New Zealand captain Sophie Devine smashed the fastest hundred in women's Twenty20 cricket on Thursday, reaching the milestone in just 36 balls in the domestic Super Smash competition.
Devine, 31, hit nine sixes and nine fours in her innings of 108 not out as her Wellington Blaze side beat the Otago Sparks by 10 wickets. The all-rounder broke the previous record that had stood since 2010 -- a 38-ball hundred from West Indian Deandra Dottin.
Devine said she had felt nervous coming back after spending 14 days in isolation following her return from Australia.
"Whenever you have a bit of an extended break away from the game, you get nervous about (whether) you can come back into it," she told Spark Sport.
"So it was just (nice) to spend some time in the middle and get a few out of the screws.
"Sometimes I can get a little bit carried away ... and I get a bit over eager and play some rash shots so it was nice to stick to some decent cricket shots today and finish the job."
One of Devine's sixes grazed the cheek of a girl who was watching from the grass bank at the University Oval in Dunedin.
After the match, Devine went to check on the girl, who had an ice pack against her face but appeared to have avoided any serious injury.
Sherfane Rutherford struck an unbeaten half-century and Gudakesh Motie produced a brilliant display of spin bowling as West Indies thumped England by 30 runs in a Twenty20 World Cup Group C encounter on Wednesday.
Australia launched their Twenty20 World Cup campaign with a commanding 67-run victory over Ireland in Colombo on Wednesday, powered by four-wicket hauls from Nathan Ellis and Adam Zampa.
Tottenham Hotspur have sacked manager Thomas Frank after eight months in charge, the Premier League club said on Wednesday, after a woeful run of results left the north London club hovering five points above the relegation zone.
South Africa survived Kagiso Rabada's final-over meltdown against Afghanistan and then a double Super Over drama before prevailing in a heart-stopping Group D match of the Twenty20 World Cup on Wednesday.
Pakistan opener Sahibzada Farhan has hit a swift half-century as the 2009 champions comfortably beat the US by 32 runs on Tuesday, clinching their second straight Group A win in the Twenty20 World Cup.
The UAE's Federal Authority for Government Human Resources has announced the official working hours for federal entities during the holy month of Ramadan.
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, attended the final day of the seventh UAE SWAT Challenge at the Al Ruwayyah training ground in Dubai.
The UAE has chaired an emergency meeting of the Arab League in Cairo to address recent Israeli decisions to expand settlements in the Palestinian territories.