Franchise Cricket

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Royal Challengers Bengaluru are still waiting for their first Indian Premier League (IPL) title after 18 years, but head coach Andy Flower says the expectation presents an opportunity rather than added pressure.

They reached the play-offs in 2024 after a remarkable turnaround from losing seven of their first eight matches, but eventually lost to the Rajasthan Royals.

Flower described RCB as "one of the biggest franchises in world sport" which has been aided by Virat Kohli's presence in the side since the beginning of the tournament.

"RCB and its fans should expect success," Flower, who was appointed head coach in 2023, told the BBC Stumped podcast.

"I would not necessarily see the fact that RCB has not won it, as a desperate situation or added pressure. It's a great opportunity, it's never been done before.

"It's a very exciting opportunity for us. If we can bring some of that success and build an organisation or a dressing room that will give us that sort of success, that will be incredibly rewarding for us and our fans."

RCB women won the Women's Premier League in 2024.

Listen to the full interview with Andy Flower on the Stumped podcast on BBC Sounds.

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England all-rounder Liam Livingstone has been named as Birmingham Phoenix captain in The Hundred.

Livingstone has played for the Phoenix since the beginning of the competition in 2021 and replaces Moeen Ali as skipper, who announced that he will be retiring from domestic cricket after the T20 Blast.

The Phoenix reached the Eliminator in last year's Hundred, where they were beaten by Southern Brave.

"I am absolutely delighted to be named as captain this year. Moeen has done a brilliant job and I hope to carry on where he left off to take this team forward," said Livingstone.

"The squad is looking in great shape with local lads in Jacob Bethell and Dan Mousley as well as international quality with Ben Duckett and the New Zealand pace attack."

Australia all-rounder Ellyse Perry retains her position as women's captain.

The Hundred starts on 5 August and the Phoenix start their campaigns against Trent Rockets on Friday 8 August.

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Royal Challengers Bengaluru head coach Andy Flower says his squad is "more balanced" than previous editions of the Indian Premier League (IPL), which he hopes will deliver the franchise's first men's title.

Flower took charge of RCB in 2023 and they reached the play-offs in 2024 before defeat by Rajasthan Royals in the Eliminator.

The former England coach told the BBC Stumped podcast that their recruitment for 2025 shifted from RCB's usual batting-heavy strategy.

"We retained three players from last year. Instead of going for pace [bowlers], we're going for experience and skill, and if we put together a good tactical game I think we can not only defend but attack wisely at the Chinnaswamy and other grounds," Flower said.

"We've got some really good balance in our squad, good power in the batting line-up and real skill and experience in the bowling line-up, which is a little bit of a change for RCB.

"Usually they prioritise their batting line-up with some big batting stars and we've shifted that to what we think is a more balanced team this year."

RCB's bowling attack includes Australia seamer Josh Hazlewood and India fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar, while England batter Phil Salt and all-rounders Liam Livingstone and Jacob Bethell are also in the squad.

India batter Rajat Patidar has been named as captain in another significant change for the side, and Flower added that Virat Kohli - who led the side between 2013-2021 - remains a key part of the leadership set-up.

"Rajat has got all that experience to call on from Virat, and Virat's a big supporter of him, so rather than describing it as a shadow, I feel it's a ballast that can support us.

"Rajat has been an outstanding batsman for us, particularly last year, but he's done some special things for RCB prior to that. He's very calm, he's very decisive as a leader."

Listen to the full interview with Andy Flower on the Stumped podcast on BBC Sounds.

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Australia all-rounder Mitchell Owen has been signed by Pakistan Super League (PSL) side Peshawar Zalmi as a replacement for South Africa's Corbin Bosch.

Owen, 23, hit the joint-fastest Big Bash century off 39 balls in January as Hobart Hurricanes won their inaugural title.

The opener made 452 runs to finish as the tournament's top scorer.

Bosch has pulled out of the tournament and signed as an injury replacement for Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League and reports, external say the Pakistan Cricket Board have served the 30-year-old with a legal notice to explain the switch.

The two competitions are overlapping for the first time after the PSL was pushed back due to Pakistan hosting the ICC Champions Trophy.

The PSL starts on 11 April and runs until 18 May.

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The 2025 Women's Premier League is over with Mumbai Indians lifting the trophy for a second time after their victory over Delhi Capitals.

Nat Sciver-Brunt won the orange cap for the most runs in the tournament, while MI team-mate Amelia Kerr clinched the purple cap for the most wickets in a double for the franchise.

Here are the top five performers with bat and ball in the third edition of the WPL.

Top run-scorers in 2025 WPL

1. Nat Sciver-Brunt (Mumbai Indians) - 523 runs

2. Ellyse Perry (Royal Challengers Bengaluru) - 372

3. Hayley Matthews (Mumbai Indians) - 307

4. Shafali Verma (Delhi Capitals) - 304

5. Harmanpreet Kaur (Mumabi Indians) - 302

Top wicket-takers in 2025 WPL

1. Amelia Kerr (Mumbai Indians) - 18 wickets

2. Hayley Matthews (Mumbai Indians) - 18

3. Jess Jonasssen (Delhi Capitals) - 13

4. Georgia Wareham (Royal Challengers Bengaluru) - 12

5. Nat Sciver-Brunt (Mumbai Indians) - 12

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Former Australia batter David Warner says England all-time leading Test wicket taker James Anderson would be a real asset to any team in The Hundred.

Warner, 38, was signed by London Spirit in this week's draft but 42-year-old Anderson was left unsold.

However, Anderson could yet feature in the competition if he was chosen by a franchise as a wildcard player in May.

Warner said it would be "good for the game" if legendary ex-England bowler Anderson was part of 2025 edition of The Hundred.

"Would I like to see him picked up by a franchise? Yes, definitely, given Jimmy with his skills. He's still fit and he wants to play," Warner said.

"I always talk here in Australia about the older guys staying back and handing down the knowledge, being around the group and having that experience.

"Why not pick someone's brains like James Anderson if he gets picked up in The Hundred. As a young bowler, I would be hanging around him like anything being a sponge."

Anderson said he intends to play for Lancashire in the T20 Blast this summer.

He has not played white-ball cricket of any kind since a One-Day Cup semi-final for Lancashire in 2019.

Anderson's last T20 match was in a losing effort for the Red Rose in the 2014 final of the Blast against Warwickshire.

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India all-rounder Axar Patel has been named as Rishabh Pant's successor as Delhi Capitals captain for the forthcoming Indian Premier League.

Pant became the most expensive player in IPL history when he was signed by Lucknow Super Giants at last year's auction for 27 crore (£2.54m) having been with the Capitals since 2016.

Axar, 31, is the Capitals' current longest-serving player, having joined in 2019.

He has scored 967 runs and picked up 62 wickets at an economy rate of 7.09 in 82 appearances for the franchise.

"It is my absolute honour to captain the Delhi Capitals, and I'm deeply grateful to our owners and support staff for placing their faith in me," Axar said in a statement.

"I've grown as a cricketer and a human being during my time here at the Capitals, and I feel ready and confident to lead this side going forward."

Axar has played 14 Tests, 68 one-day internationals and 71 T20s for India and was named their T20 vice-captain in January.

He played a key role in India's Champions Trophy win earlier this month with his left-arm spin, taking five wickets at a rate of 4.35 and making key contributions batting at number five.

The Capitals begin their IPL campaign in Visakhapatnam on 24 March against Lucknow, who are now skippered by Pant.

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England's Nat Sciver-Brunt and West Indies' Hayley Matthews led Mumbai Indians to a 47-run win over Gujarat Giants to reach the final of the Women's Premier League.

Mumbai will face table-toppers Delhi Capitals in a repeat of the inaugural final on Saturday (14:00 GMT).

They posted 213-4 - the joint third-highest score in the tournament's history - with Sciver-Brunt and Matthews both making 77.

The pair shared 133 off 71 balls for the second wicket and hit 20 fours and five sixes between them.

Captain Harmanpreet Kaur also smashed 36 off just 12 balls as Mumbai made their record total.

Faced with a tournament-record chase, the Giants slipped to 43-3 in the powerplay and were unable to recover despite England all-rounder Dani Gibson making 34 off 24 balls at the top of the order.

Off-spinner Matthews claimed 3-31 from 3.2 overs while Sciver-Brunt also took 1-32.

Mumbai, who are coached by former England captain Charlotte Edwards, will be looking to win their second title in Saturday's final.

Victory for the Capitals would be their first success after finishing as runners-up in the first two years.

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After 20 group games, the Women's Premier League reaches the play-offs on Thursday.

Delhi Capitals have secured their place in a third successive final and will find out their opponents after the Eliminator.

Here's the schedule, including dates, times and venues for the WPL play-offs.

Eliminator

Thursday, 13 March: Mumbai Indians v Gujarat Giants (14:00 GMT), Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai

Final

Saturday, 15 March: Delhi Capitals v winner of Eliminator (14:00 GMT), Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai

Mumbai won the inaugural competition in 2023 and were knocked out in the Eliminator last year.

Gujarat are in the play-offs for the first time.

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Delhi Capitals reached their third successive Women's Premier League final after Mumbai Indians' 11-run defeat by Royal Challengers Bengaluru confirmed their place at the top of the table at the end of the group stage.

Mumbai would have progressed straight into Saturday's final with a win, but squandered their chance and will instead face Gujarat Giants in the eliminator on Thursday to decide the second finalist.

RCB had posted a challenging 199-3 from their 20 overs after captain Smriti Mandhana's half-century.

Mandhana hammered three sixes and six fours in her 53 off 37 balls while Australia all-rounder Ellyse Perry made an unbeaten 49 off 38, and compatriot Georgia Wareham blitzed 31 off 10 at the end of the innings.

Hayley Matthews finished with 2-37 for Mumbai, who were set the third-highest chase in WPL history.

Openers Matthews and Amelia Kerr fell cheaply, but England all-rounder Nat Sciver-Brunt kept Mumbai's hopes alive until she was caught and bowled by Perry for 69 from 35 balls.

Spinner Sneh Rana starred with 3-26 for RCB, and two sixes in the final over from Sajeevan Sajana gave Mumbai an unexpected winning opportunity to leave 12 needed from three balls, but bowler Perry held her nerve to close out the victory.

It was a consolation victory for RCB, who end the group stage in fourth place despite winning the title in 2024.

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Mumbai Indians beat Gujarat Giants by nine runs to put themselves in prime position to finish top of the Women's Premier League table, and advance straight into the final.

Giants slipped to 92-6 in pursuit of 180 to win, but an astonishing 61 from 25 balls from Bharti Fulmali and Simran Shaikh's 18 helped take the game to the final over with 13 runs required.

But West Indies all-rounder Hayley Matthews closed out the victory for Mumbai with the wicket of Shaikh, and the Giants were restricted to 170-9.

Matthews finished with 2-38 in the innings while New Zealand leg-spinner Amelia Kerr took 3-43 and former South Africa seamer Shabnim Ismail took 2-17.

Mumbai's 179-6 was earlier set up by India captain Harmanpreet Kaur's 54, while England all-rounder Nat Sciver-Brunt made 38 to become the tournament's leading run-scorer so far with 347 runs in seven innings.

Giants, Mumbai and Delhi Capitals are already confirmed as the three qualifiers, but Mumbai will confirm their place in the final if they win their final group match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Tuesday.

If they lose, Mumbai and Delhi would both finish on 10 points and the top spot will be decided by net run-rate.