Australia players take home BBL & WBBL awardspublished at 12:13 3 February
12:13 3 February
Image source, Getty Images
Four Australians have shared the player of the tournament awards for the men's and women's Big Bash Leagues.
Melbourne Stars all-rounder Glenn Maxwell and Perth Scorchers all-rounder Cooper Connolly shared the men's award.
Two-time winner Ellyse Perry of Sydney Sixers and Brisbane Heat's Jess Jonassen won the women's award.
Maxwell scored 325 runs at an average of 54.16 and strike-rate of 186.78 as Stars recovered from defeats in their first five games to make the play-offs. He also took a tournament-high 14 catches and claimed one wicket.
Connolly was the third-highest run-scorer with 351 runs at 50.14. The spinner also took six wickets as Scorchers failed to progress.
Perry, who also won the award in 2018-19, was the top run-scorer with 424 and had a tournament-high average of 53. She also took six wickets and six catches.
Jonassen was the third-highest wicket-taker with 17 and the left-hander also scored 218 runs.
None of the winners played for the tournament winners with Hobart Hurricanes claiming the men's tournament and Melbourne Renegades the women's.
England bowler Cross opts out of WPL published at 09:51 3 February
09:51 3 February
Image source, Getty Images
England seamer Kate Cross has opted out of playing for defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Women's Premier League (WPL).
Cross, 33, was part of England's squad for their 16-0 defeat by Australia in the Women's Ashes in January but was unable to play any part because of a back injury.
She has been replaced by Australia seamer Kim Garth, 28, who took nine wickets in the Ashes.
Australia all-rounder Heather Graham, 28, has also replaced New Zealand's Sophie Devine at RCB. Devine, 35, is taking a break from cricket to protect her mental wellbeing.
Australia captain Alyssa Healy, 34, will also not be playing any part in the tournament as she continues to manage a foot injury and has been replaced by West Indies' Chinelle Henry, 29, at UP Warriorz.
Garth played for Gujarat Giants in the opening WPL season but Graham and Henry are yet to feature in the women's equivalent of the Indian Premier League.
The third edition of the WPL begins on 14 February.
MI Cape Town finish group stage with Capitals winpublished at 20:59 2 February
Connor Esterhuizen (69) and Sediqullah Atal (74) put on 133 for the opening wicket as the league leaders, who made seven changes with their knockout place already secured, posted 201-5 having won the toss and chosen to bat.
England batter Will Jacks was dismissed from the first ball of the Capitals' reply, caught behind off the bowling of spinner Dane Piedt.
Compatriot Will Smeed (15) was also removed cheaply, while New Zealander Jimmy Neesham (32 from 24) top-scored, having also taken 3-32 in MI Cape Town's innings.
Jason Behrendorff was the last man to fall as the Capitals were all out for 106 in the 14th over.
The result has no effect on the make-up of the play-offs, with the line-up already decided prior to this match.
MI Cape Town face second-placed Paarl Rocks in the first qualifier on Tuesday (15:30 GMT), with the winner going straight to the final and the losers playing the victors of Wednesday's eliminator between Sunrisers Eastern Cape and Joburg Super Kings (15:30 GMT).
The Capitals finish in fifth position, one place short of the play-offs, having won two of their 10 games.
Warner powers Capitals into ILT20 play-offspublished at 20:42 2 February
The veteran Australian, who was playing his first game of the tournament after captaining Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash, struck 12 fours and one six from 57 balls at the top of the order as the Capitals posted 217-4 in Dubai.
Shai Hope (36 from 24) and Gulbadin Naib (47 from 25) also scored swiftly, while Dasun Shanaka blasted 34 from 12 having flown in from hitting a first-class century in Sri Lanka earlier in the day.
In the chase West Indian Kyle Mayers (42) and USA international Andries Gous (78) put on 96 for the opening wicket before Mayers was bowled by Naib.
Gous and English batter Joe Clarke (29 from 22) added a partnership off 55 for the second wicket, but the Knight Riders were falling behind the rate and Clarke retired at the end of the 16th over to bring in the big-hitting Andre Russell.
Gous was dismissed from the next delivery, caught off the bowling of Dushmantha Chameera, and Russell was caught by Sam Billings two balls later to effectively end the Knight Riders' challenge.
The West Indian pair of Jason Holder (16) and Sunil Narine (22) closed out the innings after David Willey was caught for one, with Knight Riders finishing on 191-5.
The losing side now cannot qualify for the play-offs and finish the group stage bottom of the table.
Warner's team conclude the group stage against league leaders Desert Vipers on Monday (14:30 GMT).
Kohler-Cadmore hits Warriorz into ILT20 knockoutspublished at 13:40 2 February
13:40 2 February
Image source, International League T20
Tom Kohler-Cadmore thumped an unbeaten 91 from 52 balls as Sharjah Warriorz booked their place in the International League T20 (ILT20) knockout stage with an eight-wicket win over already-qualified MI Emirates.
The Englishman smashed seven fours and five sixes in a brutal knock as the Warriorz chased down MI Emirates' 173-5 with 16 balls to spare.
Another Englishman, Tom Banton, led the way for MI Emirates with a superb 84 not out from 51 balls but, ultimately, it proved to be in a losing cause.
Kohler-Cadmore ensured the Warriorz were always in control of the chase, putting on 38 with Johnson Charles and then 36 with former England opener Jason Roy.
Roy was run out for 22, bringing Australia left-hander Matthew Wade to the crease and he went on to share an unbroken stand of 102 with Kohler-Cadmore as the Warriorz cruised to a third straight win.
Sharjah move up to third, level on points with MI Emirates a place ahead of them.
Gulf Giants drop to fourth and now need Dubai Capitals to lose both of their remaining games if they are to progress.
Ferreira's rapid fifty in vain as Super Kings lose in SA20 published at 20:31 1 February
20:31 1 February
Image source, SA20
Donovan Ferreira's belligerent half-century was in vain as Joburg Super Kings suffered an 11-run defeat on DLS against Durban's Super Giants in the SA20.
After rain interrupted their chase Super Kings, who left out England's Jonny Bairstow, needed a revised 147 in 16 overs but they were struggling at 68-5 after 10.1 overs when Ferreira came to the crease.
The all-rounder was brilliant though and smashed five sixes - including 105m and 107m shots out of the ground - to leave 21 required from the final over.
Hardus Viljoen was run out at the non-striker's end from the first ball before Ferreira was caught behind off the fourth, after receiving treatment for a stomach injury following the previous delivery.
He finished with 51 off 22 balls and his half-century, which came up off 21 deliveries, is the fastest in the tournament this year.
Dwaine Pretorius closed out the over and secured just a second win in 10 games for Super Giants, who had already been eliminated.
Super Giants had been 39-3 in their innings but South Africa international Heinrich Klassen made 76 not out from 47 balls as they posted 173-4.
Super Kings had already qualified for the knockouts and will face defending champions Sunrisers Eastern Cape in the eliminator on Wednesday.
MI Cape Town will face Paarl Royals in the first qualifier with the winner reaching the final. The loser will face the winner of the eliminator in the second qualifier for the second final spot.
Tom Curran keeps Giants alive in ILT20published at 17:40 1 February
Curran came to the crease with Giants 23-2 after James Vince made seven and Jordan Cox was dismissed for a first-ball duck.
Giants were chasing 124 to stay in the competition and Curran struck three fours and one six in his 35-ball knock.
He shared 70 with Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus (47 off 51) and an unbroken 31 with Shimron Hetmyer (19 not out off 10 balls) as Giants won with 13 balls to spare.
Knight Riders posted 123-7 after being asked to bat with David Willey making 41 off 29 balls.
Curran took 1-36 and fellow England bowler Chris Jordan claimed 2-20.
The win lifts Giants to third, but they have now played all their games, and will be relying on other results to progress to the knockouts.
Knight Riders are bottom of the six-team table and must win their final match on Sunday and then rely on other results and net run-rate to progress.
The Somerset all-rounder took three wickets for the Sunrisers in his first two overs after they had set Paarl, who had already progressed to the play-offs, a target of 149.
He then took a superb catch, leaping high to his right just inside the boundary rope to dismiss Bjorn Fortuin, who had lifted Aiden Markram high towards long-on.
Sunrisers posted 148-8 from their 20 overs, with Jordan Hermann top-scoring with 53, but a rapid 43 including three sixes from Tristan Stubbs helped stave off a potentially disappointing total.
Overton's fiery opening burst helped reduce the Royals to 22-5, but only a partnership of 49 between Rubin Hermann and Andile Phehlukwayo threatened Eastern Cape's total.
Marco Jansen took 3-22 as Paarl were dismissed for 100.
The result means that Paarl will finish second in the SA20 table behind MI Cape Town, who still have a game to play, while Sunrisers are in third place five points ahead of Joburg Super Kings, who also have one game remaining.
Jacks & Smeed star but MI Cape Town eliminate Capitalspublished at 20:20 31 January
20:20 31 January
Image source, SA20
English batters Will Jacks and Will Smeed put on a partnership of 72 but Pretoria Capitals were eliminated from the SA20 after losing to MI Cape Town by 27 runs.
Surrey's Jacks (39 from 22) and Somerset's Smeed (52 from 36) came together midway through the third over with their side 15-1, chasing a formidable 223 in Centurion.
The pair were together until just prior to the halfway mark, when Jacks was caught by Azmatullah Omarzai off the bowling of Corbin Bosch.
Smeed followed his compatriot to the dugout four overs later when he hit Dewald Brevis's delivery to Reeza Hendricks, as the Capitals found themselves on 115-4 in the 14th.
Ashton Turner (22 from eight) and Keagan Lion-Cachet (34* from 18) added quick runs but the target proved too challenging as the home side finished on 195-8.
Hendricks (77* from 44) and Brevis (73* from 32) were the stars of the MI Cape Town innings, from the ninth over they scorched an unbeaten partnership of 142 to take their side to 222-3.
MI Cape Town go top of the table after nine games, while the Capitals sit fifth. However, with teams on the same points split by number of wins before net run-rate Capitals are unable to reach the knockouts.
Pooran hits MI Emirates to win over Giantspublished at 18:32 31 January
18:32 31 January
Image source, International League T20
Captain Nicholas Pooran hit an unbeaten 58 off 37 balls as he drove MI Emirates to a five-wicket victory over Gulf Giants in the International League T20.
Having already hit six fours and two sixes, the West Indies wicketkeeper cleared the ropes once more from the first ball of Chris Jordan's final over to seal the win.
Chasing 174, Pooran came in at number five with his side 61-3 in the eighth over.
He started his innings slowly, scoring just 10 from his first 22 balls, but struck his first boundaries with back-to-back fours at the end of the 15th over to leave his team needing 71 from 30.
From that point he powered on, accompanied by compatriot Romario Shepherd (23 not out from nine) who hit a six of his own from the final ball of the 19th to ensure MI Emirates needed just six from the final over.
English batter James Vince hit 86 off 50 balls from the top of the order for the Giants as they posted 173-6, but no other batter passed 20.
In a tight table, MI Emirates move up to second in the table with eight points from eight matches, while Giants are bottom with six from the same number of games.
Webster re-joins champions Hurricanes for BBL 15published at 09:00 31 January
09:00 31 January
Image source, Getty Images
Australia all-rounder Beau Webster has signed for Big Bash League (BBL) champions Hobart Hurricanes.
The 31-year-old, who made his international debut in January's Sydney Test against India, played five games for the Hurricanes in 2016-17 and returns on a three-year deal.
Webster has spent the past eight BBL campaigns in Melbourne, enjoying four seasons with the Renegades before moving to the Stars for another four-year stint.
"I am pumped to return to Hobart next summer for the BBL and get the opportunity to play on a packed Ninja Stadium in front of our fans, my friends and family," the Tasmanian said.
The right-hander averages 28.67 with the bat, with a strike-rate of 120.38, across 83 Big Bash games, while he has taken 19 wickets at 36.52 with the ball.
"We have seen over the past eighteen months just how special of a player Beau is, and to have him re-join the Hurricanes is something that will make all Tasmanians proud to hear," Hurricanes general manager Salliann Beams said.
"Beau's skill set in the short form of the game is up there with some of the best in the country, and he can take the game away from the opposition with the bat while also providing another wicket-taking option with the ball."
Chasing 151, opener Du Plessis hit four fours and seven sixes in his 55-ball knock before he was dismissed with 21 required.
Donovan Ferreira was also out but Jonny Bairstow (eight not out off five) and Leus du Plooy (18 not out off 16) saw Super Kings over the line with 13 balls to spare.
Royals, who opted not to play England's Joe Root before he leaves for the 50-over series in India on Friday, were restricted to 150-9 from their 20 overs.
They were 80-6 but Dinesh Karthik made 53 off 39 balls to drag them to a respectable total.
Super Kings move to third, above two-time champions Sunrisers Eastern Cape, and ensure they go into their final game with their destiny in their own hands.
Royals have already guaranteed a top-two spot and two chances at reaching the final on 8 February.
England's Crawley left out after poor form in SA20published at 18:57 29 January
18:57 29 January
Image source, SA20
England opener Zak Crawley was left out by Sunrisers Eastern Cape after a miserable run of form in the SA20.
Crawley has scored just 88 runs in eight innings in the competition and had made single-figure scores in five of his past six innings.
It comes after the 26-year-old managed just 52 runs across six innings at an average of 8.66 in England's Test series in New Zealand before Christmas.
No details were given for his absence but Sunrisers coach Adi Birrell seemingly opened the door to Crawley being dropped after his first-ball duck in the previous match.
"T20 is a brutal game if you're out of form," he said. "It doesn't give time.
"I really feel for him. He's a great guy who puts in the hard work and tries his utmost best to turn it around. But it's been hard for him.
"He's been getting out to straight balls but also caught behind off wide balls. He's been getting out in two modes.
"We are going to have to look at it and come up with the plan for the next game. We've obviously backed him until now. We have got other options."
Victory against MI Cape Town on Wednesday would have secured Sunrisers place in the play-off places but they were thrashed by 10 wickets.
Asked to bat first, the defending champions were dismissed for just 107 with Crawley's replacement Tony de Zorzi making two from eight balls.
MI Cape Town then completed their chase in 11 overs with Ryan Rickelton ending 59 not out and Rassie van der Dussen unbeaten on 48.
The win, which was only the second 10-wicket win in the tournament's history, secured their place in the play-offs.
Pretoria beat Joburg to boost play-off hopespublished at 19:19 28 January
19:19 28 January
Image source, SA20
Pretoria Capitals boosted their hopes of reaching the SA20 play-off stages by thrashing Joburg Super Kings by six wickets.
Jonny Bairstow made 30 from 32 balls for the Super Kings but they managed just 99-9 from their 20 overs with seamer Migael Pretorius taking 3-22.
Despite losing England opener Will Jacks for 15 and Somerset's Will Smeed for seven, the Capitals then took just 12 overs to complete their chase.
Marques Ackerman top scored with 39.
The win takes the Capitals within a point of the fourth-placed Super Kings with two matches remaining.
The teams that finish third and fourth in the standings will contest an eliminator, with the winner progressing to face the loser of the qualifier between the teams that finish first and second.
Somerset batter Kohler-Cadmore scored an unbeaten 54 from 32 balls, while West Indian Charles struck 71 from 33 before he was caught by Najibullah Zadran off the bowling of Sikandar Raza.
Avishka Fernando joined Kohler-Cadmore at the crease and the Warriorz passed their target of 132 in the 12th over of the case.
The Capitals opened their innings with an strong opening stand of their own as Adam Rossington (37) and Shai Hope (45) put on 60.
But when Rossington was caught by Tim Southee off Adam Zampa's bowling it started a collapse of 9-65, as the Dubai side finished 131-9 from their 20 overs.
Zampa and UAE international Rohan Mustafa took two wickets apiece, while Rovman Powell (32* from 16) was the only other Capitals batter to make it into double figures.
Warriorz remain bottom of the table with three wins from their eight games, while Capitals sit in third with four wins and four defeats.
Behrendorff joins Melbourne Renegades in Big Bashpublished at 16:16 28 January
16:16 28 January
Image source, Getty Images
Left-arm seamer Jason Behrendorff has signed a three-year contract with Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash League (BBL).
Behrendorff, 34, was the leading wicket-taker in the 2024-25 season with 17.
He has won four titles with Perth Scorchers and has taken 140 wickets in 106 games.
The move comes as the BBL's new player movement window opened on Tuesday. The window allows clubs to sign eligible free agents and trade uncontracted players or draft picks.
The eight teams have been able to secure a maximum of 10 players but Scorchers, who failed to make the play-offs, opted against offering Behrendorff a deal in time.
"Moving to Melbourne has something my wife, Juvelle, and I have talked about as a goal whether the end of my career happened so to continue my career and play cricket in a city we both love is a blessing," said Behrendorff.
"I am really excited for what the next chapter holds with the Melbourne Renegades but just as importantly for my family too."
Image source, International League T20
