Franchise Cricket

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Shimron Hetmyer starred again as Seattle Orcas chased 203 to beat Los Angeles Knight Riders by five wickets and make it consecutive wins in Major League Cricket.

Orcas needed five to win from the final over but only managed two from the first four balls.

However Hetmyer, who hit a final-ball six to secure a win on Friday, clubbed Shadley van Schalkwyk's misjudged yorker back down the ground for six to secure the win with one ball to spare.

He finished 64 not out off 26 balls, with four fours and six sixes.

Earlier in the innings USA duo Aaron Jones (73 off 38) and Shayan Jahangir (43 off 21) shared 119 for the second wicket after Josh Brown was dismissed off the second ball.

Knight Riders posted 202-4 with West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell making 65 not out from 39 balls after being promoted to three.

He was supported by compatriot Rovman Powell, who finished unbeaten on 43 from 21 balls.

The win lifts Orcas to fourth as they likely battle it out for the final play-off spot, while Knight Riders are bottom after one win in seven matches.

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Australia's Mitchell Owen took the first five-wicket haul of his career to help Washington Freedom inflict a first defeat on San Francisco Unicorns in Major League Cricket.

Unicorns were going well at 97-2 in the 11th over, in pursuit of 170 to extend their winning run to seven matches.

However, Owen had compatriot Matthew Short caught at long-on for 67 - his fourth consecutive half-century since joining up with Freedom - to start a collapse.

They were 113-7 less than five overs later, with Owen also removing Hassan Khan for seven and Romario Shepherd for a first-ball duck.

Owen broke a stand of 28 for the eighth wicket and also claimed the ninth as Unicorns finished on 157-9, to lose by 12 runs.

Freedom were 30-4 after five overs of their innings with Owen out for a duck, Rachin Ravindra for nine and Glenn Maxwell for one.

However, a stand of 71 between Jack Edwards (42 off 42) and Glenn Phillips (58 off 39) helped them to 101-5.

Obus Pienaar (30*) then supported Phillips before sharing an unbroken 37 with Mukhtar Ahmed after Phillips was dismissed as Freedom posted 169-6.

Unicorns stay top on net run-rate but have been joined on 12 points by Freedom. Both sides have already guaranteed a play-off spot.

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Shimron Hetmyer hit the final ball for six as Seattle Orcas completed a record Major League chase to beat MI New York by three wickets and register their first win of the season.

Orcas needed nine from the final over, but only managed a single from the first four balls. They scrambled two from the penultimate ball, leaving six to win from the last.

Former West Indies all-rounder Kieron Pollard bowled a leg-stump full toss which compatriot Hetmyer flicked over fine leg to seal Orcas first win in six matches.

Hetmyer, who was struggling with a groin injury, finished 97 not out from 40 balls as Orcas chased 238 in Dallas.

It beat Washington Freedom's chase of 221 against Texas Super Kings earlier in the tournament.

They sacked ex-England head coach Matthew Mott earlier on Friday and Zimbabwe's Sikandar Raza replaced South African Heinrich Klaasen as captain.

New York posted 237-4 with West Indies' Nicholas Pooran smashing an unbeaten 108 off 60 and Tajinder Singh 95 from 35 balls.

The pair shared 158 runs off 68 balls for the third wicket, which is the highest in MLC history.

Orcas remain fifth, while New York are fourth but have also won just one of their six matches.

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Matthew Mott has been sacked as Seattle Orcas head coach after a winless start to this year's Major League Cricket season.

The 51-year-old Australian, who coached England men's limited-overs side between 2022-2024, has overseen a run of five straight defeats which left them bottom of the MLC standings.

Mott only became Orcas head coach this year, but the franchise said there were "differences in coaching and management strategies".

Orcas chief executive Hemant Dua said: "This is a moment of reflection and renewal for the Seattle Orcas. This has been a tough run for the team, and with it, some difficult decisions had to be made.

"We are grateful to Matthew for his commitment and professionalism during his time with us, and we wish him the very best in his future endeavors."

South African Heinrich Klaasen has also quit as Orcas captain with Zimbabwe's Sikandar Raza taking over the role.

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Former England women's head coach Jon Lewis has left his role at UP Warriorz in the Women's Premier League after three seasons.

Lewis, 49, combined the role with his England duties and said he expected the tournament to provide "fascinating insight into the depth of cricket in India".

He was sacked from his role with England after a disappointing winter where they were knocked out of the T20 World Cup in the group stages before a 16-0 Ashes defeat in Australia.

Warriorz progressed to the knockouts in the inaugural season before fourth and fifth-place finishes in the past two years.

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Jason Holder dropped a catch off the final ball to give Washington Freedom a five-wicket win over Los Angeles Knight Riders in Major League Cricket.

Defending champions Freedom needed two to win from the final three balls and managed a single off the penultimate ball to leave the scores level.

New Zealand's Glenn Phillips was on strike to West Indies' Andre Russell for the final ball but picked out Holder at mid-on.

However Holder spilled the catch and the ball ricocheted away allowing Phillips and Obus Pienaar to get through for the match-winning single.

Phillips finished 33 not out off 23 balls, while Pienaar added 23 off 16 as Freedom chased 214.

Australia's Mitchell Owen made 43 at the top of the order and captain Glenn Maxwell 42.

Knight Riders posted 213-4 with West Indies' Andre Fletcher smashing 104 off 60 balls.

He retired out with fatigue at the end of the 18th over before compatriot Rovman Powell was dismissed first ball.

However Russell (30* off 13) and Holder (11* off 6) added 23 off the final 11 balls.

Freedom go second with five wins from six matches, while Knight Riders are fifth with one win from six.

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Matthew Short starred with bat and ball as San Francisco Unicorns extended their winning start to six games with a 32-run win over Seattle Orcas in Major League Cricket.

Australia's Short made 52 off 29 - his third half-century in three games - at the top of the order as Unicorns posted 176-8.

He shared 68 with compatriot Jake Fraser-McGurk (34 off 21) for the second wicket but both were dismissed in a seven-ball spell to leave Unicorns 93-3.

The innings was held together by West Indies' Romario Shepherd, who smashed 56 off 31 balls as he lost four partners for single-figure scores.

Orcas made a good start in reply, reaching 59-0 off the six-over powerplay, but openers Shayan Jahangir (40 off 22) and David Warner (23 off 20) were dismissed in the space of three balls.

Warner was Short's first wicket and the Unicorns captain finished with 3-12 from his four overs.

Pakistan seamer Haris Rauf was the pick of the Unicorns bowlers - taking 4-32, including the big wickets of Henrich Klaasen and Shimron Hetmyer - as he extended his lead as the top wicket-taker to six victims.

Unicorns are top of the table with six wins from six matches, while Orcas are bottom with five straight defeats.

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Texas Super Kings ended a two-game losing run with a 52-run win over Los Angeles Knight Riders in Major League Cricket.

They were reduced to 33-3 in the powerplay but Shubham Ranjane made 70 off 43 balls and Donovan Ferreira 43 off 21 to help them post 196-8.

Knight Riders slipped to 10-2 in the second over with Alex Hales (5) and Nitish Kumar (0) dismissed by West Indies spinner Akeal Hosein.

They struggled for fluency throughout their innings with Unmukt Chand scoring a run-a-ball 30 but Saif Badar and Sherfane Rutherford both had a strike-rate below 100 in their respective innings of 19 and 13.

Captain Jason Holder added some late impetus with an unbeaten 26 off 17 balls but Knight Riders finished on 144-7 from their 20 overs.

Super Kings are second in the six-team table with four wins from their six matches, while Knight Riders are fifth with one win from five.

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Matthew Short clubbed a 43-ball 91 as San Francisco Unicorns maintained their winning streak in Major League Cricket with a 47-run win over MI New York.

The opening batter hit five sixes and nine fours in the Unicorns' total of 246-4 at the Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium in Dallas.

Short shared a 74-run stand with fellow Australian Jake Fraser-McGurk for the second wicket with the latter whacking seven sixes in his 26-ball 64.

Kieron Pollard finished the pick of the New York attack with 2-31.

Quinton de Kock biffed 70 off 46 balls as he and Monank Patel, who made 60, enjoyed a stand of 119 in 9.3 overs as MI initially made a decent fist of the chase.

However, the match swung the way of the Unicorns when De Kock dragged on to all-rounder Romario Shepherd.

Then when MI captain Nicholas Pooran departed for a rather ponderous 15 - caught behind off Haris Rauf - the chase lost momentum despite a cameo from Pollard who hit an unbeaten 34 off 16 balls.

Shepherd claimed 2-30 for the Unicorns while Xavier Bartlett picked up 2-35.

Veteran English seamer Liam Plunkett finished with 1-25 as MI finished well short of the target on 199-6.

The Unicorns have won five out of five matches in this year's edition of MLC and sit top of the standings on 10 points - two above defending champions Washington Freedom.

Washington Freedom beat Texas Super Kings by seven wickets to move second in Major League Cricket.

Australian opener Mitchell Owen again top-scored for Freedom, hitting 89 from 52 balls as his side chased down their target of 221 to record their fourth successive victory.

Owen put on 119 for the second wicket with USA international Andries Gous (80 not out from 45), while New Zealand's Glenn Phillips (12 not out from four) hit a winning boundary with four further balls remaining.

Super Kings captain Faf du Plessis was the highest scorer in their innings, striking 69 from 31, but was one of three batters to fall to Owen (3-33) as his side finished on 220-6.

In the early game in Dallas, Los Angeles Knight Riders managed their first win in four attempts as they beat bottom side Seattle Orcas by six wickets.

Two domestic players, Unmukt Chand (80 not out) and Saif Badar (54) put on 139 for the third wicket after Alex Hales and Nitish Kumar both fell for one to leave Knight Riders 7-2.

West Indies international Sherfane Rutherford (20 not out) hit a six to see Knight Riders reach their target of 178 with 10 balls to spare.

Aaron Jones top-scored for Orcas, who are winless in four matches, with 44, but their big-hitting captain Heinrich Klaasen was dismissed for four.

Freedom leapfrog Super Kings to move second, while Knight Riders are fifth, one place above the Orcas.

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Washington Freedom won their third successive match as they beat MI New York by two wickets in Major League Cricket.

Chasing 189, Australian opener Mitchell Owen hit 60 from 26 balls to start the Freedom chase well, while compatriot Glenn Maxwell smashed 16 from five deliveries in the middle-order.

Freedom needed just 20 from the last four overs of the innings, but scored just three runs from the next 12 balls while losing two wickets.

New Zealander Mark Chapman (45 not out from 32) calmed their nerves, scoring 10 from Rushil Ugarkar's penultimate over before striking the winning runs off Kieron Pollard as Freedom reached their target with four balls remaining.

Opener Quinton de Kock top-scored for MI, striking 55 from 34, but the typically explosive Nicholas Pooran scored unusually slowly, adding 33 from 30 before he was caught by Owen off Maxwell's bowling.

Freedom sit third in the six-team table, level with Texas Super Kings on six points but with a worse net run-rate, after four matches.

MI New York are in fourth with one win from their four games.

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Faf du Plessis' hundred was in vain as San Francisco Unicorns chased 199 to beat Texas Super Kings by seven wickets in Major League Cricket.

Captain Du Plessis made 100 off 51 balls as Super Kings posted 198-5 in the first game at Grand Prairie Stadium in Texas this season.

He shared 97 with New Zealand's Devon Conway (23) for the first wicket and 69 with Saiteja Mukkamalla (38) for the second.

The 40-year-old was dismissed off the first ball of the 17th over and Super Kings were then restricted to 32 from the final four overs.

Unicorns' chase got off to a rapid start with Australia's Matthew Short (61 off 29) and New Zealand's Finn Allen (78 off 35) sharing 117 in 8.3 overs.

Allen and Australia's Jake Fraser-McGurk (37 off 25) put on 52 in 24 balls for the second wicket and although both were dismissed Unicorns got over the line with 23 balls remaining.

Unicorns are top of the table and extend their unbeaten start to four matches, while Super Kings are second after their first defeat.