Franchise Cricket

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England seamer Tom Curran took career-best figures of 4-9 as Melbourne Stars thrashed Adelaide Strikers by six wickets in the Big Bash League.

Curran's efforts saw Strikers bowled out for a mere 83, with Stars reaching their target inside 16 overs to knock their opponents out of play-off contention while sealing their post-season place.

The 30-year-old Curran, who last played for England in 2021, made the first breakthrough when he had Alex Carey caught for three in the second over.

He continued to rip through the Strikers' top order on a challenging wicket, removing Chris Lynn and Jason Sangha before having the in-form Liam Scott caught behind for 18 as the away side slipped to 40-5 at the halfway mark.

Curran had completed his allocation, but his team-mates continued his destruction, with Mitchell Swepson dismissing Jamie Overton and Hassan Ali with consecutive deliveries in the following over.

Cameron Boyce, who top-scored with 20 and was one of just two batters to reach double figures, added 28 for the final wicket with Tabraiz Shamsi before becoming the last man to fall with three balls remaining in the visitors' innings.

Stars were 25-2 at the end of the powerplay, losing opener Sam Harper, the tournament's leading run-scorer, to an excellent catch by sub Mackenzie Harvey off Scott for nine, while Hassan had Campbell Kellaway caught by Overton for a duck.

Tom Rogers (32 from 40 balls) steadily took Stars towards their low target, adding 30 with Blake Macdonald (11) and 33 with Marcus Stoinis (23).

Overton had Rogers caught at mid-wicket in the 15th over then struck Stoinis on the glove, leading to his retirement, before Curran completed the job with a match-winning four.

Stars move above Perth Scorchers into second, one point behind leaders Hobart Hurricanes, with one match to play in the group stage, while sixth-placed Strikers can no longer overhaul Sydney Sixers in fourth.

• Big Bash fixtures & table

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With seven games left in the league phase, the Women's Big Bash table is starting to take shape.

BBC Sport looks at what each side needs to reach the knockouts.

Defending champions Hobart Hurricanes (13 points) have secured their place in the play-offs after winning six of their first nine games. A win in their final game secures a top-two finish and two chances to reach the final on 25 January.

Perth Scorchers and Melbourne Stars (both 10 points) are well positioned with two games each remaining. However, they face each other in their final game. Two wins would definitely be enough for each side, but one may see them through.

Sydney Sixers (nine points) are fourth and also know that two wins is enough, but they face fifth-place Brisbane Heat (eight points) in the final group game, which could be a shootout for a play-off spot.

Adelaide Strikers and Melbourne Renegades (both six points) need to win their final two games, but again they face each other so only one can reach 10 points and stand any chance.

Sydney Thunder (four points), who only have won two games, are eliminated.

• Big Bash fixtures & table

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Pretoria Capitals picked up their third successive victory with a 53-run thrashing of MI Cape Town to move to the top of the SA20 table.

After being asked to bat first, Capitals recovered from 35-2 and 89-4 to post 185-6.

West Indies all-rounder Sherfane Rutherford top-scored with 53 off 27 balls, while Dewald Brevis added 34.

Cape Town's chase never really got going. They were reduced to 28-2 after one ball of the sixth over and slipped to 55-6 at the halfway stage, with Gideon Peters taking 3-32.

Reeza Hendricks, who made 68 not out, put on 34 with Jason Smith and an unbroken 43 with Kagiso Rabada, but the defending champions finished well short on 132-7.

They are bottom of the table and in danger of being failing to progress to the play-offs.

Capitals have played one more game than Sunrisers Eastern Cape and Joburg Super Kings and two more than Paarl Royals in fourth so their position in the play-offs is far from secure.

• SA20 fixtures & table

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An opening partnership of 137 between Australia international Grace Harris and India batter Smriti Mandhana powered Royal Challengers Bengaluru to a dominant nine-wicket victory over UP Warriorz in the Women's Premier League.

The stand took RCB within seven runs of victory as they chased 144 in just 12.1 overs.

Harris made 85 from 40 balls before being caught at point with the finish line in sight. Mandhana was unbeaten on 47 when the winning runs came.

England bowler Lauren Bell impressed with 1-16 from her four overs as Warriorz were restricted to 143-5.

England spinner Linsey Smith took 0-30 as South Africa seamer Nadine de Klerk and India spinner Shreyanka Patil claimed two wickets each.

RCB now have two wins from two at the start of the competition and top the table. Warriorz are bottom after two defeats.

• WPL fixtures & table

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Pakistan international Mohammad Rizwan was retired out by Melbourne Renegades in their Big Bash defeat by Sydney Thunder.

Rizwan, who has not made a fifty in his eight innings in Australia, was called in by captain Will Sutherland at the end of the 18th over, having taken 23 balls for his 26 with two fours and a six.

He had managed only four singles from his seven balls before the decision and is the second player to be retired out at this year's Big Bash, following on from Thunder's Nic Maddison earlier in the competition.

Renegades still posted 170-8 on this occasion - there were contributions of 35 from Josh Brown, 29 from Tim Seifert and 46 by Hassan Khan - but Maddison and Chris Green burst into life after a rain delay to secure a four-wicket victory via the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method.

Chasing 171, Thunder were 80-3 after 11 overs before the match was halted by rain and their target revised to 140 in 16 overs, leaving 60 to get from 30 balls.

Sam Billings and Daniel Sams fell to the first two balls after the resumption, denting Thunder's hopes further, but Maddison, who had scored only five from eight balls before the rain, hit his next two deliveries for six.

New batter Green hit a four and then three consecutive sixes off Gurinder Sandhu and finished 34 not out from 13 balls. Maddison ended 30 not out from 17 as victory was secured with four balls to spare.

Sixty runs came in just 26 balls after the rain delay.

Thunder had already been eliminated from play-off contention but the victory dents Renegades' hopes. They sit seventh in the table with two games left.

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New Zealand's Sophie Devine scored 95 and then defended six from the final over to give Gujarat Giants a thrilling four-run win over Delhi Capitals in the Women's Premier League.

Devine struck seven fours and eight sixes, falling five short of making the first WPL century, but helping Gujarat post 209.

That left Delhi needing to complete the highest WPL chase but Lizelle Lee scored 86 from 54 balls as opener to give her side a real chance.

Fellow South African Laura Wolvaardt added 77 from just 38 balls but became one of two batters dismissed in the final over bowled by the nerveless Devine.

Devine conceded a single from the first, dismissed India batter Jemimah Rodrigues with a slower ball next, bowled a dot to Marizanne Kapp before conceding a single and then had Wolvaardt caught at deep mid-wicket.

That left five runs to get from the last ball but Sneh Rana failed to connect and Gujarat snatched victory.

It means they have two wins from two across the opening three days of the competition. Delhi have two defeats.

• WPL fixtures & table

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Durban's Super Giants picked up their first win of the SA20 season with a nervy two-wicket victory over table-toppers Sunrisers Eastern Cape.

Chasing 159, Super Giants got off to a rollicking start with Aiden Markram and Marques Ackerman racing to 48-0 in four overs.

Markram was dismissed in the fifth but Ackerman continued attacking until the eighth over when he fell to leave Super Giants 80-2.

Sunil Narine fell in the next over but England's Jos Buttler and South Africa's Heinrich Klassen took 19 off the 10th over and Super Giants were on top at 101-3.

The pair fell in a nine-ball spell before a brief partnership between David Bedingham and Liam Livingstone put Super Giants back on track but they also fell in quick succession.

Gerald Coetzee smashed 13 off six balls and despite being dismissed from the penultimate ball of the 19th over, he'd left just four required from the last.

The scores were level after three leg byes from the first two balls and then Evan Jones hit a four over backward point to seal the win.

Sunrisers posted 158-5 in their 20 overs, with Tristan Stubbs' 49 not out helping them recover from 87-5.

They remain top of the table, two points clear of Joburg Super Kings.

• SA20 fixtures & table

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Mitch Marsh crashed 88 as Perth Scorchers boosted their Big Bash play-off hopes with a 32-run win over Adelaide Strikers.

After being asked to bat, Scorchers posted 232-4 - the third-highest total this season and fifth highest of all-time.

Marsh, who hit six fours and seven sixes, put on 81 with Finn Allen (38) for the first wicket before Cooper Connolly fell next ball.

Josh Inglis made 42 in a partnership of 77 with Marsh before being caught by Jamie Overton off Matt Short.

Marsh continued and fell with a second hundred of the season in his sights, but Aaron Hardie (32*) and Ashton Turner (20*) put on an unbroken 42 in 20 balls to drag them well past 200.

Strikers' chase got off to a good start with Short sharing 93 with the returning Alex Carey and at the halfway point they were 117-1 and needed another 116.

They were 153-2 in the 15th over and competitive but the wicket of Liam Scott turned the game.

Carey (71 off 39) followed in the next over and Strikers slipped to 167-8 at the start of the 18th over. They finished 200-8.

Earlier on Sunday, Sydney Sixers' match against Hobart Hurricanes was washed out after five overs. Sixers, who had Steve Smith back in their side, were 32-0 when the rain arrived.

However, the result means that defending champions Hurricanes are the first side to confirm their place in the play-offs.

Scorchers are up to second, with Melbourne Stars in third and Sixers occupying fourth and the final play-off spot.

Strikers are now sixth and must win their final two games and have other results go their way to have any chance of progressing.

• Big Bash fixtures & table

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Ryan Rickelton hit his second century of the season as MI Cape Town beat Joburg Super Kings by 35 runs in the SA20.

Opener Rickelton crashed 113 not out off 60 balls as Cape Town posted 234-3 after winning the toss.

Rickelton, who hit eight fours and nine sixes, also made 113 in the season opener and now has the tournament's joint third-highest score twice.

He put on 129 with Rassie van der Dussen (65 off 32) and then dominated partnerships with Nicholas Pooran (14) and Karim Janat (20 not out).

Super Kings lost Michael Pepper in the third over and slipped to 35-3 after 4.5 overs.

A partnership of 66 between James Vince (77) and Dian Forrester gave them some hope, before the latter, who finished 80 not out, put on 50 with Donovan Ferreira.

However, they were always behind the required run-rate and needed 76 from the final three overs and fell well short despite Forrester's hitting.

In Saturday's early game Pretoria Capitals beat Paarl Royals by 21 runs.

Capitals opted to bat first after winning the toss and were 74-6 but West Indies all-rounder Sherfane Rutherford made 42 not out to help them to 138-9.

The Royals' chase never really got going. They were 38-3 and, despite Rubin Hermann making 35 and David Miller adding 45, they finished 117-6.

At the end of Saturday, Super Kings sit second in the table behind Sunrisers Eastern Cape. Capitals are up to third with their win, while Royals and Cape Town are fourth and fifth respectively.

• SA20 fixtures & table

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England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt bounced back with a difficult first game with a 46-ball 70 and two wickets as Mumbai Indians beat Delhi Capitals by 50 runs in the Women's Premier League.

Sciver-Brunt did not hit a six but struck 13 fours in the defending champions' 195-4. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur also scored 74 not out from 42 balls.

South African Lizelle Lee then hit a Sciver-Brunt slower ball to mid-on in the fourth over of the chase and the all-rounder later added the wicket of India international Sneh Rana.

She finished with 2-29 from three overs as Delhi were bowled out for 145 in 19 overs.

In the earlier fixture, Australia international Ash Gardner's 65 not out helped Gujarat Giants beat UP Warriorz by 10 runs.

Giants put on 207-4 with Anushka Sharma contributing 44, Sophie Devine 38 and Georgia Wareham 27.

Australia left-hander Phoebe Litchfield scored 78 from 40 balls in reply, giving Warriorz a real shot at a tough chase, but the innings fell away when Litchfield was caught with 58 runs needed from 27 balls. They finished on 197-8.

• WPL fixtures & table

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Sam Harper continued his brilliant Big Bash season as he guided Melbourne Stars to an eight-wicket win against Melbourne Renegades.

The 29-year-old made an unbeaten 81 to get Stars to their target of 167 with 25 balls to spare.

He hit eight fours and four sixes in his 51-ball knock and returned to the top of the run-scorers chart with 356, at an average of 89.

He put on 89 for the first wicket with Tom Rogers and then shared an unbroken 78 with Glenn Maxwell (20* off 12).

Earlier, Renegades posted 166-7 from their 20 overs with opener Josh Brown making 80 off 50 balls.

No other batter made it past 23 though and that left Renegades short of a competitive total.

Marcus Stoinis was the pick of the Stars bowlers, picking up 3-33, while Pakistan's Haris Rauf claimed 2-31.

The win sees Stars consolidate second place, while Renegades are seventh, two points off the play-offs.

• Big Bash fixtures & table

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Usman Khawaja made 78 to set up Brisbane Heat's comfortable seven-wicket win and eliminate Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash League.

Chasing 181, Khawaja, who retired from Australia duty after their 4-1 win over England in the Ashes, hit seven fours and three sixes in his 48-ball knock at the top of the order.

He shared 57 in 23 balls with Jack Wildermuth (39) for the first wicket and 26 with Nathan McSweeney but the key partnership came with Matt Renshaw, someone who may benefit from Khawaja's international retirement.

The pair put on 93 in 56 balls to break the back of the chase, with Khawaja dismissed with five required.

Max Bryant came to the crease and hit first ball for six to seal the win with 22 balls to spare.

Thunder, who are are rooted to the bottom of the table with one win in eight games, posted 180-6, with David Warner continuing his recent good form with 82 off 56 balls.

He was run out in bizarre fashion in the 16th over, with Marnus Labuschagne dropping Sam Billings initially, before McSweeney's throw saw Warner dismissed at the striker's end despite a full-length dive.

Heat are fifth in the table, but have the same points as second, third and fourth approaching the final week of group games.

• Big Bash fixtures & table

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South Africa all-rounder Nadine de Klerk clubbed 20 off Nat Sciver-Brunt's final four balls to secure a stunning three-wicket win for Royal Challengers Benglauru over Mumbai Indians in the Women's Premier League opener.

Chasing 155, RCB's chances looked slim as they fell to 65-5 in the eighth over and then 121-7 after 17.

They left them needing 34 off 18 balls and that was only reduced to 29 off the final two overs.

The penultimate over went 11 to leave 18 required and De Klerk, who was well set, ensured the 2024 champions started with a win.

England captain Sciver-Brunt started with successive dot balls before De Klerk hit a six, four and six off the next three balls.

It left RCB needing two off the final delivery to beat the defending champions and De Klerk crunched Sciver-Brunt back over her head to seal a remarkable victory.

The 25-year-old had starred with the ball earlier too, claiming 4-26 to reduce Mumbai to 154-6.

She removed Sciver-Brunt for four in the first over after the powerplay, before returning to remove Harmanpreet Kaur (20) in the 11th.

She also bowled the final over of the innings, removing Sajeevan Sajana (45) and Nicola Carey (40) as it went for just five.

England seamer Lauren Bell also impressed on her RCB debut, claiming figures of 1-14 in her four overs.

• WPL fixtures & table

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Selected players from Australia's Ashes squad - including stand-in captain Steve Smith - will play in the Big Bash from this weekend, but batter Travis Head will play no part.

Smith, wicketkeeper Alex Carey and batters Marnus Labuschagne and Usman Khawaja are among the players that will return this weekend and be available for their sides final three group games and the play-offs.

Bowlers Michael Neser and Mitchell Starc will be available for Brisbane Heat and Sydney Sixers from the 14 and 16 January respectively meaning they can play in two group matches.

Head has been rested before February's T20 World Cup, while pace bowler Scott Boland will also play no part.

All-rounder Cameron Green will also not feature as he is not contracted to any side.

Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon all miss out as they continue to recover from injuries.

From Saturday, 10 January

Brisbane Heat: Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne

Melbourne Renegades: Brendan Doggett

From Sunday, 11 January

Sydney Sixers: Steve Smith, Todd Murphy

Hobart Hurricanes: Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster

Adelaide Strikers: Alex Carey (Adelaide Strikers)

Perth Scorchers: Josh Inglis (Perth Scorchers)

From Wednesday, 14 January

Brisbane Heat: Michael Neser

From Friday, 16 January:

Sydney Sixers: Mitchell Starc

Not available

Nathan Lyon (hamstring injury), Scott Boland and Travis Head (both managed), Cameron Green (uncontracted)

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Defending champions Hobart Hurricanes extended their lead at the top of the table with a comfortable 37-run win over Adelaide Strikers.

After being asked to bat, Hurricanes posted 178-6, despite Mitch Owen being their highest scorer with 33.

However, four other batters chipped in with England's Rehan Ahmed making 29, Matthew Wade 27, Nikhil Chaudhary 23 and Mac Wright 20 not out.

They were then immediately on top in the chase as they reduced Strikers to 8-4 after three overs.

Riley Meredith struck twice in the second over, before captain Nathan Ellis picked up two more in the third.

From there, Strikers were always behind the game and were reduced to 62-7. They eventually finished on 141-9, with Liam Scott finishing 91 not out.

Bangladesh's Rishad Hossain was the pick of the bowlers, claiming 3-26.

The win moves Hurricanes four points clear at the top and knowing one win in their final two matches would seal a play-off spot.

Strikers remain fifth, two points off the top four.

• Big Bash fixtures & table

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The match between Joburg Super Kings and Paarl Royals in SA20 was abandoned between innings because of lightning.

Super Kings had reached 187-6 after being put into bat, with openers James Vince, who top-scored with 75, and captain Faf du Plessis (39) putting on 73 inside the first seven overs.

Sikandar Raza bowled du Plessis for 39, after which Vince added 56 with Matthew de Villiers (30).

Royals shifted the momentum from the 14th over, taking five wickets for 40 runs, while the match was also delayed in the 19th over by a broken floodlight before succumbing to the Johannesburg weather conditions.

• SA20 fixtures & table

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Franchises for Hyderabad and Sialkot will enter an expanded 2026 Pakistan Super League following an auction in Islamabad.

Bids for the two sides were won by FKS, a United States-based group who bought Hyderabad for PKR 1.75 billion (£4.61m), and Australia-located real estate consortium OZ Developers, who purchased Sialkot for PKR 1.85 billion (£4.87m).

The new franchises will join the six existing sides for the 11th season of the PSL, which is set to start on 23 March and end on 3 May.

The auction marks the first expansion of the competition since Multan Sultans joined the league for its third season in 2018.

FKS's bid for Hyderabad was won from a base price of PKR 1.1 billion, leading to the starting cost in the Sialkot auction being lifted to PKR 1.7 billion.

The fees, which will be paid annually to the Pakistan Cricket Board for the right to operate the franchise, are significantly larger than those paid by the existing teams, which are all valued between PKR 370m and 670m.

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The India-based Women's Premier League (WPL) returns on Friday, 9 January for its fourth edition.

The tournament is the women's equivalent of the men's Indian Premier League (IPL) and attracts the world's biggest names.

The five teams are: Delhi Capitals, Gujarat Giants, Mumbai Indians, UP Warriorz, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). Three - Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru - are associated with teams from the IPL.

Mumbai are the defending champions after a eight-run win over Delhi in last year's final.

The five teams form one table and each side plays the other four twice.

The group stage runs until 1 February - there are some days with no fixtures - before the eliminator (second and third in the group stage) on 3 February.

The winners of the eliminator play the side who topped the group stage in the final on 5 February.

Two venues will be used in the tournament: Dr DY Patil Sports Academy, Navi Mumbai (9-17 Jan) and Vadodara International Cricket Stadium (19 Jan-5 Feb).

• WPL fixtures

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Five England players are set to feature in the fourth edition of the Women's Premier League, including two players for the first time.

Seamer Lauren Bell, who has previously been signed by UP Warriorz but then pulled out of the tournament, is at 2024 winners Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

Left-arm spinner Linsey Smith, who impressed with 12 wickets in the 50-over World Cup in October, will also feature for the first time and will represent RCB.

England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt returns to two-time winners Mumbai Indians for the fourth consecutive season, while left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone was purchased by UP Warriorz at the action having been released initially.

Opener Danni Wyatt-Hodge completes the England players involved, with the 34-year-old at Gujarat Giants, having played six games for RCB previously.

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As has become the norm, a host of the world's best women's cricketers are joining India's array of stars in the fourth edition of the Women's Premier League.

Defending champions Mumbai Indians will again be led by India captain Harmanpreet Kaur, while bowler Amanjot Kaur will be joined by returning overseas players Amelia Kerr, Hayley Matthews and Shabnim Ismail.

They will also be joined by exciting 20-year-old Australia seamer Milly Illingworth, who will make her tournament debut.

Last year's beaten finalists Delhi Capitals have had a reshuffle. India's Jemimah Rodrigues takes over the captaincy and is joined by Shafali Verma, N Charani and Sneh Rana.

South Africa all-rounder Marianne Kapp returns and is joined by Laura Wolvaardt and Lizelle Lee, while Australia's Alana King has joined as a replacement player.

Australia's Lucy Hamilton, 19, was also picked up by the Capitals for the first time.

Former Australia captain Meg Lanning was released by the Capitals, but has been signed by UP Warriorz and will captain them.

She's joined by India all-rounder Deepti Sharma and overseas players Phoebe Litchfield, Chloe Tryon and Deandra Dottin.

India opener Smriti Mandhana will captain Royal Challengers Bengaluru and is joined by compatriot Richa Ghosh and Australia's Grace Harris and Georgia Voll and South Africa powerhouse all-rounder Nadine de Klerk.

There's an Australian feel at Gujarat Giants with all-rounder Ash Gardner leading the side and she is joined by Beth Mooney, Georgia Wareham and Kim Garth.

New Zealand's Sophie Devine rounds off their overseas picks, while Yastika Bhatia and Renuka Singh are their standout India names.