Franchise Cricket

Image source, SA20

Defending champions Sunrisers Eastern Cape were thrashed by 97 runs by MI Cape Town in the opening game of the 2025 SA20.

Chasing 175 to win, Eastern Cape were all out for 77 in 15 overs as they suffered the fifth-heaviest defeat in terms of runs in the tournament's three-year history.

The total is second-lowest in the tournament and Eastern Cape's lowest, beating their 122-9 against Pretoria Capitals last year.

Delano Potgieter took 5-10, the second-best figures in the tournament, while Aiden Markram top-scored with 19.

English duo Zak Crawley (12) and Tom Abell (0) were dismissed in successive balls by Trent Boult (2-16).

Cape Town had earlier recovered from 42-3 inside the powerplay to post 174-7, with Dewald Brevis making 57. Richard Gleeson claimed 2-22 and Liam Dawson 1-32.

The margin of victory also sees Cape Town earn a bonus point, which winning sides claim if their run-rate is 1.25 times that of the opposition.

The likes of Chris Woakes and Liam Livingstone could be in action on Friday as Durban's Super Giants face Pretoria Capitals.

• SA20 fixtures

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Glenn Maxwell's brilliant 58 not out off 32 balls helped a resurgent Melbourne Stars get the better of high-flying Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash.

Maxwell, who was dropped on the boundary early in his innings, hammered five fours and three sixes to rescue his side from 60-4 to post 156-5 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Sixers, who were top of the table before this clash, were going well while England's James Vince was in typically good touch.

However, shortly after bringing up his half-century, the 33-year-old sent a Marcus Stoinis delivery high into the night sky and Maxwell steadied himself to take a brilliant catch which turned the tide.

From 96-2, Sixers lost four wickets for 16 runs and eventually fell short on 140-9, to lose by 16 runs.

Victory lifts Stars off the bottom of the table and is their third win in succession after they lost their opening five games.

They face the Renegades again on Sunday before hosting Hobart Hurricanes in their final match as they bid to sneak into the knockout stages.

Sixers face Perth Scorchers next before finishing up with a trip to face Adelaide Strikers.

• Big Bash table & fixtures

Image source, SA20

The SA20, South Africa's franchise T20 league, returns on Thursday, 9 January for its third edition.

The tournament, which was established in 2022, is South Africa's equivalent of the Big Bash or Indian Premier League and features some of South Africa's and the world's biggest cricketing names.

There are six teams involved, with all of them owned by IPL franchises. The teams are: Durban's Super Giants, Joburg Super Kings, MI Cape Town, Paarl Royals, Pretoria Capitals, Sunrisers Eastern Cape.

The tournament begins with Sunrisers Eastern Cape, who have won the first two editions, taking on MI Cape Town in Gqeberha. It runs for four weeks and concludes on Saturday, 8 February.

The teams will play each other twice in the group stage, with the top four progressing to the play-offs. They work as follows:

4 February: Qualifier 1 - first v second

5 February: Eliminator - third v fourth

6 February: Qualifier 2 - loser of Qualifier 1 v winner of Eliminator

8 February: Final - winner of Qualifier 1 v winner of Qualifier 2

Image source, SA20

A total of 14 English players will play for the six teams in the 2025 SA20.

Some of key names to look out for are leading Test run-scorer Joe Root, fast bowler Chris Woakes as well as opening batter Zak Crawley and all-rounder Liam Livingstone.

However, Root and Livingstone's involvement is set to be limited by England's white-ball tour of India, which starts on 22 January.

Test captain Ben Stokes will not take part due to the hamstring injury he sustained in the third Test against New Zealand in December. Jacob Bethell has also opted out of playing for Paarl Royals.

The following England players are set to take part:

Durban Super Giants: Chris Woakes

Joburg Super Kings: Moeen Ali & Jonny Bairstow

MI Cape Town: Chris Benjamin

Paarl Royals: Joe Root & Sam Hain

Pretoria Capitals: Will Jacks, Liam Livingstone, Will Smeed

Sunrisers Eastern Cape: Zak Crawley, Liam Dawson, Craig Overton, Tom Abell, Richard Gleeson

Image source, SA20

Among the six teams involved in the SA20 are a multitude of top-class players from across the world.

South Africa seamers Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje will play for MI Cape Town and Pretoria Capitals, while batters David Miller and Heinrich Klaasen will be at Paarl Royals and Durban's Super Giants. Current T20 captain Aiden Markram will play for Sunrisers Eastern Cape.

Other big names include distinguished batter Faf du Plessis who captains Joburg Super Kings and former Test wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock, who will play for Super Giants, but Test captain Temba Bavuma is not featuring in the tournament again.

Afghanistan players were popular with superstar leg-spinner Rashid Khan returning to captain MI Cape Town alongside all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz will join the Capitals, while fast bowler Naveen-ul Haq and left-arm spinner Noor Ahmed both head to Super Giants. Finally, Paarl Royals bagged off-spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman.

Former New Zealand captain Kane Williamson will make his SA20 debut at Super Giants, while fellow Kiwis Devon Conway (Joburg Super Kings), Trent Boult (MI Cape Town) and Jimmy Neesham (Capitals) also feature.

West Indies fast bowler Shamar Joseph was snapped up by Super Giants, along with opening batter Brandon King, while Evin Lewis will play for Pretoria Capitals.

Other players include Australia all-rounder Marcus Stoinis (Super Giants), Sri Lanka spinner Maheesh Theekshana and seamer Matheesha Pathirana (both Super Kings) and India's Dinesh Karthik (Royals).

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Cricket Australia has announced players' availability for the remainder of the Big Bash League following the conclusion of their five-Test series against India.

Availability has been decided on an individual basis and with Australia's two-Test tour of Sri Lanka from 29 January in mind.

None of the bowlers are available, while the batters have mixed availability.

No players are set to play in the knockouts from 21-27 January.

Australia Test players' Big Bash availability

Adelaide Strikers: Alex Carey (regular season), Travis Head (not available)

Brisbane Heat: Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne (16 Jan v Hobart only)

Melbourne Renegades: Nathan Lyon (not available)

Melbourne Stars: Scott Boland (not available), Beau Webster (regular season)

Perth Scorchers: Mitchell Marsh (regular season), Jhye Richardson (regular season)

Sydney Sixers: Sean Abbott (regular season), Josh Hazlewood (not available), Steve Smith (three games from 11 Jan), Mitchell Starc (not available)

Sydney Thunder: Pat Cummins (not available), Sam Konstas (regular season)

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The BBC's commentary on the men's Big Bash League, via its partnership with ABC Grandstand in Australia, will continue in the first week of January.

Monday, 6 January: Brisbane Heat v Sydney Thunder (07:30 GMT)

Tuesday, 7 January: Perth Scorchers v Melbourne Renegades (07:30 GMT)

Wednesday, 8 January: Sydney Thunder v Hobart Hurricanes (07:30 GMT)

Thursday, 9 January: Melbourne Stars v Sydney Sixers (07:30 GMT)

Friday, 10 January: Hobart Hurricanes v Sydney Thunder (07:30 GMT)

Saturday, 11 January: Sydney Sixers v Perth Scorchers (05:45 GMT) & Adelaide Strikers v Brisbane Heat (09:45 GMT)

Sunday, 12 January: Melbourne Stars v Melbourne Renegades* (07:30 GMT)

Commentaries will be available on BBC Sounds, BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra and the BBC Sport website and app. Commentaries marked with * are website and app only.

All times are commentary start times, and subject to change. All commentaries are available to UK users only.

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England's James Vince, Chris Jordan and David Willey have been retained for the 2025 Pakistan Super League.

Vince, 33, will stay at Karachi Kings, while Jordan, 36, and Willey, 34, will play for Multan Sultans again.

Other overseas players retained include New Zealand's Colin Munro at holders Islamabad United and South Africa's Rilee Rossouw by Quetta Gladiators.

The player draft to complete squads takes place on 11 January in Gwadar.

Some of the English players hoping to earn a deal are Dawid Malan, Luke Wood, Jason Roy, Tom Curran and Sam Billings.

Afghanistan's Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Australia's David Warner, Sean Abbott and Alex Carey and South Africa's Rassie van Der Dussen and Temba Bavuma are among the other players available.

Image source, Getty Images

England's Dan Lawrence made an unbeaten 64 as Melbourne Stars beat Brisbane Heat by five wickets for their first win of the Big Bash season.

Lawrence, who has signed as an injury replacement for Tom Curran, hit seven fours and two sixes in his 38-ball knock as Stars chased 150 with 11 balls to spare.

He was supported by Marcus Stoinis, who made 62 off 48 balls, but England's Ben Duckett made a first-ball duck.

Lawrence had earlier taken 1-6 - helped by a superb boundary catch by Glenn Maxwell - as Heat posted 149-7, with Max Bryant hitting 77 not out.

Stars remain bottom despite the win, while defending champions Heat are sixth.

In the other game on New Year's Day, Hobart Hurricanes thrashed Sydney Sixers by 50 runs.

They posted 161-6, before bowling Sixers out for 111, with Chris Jordan taking 3-22.

Hurricanes move up to fourth while Sixers remain top despite their first defeat of the season.

Image source, Getty Images

The BBC's commentary on the men's Big Bash League, via its partnership with ABC Grandstand in Australia, will continue in the first week of January.

Wednesday, 1 January: Hobart Hurricanes v Sydney Sixers (04:30 GMT) & Brisbane Heat v Melbourne Stars (08:30 GMT)

Thursday, 2 January: Melbourne Renegades v Adelaide Strikers (08:00 GMT)

Friday, 3 January: Perth Scorchers v Sydney Thunder (10:00 GMT)

Saturday, 4 January: Melbourne Stars v Melbourne Renegades (07:30 GMT)

Sunday, 5 January: Hobart Hurricanes v Adelaide Strikers (07:30 GMT)

Commentaries will be available on BBC Sounds, BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra and the BBC Sport website and app.

All times are commentary start times, and subject to change. All commentaries are available to UK users only.

Image source, Getty Images

Australia all-rounder Cooper Connolly continued his fine start to the Big Bash as his unbeaten 48 guided Perth Scorchers to a seven-wicket win over Adelaide Strikers.

Connolly hit three fours and two sixes in his 35-ball knock and the left-hander is the tournament's leading run-scorer with 229. James Vince is next best on 164.

Scorchers, who go second in the eight-team table with the win, chased 143 with 33 balls to spare as Finn Allen made 50 and captain Ashton Turner an unbeaten 35 off 18 balls.

Strikers, who are seventh, had posted 142-8 with England duo Ollie Pope, who was opening, and Jamie Overton both making one.

Lancashire's Matty Hurst made three as he was dismissed in the second over of Scorchers' chase.

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David Warner made an unbeaten 86 off 57 balls as Sydney Thunder beat Melbourne Renegades by eight runs in the Big Bash League.

Warner, who is captaining Thunder for the first time since 2011, had only scored 43 runs in their opening three games but found form with 10 fours and two sixes in his knock.

He helped Thunder post 156-4, with Matthew Gilkes the next highest-scorer with 23 not out.

In reply, Renegades were restricted to 148-8 with Laurie Evans making 40 off 26 balls.

England all-rounder Jacob Bethell made just two as Renegades suffered their second defeat in four matches.

Thunder move up to second in the table after their third win in four games.