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Brian Vitori, the Zimbabwe left-arm pacer, could make a return to competitive cricket this Friday after six months on the sidelines. Vitori, who was suspended for an illegal bowling action in February, and was retested and cleared last month, has been included in Zimbabwe A’s 16-man squad to play South Africa A in a first-class match in Bulawayo. He could lead the attack alongside Shingi Masakadza.

Zimbabwe A squad

Regis Chakabva, Brian Chari, Craig Ervine, Trevor Garwe, Joylord Gumbie, Timycen Maruma, Shingirai Masakadza, Prince Masvaure, Tinotenda Mawoyo, Tarisai Musakanda, Natsai M’shangwe, Tinotenda Mutombodzi, Njabulo Ncube, Victor Nyauchi, Brian Vitori, Sean Williams

Vitori will likely be competing for a place with Victor Nyauchi, who took three wickets in the Harare game that concluded on Tuesday, or Njabulo Ncube, who is one of two Bulawayo-based players that have been included in the squad. Sean Williams is the other, and will add both batting and bowling depth to the squad, as Zimbabwe prepare for their two-Test series against New Zealand, which will be played at the Queens Sports Club later this month.Zimbabwe made six changes to the group that played in Harare, mostly with a view to add international experience to their squad. Williams is joined by batsmen Craig Ervine and Tarisai Musakanda, legspinner Natsai M’shangwe, and seamers Njabulo Ncube and Vitori. John Nyumbu, Gerald Alisini and Richard Muzhange missed out.Vitori has not played any cricket since Zimbabwe’s domestic T20 competition in February, a month after he was cited for a suspect bowling action in a match against Bangladesh in Khulna. Vitori underwent testing in Chennai and the results revealed all of his deliveries exceeded the 15-degree limit. He was retested in Pretoria in June and cleared. He remains one of Zimbabwe’s most promising prospects, but his career has been blighted by injuries, including a stress fracture, and lengthy gaps in game time. However, with Zimbabwe’s talent pool searching for depth, he may provide some answers ahead of a busier than usual home summer.Zimbabwe are scheduled to play two Tests against New Zealand and the same number against Sri Lanka later in the year.

Tamim Iqbal blazed to his first century of this season’s Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League in Abahani Limited‘s nine-wicket win against Cricket Coaching School at the BKSP-3 Ground. Abahani finished the first phase of the league at second position with 14 points while CCS ended with just four points, and were second from bottom. They will now battle for survival in the relegation play-offs.Tamim struck 11 fours and four sixes in his unbeaten 86-ball 105 and shared an unbroken 160-run second-wicket stand with Nazmul Hossain Shanto, who was not out on 53 off 70 balls. Abahani reached their revised target of 168 in 26.1 overs after rain stopped play during the chase, for an hour and 28 minutes. Opening the batting with Tamim was Yusuf Pathan who fell for 8 in the second over.Asked to bat, CCS were earlier bowled out for 205 runs in 50 overs with Rajin Saleh top-scoring with 95 off 135 balls which included five fours and four sixes. After being reduced to 46 for 3, Rajin shared a fourth-wicket stand of 123 runs with Mohammad Saifuddin, who plodded to 50 off 102 balls. But lack of substantial partnerships thereafter, and regular wickets bowled them out. Shakib Al Hasan took 3 for 35 while Taskin Ahmed, Abul Hasan and Mosaddek Hossain picked up two wickets each.Prime Bank Cricket Club climbed to sixth place after they comfortably beat Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club by seven wickets in Fatullah. The loss did not affect Doleshwar’s position as they remained at the top.Opting to bowl, Prime Bank’s spinners didn’t allow Doleshwar’s batsmen to settle down for long partnerships and bowled them out for 188 in 47.4 overs. Raqibul Hasan top-scored with 44 and added 50 for the second wicket with Imtiaz Hossain, who fell for 32. They were 109 for 5 at one stage before Rony Talukdar’s 36-ball 33 helped them past 150, but it was a below-par performance overall. Left-arm spinner Monir Hossain and medium-pacer Mohammad Azim picked up three wickets each. Rubel Hossain and offspinner Shuvagata Hom took two wickets each.In reply, Prime Bank were set a revised target of 165 in 36 overs. They reached that score with 27 balls to spare, despite losing early wickets. Openers Mehedi Maruf and Shanaj Ahmed, and No. 4 Nurul Hasan fell cheaply as they slipped to 51 for 3 before Unmukt Chand and Sabbir Rahman struck unbeaten fifties to add the remaining 114 runs in their fourth-wicket stand. Left-arm spinner Rahatul Ferdous took two wickets.Heavy rain in Mirpur pushed the match between Kalabagan Krira Chakra and Kalabagan Cricket Academy to reserve day, Tuesday, after 14.2 overs. KKC had opted to bowl and reduced KCA to 35 for 4 before rain interrupted play.

The debate as to who will bat No.3 for England in the first Ashes Test has been all but settled with Ollie Pope’s standout performance in the warm-up match against England Lions locking up his familiar spot for Friday’s opener in Perth.Scores of 100 and 90 saw Pope emerge from Lilac Hills in credit, hurdling the challenge put forward by Jacob Bethell, who scored 3 and 70. Named in the England side for the warm-up match while Bethell was carded three for the Lions, Pope was comfortably the best batter on show across both innings. He looked more composed, and authoritative, even if this match was a far cry from the intensity the tourists will experience at the Optus Stadium from November 21.It effectively ended what has been months of speculation over Pope’s place in the side for the start of this Australia tour. Initial doubts were triggered by Bethell’s form at the back end of the summer, including a maiden professional century in an ODI against South Africa. They then gained momentum when Pope was ditched as Test vice-captain for Harry Brook. “I respect the decision they’ve made,” Pope said. “If they think that’s the right thing for the team going forward, and obviously Brooky captaining the one-day stuff and the T20 stuff as well, then that’s absolutely fine by me and I respect the decision they’ve made.”Perhaps spurred on further by the loss of an official leadership role, Pope reinforced his reliability on the eve of the biggest Ashes series in generations. Along with an accomplished body of work at No.3 – averaging 41.60 from 57 innings since the promotion up the order, while scoring eight of his nine career centuries – he feels confident this week has ended speculation, in his favour.”I hope so,” Pope said, when asked if he had ended the debate. “I’ve got so used to those conversations being had (about the No.3 position). I don’t go looking for them but it’s pretty hard to avoid sometimes. I’m so used to seeing it, I’ve just learned to focus on my game.Related

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“I’m just trying to become a better player each time I step out and that’s all I can do. Fingers crossed to get the nod, but all the trust is in those guys and I respect the decision they make.”Pope revealed he had made a few technical tweaks which he was workshopping this week, though was unwilling to disclose what they were ahead of the series. However, he did acknowledge the challenge posed by Bethell had narrowed his focus.Both have been pitted against one another since Bethell impressed on his maiden tour of New Zealand in 2024. That opportunity was ultimately provided by Pope, who ceded the No.3 position so he could bat lower and keep wicket after an injury to Jordan Cox in the lead-up to the series, with Jamie Smith on paternity leave.It was a selfless act from Pope that, in hindsight, looked a grave error. But he believes dealing with the extra scrutiny and fighting for his place will serve him well. Amid the huge clamour for Bethell to start against India last summer, Pope struck 106 in his first innings of the series. “It’s been good for me that I’ve learnt that, under the most pressure, I’ve been able to deliver, especially in that Headingley Test. I know that I can learn how to deal with that and get the best out of myself at times.”Everyone wants to be the first name on the team sheet, that’s pretty clear. But at the same time we’re playing international sport. I’ve got to remind myself of that at times – there’s always going to be someone on your heel if you haven’t quite scored the volume of runs that you would have liked.”I’ll try and use the pressure I’m under to get the best out of myself. I think I’m a far better player than I was the last time I came out to Australia. I’ve got those experiences behind me and I know how I want to go about it. So fingers crossed that I can deliver with a lot of runs.”In truth, Pope only really had one way to go after that last tour. A torturous 2021-22 campaign saw him average 11.16 from six innings. He played the first two Tests before being axed, only to be brought back for the last match in Hobart, which Australia won to confirm a 4-0 hammering.Can Pope make this tour count? Time will tell, but the signs are promising. He has faith in the batting improvements he is keeping close to his chest, and, for the first time in a year, has certainty over his place. He may also enjoy the liberation of not having to wonder if he might have to captain, in the event Stokes gets injured, having done so five times in the space of 12 months. Whatever happens, he is raring to go again.”Everyone is just so excited for it,” he said. “There’s obviously a lot of chat from the media, everywhere you look it’s Ashes, and for us it is enjoy that, enjoy the experience of it. But let’s just remember what’s made us a real good side over the last few years, and hopefully if I do get the nod on Friday, then it’s going to be an amazing series to be a part of.”

Jofra Archer will return to Test cricket at Lord’s on Thursday after a four-and-a-half year absence. Elbow and back injuries have long restricted Archer to a white-ball diet but he returned to first-class cricket for Sussex last month, and has been named in England’s team to face India on the ground where he made his Test debut six years ago, replacing Josh Tongue.Archer has only bowled 18 overs in first-class cricket in the last four years, but Ben Stokes insisted he is ready to go. “Jofra has played a lot of cricket over the last two-and-a-half years,” Stokes, England’s captain, said. “If we didn’t think he was in a position to get through a Test match as a bowler, we wouldn’t even be considering him for selection.”Archer’s return to Test cricket comes in similar circumstances to his debut, with England struggling to dislodge an opposition batter. In 2019, Archer was brought in after Steven Smith’s twin hundreds at Edgbaston and hit him on the helmet during a lightning-fast spell; now, he will be tasked with dislodging Shubman Gill after his 430-run match in Birmingham.”It’s obvious whenever he does get the ball in his hand there is that change in the game,” Stokes said. “The opposition feel it as well, because they know what he can do in a spell. I don’t think there’s any reason we can’t see Jofra Archer operating at the level that we saw here at Lord’s on his debut.”It’s great for English fans, but also for Jof. It’s been a long time coming for him. The way in which he’s handled the injury setbacks over a period has been very commendable… It’s very exciting for the group. It’s a pretty great day, and Jof can be pretty proud of himself that he’s managed to get himself back here after two pretty big injury scares.”Archer bowled 18 overs for Sussex last month•PA Photos/Getty Images

Archer for Tongue is England’s only change from the side that were thrashed by 336 runs last week. Tongue is the leading wicket-taker in the series with 11, but has conceded 4.56 runs per over and has endured a heavy workload. Brydon Carse and Chris Woakes retain their spots despite bowling 77 and 81 overs respectively in the first two Tests.Carse appeared to be struggling with a toe injury at Edgbaston, and did not bowl after the 27th over of India’s second innings. But Ben Stokes insisted the issue was his footwear rather than his feet themselves, and Carse has kept his place after Gus Atkinson was not deemed ready to return from the hamstring strain he sustained against Zimbabwe in May.Atkinson is expected to be released from the squad to play for Surrey in the T20 Blast, and is targeting the fourth Test in Manchester on July 23 for a potential Test comeback. His injury was initially downplayed by England but his rehabilitation has taken longer than expected to the extent that he has not played competitive cricket for six weeks.Related

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Archer took 42 wickets at 31.04 in the 13 Tests he played between 2019 and 2021, including 20 at 20.27 in the 2019 Ashes. But he was overbowled and misused by Joe Root, who infamously said that Archer should “unleash a little bit more” after using him for 42 overs in an innings on a flat pitch in Mount Maunganui, and he has spent four years recovering from multiple injuries.England have taken a cautious approach with Archer this summer. He could have been available for the first Test of the series but for a thumb injury he sustained at the IPL, and Stokes opted not to pick him at Edgbaston last week because he wanted him to spend a week training with the squad before his return.It is not yet clear whether Archer will share the new ball with Woakes or replace Tongue as first change, and Stokes said he will not go into the Test with any “pre-conceived ideas” around managing his workload. “It will all be [an] in the moment kind of thing – same with anyone,” he said. “If you do get a sense to give them an extra over or two than you originally planned…”Archer regularly bowled on practice pitches during the Edgbaston Test under the watchful eye of England’s assistant coaches, and was deemed “ready to go” by Brendon McCullum. England have asked for “plenty of life” in the surface this week, but Lord’s pitches have typically been slow in recent years and have got better for batting as Test matches wear on.Mark Wood also trained with England at Lord’s on Wednesday morning as he targets a return from his knee injury for the fifth Test. While that timeframe may prove too tight, England’s management will remain optimistic about the prospect of unleashing Archer and Wood in tandem in Australia for this winter’s Ashes series.England XI: 1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Ollie Pope, 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Ben Stokes (capt), 7 Jamie Smith (wk), 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Brydon Carse, 10 Jofra Archer, 11 Shoaib Bashir.

Allrounder Ed Barnard hit an excellent middle-order 67 and then helped close things out with the ball as Birmingham Bears defended a 206-target to claim a crucial Vitality Blast win over Yorkshire at Headingley.Barnard’s 40-ball knock was the centrepiece of a 205 for 8 total which also included a telling late assault of 76 runs in the last five overs from the lower order.Pakistan seamer Hasan Ali hit 22 not out off eight balls and later struck twice with the ball, sealing a third win in six in the North Group – this by 32 runs.Yorkshire, for whom New Zealand quick Will O’Rourke struck three times with the ball, looked well placed to reel in the target thanks to opener and captain Dawid Malan’s 65 off 34 balls. But his fourth successive fifty in this competition was not enough to prevent a fourth defeat in six, the hosts finishing on 173 for 5.Alex Davies, who elected to bat, guided George Hill’s seam to short third – 20 for 1 in the second over. Dom Bess, with his first ball, and O’Rourke then removed Dan Mousley bowled and Sam Hain caught at point as the Bears ended the powerplay at 51 for 3.Tom Latham and Barnard steadied through accumulation to reach halfway with the score on 85. However, the former fell on 24 at the start of the 12th when he top-edged England Lion Hill to long-leg.That was the first of three wickets in successive overs as the Bears slipped back into trouble at 123 for 6 in the 14th over. Moeen Ali was lbw to Jack White for 9 and Kai Smith caught behind off O’Rourke’s pace. But their batters refused to die wondering on a belter of a batting pitch.George Garton whacked two sixes over long-on as 21 came off Bess in the 16th before he skewed O’Rourke to deep cover in the 18th – 160 for 7. Sandwiched in between, Barnard reached a 32-ball fifty.Barnard fell caught in the deep off Jack White in the penultimate, which ended with two Hasan sixes to help the Bears get above 200.Will Luxton skewed Hassan’s pace high to mid-off in the second over of a chase which advanced at pace. Malan hit two slog-swept sixes over midwicket off Danny Briggs’ spin in the fifth over and the score reached 56 for 1 after six.Garton dropped Malan at deep midwicket on 29 off Briggs in the seventh over, though there was success for the Bears when Moeen’s second ball bowled Adam Lyth – 66 for 2 in the eighth.Malan aside, Yorkshire’s batting has been sketchy this campaign. So by now, it felt like Malan or bust for the hosts. By the time he reached his latest fifty, off 29 balls, the hosts were 100 for two early in the 12th over.James Wharton provided impressive third-wicket support in sharing 55 with his skipper, though left-armer Briggs struck a key blow in the 13th when he had Malan caught at short fine-leg off a skied top-edged sweep – 121 for 3.Yorkshire needed 65 off the last five overs before Mousley’s offspin removed powerful Australian Will Sutherland, the target becoming a stiffer 47 off three overs at 159 for 4. Wharton fell for 37 in the penultimate over before Barnard’s seam – nought for 18 from three overs – closed out the last, defending 39.

Northamptonshire have signed Australian legspinner Lloyd Pope as one of their overseas players for the Vitality Blast* after Ashton Agar was ruled out with a calf strain.Agar helped Northants reach the quarter-finals of last year’s Blast, and was due back for the entirety of the group stage. He will be replaced by the uncapped Pope, 25, who was named in the 2024-25 Big Bash League team of the tournament.”I’m so excited to come to Northamptonshire, I can’t wait to meet everyone and to join my new teammates.” Pope said. “I’m really looking forward to hopefully contributing to some wins for the Steelbacks and going deep in the tournament.”There is also uncertainty over the availability of South Africa batter Matthew Breetzke for the start of the Blast, following the interruption of the IPL. Breetzke is contracted to Lucknow Super Giants – although he has not played a game this season – and is understood to be returning to India for the rearranged finish to the competition.Agar said: “I’m extremely disappointed to be missing this year’s Vitality Blast with Northamptonshire. I loved my time there last season, it’s a fantastic club with great people and I’ll be watching and supporting the boys from Perth.” He added.Northants head coach, Darren Lehmann, said: “We’re all very disappointed for Ashton, but we wish him well in his recovery.”*11.45am BST – Story updated with Pope signing

Punjab Kings (PBKS) might have qualified for the IPL 2025 playoffs for the first time in 11 years, and topped it up by sealing a top-two spot, but for head coach Ricky Ponting, they “haven’t achieved anything yet” with the “big games” still to come.PBKS moved to the top of the points table with a clinical win against Mumbai Indians (MI) in Jaipur and will now have two chances to make the final.”I’m obviously very pleased for the group,” Ponting said on the broadcast after the match. “It’s a lot of hard work that goes into being able to achieve something like this as a team. I think it’s pretty obvious to see that this is a really talented team that are all on the same page and heading in the same direction.”I mean, yeah, it’s a great achievement till now, but really, if you look back, we haven’t achieved anything yet. That’s the one thing I’ve been saying to the players since the moment we qualified.Related

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“The vision for me was always to finish in the top two, and we’ve got there now. It’s a really happy group and we’ve enjoyed our time in each other’s company for the last ten weeks, but we’ve got another week to go yet.”Ponting heaped praise on Shreyas Iyer, with whom he has worked previously at Delhi Capitals (DC). Ponting said that he was determined to acquire Iyer at the last IPL auction, and that was visible with PBKS splurging INR 26.75 crore on him.”I was pretty keen to work with him [Iyer] again,” Ponting said. “It was pretty obvious that how much money I was willing to spend on him at the auction. We had a great working relationship in Delhi, we made a final [IPL 2020] in Delhi under his captaincy.”I’ve known him as a person and as a player for a long time. He’s a quality person and when you’ve got quality people around your team, when you’re trying to make a difference and you’re trying to change culture, that’s what you need. If you spoke to the players individually, I think every single one of them would give Shreyas a great rap because he has spent a lot of time with them.”He’s pumped them up, he’s given them a pat on the back when they needed it, and he’s given them a kick in the pants when they’ve needed it as well, which is a sign of a really good and strong leader.”

Iyer: ‘Ecstatic that everything is working’

Iyer spoke about his camaraderie with Ponting. “He just gives me that freedom to go out there and express myself, especially being decisive on the field,” Iyer said. “I tell him that ‘you do the thinking outside, let me go and execute things on the field’. So yeah, all these things have culminated in a great way and I’m kind of ecstatic that everything is working.”Ricky has been fantastic with the player management. And for me, it’s important to gain the trust of each and every individual. And that happened initially by winning the matches. And the more interactions you have with the players, the more confidence they get.”2:22

Is this finally PBKS’ year?

Iyer was also effusive in his praise of Josh Inglis, for whom he sacrificed his No. 3 spot. The wicketkeeper-batter did not disappoint as he struck a vital 42-ball 73 against MI, setting the platform for PBKS’ run-chase alongside Priyansh Arya.”Our plan was that since he loves to play new ball, he was the only batsman we were chopping and changing right from the game he played,” Iyer said. “So I wanted him to play more deliveries as much as possible. And we know he can be destructive and he can change the momentum of the game. It worked like wonder for us.”Obviously, he’s a big-match player and we saw that today. So yeah, fantastic attitude and I hope that he keeps continuing with the same.”It’s been a sensational season so far for PBKS as they end the league stage with nine wins in 14 games. What’s changed this time?”I personally feel that every individual stepped up at the right time,” Iyer said. “Starting from game one, we’ve been in that mindset that we have to win irrespective of whatever situation we’ve been provided. When we’re down in the dumps, someone will put their hand up and say that, ‘okay, I’m going to win the game from here’.”That has been happening. Kudos to everyone for the contribution and also the support staff and management. They’ve been tremendous.”

Marcus Trescothick will act as England’s interim head coach in their T20I and ODI series against Australia next month, but has not yet decided whether he wants to be considered as a long-term option for the white-ball role.Trescothick, one of England’s assistant coaches, is working with the Test team during their series against Sri Lanka and will leave the team during the third Test at The Oval. He will then link up with the white-ball squads – which are due to be announced next week – at the Utilita Bowl in Southampton ahead of the first T20I on September 11.”It’s not something I’d ever thought about before, until I got this opportunity now,” Trescothick said. “I’m not necessarily thinking any further ahead than the end of the Australia series. I’ve been very much focused on the job we’re doing here [with the Test team].Related

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“You plan your winter: we’re off to Pakistan, then New Zealand. I’m so ingrained in that at the moment, I’ve not really sat down and said, ‘right, this is where I’ll try to go, this is what I’ll try to do’. I’m looking forward to the opportunity, for sure. I’m really excited about doing the job. We’ll work it out a little bit more from there.”Trescothick has never previously worked as a head coach but has expressed an interest in graduating to that role. He spent 18 months as an assistant coach at Somerset after his retirement as a player in late 2019, and has been involved in England’s staff since early 2021.He will be involved in selection and has a close relationship with Jos Buttler – who has retained the white-ball captaincy – from their time at Somerset together. Buttler returned to full training this week after a calf injury ruled him out of the Hundred, and could feature for Lancashire in their T20 Blast quarter-final against Sussex on September 4.England’s T20I series against Australia starts 24 hours after the scheduled close of play on the fifth day of their third and final Test against Sri Lanka, necessitating separate squads – though Jordan Cox may be included in the T20I squad if he is not required at The Oval. “They have a busy schedule,” Trescothick said. “The two series very closely overlap.”The ECB has yet to formally advertise the white-ball role vacated by Matthew Mott’s sacking at the start of this month, but Trescothick could become a strong contender if England perform well against Australia. Kumar Sangakkara is considered the early favourite but has not confirmed – or denied – whether he will apply.Andrew Flintoff, whose Northern Superchargers team missed out on the Hundred’s knockout stages on net run rate in his first role as head coach, could also be a contender. But he will not reprise his recent role in England’s coaching staff against Australia, with the reporting on Thursday that he has not “gelled” with Buttler.

Joe Root has scores of 42, 62 not out, 143, and 103 so far in this series. In general, he averages 67.55 against Sri Lanka, having hit 186 and a 228 in his last series against this opposition as well, those mammoth scores coming in Galle.He sweeps and reverse-sweeps well, tends to be proactive against the seamers, and on the occasions in which he chooses to defend, has one of the best techniques in the game.It is no surprise, that in the approach to the third Test, much of Sri Lanka’s team discussion has centred around this question: “How do we get Root out?”Related

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According to senior batter and former captain Dimuth Karunaratne, Sri Lanka have rifled through several plans to Root already, but have been forced to go back to square one by Root’s consistent excellence in this series. They are brainstorming again.”We’ve tried a few things against Joe but they were always unsuccessful,” Karunaratne said. “I think the turning points in the matches have been those Joe Root innings. Even when we’ve played at Galle, he’s hit big runs, but the batters around him haven’t scored as heavily. We really need to minimise the runs he’s scoring.”Homework for Sri Lanka’s bowlers is likely to have been dominated by watching replays of Root bat, with analysis of the likeliest strategies that will bring about his dismissal.”We need to look at his past performances more closely, see where he’s got out, and what kinds of things we can do on these pitches. We need to make a new plan based on that.”Counterintuitively, Karunaratne thinks perhaps this can come about by attacking him less.”Maybe sometimes we attack him too much and he takes advantage of that. Some players don’t like it when we ask them to be less aggressive. Sometimes boring batters out can also be a tactic.”Sri Lanka’s other major problem, however, has been the failure of their senior batters, who between them have produced six fifties in 16 combined innings. Karunaratne, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, and Dhananjaya de Silva – have all had a fifty-plus score, and yet have not made significant impressions.”The seniors have talked a lot about how to perform and ease the pressure on the juniors. The juniors have been doing well, especially Kamindu Mendis. Some people adapt very fast to conditions and some struggle. That’s the way the game is. Every game is quite tough.”For Karunaratne, the fact that Root has scored 153 more runs than the next-best England batter, is proof that batting has been difficult.”In England the conditions are tough for batters, and we saw that even their openers struggled, as well as their No. 3. Apart from Joe Root the others also struggled despite this being home conditions for them. We’re playing after a very long time here.”

The West Indian top three of Stafanie Taylor, Hayley Matthews and Shemaine Campbelle ensured a triumphant end to a challenging tour of Sri Lanka, as they anchored a six-wicket win in the third and final T20I in Hambantota to complete a come-from-behind 2-1 series win.Campbelle remained unbeaten at the end on a 30-ball 41 as West Indies chased down a target of 142 with just one ball to spare. The margin of victory however belies the control the visitors exuded in the chase.Taylor and Mathews put on a 60-run opening stand in just 48 deliveries, after which Matthews paired up with Campbelle for a 44-ball 51-run stand. When Matthews fell, trapped leg before attempting to swipe one from Kawya Kavindi across the line, the West Indies were on 111 for 2.With the requirement at roughly run-a-ball, Campbelle navigated the remainder of the chase expertly. The late wickets of Chedean Nation and Aaliyah Alleyne in the 18th and 19th overs conjured some late drama – both dismissed trying to hit out – but some smart running in the final over when just six runs were required ensured there were no further blips.Earlier, having put Sri Lanka in to bat, West Indies got off to the ideal start dismissing Vishmi Gunaratne off just the second ball of the innings, the aggressive 18-year-old top-edging an attempted pull of Chinelle Henry.Chamari Athapaththu and Harshitha Samarawickrama however responded well to the early setback with a partnership of 55 off 54, before Samarawickrama chipped one back to Afy Fletcher. This was followed by a 25-ball stand of 34 between Athapaththu and Kavisha Dilhari, but then Athapaththu would also fall, caught excellently in the deep by Shamilia Connell – making up for her drop of the same batter a short while earlier.Athapaththu’s wicket in the 14th over and Dilhari’s (26 off 22) in the 16th – caught brilliantly by a leaping Henry at mid-off – fell at inopportune moments for the hosts, just as they might have been looking to accelerate.Some late blows from Ama Kanchana and Nilakshi de Silva pushed the total to 141, but Player of the Series Matthews and co eventually made light work of what could have been a tricky chase.