Kane Williamson scored 78 runs in his comeback from injury on Friday as New Zealand beat Bangladesh by eight wickets at the ICC Cricket World Cup.
Williamson played his first competitive match since April after a serious knee injury and reached his total off 107 deliveries as New Zealand made 248-2 to chase down Bangladesh’s 245-9 with ease.
It was the Black Caps’ third straight win at the tournament and put them atop the points table with six points, following victories over England and the Netherlands.
Photo: AFP
New Zealand had a new opening pair with Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra starting together after the latter was picked ahead of Will Young, but Ravindra was out for just nine runs, caught behind off Mustafizur Rahman in the third over.
Williamson and Conway then added 80 runs off 105 balls for the second wicket. Conway outscored Williamson in the partnership, and overall made 45 off 59 balls, including three fours. He was out LBW to Shakib Al Hasan in the 21st over.
Daryl Mitchell joined Williamson and batted at a faster clip. Williamson reached his half-century off 81 balls before struggling with cramps and also took blows to his knee and left thumb, which put him in doubt for the next game.
Photo: AP
Williamson retired in the 39th over, with the score reading 200-2.
“It was a good team performance,” Williamson said. “We had to see through the new ball, but were able to build partnerships in the middle overs.”
Mitchell scored a half-century off 43 balls, and hit six fours as well as four sixes. He and Glenn Phillips (16 not out) scored a quick-fire 48 off 27 balls to finish off the game with 7.1 overs to spare.
Photo: AFP
Earlier, New Zealand’s pacers helped set up the win, sharing seven wickets among them. Lockie Ferguson led the way with 3-49 from 10 overs, while Trent Boult and Matt Henry took two wickets each.
Mushfiqur Rahim scored 66 runs off 75 balls for Bangladesh after his side were put into bat by New Zealand.
“Ferguson bowled really well and had some luck going his way,” Williamson said.
Mahmudullah scored 41 not out off 49 balls to push Bangladesh past 200.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
RSS