Franchise Cricket

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Sam Billings' 72 from 39 balls helped Sydney Thunder beat Melbourne Stars by 18 runs in the Big Bash.

England wicketkeeper Billings hit nine fours and two sixes to lift the Thunder to 182-8.

The next highest score was 33 from Jason Sangha and Billings should have been run out for 16 but the Stars did not appeal after a direct hit.

England opener Ben Duckett scored 67 from 49 balls in the Stars' reply, his second fifty in a row in the competition, but regular wickets hampered their chase.

Marcus Stoinis was caught at extra cover for 22 and Glenn Maxwell top-edged a sweep on six.

The Stars needed 56 from the final five overs but Duckett was caught behind attempting a pull and Wes Agar ran through the lower order, taking three wickets in the 19th over.

The Thunder move up to third in the table with a second win in three matches but the Stars are bottom, winless in five attempts.

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Ollie Pope's 39 from 27 balls was not enough for Adelaide Strikers as they slipped to a 11-run defeat by Hobart Hurricanes.

Jamie Overton added a lively 30 from 16 balls but the Strikers finished short of their victory target on 203-6.

Overton had earlier taken 2-27 as the Hurricanes posted 214-5, with Ben McDermott top-scoring with 68 from 34 balls.

Chris Jordan added 17 from 10 deliveries for the Hurricanes, who move up to fifth in the table after a second win of the season.

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James Vince hit a sparkling unbeaten century to help seal an eight-wicket win for Sydney Sixers over Melbourne Stars in the Australian Big Bash League.

Vince's 101 from 58 balls included 12 fours and four sixes as the Sixers made it three wins from three to go top of the table, while the Stars slump to the bottom after a fourth successive defeat.

England opener Ben Duckett had earlier hit a 22-ball fifty to help Stars post 194-9 at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Duckett's brutal knock included two sixes and 10 fours - six of which came in one over from Akeal Hosein - before he departed for 68 from just 29 deliveries.

He was supported by Glenn Maxwell's 32 from 17 balls, while Tom Curran hit 15 from 14 in a lively late cameo.

In reply, Vince put on 83 for the first wicket with Josh Philippe, who holed out to Duckett at deep mid-wicket off the bowling of Curran for 42.

Captain Moises Henriques then picked out Duckett at long-off from Usama Mir to depart for 11 and further stem the home side's momentum.

But Vince and Jordan Silk saw the Sixers home, with Silk hitting a four to secure the win with 11 balls to spare.

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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 over the Christmas and New Year period.

Here's the schedule after the competition takes a two-day break on 24 & 25 December for the Christmas festivities:

Thursday, 26 December: Sydney Sixers v Melbourne Stars (07:05 GMT) & Perth Scorchers v Brisbane Heat (10:30 GMT)

Friday, 27 December: Adelaide Strikers v Hobart Hurricanes (07:30 GMT)

Saturday, 28 December: Melbourne Stars v Sydney Thunder (07:30 GMT)

Sunday, 29 December: Brisbane Heat v Sydney Sixers (07:30 GMT)

Monday, 30 December: Sydney Thunder v Melbourne Renegades (07:30 GMT)

Tuesday, 31 December: Adelaide Strikers v Perth Scorchers (08:00 GMT)

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

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

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England Test captain Ben Stokes has been ruled out of the SA20 with a hamstring injury.

The 33-year-old will miss at least three months with the injury he sustained while bowling in the third Test against New Zealand earlier this month.

Stokes was due to play for MI Cape Town and feature in the tournament for the first time.

Chris Woakes, Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow and Zak Crawley are among the England players due to take part in the tournament, which takes place from 9 January to 8 February.

Joe Root and Liam Livingstone have also been signed but their involvement is expected to be limited by England's white-ball series against India and the Champions Trophy.

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England's Jacob Bethell made 30 off 22 balls to help Melbourne Renegades beat Perth Scorchers by two wickets and move top of the Big Bash League table.

The 21-year-old hit two fours and two sixes and helped Renegades be well set in their chase of 144.

However, his dismissal left them 96-4, and Renegades lost four more wickets but crawled over the line with six balls to spare.

Scorchers had posted 143-8, with Australia's Cooper Connolly making 66 off 50 balls.

Lancashire's Keaton Jennings made nine from 12 balls, but Matty Hurst was left out.

On Sunday, Bethell was named in England's squad for their white-ball tour of India in January and February's Champions Trophy in Pakistan and United Arab Emirates.

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Nathan McSweeney responded to being dropped from the Australia Test squad with an unbeaten 78 to help Brisbane Heat beat Adelaide Strikers in a final-ball thriller in the Big Bash League.

McSweeney hit 10 fours and two sixes in his 49-ball knock as defending champions Heat chased 175.

The right-hander made his international debut in the series against India and averaged 14.40 in the first three Tests, but has been replaced by 19-year-old Sam Konstas for the final two matches.

He was supported by Matt Renshaw's 54 from 27 balls, while Essex's Paul Walter added 19.

Strikers had posted 174-6 with England's Jamie Overton making 45 not out from 24 balls and Ollie Pope 34 off 29 balls.

"It is nice to get the boys home. It was probably a bit over par so it is a really good win for us," McSweeney said on Sky Sports.

"It is always nice to bounce back. I loved my time in the Australia cricket team, sharing the changing room with some of Australia's greatest players was awesome and hopefully I can learn from the experience and get back there soon.

"Marnus [Labuschagne] told me 'it is not where it starts, it is where it ends' and every good story has its ups and downs so hopefully I can look back on this as a great learning curve."

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Somerset batter Tom Banton has replaced Sussex's Tom Alsop at defending champions Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash.

Alsop, 29, has been ruled out with a quad injury, and Banton, 26, will replace him until 6 January, when he is set to play for MI Cape Town in the SA20.

Banton played for Heat in the 2019-20 Big Bash and scored 223 runs in seven innings, at a tournament-high strike-rate of 176.98.

He is part of Heat's squad for Sunday's game against Adelaide Strikers.

Heat beat Melbourne Stars in their opening game on Thursday.

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Australia's new Test opener Sam Konstas made a three-ball duck as Sydney Thunder lost by five wickets to Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash League.

Konstas, 19, was named in Australia's squad for the final two Tests against India on Friday - three days after becoming the youngest player to hit a half-century in the Big Bash.

He was bowled by West Indies' Akeal Hosein, but Thunder went on to post 163-5, with Cameron Bancroft making an unbeaten 70 off 52 balls.

James Vince and Josh Philippe got Sixers off to a solid start in the chase but regular wickets left them needing 15 from the final over.

It became seven from the final two balls, and Ben Dwarshuis hit a six off the penultimate ball before a single secured the win off the final ball.

Three-time champions Sixers move to the top of the table, having won both of their opening two games.

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Mitch Owen hit the first century of the 2024-25 Big Bash League as Hobart Hurricanes beat Perth Scorchers by eight wickets.

Owen, 23, made 101 off 64 balls - his maiden T20 century - as Hurricanes chased 156 with four balls to spare.

He was supported by West Indies' Shai Hope, who made 38 from 35 balls.

Scorchers posted 155-6, with Josh Inglis making 49 off 35 balls and Lancashire's Keaton Jennings 35 from 28 balls.

Both sides have won one of their opening two games.

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Jimmy Peirson whacked an unbeaten 72 as defending champions Brisbane Heat began their Men's Big Bash League campaign with a comfortable eight-wicket win over Melbourne Stars.

Peirson's knock off 56 balls included two sixes and five fours and eclipsed his previous best of 69 not out in domestic T20 matches as Heat chased down a target of 163 with 11 balls to spare.

Stars had earlier posted 162-6 thank to a 36-ball 46 from Sam Harper while Nottinghamshire's Joe Clarke made 32 as Xavier Bartlett finished the pick of the Heat attack with 3-25.

Peirson was the star performer for Heat at the MCG while Max Bryant chipped in with 36 not out off 22 balls.

Wicketkeeper Peirson hit the winning runs off Surrey's Tom Curran, who saw his wicketless 3.1 overs cost 34.

The Stars, who finished sixth in the 2023-24 BBL, have lost both of their opening two games in this season's tournament.

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Australia hopeful Sam Konstas became the youngest man to score a half-century in the Big Bash League as Sydney Thunder beat Adelaide Strikers by two wickets.

Konstas, who is 19 years and 76 days old, overtakes Jason Sangha, who held the record at 19 years and 104 days.

Konstas, who was making his debut in the competition, also set the record of Thunder's fastest half-century at 20 balls.

The New South Wales batter, who was out for 56 off 27 balls, was in consideration for Australia's Test squad against India, but they opted for Nathan McSweeney instead.

Chasing 183, Thunder were 149-7 and needed 34 from the final two overs, but Daniel Sams smashed Lloyd Pope's penultimate over for 31, including three sixes and three fours.

Jamie Overton, who earlier made an unbeaten 45 in Strikers' 182-8, took a wicket with the first ball of the final over but Thunder scrambled over the line with two balls to spare.

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Sydney Sixers captain Moises Henriques hit an unbeaten 53 off 27 balls to guide his side to a five-wicket win over Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash League.

Chasing 170, Henriques hit four fours and three sixes as the three-time champions won with nine balls to spare.

Hampshire's James Vince made 40 off 29 at the top of the order, while Jack Edwards added 37.

Earlier, Renegades posted 169-7 with New Zealand's Tim Seifert making 55 off 42 balls and captain Will Sutherland an unbeaten 36.

England all-rounder Jacob Bethell will join Renegades after the Test tour of New Zealand concludes this week.

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Australia all-rounder Cooper Connolly smashed 64 off 51 balls as Perth Scorchers beat Melbourne Stars by six wickets in the opening game of the 2024-25 Big Bash League.

Chasing 147 to win, Scorchers were struggling at 37-3 but Connolly hit four fours and three sixes to swing the game in their favour.

He was dismissed with 42 required but Ashton Turner (37*) and Nick Hobson (27*) sealed the win with 17 balls to spare.

Stars posted 146-9 with Tom Curran hitting 37 off 19 balls and Marcus Stoinis 37 off 33.

Notts' Joe Clarke, who is deputising for Ben Duckett for the opening two games, made a nine-ball duck.

Curran took 1-25 in Scorchers' chase, while Lancashire's Keaton Jennings and Matty Hurst both scored just four for the five-time winners.

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England captain Heather Knight is among 120 players who will be involved in the Women's Premier League auction on Sunday.

Knight was released by reigning champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru in November.

The 33-year-old batter is one of eight England players available to the five WPL teams.

Seamer Lauren Bell, released by UP Warriorz, batters Maia Boucher, Sophia Dunkley and Paige Scholfield, leg-spinner Sarah Glenn, all-rounder Danielle Gibson and fast bowler Lauren Filer are the other seven.

But Issy Wong, who was released by Mumbai Indians despite taking a hat-trick in last year's final, is not on the auction list.

Of the 29 overseas players in the auction, 12 are Australian, including Amanda-Jade Wellington, Kim Garth, Laura Harris, Alana King and Darcie Brown.

West Indies all-rounder Deandra Dottin and big-hitting former South Africa opener Lizelle Lee are among the other renowned players up for grabs.

Sneh Rana and Poonam Yadav lead the way in terms of the Indian players hoping to secure a contract.

There are 19 slots to fill at the auction, with five being for overseas players.

England quintet Alice Capsey (Delhi Capitals), Nat Sciver-Brunt (Mumbai Indians), Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Kate Cross (both RCB) and Sophie Ecclestone (UP Warriorz) were retained last month.

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The BBC will be bringing you commentary throughout the men's Big Bash League, via its partnership with ABC Grandstand in Australia.

Here's the schedule until the competition takes a two-day break on 24 & 25 December for the Christmas festivities.

Sunday, 15 December: Perth Scorchers v Melbourne Stars* (08:15 GMT)

Monday, 16 December: Sydney Sixers v Melbourne Renegades* (08:15 GMT)

Tuesday, 17 December: Sydney Thunder v Adelaide Strikers* (08:15 GMT)

Wednesday, 18 December: Melbourne Stars v Brisbane Heat* (08:15 GMT)

Thursday, 19 December: Melbourne Renegades v Hobart Hurricanes (08:15 GMT)

Friday, 20 December: Adelaide Strikers v Melbourne Stars (08:15 GMT)

Saturday, 21 December: Hobart Hurricanes v Perth Scorchers (05:00 GMT) & Sydney Thunder v Sydney Sixers (08:15 GMT)

Sunday, 22 December: Brisbane Heat v Adelaide Strikers (08:15 GMT)

Monday, 23 December: Melbourne Renegades v Perth Scorchers (08:15 GMT)

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

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

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There is set to be 15 English players involved in the group stages of the men's Big Bash League, which starts on 15 December.

Here's who will be representing who in the 14th edition of Australia's T20 tournament:

Adelaide Strikers: Ollie Pope & Jamie Overton

Brisbane Heat: Tom Alsop & Paul Walter

Hobart Hurricanes: Chris Jordan

Melbourne Renegades: Jacob Bethell & Laurie Evans

Melbourne Stars: Ben Duckett (third match onwards), Tom Curran & Joe Clarke (first two games)

Perth Scorchers: Keaton Jennings & Matty Hurst

Sydney Sixers: James Vince & Jafer Chohan

Sydney Thunder: Sam Billings