Franchise Cricket

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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