Franchise Cricket

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Birmingham Phoenix Women have appointed Alistair Maiden as their head coach for the 2025 season of The Hundred.

Maiden, 42, replaces Ben Sawyer, who was released at the end of his contract after five years in charge.

Former England Women assistant coach Maiden was recently also appointed the first head coach of Bears Women.

He was part of the coaching staff that led London Spirit Women to their first Hundred title in the summer.

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Alice Capsey took her first five-wicket haul but was dismissed for a first-ball duck in Melbourne Renegades' low-scoring defeat by Perth Scorchers in the Women's Big Bash League.

This was Capsey’s latest failure in a run of poor returns with the bat, having only scored 27 runs in five innings in the WBBL so far, with a high-score of 14.

Capsey’s bad form with the bat began in October's T20 World Cup, where she made three single-figure scores, contributing to England’s group-stage exit from the tournament.

The 20-year-old took 5-25 in 3.5 overs, with three of those wickets coming in the final over, as Scorchers were bowled out for 108 in 19.5 overs.

Capsey, who is now the third-highest wicket-taker in the tournament, was then dismissed from the fourth ball of the Renegades chase by Chloe Ainsworth, after Courtney Webb was dismissed from the third.

Renegades were eventually bowled out for 106 from the final ball of their innings and they have now lost three of their five games. Scorchers have won three of their four matches.

Both teams face their next game on Saturday with Scorchers facing Hobart Hurricanes (23:10 GMT), while Renegades play Melbourne Stars (04:00 GMT).

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Heather Knight hit an unbeaten 59 off 34 balls as Sydney Thunder beat Brisbane Heat by 19 runs in the Women's Big Bash League.

Knight's half-century was her second in three matches for Thunder since she returned from the calf injury she sustained in England's final game against West Indies at the T20 World Cup in October.

The 33-year-old hit 10 fours in her knock and has now scored 135 runs in three innings, at an incredible strike-rate of 175.32.

She was supported by Phoebe Litchfield's 40 off 25 balls and Chamari Athapaththu's 33 as Thunder posted 170-5 in Perth.

Thunder then struck twice in the powerplay with Georgia Redmayne (nine) and Jemimah Rodrigues (five) dismissed, before restricting Heat to 98-5.

Charli Knott hit 55 off 37 balls to give Heat hope but Thunder bowled Heat out for 151 in the final over for their third win in four games.

"I’m really pleased," Knight told ABC Grandstand. "It was difficult to start but when you get in you can really cash in so that is what I tried to do.

"It was a really pleasing performance and different players are performing at different times."

Thunder's next game is the Sydney derby against Sixers on Sunday (02:40 GMT), while Heat play Adelaide Strikers on Saturday (08:15 GMT).

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Ellyse Perry hit her third half-century in four games as Sydney Sixers edged past Hobart Hurricanes by six runs in the Women's Big Bash.

Perry smashed 11 fours and two sixes in her 86 off 62 balls, before she was dismissed off the final ball of the innings as Sixers posted 155-7.

The 34-year-old is the leading run-scorer in the tournament with 252, ahead of Australia team-mate Beth Mooney on 144.

Perry was ably supported by England's Hollie Armitage, who made 30 off 25 balls.

Hurricanes made a strong start to their chase but lost England's Danni Wyatt-Hodge (30) with the first ball after the powerplay.

Number one ranked T20 bowler Sophie Ecclestone (2-22) combined with 15-year-old Caoimhe Bray (2-13) to restrict Hurricanes through the middle overs.

They needed 20 off the final over and managed to take 13 off Ash Gardner but fell short to suffer a third defeat in their opening five games.

Sixers' win is their second in four matches and they join six other teams on four points.

They are back in action on Thursday night (00:00 GMT, Friday) against Melbourne Stars, while Hurricanes host Perth Scorchers on Saturday (23:10 GMT).

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David Warner has been named Sydney Thunder captain following the lifting of his leadership ban by Cricket Australia.

Warner, 37, was banned from cricket for 12 months and prevented from holding leadership positions as part of his punishment for the ball-tampering scandal in 2018 but that ban was overturned last month.

He will now lead the Thunder, who he also captained in 2011, in this year's Big Bash.

"Captaining the Thunder again this season means a lot to me," Warner said.

"I was part of the team from the start, and now to be back with that ‘C’ next to my name feels fantastic."

Trent Copeland, Thunder's general manager, said the appointment is "huge" for the club.

"Appointing David Warner as captain isn’t just about winning, it’s about setting up our young players for success, surrounding them with leadership on and off the field," he said.

The 2024 Big Bash begins on 15 December.