The Latest: Windies coach: Archer made his choice, game on

By Associated Press 11 June 2019, 12:00AM

LONDON (AP) — The Latest on Day 12 at the Cricket World Cup (all times local):

6:15 p.m.

Jofra Archer may have surprised some England cricket fans with his raw pace at the World Cup, but it's nothing the West Indies haven't seen.

The Barbados-born Archer was a late inclusion in England's squad after qualifying on residency in March.

He was the toast of London after taking three wickets against South Africa in the tournament-opening win and has six so far at the World Cup before Friday's meeting with West Indies.

"To be honest, we knew Jofra for a long time. He is from Barbados," West Indies coach Floyd Reifer said following the washed out match against South Africa on Monday. "Yes, he's bowling quickly, but there's nothing that we are not accustomed to."

Reifer said Archer had "made his choice," and now would have to live with it.

The 24-year-old Archer had some injuries as a young fast bowler but was "bowling very well for England."

"I'm sure Jofra will be chomping at the bit to come at us, and we will be ready for him," Reifer said. "Jofra is a tremendous talent, we all know that. Like I said, we are looking forward to the game on Friday."

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5:30 p.m.

South Africa captain Faf du Plessis has confirmed he got a call from AB de Villiers offering his services for the World Cup, but said the squad was already picked by that stage.

Du Plessis says the pair spoke on the phone the night before the 15-man squad was due to be officially announced.

"I said I think it's too late, but I'd check in with the coach and the selectors, as the squad was already picked," du Plessis told a news conference on Monday after South Africa's group game with West Indies was washed out. "All agreed it was way, way too late to change."

The revelation last week that the star batsman made a last-minute offer to come out of international retirement reportedly unsettled a team that had already lost its first three games.

Du Plessis, a long-time friend of de Villiers, and coach Ottis Gibson took the idea to the selection committee but head selector Linda Zondi said it was rejected in fairness to the players who'd already been picked.

The 35-year-old de Villiers retired a year ago at the top of his game. Du Plessis attempted to dispel the idea that the public release of the news was unsettling for his team.

"We do feel like the news came in and just went through the team. Didn't have a huge impact," he said. "There was clarity. Then it was moving on."

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4:20 p.m.

South Africa has picked up its first point of the Cricket World Cup after a washout against West Indies at Hampshire's Rose Bowl.

Only 7.3 overs were bowled after West Indies skipper Jason Holder won the toss and sent South Africa in to bat, expecting the Duckworth-Lewis run-rate calculator to come into play with heavy rain on the forecast.

It ended a three-game losing streak for South Africa and means the Proteas still have slim hopes of reaching the playoffs after originally estimating they'd need at least six wins to make it. They've got five games left, starting with Afghanistan in Cardiff on Saturday.

West Indies paceman Sheldon Cottrell twice got to use his trademark wicket celebration — the military-style salute — when he had Hashim Amla (6) caught by Chris Gayle and Aiden Markram (5) caught behind to have South Africa struggling at 29-2 before play was suspended and the wicket square covered.

South Africa opener Quinton de Kock was unbeaten on 17 and skipper Faf du Plessis was not out without scoring.

Rain continued intermittently and there was no further play.

It was the second washout of the tournament, with Pakistan and Sri Lanka having to share points in Bristol last Friday.

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3:35 p.m.

Nuwan Pradeep, one of the stars of Sri Lanka's win over Afghanistan at the Cricket World Cup, will miss the game against Bangladesh on Tuesday because of a damaged finger.

Sri Lanka batting coach Jon Lewis says Pradeep, a seam bowler, got hurt in a practice session on Sunday but that it is "nothing too serious."

Lewis says it is "just maybe tomorrow's game that he'll be unavailable for."

Pradeep took 4-31 off nine overs as Sri Lanka beat Afghanistan by 34 runs, using the Duckworth-Lewis method, to follow up a heavy opening loss to New Zealand at the World Cup.

Sri Lanka's third group game, against Pakistan last Friday, was washed out without a ball being bowled.

Lewis says "to be here five or six days ago and not get a chance to play was frustrating, but we're still off the back of the win against Afghanistan. We needed that, because we were possibly a little bit low before that."

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1:05 p.m.

Umpires have ordered an early lunch in the World Cup group game between South Africa and West Indies as light rain continues to fall at Hampshire's Rose Bowl.

Only 7.3 overs have been bowled since West Indies won the toss and sent South Africa in to bat.

West Indies paceman Sheldon Cottrell took two early wickets as South Africa struggled to 29-2 before play was suspended and the pitch covered.

Quinton de Kock is unbeaten on 17 and South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis is yet to get off the mark.

South Africa is coming off losses to England, Bangladesh and India, and needs a point to kickstart its stuttering campaign.

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12:30 p.m.

England says wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler is responding well to treatment after sustaining "heavy bruising on his right hip" during the team's win over Bangladesh.

Buttler is expected to train with the rest of the squad on Wednesday ahead of England's next group game, against West Indies in Southampton on Friday.

Buttler appeared to sustain the injury while running through for a single in his innings of 64 against Bangladesh at Cardiff on Saturday. England won the game by 106 runs.

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11:45 a.m.

Former India allrounder Yuvraj Singh, who was the player of the tournament at the Cricket World Cup in 2011, has retired from the sport.

The BCCI, Indian cricket's governing body, announced Yuvraj's retirement on its Twitter account.

Yuvraj was diagnosed with cancer in 2012 and had nearly a year off cricket. He last played for India in a one-day international against the West Indies in 2017.

The highlight of his career was starring for India in its World Cup-winning campaign on home soil in 2011. The 37-year-old Yuvraj played 304 ODIs, 58 Twenty20 internationals and 40 test matches.

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11:15 a.m.

West Indies paceman Sheldon Cottrell took two early wickets and South Africa was in trouble at 29-2 when light rain interrupted play in the Cricket World Cup group game at Hampshire's Rose Bowl.

Cottrell twice got to use his trademark wicket celebration, the military-style salute, when he had Hashim Amla (6) caught by Chris Gayle and Aiden Markram (5) caught behind.

The covers came out when light rain started in the eighth over. Quinton de Kock was batting on 17 and South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis was yet to get off the mark.

Rain is forecast throughout Monday in Southampton, meaning Duckworth-Lewis run-rate equations are likely to come into play if the teams can get through a minimum number of overs.

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10:10 a.m.

West Indies captain Jason Holder won the toss and sent South Africa in to bat in the Cricket World Cup group game at Hampshire's Rose Bowl, with rain in the forecast and the Duckworth-Lewis run-rate equations likely to play a big factor in the outcome.

South Africa is coming off losses to England, Bangladesh and India and desperately needs a win to get its campaign going. The West Indies opened with a win over Pakistan and then had defending champion Australia in trouble before losing the second game by 15 runs.

The South Africans will need to score quickly before the heavy rain predicted during the afternoon, hoping the run-rate is high when the West Indies try to chase a total.

The South Africans made two changes to the XI that lost to India last week, with allrounder JP Duminy and wrist spinner Tabraiz Shamsi dropping in favor of paceman Beuran Hendricks and batsman Aiden Markram. Hendricks will be playing his first game since being drafted into the squad as injury cover.

The West Indies made two changes to the lineup that lost to Australia, with Darren Bravo recalled to open the innings at the expense of Evin Lewis and Kemar Roach included in the bowling attack.

Allrounder Andre Russell was ruled out of the lineup.

Lineups:

South Africa: Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock, Faf du Plessis, Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Andile Phehlukwayo, Chris Morris, Kagiso Rabada, Imran Tahir, Beuran Hendricks.

West Indies: Chris Gayle, Darren Bravo, Shai Hope, Shimron Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran, Jason Holder (captain), Carlos Brathwaite, Ashley Nurse, Kemar Roach, Sheldon Cottrell, Oshane Thomas.

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9 a.m.

South Africa's Cricket World Cup campaign could be on the line against the West Indies after the Proteas opened the tournament with three straight defeats.

The South Africans have estimated a minimum six group wins will be required to reach the semifinals, and so after losses to England, Bangladesh and India, each game now is a must-win for them.

With rain on the forecast Monday for Southampton, the weather could be a factor in the outcome.

And so could the West Indies' bowling group, which is starting to draw comparisons with the great Windies pace attacks of the 1970s and 80s. The West Indies bounced out Pakistan for 105 in its opening game and then had five-time champion Australia in trouble at 38-4 before losing its second game.

There's already been one washout in the first 11 days of the tournament, with Pakistan and Sri Lanka having to share points in Bristol on Friday.

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More AP cricket: www.apnews.com/cricket and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

By Associated Press 11 June 2019, 12:00AM
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