Afghanistan limit players' participation in leaguespublished at 12:05 GMT 15 January
12:05 GMT 15 January
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The Afghanistan Cricket Board has implemented a new rule preventing their players from participating in more than three international leagues per year.
The Board says the new policy will "manage workload and ensure peak performance for national duties", but it could mean many of the country's players have to take a financial hit to remain compliant.
Players like Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad and Mujeeb Ur Rahman play for numerous franchises around the world.
Spin-bowling all-rounder Khan, 27, is currently captaining MI Cape Town in the SA20.
He also plays for MI's other franchises in the ILT20, Major League Cricket and in The Hundred, plus has a deal with Gujarat Titans in the IPL.
Allen inspires Perth Scorchers to big winpublished at 11:46 GMT 15 January
11:46 GMT 15 January
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Perth Scorchers continued their push for a sixth Big Bash League title with a convincing 50-run victory over Melbourne Renegades at Marvel Stadium.
New Zealand's Finn Allen smashed 101 off 53 balls as the visitors racked up a huge 219-7 despite Sam Elliott's four wickets.
No other Scorchers player passed 22 as Allen dominated - striking eight sixes in his brilliant knock.
Opener Tim Seifert (66 off 43) anchored the reply for struggling Renegades but once Jake Fraser-McGurk fell for a lively 42 off 18 balls, he began to lose partners regularly.
Harry Dixon, making his first appearance of the season, retired hurt on one after being struck by a nasty Mahli Beardman bouncer.
The 20-year-old, who has been likened to David Warner, was sent to hospital for observations.
Renegades were never able to keep pace with the required run-rate and slipped to their fifth defeat of another disappointing season.
Chasing 179, Super Kings were dismissed for 117 with 11 balls remaining in their innings, extending their winless run to five matches (three defeats, two no results).
South Africa spinner Senuran Muthusamy took 3-26, including the wickets of Wiaan Mulder and Michael Pepper in the space of three balls, while opener James Vince top-scored with 30.
Quinton de Kock struck 54 after Sunrisers were put into bat, and put on a 48-run opening partnership with Jonny Bairstow (18).
Super Kings captain Donovan Ferreira had Jordan Hermann caught for 13, then trapped de Kock lbw two balls later to leave Sunrisers 90-4.
The dismissals brought James Coles to the crease, and the English all-rounder, who would also take 2-34 in the Super Kings innings, smashed 10 fours in a 34-ball 61.
Coles, 21, added 88 for the sixth wicket alongside Tristan Stubbs (23 not out), and was only caught off the final ball of the innings as Sunrisers closed on 178-6.
The win sees Sunrisers move above Pretoria Capitals and Paarl Royals to lead the standings and confirms they will at least finish fourth.
Super Kings sit fourth and know one win in their final two games will confirm a play-off spot.
Chasing 161 in their final group-stage game, Beau Webster (51) and Ben McDermott (59) put on 98 for the third wicket, taking their side to 124-2 at the end of the 14th over.
The pair were then dismissed in consecutive overs, but the defending champions remained in a strong position, needing 11 runs from 13 balls following a Matthew Wade six off Michael Neser.
However Neser struck back with the following delivery, having Wade caught at deep mid-wicket, and sparked a collapse where Hurricanes lost four wickets for six runs before finishing their innings on 157-8.
Australia seamer Xavier Bartlett finished with figures of 3-44, having dismissed England internationals Rehan Ahmed and Chris Jordan in the space of three balls in the 19th over.
Nathan McSweeney top-scored for Heat after they were put in to bat, scoring 49 and adding 64 for the third wicket with Matthew Renshaw (37), with the Queensland side finishing on 160-8.
The win moves Heat above Sydney Sixers into the final play-off spot, although the Sixers will overtake them again if they win their game in hand.
Hurricanes, who have already secured a knockout spot, now await the remaining group games to decide their play-off path.
Needing two to win off the final ball, Raza struck David Wiese's full toss over mid-wicket for the winning runs to lift the Royals up to second in the table.
The platform was provided by a 106-run stand between England's Dan Lawrence (63) and Rubin Hermann (65 not out) for the third wicket.
Lawrence and David Miller (2) fell in quick succession to leave 42 still needed off the last 27 balls, but Hermann found a capable partner in Zimbabwe's Raza, who struck an unbeaten 27 off 13 balls.
Super Giants captain Aiden Markam hit 66 from 44 balls having seen fellow top-order batters Sunil Narine and Jos Buttler dismissed for 22 and three respectively.
The opener put on 76 with David Bedingham (25), before the pair were dismissed in the space of 10 balls to leave Super Giants on 127-4 in the 17th over.
England's Liam Livingstone took over, hitting 32 from 10 deliveries and adding a swift 52-ball partnership with fellow big hitter Heinrich Klaasen.
Nqobani Mokoena had Klaasen caught for 29 after being hit for a four and six successively, prior to Livingstone adding his fourth and final six to close the innings on 186-5.
Chasing 193, Harmanpreet put on an unbroken partnership of 84 with Nicola Carey (38) and struck a winning four to close out the match with three balls to spare.
Mumbai were 37-2 after losing openers Gunalan Kamalini (13) and Hayley Matthews (22), before Harmanpreet added 72 with Amanjot Kaur (40).
Giants scored swiftly after losing the toss with Beth Mooney and Kanika Ahuja hitting 33 and 35 respectively but they lost Sophie Devine for eight while Ash Gardner was dismissed for an 11-ball 20.
The visitors retired Ayushi Soni at the end of the 16th over, bringing Georgia Wareham, who top-scored with 43, together with Bharti Fulmali, and the pair finished the innings with a partnership of 56.
Fulmali hammered 36 from 15 balls as Giants closed on 192-5, a total that Mumbai passed with their highest ever chase in the WPL.
The win sees Mumbai leapfrog Giants into second on net run-rate with both sides having a record of two wins and a defeat.
Curran's efforts saw Strikers bowled out for a mere 83, with Stars reaching their target inside 16 overs to knock their opponents out of play-off contention while sealing their post-season place.
The 30-year-old Curran, who last played for England in 2021, made the first breakthrough when he had Alex Carey caught for three in the second over.
He continued to rip through the Strikers' top order on a challenging wicket, removing Chris Lynn and Jason Sangha before having the in-form Liam Scott caught behind for 18 as the away side slipped to 40-5 at the halfway mark.
Curran had completed his allocation, but his team-mates continued his destruction, with Mitchell Swepson dismissing Jamie Overton and Hassan Ali with consecutive deliveries in the following over.
Cameron Boyce, who top-scored with 20 and was one of just two batters to reach double figures, added 28 for the final wicket with Tabraiz Shamsi before becoming the last man to fall with three balls remaining in the visitors' innings.
Stars were 25-2 at the end of the powerplay, losing opener Sam Harper, the tournament's leading run-scorer, to an excellent catch by sub Mackenzie Harvey off Scott for nine, while Hassan had Campbell Kellaway caught by Overton for a duck.
Tom Rogers (32 from 40 balls) steadily took Stars towards their low target, adding 30 with Blake Macdonald (11) and 33 with Marcus Stoinis (23).
Overton had Rogers caught at mid-wicket in the 15th over then struck Stoinis on the glove, leading to his retirement, before Curran completed the job with a match-winning four.
Stars move above Perth Scorchers into second, one point behind leaders Hobart Hurricanes, with one match to play in the group stage, while sixth-placed Strikers can no longer overhaul Sydney Sixers in fourth.
Who needs what to qualify in the Big Bash?published at 21:20 GMT 12 January
21:20 GMT 12 January
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With seven games left in the league phase, the Women's Big Bash table is starting to take shape.
BBC Sport looks at what each side needs to reach the knockouts.
Defending champions Hobart Hurricanes (13 points) have secured their place in the play-offs after winning six of their first nine games. A win in their final game secures a top-two finish and two chances to reach the final on 25 January.
Perth Scorchers and Melbourne Stars (both 10 points) are well positioned with two games each remaining. However, they face each other in their final game. Two wins would definitely be enough for each side, but one may see them through.
Sydney Sixers (nine points) are fourth and also know that two wins is enough, but they face fifth-place Brisbane Heat (eight points) in the final group game, which could be a shootout for a play-off spot.
Adelaide Strikers and Melbourne Renegades (both six points) need to win their final two games, but again they face each other so only one can reach 10 points and stand any chance.
Sydney Thunder (four points), who only have won two games, are eliminated.
Capitals thrash MI Cape Town to move top of SA20 table published at 20:37 GMT 12 January
20:37 GMT 12 January
Image source, SA20
Pretoria Capitals picked up their third successive victory with a 53-run thrashing of MI Cape Town to move to the top of the SA20 table.
After being asked to bat first, Capitals recovered from 35-2 and 89-4 to post 185-6.
West Indies all-rounder Sherfane Rutherford top-scored with 53 off 27 balls, while Dewald Brevis added 34.
Cape Town's chase never really got going. They were reduced to 28-2 after one ball of the sixth over and slipped to 55-6 at the halfway stage, with Gideon Peters taking 3-32.
Reeza Hendricks, who made 68 not out, put on 34 with Jason Smith and an unbroken 43 with Kagiso Rabada, but the defending champions finished well short on 132-7.
They are bottom of the table and in danger of being failing to progress to the play-offs.
Capitals have played one more game than Sunrisers Eastern Cape and Joburg Super Kings and two more than Paarl Royals in fourth so their position in the play-offs is far from secure.
Rizwan, who has not made a fifty in his eight innings in Australia, was called in by captain Will Sutherland at the end of the 18th over, having taken 23 balls for his 26 with two fours and a six.
He had managed only four singles from his seven balls before the decision and is the second player to be retired out at this year's Big Bash, following on from Thunder's Nic Maddison earlier in the competition.
Renegades still posted 170-8 on this occasion - there were contributions of 35 from Josh Brown, 29 from Tim Seifert and 46 by Hassan Khan - but Maddison and Chris Green burst into life after a rain delay to secure a four-wicket victory via the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method.
Chasing 171, Thunder were 80-3 after 11 overs before the match was halted by rain and their target revised to 140 in 16 overs, leaving 60 to get from 30 balls.
Sam Billings and Daniel Sams fell to the first two balls after the resumption, denting Thunder's hopes further, but Maddison, who had scored only five from eight balls before the rain, hit his next two deliveries for six.
New batter Green hit a four and then three consecutive sixes off Gurinder Sandhu and finished 34 not out from 13 balls. Maddison ended 30 not out from 17 as victory was secured with four balls to spare.
Sixty runs came in just 26 balls after the rain delay.
Thunder had already been eliminated from play-off contention but the victory dents Renegades' hopes. They sit seventh in the table with two games left.
Superb Devine wins WPL thriller for Gujarat published at 17:48 GMT 11 January
17:48 GMT 11 January
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New Zealand's Sophie Devine scored 95 and then defended six from the final over to give Gujarat Giants a thrilling four-run win over Delhi Capitals in the Women's Premier League.
Devine struck seven fours and eight sixes, falling five short of making the first WPL century, but helping Gujarat post 209.
That left Delhi needing to complete the highest WPL chase but Lizelle Lee scored 86 from 54 balls as opener to give her side a real chance.
Fellow South African Laura Wolvaardt added 77 from just 38 balls but became one of two batters dismissed in the final over bowled by the nerveless Devine.
Devine conceded a single from the first, dismissed India batter Jemimah Rodrigues with a slower ball next, bowled a dot to Marizanne Kapp before conceding a single and then had Wolvaardt caught at deep mid-wicket.
That left five runs to get from the last ball but Sneh Rana failed to connect and Gujarat snatched victory.
It means they have two wins from two across the opening three days of the competition. Delhi have two defeats.
Super Giants edge past Sunrisers for first win in SA20published at 17:24 GMT 11 January
17:24 GMT 11 January
Image source, SA20
Durban's Super Giants picked up their first win of the SA20 season with a nervy two-wicket victory over table-toppers Sunrisers Eastern Cape.
Chasing 159, Super Giants got off to a rollicking start with Aiden Markram and Marques Ackerman racing to 48-0 in four overs.
Markram was dismissed in the fifth but Ackerman continued attacking until the eighth over when he fell to leave Super Giants 80-2.
Sunil Narine fell in the next over but England's Jos Buttler and South Africa's Heinrich Klassen took 19 off the 10th over and Super Giants were on top at 101-3.
The pair fell in a nine-ball spell before a brief partnership between David Bedingham and Liam Livingstone put Super Giants back on track but they also fell in quick succession.
Gerald Coetzee smashed 13 off six balls and despite being dismissed from the penultimate ball of the 19th over, he'd left just four required from the last.
The scores were level after three leg byes from the first two balls and then Evan Jones hit a four over backward point to seal the win.
Sunrisers posted 158-5 in their 20 overs, with Tristan Stubbs' 49 not out helping them recover from 87-5.
They remain top of the table, two points clear of Joburg Super Kings.
Marsh sets up win as Scorchers consolidate play-off berthpublished at 12:32 GMT 11 January
12:32 GMT 11 January
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Mitch Marsh crashed 88 as Perth Scorchers boosted their Big Bash play-off hopes with a 32-run win over Adelaide Strikers.
After being asked to bat, Scorchers posted 232-4 - the third-highest total this season and fifth highest of all-time.
Marsh, who hit six fours and seven sixes, put on 81 with Finn Allen (38) for the first wicket before Cooper Connolly fell next ball.
Josh Inglis made 42 in a partnership of 77 with Marsh before being caught by Jamie Overton off Matt Short.
Marsh continued and fell with a second hundred of the season in his sights, but Aaron Hardie (32*) and Ashton Turner (20*) put on an unbroken 42 in 20 balls to drag them well past 200.
Strikers' chase got off to a good start with Short sharing 93 with the returning Alex Carey and at the halfway point they were 117-1 and needed another 116.
They were 153-2 in the 15th over and competitive but the wicket of Liam Scott turned the game.
Carey (71 off 39) followed in the next over and Strikers slipped to 167-8 at the start of the 18th over. They finished 200-8.
Earlier on Sunday, Sydney Sixers' match against Hobart Hurricanes was washed out after five overs. Sixers, who had Steve Smith back in their side, were 32-0 when the rain arrived.
However, the result means that defending champions Hurricanes are the first side to confirm their place in the play-offs.
Scorchers are up to second, with Melbourne Stars in third and Sixers occupying fourth and the final play-off spot.
Strikers are now sixth and must win their final two games and have other results go their way to have any chance of progressing.
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