Salt and Mooney to captain Manchester Originalspublished at 11:15 31 July
11:15 31 July
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Phil Salt and Beth Mooney will captain Manchester Originals in the 2025 edition of The Hundred.
England wicketkeeper Salt inherits the permanent role from Jos Buttler after previously serving as interim captain during 2023 and 2024.
Salt has represented the Originals since 2021, scoring 935 runs in 35 matches.
Australia international Mooney replaces England spinner Sophie Ecclestone, who captained the side for the past two seasons.
Mooney, who has previously captained Gujarat Giants in the Women's Premier League, scored 191 runs in eight matches for Manchester Originals last year.
Manchester Originals are two-time finalists in the men's edition of The Hundred but finished seventh in 2024.
The women's side are yet to progress beyond the group stage, achieving a highest placing of fifth in 2021.
Big Bash to consider private ownership published at 12:16 30 July
12:16 30 July
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Cricket Australia (CA) will consider private investment in the eight Big Bash franchises after a recommendation from a consulting firm.
CA commissioned Boston Consulting Group (BCG) to recommend ways the Big Bash could "evolve and capitalise on the past 15 years of innovation and investment across Australian cricket".
The report suggested that CA could seek alternative forms of investment and ownership – including allowing private ownership for the first time.
CA say no timeline has seen set and they will work with state and territory bodies and Big Bash clubs as well as the players' union and its broadcast and commercial partners as it assesses the recommendations, promising a "thorough exploratory process".
Other recommendations included schedule changes, with the tournament possibly starting on 26 December to avoid more of the Australia Test summer and increase player availability.
Increased salary caps to draw more top-tier international players was described as a "key recommendation".
CA chief executive Todd Greenberg said the BCG report was "strong validation" for the 15 years of innovation, fan engagement and success of the Big Bash.
"As well as creating amazing fan experiences, under its current operating model the League and its clubs are valuable assets with significant potential for growth.
"The success of the T20 format has been a huge boost for the game globally in attracting new audiences and increasing participation. We need to ensure that the Big Bash remains among the world's top sporting competitions."
England's Buttler among players retained in SA20published at 11:50 23 July
11:50 23 July
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England's Jos Buttler, Will Jacks and Jonny Bairstow are among the players retained by franchises in South Africa's SA20 competition, prior to the league's draft.
Sides are allowed to hold on to a maximum of six players, three domestic and three international, plus an extra "wildcard" signing, with the remainder of their squads from last season released into the draft on 9 September.
The English trio have been retained by Durban's Super Giants, Pretoria Capitals and Sunrisers Eastern Cape respectively.
Fellow internationals James Vince and Richard Gleeson have also been kept on by Joburg Super Kings.
Sunil Narine, Rashid Khan and Andre Russell, all veterans of the franchise circuit, are among the overseas players signed up by franchises, while home stars Heinrich Klaasen, Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen have also been retained.
However fellow South African internationals Aiden Markram, Lungi Ngidi, Wiaan Mulder, Quinton de Kock, Anrich Nortje and Keshav Maharaj, along with recent caps Dewald Brevis and Kwena Maphaka, have all been released.
Champions MI Cape Town are the only franchise to use all six of their player slots, with each retention reducing the amount of money a side has to spend at the draft.
The SA20's fourth season will start on Boxing Day and run through to a final on 25 January.
Retained players
Durban's Super Giants (£1.24m)
*Sunil Narine, *Noor Ahmad, *Jos Buttler, Heinrich Klaasen (Wildcard)
Guyana Amazon Warriors win Global Super Leaguepublished at 14:10 19 July
14:10 19 July
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Guyana Amazon Warriors won the second edition of the T20 Global Super League with a 32-run victory over Rangpur Riders in the tournament's final played in Providence, Guyana.
A 121-stand for the second wicket between Johnson Charles and Rahmanullah Gurbaz provided the backbone of the Warriors' total of 196-4.
Charles made 67 off 48 balls while Gurbaz hammered four sixes in his 38-ball 66 for the Caribbean Premier League outfit.
Khaled Ahmed, Tabraiz Shamsi and Iftikhar Ahmed all claimed a wicket apiece for Riders of the Bangladesh Premier League.
Former England all-rounder Moeen Ali (1-13) removed Kyle Mayers to leave the Riders in deep trouble at 29-3 in the sixth over of their response.
Iftikhar's 46 off 29 balls helped steady the ship for the Riders as he and Saif Hassan, who whacked 41 off 29 balls, kept them in the hunt.
However, when both players departed the run rate climbed as Dwaine Pretorius (3-37) and Imran Tahir (2-39) helped the Warriors dismiss the Riders for 164.
Tahir was named player of the series after taking 14 wickets in the tournament, organised by Cricket West Indies and featuring franchise teams from Caribbean, Australia, Bangladesh, New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates.
MI New York defeat Washington for second MLC titlepublished at 19:44 14 July
19:44 14 July
Image source, Major League Cricket
MI New York claimed their second Major League Cricket title as they defeated Washington Freedom by five runs in Dallas.
Seamer Rushil Ugarkar conceded just six runs from the final over and dismissed Australia international Glenn Maxwell as 2024 champions Washington closed on 175-5.
Washington topped the table in the group stage, while New York finished fourth and won consecutive play-off games to reach the final.
Quinton de Kock starred in New York's innings, hitting 77 from 46 balls and putting on a 72-run opening partnership with Monank Patel that looked set to fire their side to score over 200.
His dismissal, along with those of Nicholas Pooran (21) and Kieron Pollard (0), meant New York lost three wickets for one run over the space of six balls, stalling their innings in its last quarter, and they finished on 180-7.
Washington lost Mitchell Owen, who would be named the tournament's most valuable player at the end of the match, and Andries Gous for ducks in Trent Boult's opening over.
Owen's opening partner Rachin Ravindra pressed on, scoring 70 from 41 and adding 82 with Jack Edwards (33).
Uncapped American Ugarkar ended Ravindra's charge in the 16th over, but the experienced duo of Maxwell (16) and Glenn Phillips (48) took over, and Washington needed 12 from the final over of the match.
The pair took singles from the first two balls of the over, but dot balls either side of Maxwell being caught in the deep ensured that Obus Pienaar's final-ball four would not be enough to deny New York a second title.
MI New York beat Texas Super Kings to reach MLC finalpublished at 11:27 12 July
11:27 12 July
Image source, Major League Cricket
MI New York reached the final of Major League Cricket with a seven-wicket win over Texas Super Kings in Dallas.
New York, who won the inaugural tournament in 2023, will face defending champions Washington Freedom in the final on Sunday (01:00 BST, Monday).
They chased 167 with an over to spare as West Indies duo Nicholas Pooran (52* off 36) and Kieron Pollard (47* off 22) shared an unbroken 89 off 40 balls to get them over the line.
Captain Pooran sealed their progress with a six off the final ball of the 19th over to move to his half-century.
Super Kings had posted 166-5 with Faf du Plessis making 59 off 42 balls at the top of the order.
They were 85-5 in the 14th over and threatening to not post a defendable score but West Indies' Akeal Hosein (55* off 32) and South Africa's Donovan Ferreira (32* off 20) put on 81 for the sixth wicket.
The win completes New York's remarkable turnaround after just one victory in their opening seven games.
They finished fourth in the group stage with three wins but have won successive knockout matches to reach the final.
Renegades to face Heat in opening WBBL fixturepublished at 09:22 11 July
09:22 11 July
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Defending champions Melbourne Renegades will face Brisbane Heat in the opening game of the 2025-26 Women's Big Bash on 9 December.
The tournament will begin one week after the Women's 50-over World Cup concludes in India.
The opening day will also see Sydney Thunder host Hobart Hurricanes and Perth Scorchers entertain Sydney Sixers.
The 40-match group stage will run until 7 December, with the top four teams progressing to the play-offs.
The final is due to take place on Sunday, 13 December - the day before the men's competition gets under way.
A host of England players are due to feature in the tournament including captain Nat Sciver-Brunt, spinner Sophie Ecclestone and batter Sophia Dunkley, who was the number one pick in the draft.
Boult key as MI New York progress in MLC play-offspublished at 07:09 10 July
07:09 10 July
Image source, Major League Cricket
Trent Boult played a leading hand as MI New York clinched a tense two-wicket win over San Francisco Unicorns in the Major League Cricket play-offs.
Left-arm Kiwi quick Boult took 2-19 to help bowl the Unicorns out for 131 but it was his heroics with the bat in the Eliminator which proved crucial.
MI had been cruising at 92-3 after Monank Patel and Quinton de Kock both made 33 to get the chase off to a brisk start.
However, they lost five wickets for 16 runs to slump to 108-8 as Hassan Khan claimed 4-30 and Matthew Shot bagged 3-22 for the Unicorns.
With 3.1 overs remaining Boult smacked two sixes in his 13-ball 22 to put New York within touching distance of the target.
Nosthush Kenjige then hit the winning run to seal a tense victory with three balls to spare at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas.
Earlier, the Unicorns had battled back after they had been reduced to 16-5 by Boult and Kenjige, who took 2-43.
Australian duo Cooper Connolly and Xavier Bartlett made 23 and 44 respectively for the Unicorns, while Rushil Ugarkar claimed 3-19 for MI, but the day belonged to Boult.
"Everyone jokes about my batting but it was obviously nice to contribute," said the New Zealander.
Following their victory in the eliminator match MI will now face Texas Super Kings in the Qualifier 2 match for the right to face defending MLC champions Washington Freedom in the final.
It brings a disappointing end to Unicorns' tournament. They started the tournament with six straight wins but lost three of their final four group-stage matches to slip into third.
Major League Cricket play-off schedule
Both matches start at 01:00 BST
Saturday, 11 July: Qualifier 2 - Texas Super Kings v MI New York
Monday, 14 July: Final - Washington Freedom v Winner of Qualifier 2
MI Cape Town to face Durban's Super Giants in SA20 openerpublished at 11:30 9 July
11:30 9 July
Image source, SA20
Defending champions MI Cape Town will face Durban's Super Giants in the opening game of the SA20 on 26 December.
It was already known that the fourth edition of the tournament would be brought forward to avoid a clash with the T20 World Cup that is due to take place in February and March in India and Sri Lanka.
The 30-match group stage runs until 19 January, before the four knockout matches, with the final on 25 January.
The tournament with overlap in part with Australia's Big Bash League, which will run between 21 November and 7 January, and the International League T20 in the United Arab Emirates from 2 December to 4 January.
Retained players and pre-signings are expected to be announced in the next couple of months before the auction, where teams will complete their squad, on 9 September.
Freedom qualify for MLC final after washoutpublished at 06:47 9 July
06:47 9 July
Image source, Major League Cricket
Washington Freedom have qualified the final of Major League Cricket after their play-off match with Texas Super Kings was abandoned without a ball being bowled.
The Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas was hit by heavy rain and with no prospect of play the match was called off at 21:45 CDT (03:45 BST).
Freedom, who bidding to win back-to-back MLC titles, progress to the final having finished top of the table during the league stage.
The Super Kings will get a second chance to reach the final when they face the winners of the eliminator match between MI New York and San Francisco Unicorns.
Major League Cricket play-off schedule
All matches start at 01:00 BST
Friday, 10 July: Eliminator - MI New York v San Francisco Unicorns
Saturday, 11 July: Qualifier 2 - Texas Super Kings v Winner of Eliminator
Monday, 14 July: Final - Washington Freedom v Winner of Qualifier 2
Willey and Gardner handed Rockets' captaincypublished at 16:18 8 July
16:18 8 July
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Trent Rockets have named David Willey and Ash Gardner as captain of their men's and women's teams respectively.
Former England all-rounder Willey, 35, replaces Lewis Gregory as captain for his first season at Trent Bridge.
Australia's Gardner takes over from England skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt, who stepped down from the role to manage her workload.
Gardner, 28, joined the Rockets for her first taste of The Hundred last year, finishing as both the side's second-highest run-scorer and leading wicket-taker.
"Playing for the Rockets last year was so much fun and it will be incredible this year to lead the team," said Gardner.
"Taking over from Nat is an honour, and we have a great squad this year so I'm really excited to get going as captain."
Trent Rockets' first fixtures are against Birmingham Phoenix on 8 August. Both the men's and women's side finished fifth last season.
Curran & Salt retained in ILT20 as Livingstone & Woakes sign uppublished at 15:08 7 July
15:08 7 July
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England opener Phil Salt and all-rounder Sam Curran have been retained for the fourth season of the International League T20, while Liam Livingstone, Luke Wood and Chris Woakes have also been signed.
Curran, who finished as the fifth-highest run-scorer last year and averaged 55.28, remains at Desert Vipers after being named player of the tournament.
Salt averaged 37.50 in three matches and stays with Abu Dhabi Knight Riders alongside West Indies' Andre Russell and Sunil Narine.
All-rounder Livingstone is also part of the Knight Riders squad, as is Alex Hales who has moved from Vipers.
Tom Banton, who finished as the second-highest run-scorer with 493 last year, will stay at MI Emirates and be joined by Woakes, who played for Sharjah Warriorz in 2024.
Left-arm seamer Wood has played for Vipers before but is set to represent Dubai Capitals alongside Shai Hope and Rovman Powell of West Indies.
The fourth season of the ILT20 will run from 2 December to 4 January.
Player retentions for season four
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders: Alishan Sharafu, Andre Russell, Charith Asalanka, Phil Salt and Sunil Narine.
Desert Vipers: Dan Lawrence, David Payne, Khuzaima Bin Tanveer, Lockie Ferguson, Max Holden, Sam Curran and Wanindu Hasaranga.
Du Plessis retires on 91 as Super Kings thrash Orcas in MLCpublished at 11:24 6 July
11:24 6 July
Image source, Major League Cricket
Faf du Plessis selflessly retired out nine runs short of a third century in this year's Major League Cricket as his Texas Super Kings side thrashed Seattle Orcas by 51 runs.
The veteran South African had hammered 84 off 43 deliveries, including six fours and four sixes, but suddenly started to struggle to find the boundary.
A sequence of seven runs off his next nine deliveries prompted Du Plessis to walk off at the end of the 19th over on 91 having seemingly run out of steam at the Broward County Stadium in Florida.
As it happened the Super Kings only managed another seven runs off the last six balls as they posted 188-4 with Shubham Ranjane unbeaten on 65 from 41 balls.
Seattle lost former Australia opener David Warner, bowled by Adam Milne for nine, early in their response as Kyle Mayers' 35 off 28 balls gave them a platform of sorts.
However, a number of the Orcas' middle failed to build on promising starts with Shimron Hetmyer (26 off 16 balls) unable to perform the kind of heroics which had propelled them to three wins in their last four matches.
Akeal Hosein, who removed the dangerous Hetmyer, and Noor Ahmad stifled the Seattle middle order with two wickets apiece.
Milne then returned to bowl the Orcas out for 137 in the 19th over as he claimed 5-23 - the Kiwi's first five-wicket haul in MLC and his third overall in domestic T20 cricket.
Super Kings moved into top spot in the MLC standings on 14 points, level with Washington Freedom and San Francisco Unicorns but having played a game more.
Unicorns edge Super Kings as Freedom move secondpublished at 11:28 5 July
11:28 5 July
Image source, MLC
San Francisco Unicorns held onto top spot in the Major League Cricket (MLC) standings after edging Texas Super Kings by one run in a low-scoring encounter in Lauderhill.
Matthew Short produced a captain's knock to anchor Unicorns' innings, rescuing his side from 19-3 in the final over of the powerplay to 148-6.
Batting from ball one, he was eventually dismissed off the final ball of the innings for 80 (63). Romario Shepherd, batting at six, supported him with 40 off 25.
Regular wickets disrupted Texas Super Kings' chase, with Shepherd striking twice in the penultimate over to break a dangerous 55-run stand between Donovan Ferreira (39 off 20) and Shubman Ranjane (28 off 27).
With 13 runs required off the last over, two fours from Mohammad Mohsin helped reduce the equation to three off one ball.
However, Super Kings could only grab a single, with Calvin Savage run out as he searched for a second run to tie the game.
Defending champions Washington Freedom capitalised on Super Kings' defeat to climb back into second place, thrashing Seattle Orcas by eight wickets.
After slumping to 19-5 in the powerplay, Orcas were bowled out for 82, with Heinrich Klaasen (48 off 39) the only batter to reach double figures. Glenn Maxwell picked up 3-12.
Freedom completed their chase with 64 balls to spare, with Mukhtar Ahmed (36 off 21) and Rachin Ravindra (32 off 23) the standout contributors.
Unicorns, who had lost their past two matches, lead Freedom, who also have 14 points, on net run-rate, with Super Kings two points back in third place.
MI New York could climb above Seattle Orcas and into fourth place with victory over bottom side Los Angeles Knight Riders on Saturday (5 July).
Boult stars as MI New York beat LA Knight Riders in MLCpublished at 10:20 4 July
10:20 4 July
Image source, Major League Cricket
Trent Boult claimed 4-17 before Nicholas Pooran hit an unbeaten 62 as MI New York cruised to an eight-wicket win over LA Knight Riders in Major League Cricket's basement battle.
Left-arm Kiwi quick Boult captured four of LA's top order as they were restricted to 154-8 from their 20 overs at Central Broward Park in Lauderhill, Florida.
Sherfane Rutherford was the only batter to make an impact for the Knight Riders as he whacked six sixes and five fours in his 44-ball 86 before he too was dismissed by Boult.
Kieron Pollard stifled LA's hopes of boosting their total late on as the veteran Trinidadian franchise star bagged the wickets of his old West Indies team-mates Rovman Powell and Jason Holder en route to 2-15.
Sunil Narine (1-26) removed the dangerous Quinton de Kock for 11 to give LA hope at the start of MI's chase.
But once Pooran overcame an uncharacteristically circumspect start, and settled in alongside Monank Patel, the total looked a formality for New York .
The pair shared a 112-run stand for the second wicket before USA captain Patel chipped Andre Russell (1-43) into the hands of Powell at mid-off for a 44-ball 56.
Pooran hit six fours and two sixes in his 47-ball knock as he and Pollard, who clubbed two sixes in his 14 not out, got MI over the line with 13 balls to spare.
With just one victory Knight Riders are bottom of the MLC standings with MI two points above them in fifth following just their second win of the season.
Super Kings beat Freedom to move second in MLCpublished at 11:45 3 July
11:45 3 July
Image source, Major League Cricket
Texas Super Kings leapfrogged Washington Freedom into second place in the Major League Cricket standings with a 43-run victory over the defending champions.
In a rain-affected meeting in Lauderhill, Donovan Ferreira struck an unbeaten nine-ball 37, including hitting Mitch Owen for three consecutive sixes, as Super Kings posted an imposing 87-2 from their five overs.
South Africa international Ferreira shared a 53-run third-wicket stand off 12 balls with Shubham Ranjane (39 not out off 14) after Super Kings lost captain Marcus Stoinis inside two balls and retired Daryl Mitchell out at the end of the third over.
Washington Freedom's chase of 88 never gained momentum, with Nandre Burger striking twice in the first over to remove Rachin Ravindra and Glenn Maxwell before Akeal Hosein dismissed Owen in the second.
Glenn Phillips' unbeaten 18 (11) was the top score as Freedom posted 44-4.
San Francisco Unicorns, Texas Super Kings, and Washington Freedom, who each have two group matches remaining, are level on 12 points and separated only by net run rate.
Seattle Orcas (six points) occupy the final playoff spot and are four points clear of MI New York and Los Angeles Knight Riders.
Scorchers v Sixers to start 2025-26 Big Bashpublished at 11:29 3 July
11:29 3 July
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Perth Scorchers, the most successful side in Big Bash League history, will start the 2025-26 season against Sydney Sixers on 14 December.
The full schedule was announced on Thursday with the 57-match league phase running until 18 January.
The knockouts start on 20 January, with the final due to take place on 25 January.
The tournament will overlap with the men's Ashes between England and Australia, which runs from 21 November to 7 January.
All-rounder Jamie Overton is likely the only England player who may have to juggle commitments, but they may opt to release him to play in the Big Bash before February's T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.
Hobart Hurricanes are the defending champions after a seven-wicket win over Sydney Thunder in last year's final.
The schedule for the women's tournament, which runs before the men's competition, is yet to be announced.
It is likely to start shortly after the conclusion of the women's 50-over World Cup on 2 November.
Image source, Getty Images
