Franchise Cricket

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An opening stand of 107 between Beth Mooney and Katie Mack helped Perth Scorchers beat Melbourne Stars by 28 runs in the Women's Big Bash League knockout match.

Mack hit 52 while Mooney added 45 as Scorchers secured a place in Thursday's eliminator fixture against Sydney Sixers, with the winner progressing to Saturday's final against Hobart Hurricanes.

The opening duo fell within seven balls of one another to leave Scorchers 109-2, while Sophie Devine was removed for just one after being caught by Meg Lanning off Rhys McKenna's bowling.

Scorchers rallied again, with Freya Kemp hitting 35 from 19 balls and Maddy Darke finishing unbeaten with 16 from five deliveries as the 2021 champions closed on 173-5.

In their reply, Stars lost McKenna to a run-out in the third over, but Meg Lanning (49) and Amy Jones (43) put on 87 for the second wicket to give their side a solid position.

However, Jones was stumped by Mooney off an Alana King delivery in the 13th over, and that started a Stars collapse, losing eight wickets for 44 runs.

Seven batters, including England's Maia Bouchier and Danielle Gibson, were dismissed for single figures, with King, Devine and Lilly Mills taking two wickets apiece as Stars finished short of their target on 145-9.

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Dan Lawrence outdid former England team-mate Moeen Ali as Desert Vipers beat Gulf Giants in Dubai in the first super over at the ILT20.

After Vipers matched Giants' 179-5 with 179-9 in the regulation match, Surrey batter Lawrence hit the fifth ball of Vipers' super over for six to set Giants a target of 14.

Former England all-rounder Moeen emerged but neither he nor Nottinghamshire batter Tom Moores managed a boundary from Pakistan seamer Naseem Shah, who conceded only eight runs.

Vipers could have won the match before the super over with Lawrence making 56 and captain Sam Curran 44 but lost five wickets in a frantic final three overs.

Afghanistan all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai defended seven from the last five balls to force the super over but Vipers eventually secured victory.

It maintains their perfect start with three wins from three, while inflicting Giants first defeat.

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England's Jordan Cox and West Indies' Rovman Powell starred as Dubai Capitals trashed Abu Dhabi Knight Riders by 83 runs in the International League T20.

The pair came together at 43-3 after Capitals were asked to bat first and shared 119 for the fourth wicket.

Cox made 52 off 36 balls with four fours and one six, while Powell smashed an unbeaten 96 off 52 balls with eight fours and four sixes as Capitals posted 186-4.

Cox is playing in this tournament, before moving to Capitals' sister side Pretoria in the SA20 as he looks to seals a place in England's squad for the T20 World Cup in February.

In reply, Knight Riders slipped to 10-3 in the second over with Alex Hales removed for a first-ball duck by David Willey.

They were unable to recover with England duo Phil Salt and Liam Livingstone dismissed for 26 and 17 respectively.

Afghanistan's Waqar Salamkheil was the pick of the bowlers with 4-29.

The win is Capitals' first of the season after two defeats, while Knight Riders sit a place below them in fourth after successive losses.

• ILT20 fixtures & table

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MI Emirates fought back from a likely defeat to edge Sharjah Warriorz by four runs in the International League T20.

Chasing 186, Warriorz needed 35 from 30 balls but MI and Afghanistan bowler Allah Ghazanfar took a double-wicket maiden.

It left Warriorz needing 35 from 24 balls before two quiet overs left 21 required from the final 12 balls.

Dinesh Karthik hit a four through mid-wicket but Tom Kohler-Cadmore, who was set on 51, holed out to long on.

Adil Rashid and Karthik exchanged singles and two wides left 11 from the final over but Romario Shepherd removed Karthik and conceded just six to seal the win.

Warriorz had earlier posted 185-8 with Muhammad Waseem top-scoring with 39 and Jonny Bairstow 37.

They were stuttering at 131-5 but Shepherd ensured a strong finish to an innings with an unbeaten 31 off 10 balls.

The win is MI's first and leaves them fourth, while Warriorz are bottom after back-to-back defeats.

• ILT20 fixtures & table

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Sydney Sixers won by one run in an extraordinary finale to pip Adelaide Strikers to the last play-off spot in this year's Women's Big Bash play-offs.

After Ellyse Perry's 111 in Sixers' 173-4 and having fallen to 86-5 in the 14th over, Strikers needed 18 from the last six balls with five wickets left in the winner-takes-all match.

Bridget Patterson, who had reached 51 from 31 balls, then began the final over by striking Ash Gardner for two fours and a six to leave four more runs to get from three balls.

Patterson took a bye after missing a reverse sweep next ball but then Amanda-Jade Wellington was bowled for 31 from 20 balls.

That meant England spinner Sophie Ecclestone emerged with three runs to win from the final ball and she was run out coming back for the second, having only managed to knock a full ball to long-on.

The win lifts Sixers to second in the table and sends them straight into the challenger, thus avoiding the knockout which will feature Perth Scorchers and Melbourne Stars.

Strikers would have made the play-offs with a win but finish sixth.

• WBBL table

Play-off schedule

• 9 December (08:10 GMT): Perth Scorchers v Melbourne Stars

• 11 December (08:10 GMT): Challenger - Sydney Sixers v winner of knockout

• 13 December (08:10 GMT): Final - Hobart Hurricanes v winner of challenger

Commentary of all three play-off matches is available on BBC Sounds.

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Pathum Nissanka hit his second consecutive half-century as Gulf Giants beat Dubai Capitals by four wickets in the International League T20.

Chasing 161, the opener struck six fours and five sixes in a 31-ball 67, putting on 97 for the second wicket with James Vince, who finished with an unbeaten 50.

The Sri Lanka batter's dismissal, caught by Jordan Cox off Mustafizur Rahman, started a run where Giants lost five wickets for 51 runs, but their scoring didn't stall and they reached their target with seven balls to spare.

English batters Jordan Cox and David Willey made 29 and 31 respectively for Capitals after they were put into bat.

All of the Dubai side's top six made it into double figures but Sediqullah Atal was their top-scorer with 35, while captain Dasun Shanaka, batting at number eight, struck an unbroken 23 from nine deliveries as his side closed on 160-6.

That wasn't enough to stop Giants, who also beat MI Emirates in their opening game following Nissanka's 81.

Meanwhile defending champions Capitals start their season with back-to-back defeats.

• ILT20 fixtures & table

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Australia's Beth Mooney hit an unbeaten 94 off 61 balls to guide Perth Scorchers to a seven-wicket win over Brisbane Heat and secure a play-off spot in the Women's Big Bash.

Chasing 165, Mooney hit 12 fours from the top of the order and got Scorchers over the line with four balls to spare.

She shared 42 with Katie Mack (10 off 13) for the first wicket, 67 with Maddy Darke (24 off 22) for the second and 37 with Sophie Devine (13 off 14) for the third.

England's Freya Kemp was unbeaten on 12 off six balls when Scorchers secured the win.

Heat, who end the season winless, posted 164-7 with Georgia Redmayne top-scoring with 57 off 47 balls.

Scorchers final position - and knockout route - will be determined by the result of Sydney Sixers v Adelaide Strikers on Sunday (23:40 GMT, Saturday).

Sixers would finish second with a win and go into the Challenger but defeat would mean Scorchers occupy that spot.

If Sixers win, Scorchers would slip to third and have to win the Knockout and Challenger to make the final against Hobart Hurricanes on 13 December.

• WBBL fixtures & table

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Sydney Thunder dented Melbourne Stars' hopes of a top-two finish in the WBBL with a rain-affected nine-wicket (DLS) win.

Victory for the Stars would have moved them two points clear of third-placed Sydney Sixers with a vastly superior net run-rate.

Instead, they risk being overtaken by the Sixers and Perth Scorchers (one point behind in fifth), who face Adelaide Strikers and winless Brisbane Heat, respectively, in their final league matches.

The second-placed side advances directly to the Challenger match, meaning they only have to win one knockout match to reach the final.

In a match shortened to 10 overs per side, Melbourne Stars made a promising start with a 36-run opening partnership from Meg Lanning and Rhys McKenna but slumped to 66-6.

England's Em Arlott (2-18), Georgia Voll (2-13), and Lucy Finn (2-10) shared the wickets.

Phoebe Litchfield and Voll then made light work of chasing a revised target of 76, smashing 66 off 38 in an explosive first-wicket stand, before Laura Harris sealed the win with a boundary with 17 balls to spare.

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Shimron Hetmyer hit 48 from 25 balls to set up Desert Vipers' two-wicket win over Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in the International League T20.

Chasing 172, Vipers were struggling at 66-4 when Hetmyer came to the crease but he shared 68 with England's Dan Lawrence (35 off 32).

The pair and Hasan Nawaz were dismissed in a six-ball spell but UAE's Khuzaima Bin Tanveer crashed an unbeaten 31 off 12 balls to get Vipers over the line with three balls to spare.

Knight Riders had earlier posted 171-6 with England's World Cup winner Alex Hales hitting 53 off 37 balls.

He shared 39 with Phil Salt (18 off 15) for the first wicket, before a stand of 63 with Alishan Sharafu.

Both were dismissed in quick succession and Sherfane Rutherford and Liam Livingstone followed to leave Knight Riders 122-5.

But West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell gave the innings late momentum with an unbeaten 36 off 23 balls.

Hales is now on 14,285 runs in T20s, leaving him just 277 behind Chris Gayle's record.

The win moves Vipers top of the early standings, while Knight Riders sit third following their first defeat.

• ILT20 fixtures & table

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Georgia Wareham produced a standout all-round performance as Melbourne Renegades kept their WBBL title defence alive with a six-wicket win over Sydney Sixers.

The Australia international picked up 3-21 as the Sixers were restricted to 130-9 before smashing an unbeaten 49 (29) to wrap up a successful chase with 22 balls to spare.

The result moves the Renegades into the top four, level on 10 points with fifth-placed Perth Scorchers but with a superior net run-rate.

However, they have completed all 10 of their group matches while Perth Scorchers have a game in hand and Adelaide Strikers, on eight points, have two games remaining, leaving Renegades' knockout fate out of their control.

Ellyse Perry (65 off 47) and Ash Gardner (16 off 14) were the only batters to reach double figures as the Sixers struggled to form meaningful partnerships.

Wareham dismissed Alyssa Healy for a duck in the fifth over and later struck twice in three balls to remove Mady Villiers and Emma Manix-Geeves while England's Alice Capsey chipped in with 2-27.

Chasing 131, Renegades slipped to 4-2 and later 49-4 before Wareham came together with Courtney Webb (33 off 21) to power them to a comfortable victory.

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Sri Lanka batter Pathum Nissanka hammered 81 from 42 deliveries as Gulf Giants chased down a target of 164 inside 15 overs to beat MI Emirates by six wickets in the International League T20.

The opener, who struck six fours and four sixes, saw Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Gerhard Erasmus fall to Chris Woakes for single figures as Giants found themselves 16-2 in the third over.

Nissanka got their innings back on track, adding 47 with Moeen Ali (26) and 94 with Azmatullah (39 not out) before being caught and bowled by Afghanistan spinner Allah Ghazanfar with Giants seven runs short of victory.

The match was done in the same over as Ghazanfar sent down five wides to give last season's fifth-placed side victory with 32 balls to spare.

MI were 58-4 at the halfway mark of their innings having been put into bat, with England internationals Jonny Bairstow (11) and Tom Banton (six) among the batters to fall cheaply.

The experienced West Indian pair of Nicholas Pooran (46) and Kieron Pollard (50) added 78 for the fifth wicket to drag MI towards respectability.

Pollard reached his half-century from 32 balls in the final over of the innings, but was caught off the next delivery bowled by Azmatullah as MI closed on 163-6.

It leaves Pollard just 275 runs behind compatriot Chris Gayle as the all-time leading run-scorer in T20s.

• ILT20 fixtures & table

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Liam Livingstone struck an unbeaten 82 from 38 balls as Abu Dhabi Knight Riders beat Sharjah Warriorz by 39 runs in the International League T20.

The England batter added 95 for the fourth wicket with Sherfane Rutherford (45 from 27) as Knight Riders stormed to 233-4, the second highest total in the history of the competition, having been put into bat.

Warriorz struggled in their reply, slipping to 54-3 in the seventh over with English batters Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Tom Abell dismissed for 14 and six respectively.

The in-form Australia batter Tim David slammed 60 from 24 balls to revitalise the Warriorz innings, before he was caught by Alex Hales off the bowling of Ajay Kumar to leave his side 120-6 at the end of the 13th over.

Dwaine Pretorius hit 39 from 20 balls before he was bowled by Olly Stone, while Adil Rashid struck 25 from 11 and was dismissed in George Garton's final over as Warriorz finished on 194-9, well short of their target.

• ILT20 fixtures & table

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Sydney Sixers consolidated their place in the Women's Big Bash League knockout places with a 16-run win over Melbourne Stars.

Ash Gardner struck a 31-ball 50 and Sophia Dunkley hit 41, with the pair putting on 55 for the third wicket as Sixers closed on 164-5.

Stars were 30-4 inside the powerplay of their reply, before Maia Bouchier reignited their innings.

The England batter hit 67 from 40 balls, adding 82 for the fifth wicket with Kim Garth.

Gardner, who finished with figures of 3-31, removed Garth, while Bouchier was caught off the bowling of Mady Villiers as Stars finished on 140-8.

The result moves Sixers up to third, level on points with their second-placed opponents with a game in hand, and they are now the only side who can overhaul league leaders Hobart Hurricanes.

In the day's later game, two sides out of contention for the knockout stages faced off, and Sydney Thunder condemned Brisbane Heat to their eighth defeat of the season, beating the bottom side by 23 runs.

Thunder's Phoebe Litchfield hit 61 from 43 from number three, and was the last wicket to fall as the seventh-placed side, who lost four of their top seven for single figures, closed on 153-7.

Heat found themselves on 63-5 in the 13th over, but didn't lose another wicket until Annie O'Neil (33) was caught by Litchfield off Georgia Voll's final ball of the match, ultimately finishing short of their target on 130-6.

• WBBL fixtures & table

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Defending champions Dubai Capitals suffered defeat in the opening match of the new International League T20 season, losing to Desert Vipers by four wickets.

Vipers, the losing finalists to Capitals in February, successfully chased down a target of 151 with an over to spare.

United States wicketkeeper Andries Gous struck 58 from 36 balls from the top of the order, putting on partnerships of 50 with opening partner Fakhar Zaman (26) and 35 with Max Holden (16).

Waqar Salamkheil struck twice in the 13th over to rock the confidence of the Vipers, bowling Gous and having Sam Curran caught for seven.

But Dan Lawrence steered Vipers home from that point, scoring a steady 19 from 16 balls before Khuzaima Tanveer struck the winning runs off the last ball of Scott Currie's penultimate over.

Capitals were 32-3 inside the powerplay after being put into bat, with Gulbadin Naib and Jordan Cox dismissed for zero and two respectively by English seamers Curran and David Payne.

David Willey was bowled by Noor Ahmad for 10, before Mohammad Nabi (29) helped push Capitals towards a respectable score, adding 34 with Rovman Powell (39) and 30 with Dasun Shanaka (12).

Captain Shanaka was the last wicket to fall, to Payne in the final over, as Capitals closed on 150-8, a total they were unable to defend.

• ILT20 fixtures & table

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Perth Scorchers moved into the Women's Big Bash League knockout positions with a 30-run win against Melbourne Renegades.

Captain Sophie Devine top-scored with 40 after Scorchers were put into bat, adding 69 for the third wicket with Maddy Darke (36).

England seamer Issy Wong was the pick of the Renegades bowlers, taking 2-34 with the wickets of Darke and international team-mate Freya Kemp.

Paige Scholfield (10) added an unbroken partnership of 33 with Alana King (22) as Scorchers closed on 184-5.

Renegades were 2-2 and then 34-4 inside the powerplay, with Devine, who finished with figures of 4-25, taking three of those wickets, including that of England's Alice Capsey (12).

Georgia Wareham (43) and Nicole Faltum (28) helped the defending champions recover, putting on 65 for the fifth wicket, but both fell to King in successive overs, with Renegades ultimately finishing on 154-9.

The Melbourne side slip to sixth and will now need to beat fourth-place Sydney Sixers, who have two games in hand, in their final game and hope a string of other results go in their favour in order to qualify for the knockouts.

Meanwhile Scorchers now sit in third, with one match against bottom side Brisbane Heat left to play in the group stage.

• WBBL fixtures & table

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The fourth edition of the International League T20 starts in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday.

The T20 franchise tournament has been brought forward to avoid a clash with February's T20 World Cup and will run until 4 January.

There are 34 matches in total - 30 in the group stage and four in the knockouts.

Six teams are taking part: Abu Dhabi Knight Riders, Desert Vipers, Dubai Capitals, Gulf Giants, MI Emirates and Sharjah Warriorz.

Dubai Capitals are the defending champions after beating Desert Vipers by four wickets in last year's final.

The six sides play each other twice in the group stage, with the top four progressing to the knockouts, which work as follows:

30 December - qualifier 1: First v second (14:30 GMT)

1 January - eliminator: Third v fourth (14:30 GMT)

2 January - qualifier 2: Loser of qualifier 1 v winner of eliminator (14:30 GMT)

4 January - final: Winner of qualifier 1 v winner of qualifier 2 (14:30 GMT)