Franchise Cricket

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England's Sophia Dunkley and Australia's Ash Gardner starred as Sydney Sixers thrashed Perth Scorchers by 10 wickets in their opening Women's Big Bash League game.

Chasing 110 to win, Dunkley smashed an unbeaten 61 from 40 balls, with four fours and five sixes.

Australia great Ellyse Perry was happy to play second fiddle at the other end, making 47 not out off 37 balls as Sixers won with 43 balls to spare.

Earlier, Gardner, who was announced as Sixers' new captain on Friday, took 5-15 as Scorchers were bowled out for 109 in 19.3 overs.

Gardner removed New Zealand's Sophie Devine (three) and England's Paige Scholfield in successive balls in the eighth over, before returning later in the innings to take three more wickets, including England's Freya Kemp.

Perry also took two wickets, including Mikayla Hinkley, who top-scored with 31.

• Women's Big Bash fixtures & table

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England's Danni Wyatt-Hodge crashed 90 off 52 balls as Hobart Hurricanes edged past Sydney Thunder in a high-scoring thriller in the Women's Big Bash League.

Chasing 182 in Brisbane, Wyatt-Hodge hit nine fours and three sixes before being dismissed in the 18th over to set up a tense finale.

She shared 143 with Nicola Carey (58 not out off 43 balls) for the third wicket after Hurricanes slipped to 27-2 with England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt out for four.

Wyatt-Hodge was caught by Heather Knight off Sam Bates to leave 12 needed from 16 balls and although Heather Graham hit two of the next four balls to the boundary, the game went to the final over.

South Africa's Shabnim Ismail conceded just one and dismissed Graham in the penultimate over to leave three required from the last and Carey and Elyse Villani secured a six-wicket win with three balls to spare.

Earlier, Thunder posted 181-8 with Knight top-scoring with 39 off 31 balls. There were also contributions from Chamari Athapaththu (32 off 22), Tahlia Wilson (22 off 23) and Laura Harris (20 off seven).

Hayley Silver-Holmes was the pick of the Hurricanes bowlers, taking 2-27 in three overs, but England's Linsey Smith endured a difficult day, claiming 1-46 in four overs.

• Women's Big Bash fixtures & table

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England's Davina Perrin was out for a first-ball duck on her Women's Big Bash debut but Melbourne Renegades beat Brisbane Heat by seven wickets in a rain-affected opening game of the new season.

Perrin, 19, was signed last week as an injury replacement for West Indies all-rounder Hayley Matthews but was caught behind from the first ball of Renegades DLS-adjusted chase of 66 from eight overs.

England's Alice Capsey and West Indies all-rounder Deandra Dottin were dismissed in the next over for five and eight respectively, but Courtney Webb (34 not out off 22 balls) and Georgia Wareham (16* off 13) got defending champions Renegades over the line with three balls to spare.

Earlier, Heat were bowled out for 133 from the final ball of their innings after being asked to bat first.

South Africa's Nadine de Klerk made 40 at the top of the order but seven batters were dismissed for single figures, including India's Jemimah Rodrigues (six) and Australia's Jess Jonassen (eight).

Wareham was the pick of the Renegades' bowlers, claiming 3-12, while Capsey impressed with 3-20, including the wickets of De Klerk and Rodrigues.

• Women's Big Bash fixtures & table

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The Women's Big Bash returns on Sunday and there will be commentary on selected matches throughout the tournament on BBC Sounds.

ABC in Australia will provide commentary across BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra and the BBC Sport website and app.

Here's what on the schedule this week:

5unday, 9 November: Perth Scorchers v Sydney Sixers (09:30 GMT)

Wednesday, 12 November: Brisbane Heat v Perth Scorchers (08:10 GMT)

Thursday, 13 November: Sydney Sixers v Hobart Hurricanes (08:10 GMT)

Friday, 14 November: Adelaide Strikers v Melbourne Renegades (08:10 GMT)

Times listed are match start times.

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The Women's Big Bash returns for its 11th season with a triple-header on Sunday, 9 November.

The group stage, which has 40 matches, runs until 7 December, before three knockout games.

There are eight teams involved: Adelaide Strikers, Brisbane Heat, Hobart Hurricanes, Melbourne Renegades, Melbourne Stars, Perth Scorchers, Sydney Sixers and Sydney Thunder.

Renegades are the defending champions after beating Brisbane Heat in last year's final to win their inaugural title.

Four sides progress to the knockouts, with the top side automatically through to the final on 13 December.

Here's how the knockouts work:

• 9 December (08:10 GMT): Knockout - third v fourth

• 11 December (08:10 GMT): Challenger - second v winner of knockout

• 13 December (08:10 GMT): Final - first v winner of challenger

There will be ball-by-ball commentary on selected matches on BBC Sounds and regular updates on BBC Sport's Franchise Cricket page.

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A total of 15 England players are set to feature in the Women's Big Bash, including captain Nat Sciver-Brunt and star spinner Sophie Ecclestone.

Sciver-Brunt will be playing for Hobart Hurricanes for the first time, having previously represented Melbourne Stars and Perth Scorchers.

Ecclestone also has a new side in Adelaide Strikers. She played for Sydney Sixers in her two previous campaigns.

Four players - batters Davina Perrin (Renegades) and Paige Scholfield (Scorchers) and all-rounders Freya Kemp (Scorchers) and Mady Villiers (Sixers) - are set to play in the tournament for the first time.

England players in the 2025-26 Women's Big Bash League:

Adelaide Strikers: Tammy Beaumont and Sophie Ecclestone

Hobart Hurricanes: Nat Sciver-Brunt, Linsey Smith and Danni Wyatt-Hodge

Melbourne Renegades: Alice Capsey, Davina Perrin and Issy Wong

Melbourne Stars: Amy Jones and Dani Gibson

Perth Scorchers: Freya Kemp and Paige Scholfield

Sydney Sixers: Sophia Dunkley and Mady Villiers

Sydney Thunder: Heather Knight

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All of Australia's star-studded squad will be featuring in the 2025-26 Women's Big Bash alongside some big overseas stars.

Australia captain Alyssa Healy will again play for Sydney Sixers, although she has been ruled out of the first game through injury.

All-rounder Ash Gardner was announced as Sixers captain on Friday. They are coached by former England men's white-ball coach Matthew Mott and have New Zealand all-rounder Melie Kerr is their star overseas player.

Tahlia McGrath captains Adelaide Strikers and she is joined by South Africa opener Laura Wolvaardt.

Wolvaardt's compatriot Marizanne Kapp is at Melbourne Stars, who have Australia's Annabel Sutherland as their captain and former skipper Meg Lanning in their ranks.

India's Jemimah Rodrigues, fresh from her epic century in the World Cup semi-final, is the star attraction at Brisbane Heat alongside South Africa's Nadine de Klerk and West Indies' Chinelle Henry.

West Indies all-rounder Deandra Dottin is back at Melbourne Renegades, while New Zealand's Sophie Devine will captain a Perth Scorchers side that includes leg-spinner Alana King.

Phoebe Litchfield will lead Sydney Thunder again, with Sri Lanka's Chamari Athapaththu and South Africa's Shabnim Ismail part of their roster.

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Captain Nat Sciver-Brunt is the only England player to be retained by her franchise for the fourth season of the Women's Premier League.

Sciver-Brunt, 33, will stay at defending champions Mumbai Indians but spinners Sophie Ecclestone (Up Warriorz), Charlie Dean (Royal Challengers Bengaluru), batter Danni Wyatt-Hodge (RCB) and all-rounders Alice Capsey (Delhi Capitals) and Danielle Gibson (Gujarat Giants) have all been released.

India stars Smriti Mandhana (RCB), Harmanpreet Kaur (Mumbai Indians) and Jemimah Rodrigues (Delhi Capitals) have been retained but Deepti Sharma (UP Warriorz) has been released.

West Indies all-rounder Hayley Matthews will stay at Mumbai, South Africa's Marizanne Kapp remains with Delhi and Australia's Ash Gardner and Beth Mooney (both Gujarat), Annabel Sutherland (Delhi) and Ellyse Perry (RCB) have also been kept.

However Australia's Meg Lanning (Capitals), Alyssa Healy and Tahlia McGrath (UP Warriorz), Phoebe Litchfield (Giants) have been released, while Mumbai have let New Zealand's T20 World Cup winner Melie Kerr go too.

The auction for teams to complete their squads will take place on 27 November in New Delhi. There are 73 slots to fill, including 23 overseas players.

The dates for the tournament are unknown.

WPL 2026 retentions

Delhi Capitals: Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Annabel Sutherland, Marizanne Kapp and Niki Prasad

Gujarat Giants: Ash Gardner and Beth Mooney

Mumbai Indians: Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur, Hayley Matthews, Amanjot Kaur and G Kamalini

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Smriti Mandhana, Richa Ghosh, Ellyse Perry and Shreyanka Patil

UP Warriorz: Shweta Sehrawat

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Ex-England and Nottinghamshire wicketkeeper Chris Read has been appointed head coach of Trent Rockets' women's team.

Lancashire coach Read, 47, steps up to take the reins from Jon Lewis, under whom he has worked as an assistant coach for the past three editions of The Hundred.

Read's former Notts team-mate Luke Fletcher also joins as an assistant coach.

"It's a deeply proud moment to take on a head coaching role based at the ground that I have a huge number of unbelievably special memories at," said Read.

"I've really enjoyed developing my coaching skillset with the Rockets over the last three summers, and the opportunity to continue that journey is really exciting.

"I felt the impact of a sold-out Trent Bridge crowd first-hand over many years, and I know how much their support can change the course of games.

"With all the fresh energy and investment into The Hundred, I'm really looking forward to starting the preparation for 2026 and beyond as we bid to deliver success."

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Former New Zealand fast bowler Shane Bond has been appointed head coach of Birmingham Phoenix in the men's Hundred.

Bond, 50, replaces former Black Caps team-mate Daniel Vettori, who left after four years in the role as the Hundred franchises continue to be shaped by their new investors.

Vettori is currently coach of Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League. Sunrisers' owners bought a 100% stake in Leeds-based Northern Superchargers earlier this year.

Earlier this week Tom Moody left his position as Oval Invincibles coach to take up a role as the global director of cricket for the owners of Indian Premier League franchise Lucknow Super Giants.

LSG's owners, Sanjiv Goenka's RPSG Group, bought a 70% stake in Manchester Originals during the Hundred sales process.

Bond has experience in a number of global franchise leagues.

He has worked as a head coach at Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash and is currently bowling coach for IPL side Rajasthan Royals. He has also worked in the IPL with Mumbai Indians.

A fragile bowler capable of extreme pace, Bond played 18 Tests, 82 ODIs and 20 T20s in an international career blighted by injuries.

Phoenix's men were runners-up in the first Hundred season in 2021 but have not reached the final since and finished fifth last year.

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Head coach Daniel Vettori has left Birmingham Phoenix after four years at the club.

The ex-New Zealand spin bowler, 46, led Phoenix's men's team to a runners-up finish in 2021 and third place in 2024, though they finished fifth last summer.

James Thomas, Birmingham Phoenix performance director, said: "Dan's prior experience of working in franchise cricket has been invaluable during the formative years of the Birmingham Phoenix and he leaves us in a great position to grow and progress in the years to come."

Vettori added: "I have loved every minute of working with the Birmingham Phoenix and will look back on my time at Edgbaston with nothing but fondness."

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The new owners of the Northern Superchargers have changed The Hundred franchise's company name to Sunrisers Leeds.

A document which confirmed a change of name, which was long expected to incorporate the word 'Sunrisers', was submitted to Companies House, external on 31 October.

The Headingley-based franchise were brought by the Sun Group, owners of Indian Premier League side Sunrisers Hyderabad during the sale of the Hundred franchises.

Sun Group paid just over £100m for a 100% stake stake in the franchise - one of only two sides alongside Southern Brave to sell up entirely.

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Tom Moody has left his position as Oval Invincibles coach to take up a role as the global director of cricket for the owners of Indian Premier League franchise Lucknow Super Giants.

The 60-year-old Australian has been with The Hundred franchise since the competition's inception and has guided them to the men's title in the last three years.

A statement from the Invincibles said Moody's "outstanding leadership" had been an "integral part" of their "unprecedented success".

"Together, we have achieved great success, winning three titles in a row and Tom played a crucial role in building this winning culture," the Invincibles said.

"Everyone at the franchise respects Tom's decision to pursue a new and exciting opportunity. We thank him for his invaluable contributions over the past five years and wish him the very best for the future."

Moody will oversee cricket strategy, player auction, player retention and global talent scouting across RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group (RPSG) franchises.

That includes in the IPL with LSG, Manchester Originals in The Hundred and Durban's Super Giants in the SA20.

Moody, who played eight Tests and 76 one-day internationals for Australia, said it was a "privilege to accept the role" with RPSG and it represented "an exciting opportunity".

"I look forward to helping build a unified cricketing philosophy across the franchises," Moody said.

"I'm excited to work alongside all the players, coaches and management to achieve our goals."

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Former India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will miss the forthcoming Big Bash League after undergoing a knee operation.

Ashwin was set to play for Sydney Thunder in Australia's domestic T20 tournament in what was described as "one of the biggest signings in BBL history".

The 39-year-old sustained the injury while training in Chennai and said in a statement he was "gutted" to miss the tournament.

Ashwin retired from international cricket in December 2024, and from the Indian Premier League earlier this year, which made him eligible for global franchise leagues.

He would have been the first player capped by India at international level to play in the BBL.

"My focus now is recovery and coming back stronger," said Ashwin, who has taken 765 wickets in 287 international matches across formats for India.

"For now it is rehab, recovery, and doing the work to come back stronger. If rehab and travel plans allow, I'd love to be around the group later in the season and meet the fans."

The BBL is scheduled from 14 December until 25 January.

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England batter Davina Perrin and bowler Issy Wong have been signed by Melbourne Renegades in the Women's Big Bash.

Perrin, 19, will play in the tournament for the first time and has been signed as an injury replacement for West Indies' Hayley Matthews, who is recovering from shoulder surgery.

The right-hander smashed 101 not out in The Hundred eliminator in August to guide Northern Superchargers to the final, where they lifted the title for the first time.

Wong, 23, has played for Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash previously, taking nine wickets in 13 matches.

Renegades general manager James Rosengarten said: "Davina brings power and presence, she's a player who really suits our fearless approach at the top of the order.

"Issy offers genuine pace and a competitive edge that few can match. She's shown her quality on the international stage and will add another dimension to our attack this season."

The pair will be joined by England all-rounder Alice Capsey at the Renegades.

The tournament begins on 9 November, with commentary on BBC Sounds and daily posts on BBC Sport's Franchise Cricket page.