Franchise Cricket

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Former Australia captain Meg Lanning scored a brilliant century as Melbourne Stars thrashed Sydney Sixers by 111 runs in the Women's Big Bash League.

Lanning hit 135 off 74 balls - the third-highest individual score in WBBL history - as the Stars moved up to third in the table.

The visitors piled up 219-4 in 20 overs before Sixers were set a DLS-adjusted 154 to win.

However, they fell in a heap - slumping to 42 all out, with Australia seamer Kim Garth taking 4-3 off two overs, including the wicket of England's Sophia Dunkley for 5. Alyssa Healy and Ash Gardner both made ducks.

In the day's other game, Hobart Hurricanes stretched their lead at the top with their fifth win from five games.

England's Linsey Smith took 2-33 in Melbourne Renegades' 155 all out, which was boosted by Georgia Wareham's 41 off 26 balls.

Hurriances chased down their DLS-adjusted target for the loss of just four wickets, despite losing England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt for a duck.

Danni Wyatt-Hodge continued her good form with 21 off 15 while Nicola Carey stroked 39 off 29 in a statement win against second-placed Renegades.

WBBL Table

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England all-rounder Liam Livingstone made an unbeaten 27 off 14 balls to guide Quetta Qavalry to a seven-wicket win over Ajman Titans in the Abu Dhabi T10 League and extend their perfect start.

Chasing 108 to win, Livingstone came to the crease at 26-2 but shared 43 with Muhammad Waseem (26 off nine) and an unbeaten 39 with Khawaja Nafay (25* off nine) to Qavalry over the line with 16 balls to spare.

Titans had posted 107-7 with former England all-rounder Moeen Ali smashing an unbeaten 59 off 21 balls, including six sixes.

In the second of Wednesday's games, Jason Roy's 30 was in vain as tournament debutants Royal Champs lost to Vista Riders by nine runs.

Needing 110, Champs were restricted to 100-7 with only Roy and Scotland's Brandon McMullen (25) making double figures.

Riders, who are also a new side for 2025, made 109-7 with Dwaine Pretorius and Ben McDermott both making 31. England's Liam Dawson took 1-21 for Champs.

The opening game of the day saw Northern Warriors pick up their first win this season with a thrilling four-run victory over Aspin Stallions.

Warriors posted 114-1 with Johnson Charles making 55 not out off 34 balls and Colin Munro an unbeaten 38 off 21 deliveries.

Stallions, who are also a new side, were well placed at 56-1 in the fourth over but lost regular wickets to finish 110-7.

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Phoebe Litchfield and Tahlia Wilson hit unbeaten fifties as Sydney Thunder eased to their first win of the Women's Big Bash season by chasing 151 against Perth Scorchers.

After Georgia Voll made 43, fellow opener Wilson scored an unbeaten 55 and Australia left-hander Litchfield 50 not out as the hosts, who had lost their first three matches of the competition, won with 10 balls to spare.

Scorchers had earlier been restricted to 150-7 by an all-round bowling effort despite Katie Mack's 79 from 57 balls.

Opener Mack batted until she was caught off the final ball of the innings but Shabnim Ismail, Samantha Bates, Lucy Finn, Taneale Peschel and Chamari Athapaththu all took a wicket each for Thunder.

Thunder move onto two points and are seventh in the standings. Scorchers are fourth having won two and lost three of their games.

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Tom Kohler-Cadmore smashed an unbeaten 78 off 29 balls as defending champions Deccan Gladiators beat UAE Bulls by six runs on the opening day of the Abu Dhabi T10 League.

The opener brought up his half-century off 20 balls and hit six fours and seven sixes as Gladiators posted 141-2 after being asked to bat.

He shared 98 for the second wicket with Namibia's David Wiese, who made 35 off 17, before Australia's Marcus Stoinis finished the innings with three successive fours.

In reply, England's Phil Salt hit the second, third and fourth ball of the Bulls' chase for six, before he was caught off West Indies' Akeal Hosein off the fifth.

Bulls were struggling at 72-5 with England's Luke Wood removing James Vince and Rovan Powell, but Australia's Tim David gave them hope.

They needed 21 off the final over but David, who faced all six balls, could only add 14.

In Tuesday's other game, Liam Livingstone captained Quetta Qavalry to a comfortable 51-run win over Northern Warriors.

Qavalry were asked to bat first and posted 133-5 with Khawaja Nafay smashing 45 not out off 12 balls. He was supported by Livingstone's 10-ball 24 and Jason Holder's 24 not out.

Warriors were always behind the rate in reply and finished 82-2 with New Zealand's Colin Munro dismissed for 44 off the final ball.

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England batter Danni Wyatt-Hodge continued her sensational form in the Women's Big Bash with 72 not out to lead Hobart Hurricanes to victory over Adelaide Strikers.

Wyatt-Hodge anchored a chase of 135, extending her lead at the top of the run-scoring charts and securing victory with two balls and four wickets remaining.

Hurricanes lost Lizelle Lee for 12, Nat Sciver-Brunt four and Nicola Carey 1 - England spinner Sophie Ecclestone conceded only 12 runs from her four overs for Strikers - but Wyatt-Hodge batted throughout, steadying a chase that had slipped to 51-3.

With eight needed from the final over, the 34-year-old lost the strike after taking a single from the first ball but, after facing a dot ball, Hurricanes number eight Hayley Silver-Holmes nicked a four over the wicketkeeper and sealed the win when a misfield on the rope allowed another boundary.

Wyatt-Hodge now has 251 runs after four innings in the tournament - 98 runs more than Meg Lanning in second place who has played one game fewer.

Hurricanes, meanwhile, are top of the standings with four wins from four.

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Defending champions Melbourne Renegades beat city rivals Stars by four wickets to move second in the Women's Big Bash table.

Chasing 142, they lost England's Davina Perrin in the second over, before captain Sophie Molineux (32 off 32) and Courtney Webb (37 off 36) shared 58 for the second wicket to put Renegades in a strong position.

Molineux was stumped off Marizanne Kapp from the final ball of the 10th over, before England's Alice Capsey (10) fell 13 balls later.

Webb was then trapped lbw by Australia's Kim Garth to leave Renegades 92-4 and needing 50 from 34 balls.

Georgia Wareham hit 19 from 14 balls and West Indies all-rounder Deandra Dottin smashed 13 from six balls but both were dismissed.

However, Tess Flintoff got Renegades over the line with seven balls to spare with an unbeaten 17 from nine balls.

Earlier, Stars posted 141-7 with Rhys McKenna making 32 and Annabel Sutherland 29. Dottin was the pick of the Renegades' bowlers with 3-20.

In Sunday's other game Perth Scorchers beat Adelaide Strikers by nine runs in a rain-affected game.

Strikers were bowled out for 112, with Scorchers captain Sophie Devine claiming 3-12 from three overs.

Beth Mooney was dismissed for a first-ball duck in Scorchers' chase but they were 55-2 after 9.1 overs when the rain arrived and that was enough to secure the win on the DLS method.

They are fourth in the table with two wins and two defeats, while Strikers sit fifth.

• WBBL fixtures & table

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Sixteen-year-old Caoimhe Bray took a hat-trick as Sydney Sixers beat city rivals Thunder by 24 runs in the Women's Big Bash.

Bray, who became the tournament's youngest player last season, removed Australia's Phoebe Litchfield at the end of the seventh over, before getting Sri Lanka's Chamari Athapaththu and Laura Harris with the first two balls of the ninth.

It is the seventh hat-trick in the history of the WBBL, and the first since 2021.

Chasing 143, Thunder recovered from 49-7 to finish on 118-8, with Lucy Finn top-scoring with 49 not out off 34 balls.

Earlier, Sixers posted 143-9 with England's Sophia Dunkley top-scoring with 43 off 35 balls and Alyssa Healy 26 off 15 balls.

Sixers move second in the table, while Thunder are seventh after three defeats in three games.

• WBBL fixtures & table

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India legend Ravindra Jadeja has been involved in a blockbuster trade that will see him return to Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League.

The 36-year-old, who will turn 37 before the tournament next year, started his IPL career at the Royals and has scored 3,260 runs and taken 170 wickets in 254 matches.

He leaves Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to return to the Royals for 14 Indian crore (approx £1.2m), while India wicketkeeper Sanju Samson moves the other way at his existing league fee of 18 crore (approx £1.54m).

Samson, 31, has played for the Royals in 11 of his 13 IPL seasons and CSK will be his third franchise.

England all-rounder Sam Curran has also moved with Jadeja for 2.4 crore (approx £205,000). The Royals will be his third IPL franchise after different spells at CSK and Punjab Kings since 2019.

India quick Mohammed Shami has been traded to Lucknow Super Giants from Sunrisers Hyderabad for 10 crore (approx £855,000), while batter Nitish Rana has joined Delhi Capitals from Rajasthan Royals for 4.2 crore (approx £375,000).

Sachin Tendulkar's son Arjun has moved from Mumbai Indians to Lucknow Super Giants for 30 lakh, while leg-spinner Mayank Markande has joined Mumbai from Kolkata Knight Riders.

South Africa all-rounder Donovan Ferreira also returns to the Royals from the Capitals for 1 crore (approx £85,000).

Those moves complete the trades after India's Shardul Thakur and West Indies batter Sherfane Rutherford joined Mumbai earlier in the week.

The 10 sides had until 15 November to inform the league of trades and their retentions for the 2026 season.

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England's Danni Wyatt-Hodge continued her impressive start as Hobart Hurricanes extended their perfect run with a 16-run win over Brisbane Heat in a rain-affected Women's Big Bash game.

Wyatt-Hodge made 44 off 26 balls at the top of the order as Hurricanes posted 114-1 in their 12 overs.

The right-hander, who now has 179 runs in three innings, shared 109 for the first wicket with Lizelle Lee (59 not out off 45).

In reply, Heat, who have lost all three of their matches, finished 108-9, chasing a revised 125.

They were going well at 68-2 after seven overs but lost Jess Jonassen, Chinelle Henry, Nadine de Klerk and Georgia Redmayne in the next three overs to fall behind the rate.

Nicola Carey, Heather Graham and Molly Strano all took two wickets as Hurricanes go three from three with their 16-run win on DLS.

• WBBL fixtures & table

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Peter Moores has stepped up to replace Andy Flower as head coach of Trent Rockets' men's side in The Hundred.

Moores, 62, was Flower's assistant during the 2025 edition of the tournament, where the Rockets were beaten in the final by Oval Invincibles.

Zimbabwean Flower, 57, left the Rockets to replace Justin Langer as head coach of London Spirit last month.

"It feels like a good time to be taking over the Rockets, and I'm really excited about the opportunity to lead the team," said Moores.

"I see this as a great opportunity to continue on from the strong and successful foundations built by Andy Flower."

Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly's company Cain International has agreed to buy a 49% share of Trent Rockets, with Nottinghamshire Cricket Club retaining control of the other 51%. Confirmation of the deal is yet to be formally announced.

"The investment and energy that's coming into The Hundred, and the change of ownership at the Rockets in particular, make it a really exciting time," added Moores.

Moores led Nottinghamshire to the County Championship title this year, becoming the only man to win the competition with three different sides - having previously done so with Sussex and Lancashire.

He has been Nottinghamshire head coach since 2016 and signed a new three-year deal with the club in August.

Moores also spent two spells as England head coach - between 2007 and 2009, before returning to replace Flower in 2014 - but was sacked after a poor World Cup and drawn Test series in West Indies in 2015.

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Bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur and West Indies batter Sherfane Rutherford have joined Mumbai Indians for the 2026 Indian Premier League after trades were agreed.

Shardul, 34, moves from Lucknow Super Giants, who he played for as an injury replacement this year.

He had a solid campaign with 13 wickets in 10 matches and joins for his current fee of two crore rupees (£171,000).

Left-hander Rutherford scored 291 runs in Gujarat Titans' run to the play-offs and moves for 2.6 crore (£222,000)

IPL franchises are currently able to make player trades, either by swapping players or in direct cash deals, prior to the auction which is expected to be held next month.

Chennai Super Kings are reportedly in talks, external to trade England all-rounder Sam Curran and India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja for Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson.

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Danni Wyatt-Hodge's 45 and two wickets for England team-mate Linsey Smith helped Hobart Hurricanes continue their winning start to the Women's Big Bash with a comfortable six-wicket win over Sydney Sixers.

Wyatt-Hodge put on 95 with opening partner Lizelle Lee, hitting six fours and two sixes, to break the back of a chase of 153 and become the tournament's leading run-scorer after two matches.

Lee made 55, England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt eased 21 and Nicola Carey ended 26 not out as Hurricanes won with 3.1 overs to spare.

Earlier, spinner Smith took 2-15 in two overs as Sixers were restricted to 152-9.

Australia captain Alyssa Healy scored 37 and international team-mate Ellyse Perry 33 but England batter Sophia Dunkley was out for six, captain Ash Gardner nine and New Zealand international Melie Kerr a first-ball duck.

Uncapped 22-year-old Australian seamer Hayley Silver-Holmes took 3-18.

Hurricanes move to the top of the standings with two wins from two games, overtaking Melbourne Renegades courtesy of their early-season net run-rate.

Sixers are third, having beat Perth Scorchers in their opener.