Indies and South Africa maintained its unbeaten runs in the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier 2011 (WWCQ) in Dhaka as the sides won both of its final rounds of group matches at the tournament.
By virtue of topping its groups the two sides have now qualified for the ICC Women’s World Cup 2013 and have also retained its ODI statuses.
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