Franchise Cricket

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The Abu Dhabi Knight Riders secured back-to-back wins in the International League T20 with a four-wicket victory over Gulf Giants.

Chasing 166 to win, the Knight Riders were well placed at 125-2 in the 15th over before the dismissal of former England opener Alex Hales for 46 off 39 balls started a run of three wickets for only 11 runs.

But their batting depth proved vital as former West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell smacked an unbeaten 21 off 13, including a mighty six to seal victory with four balls to spare.

England opener Phil Salt hit 35 off 24 and international team-mate Liam Livingstone made 12 off eight, both falling to South Africa spinner Tabraiz Shamsi, who took 3-23.

Earlier, the Giants posted 165-7 thanks mainly to Afghanistan wicketkeeper Rahmanullah Gurbaz smashing 72 off 45, with none of his team-mates passing 20 and veteran leg-spinner Piyush Chawla taking 4-27.

It is the first time this season the Knight Riders have won two consecutive matches.

They are up to fourth in the table, level on points with the second-placed Giants, but trailing on net run-rate.

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Melbourne Stars made a winning start to their 2025-26 Big Bash League campaign with an eight-wicket victory over defending champions Hobart Hurricanes.

Chasing 159 to win, Australia all-rounder Marcus Stoinis smashed 62 not out off 31 balls to lead his side to their target with four overs to spare.

Stoinis cracked seven fours and two sixes, including a mighty maximum down the ground for the winning runs, while Campbell Kellaway made an unbeaten 41 off 27.

After being put into bat at the MCG, Hobart posted 158-9 thanks to Ben McDermott's 69 off 52 and Tim David's run-a-ball 31.

Matthew Wade (11) was the only other Hurricanes batter to reach double figures, with veteran seamer Peter Siddle taking 3-30 and Stoinis 2-18.

England all-rounder Rehan Ahmed made one batting at three for Hobart and had figures of 0-18 off two overs with the ball.

Stars' victory moves them top of the eight-team table on net run-rate, while Hurricanes are fifth, with one win and one defeat from their two matches so far.

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England's Jonny Bairstow hit 67 off 40 balls to help MI Emirates beat Dubai Capitals by seven runs in the International League T20.

Emirates opener Bairstow smacked eight fours and three sixes in his vital knock, with none of his team-mates passing 20 as they posted 137-8 at the Dubai International Stadium.

Chasing 138 to win, the Capitals were well placed at 89-2 in the 13th over but lost three wickets for just six runs.

England's Jordan Cox kept his side in the hunt but his dismissal for 46 off 41 in the 19th over ensured the Capitals fell short as they were bowled out for 130 off the final ball of the match.

Victory means Emirates move above the Capitals into third place in the six-team league.

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Birmingham Phoenix have signed England all-rounder Rehan Ahmed for the 2026 season of The Hundred.

Ahmed, 21, impressed in helping runners-up Trent Rockets reach last year's final, taking 12 wickets and scoring 189 runs across the competition.

This year, the leg-spinner and top-order batter also helped Leicestershire win the County Championship Division Two title, taking 23 wickets at 19 and averaging 50.66 with the bat, including five centuries.

Before joining Rockets, he represented Southern Brave in The Hundred.

Each of the eight Hundred franchises can sign four players in a window until the end of January, with one allowed to be a retention of any member of a side's 2025 squad.

The three remaining direct signings must be from overseas or England contracted players, and franchises will be able to offer multi-year contracts.

Ahmed - who has played five Tests, six one-day internationals and 12 T20s for England - is the first signing of the window.

The Hundred will then hold a player auction for the 2026 season, with salaries also significantly increased, following private investment into the competition.

Knighthead Capital Management, founded by Birmingham City co-owner and chairman Tom Wagner, paid £40m for a 49% share in Phoenix.

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England pair Jamie Overton and Luke Wood led Adelaide Strikers to a three-wicket victory against Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash League.

Chasing 160 to win, Strikers fell to 117-5 before Overton (30 off 20 balls) and Wood (18 not out off 14) held their nerve to consign the hosts to their second defeat of the tournament.

Overton and Wood also shone with the ball, taking 2-22 and 3-26 respectively.

Josh Philippe was Sixers' highest scorer with 46 off 28 but only one other batter passed 20.

Strikers' chase was given impetus by Liam Scott's half-century, before Overton and Wood took over.

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England all-rounder Liam Livingstone made 76 off 48 balls to help Abu Dhabi Knight Riders inflict a first defeat on Desert Vipers with a tense one-run win in the International League T20.

After being asked to bat first, Knight Riders slipped to 9-2 with England's Phil Salt out to the first ball of the game, before Michael Pepper fell in the next over.

Livingstone came to the crease and shared 34 with Alex Hales (25 off 18) and 68 off 59 with Alishan Sharafu.

He was happy to play second fiddle in both partnerships but Sharafu's dismissal off the penultimate ball of the 15th over was a signal for Livingstone to go through the gears.

He made 41 off 16 balls in a stand of 68 with Sherfane Rutherford before he was dismissed from the penultimate ball of the innings as Knight Riders posted 181-5.

Vipers, who had already confirmed their place in the knockouts with a six-game winning streak to start the group phase, made a positive start with Max Holden and Fakhar Zaman sharing 97 for the first wicket.

However, both fell in quick succession and Vipers still needed 68 from 36 balls.

Hasan Nawaz and Sam Curran hit three sixes to keep Vipers in touch but both were dismissed alongside Shimron Hetmyer to leave last year's beaten finalists 152-5 in the 18th over.

Khuzaima Bin Tanveer hit a six from the final ball of that over to leave 18 needed from 12 balls but West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell conceded just five from the 19th over.

Ajay Kumar started the final over with an above waist height no-ball that was also hit for four by Dan Lawrence, reducing the equation to nine needed off six.

However, he recovered brilliantly and conceded three from the next three balls.

He then had Tanveer caught at deep mid-wicket, before conceding two from the fifth ball to leave three needed from the last ball.

Tom Bruce missed a slower ball and Vipers could only scramble a bye to finish one run short and suffer their first defeat.

Despite the win, Knight Riders remain bottom of the table on net run-rate, but they are now one of four teams on four points.

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Hobart Hurricanes made a winning start to their Big Bash title defence, beating Sydney Thunder by four wickets in a repeat of last season's final.

However, whereas in January's trophy match the Hurricanes chased 183 with 35 balls to spare, their tournament opener at Bellerive Oval went down to the penultimate delivery.

Chasing 181, Mitch Owen (32 off 14), who scored a century in the 2025 final, Nikhil Chaudhary (41 off 31), and Ben McDermott (38 off 24) had got the Hurricanes off to a flyer, but regular wickets disrupted the second half of their innings.

They headed into the final over with four runs required from six balls, which became one from two after three consecutive dot balls from Daniel Sams, before captain Nathan Ellis got his side over the line with a single.

England bowler Chris Jordan, who had earlier taken 2-36 as Sydney Thunder posted 180-6, finished unbeaten on 16 (13).

Sam Konstas, who lost his place in the Test side before the Ashes, made a scratchy 28 (25) at the top of the order for Thunder, with his wicket triggering a mini collapse from 69-1 to 79-4. Cameron Bancroft top-scored with 61 (44).

Hobart Hurricanes are bidding to become the third team after Perth Scorchers (twice) and Sydney Sixers to retain the title.

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Sharjah Warriorz picked up their second consecutive International League T20 win with an 11-run victory over second-placed Gulf Giants.

Warriorz recorded their first win on Sunday after three straight defeats and backed it up with another impressive batting performance by posting 174-6.

Tom Abell top scored with 68 off 41 balls, while fellow English batter James Rew added 39 off 33 at the Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium.

Chasing 175 to win, the Giants slipped to 38-4 before a stand of 79 between former England international Moeen Ali and Afghanistan all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai gave them hope.

However, Azmatullah fell for 41 off 26 to United Arab Emirates left-armer Wasim Akram, who took 3-34 overall, and the Giants' chase stalled.

Moeen holed out for a 41-ball 45 off Matheesha Pathirana, who took 3-19, and the Giants closed on 163-9.

Despite victory, the Warriorz remain fifth in the six-team table, with the top four sides advancing to the play-offs. The Giants have now won three and lost three of their six matches so far.

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Melbourne Renegades opener Tim Seifert hit the first century of the 2025-26 Big Bash League to help his side beat Brisbane Heat by 14 runs.

New Zealand international Seifert clattered nine fours and six sixes in making 102 off 56 balls after the Renegades were put into bat at GMHBA Stadium in Geelong.

The Renegades were 82-3 in the 10th over before Seifert put on a stand of 121 with 19-year-old Australian Ollie Peake - who made 57 off 29 - leading their side to post 212-5.

Pakistan left-arm fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi was removed from the attack by the umpires shortly after Seifert reached his hundred for bowling two balls above waist height in the same over.

Chasing 213 to win, Heat opener Colin Munro smacked 55 off 32, but wickets fell around him, with Brisbane slipping to 108-6 off 13 overs shortly after Munro was dismissed.

An onslaught by Jimmy Peirson, who hit 50 off 22, and Hugh Weibgen (38 not out off 20) helped Heat threaten an unlikely win, but Peirson's dismissal by Renegades captain Will Sutherland in the 19th over ensured they fell short on 198-8.

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England's Sam Curran made an unbeaten 52 off 33 balls to extend Desert Vipers winning start to six matches with a five-wicket victory over Dubai Capitals in the International League T20.

Chasing 167, Vipers were 53-2 when Curran came to the crease and he shared partnerships of 32 with Hasan Nawaz (31 off 17) and Dan Lawrence (20 off 15) and 47 with Shimron Hetmyer (18 off 17).

Vipers needed three from the final over but lost Hetmyer on the first ball but Curran won the game with a six off the fourth ball.

It secured history for Vipers as the first team to win their opening six games.

Capitals, who sit third with two wins in five games, had posted 166-4 with Leus du Plooy making 54 off 44 balls and England's Jordan Cox an unbeaten 49 off 30.

Sunday's other game saw Sharjah Warriorz beat MI Emirates by six runs to record their first win.

MI needed 175 to win and made a positive start with Muhammad Waseem (44 off 29) and Jonny Bairstow (31 off 23) sharing 68 for the opening wicket.

However, they suffered a middle-over collapse and slipped to 101-5 with Sikandar Raza and Junaid Siddique both claiming two wickets.

Nicholas Pooran settled the ship but they needed 25 from the last over and, despite three sixes, fell short.

Warriorz earlier posted 174-3 with Johnson Charles making 77 off 53 balls.

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Cooper Connolly fired 59 in 31 balls to help Perth Scorchers to a five-wicket victory over Sydney Sixers in the opening match of the Big Bash League in Australia.

Rain delayed the start and the match at Perth's Optus Stadium was reduced to 11 overs.

Pakistan's Babar Azam made his BBL debut for the Sixers, but the opener struggled on a bouncy surface and only managed two before being caught by Laurie Evans off Brody Couch.

Fast bowler Couch, who took 2-12 from his two overs, also removed Sixers wicketkeeper Josh Philippe for 28 to help reduce the visitors to 41-4.

Jack Edwards hit an unbeaten 46 from 21 deliveries - firing two sixes in his eight boundaries - to help Sixers post 113-5.

Connolly came to the crease with the Scorchers 0-1 after Mitch Marsh's third-ball duck, but while wickets fell at the opposite end at regular intervals, he took the game away from the Sixers with some heavy hitting, firing five sixes and three fours.

The 22-year-old, who helped the Scorchers to the 2023 BBL title in his first season, finally fell to Ben Dwarshuis with his side needing nine runs to win from nine balls.

But the hosts eventually clinched victory with five balls to spare, finishing on 117-5.

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Shayan Jahangir's 99 off 54 balls helped Dubai Capitals to a nervy nine-run win over the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in the International League T20.

Capitals wicketkeeper Jahangir struck 10 fours and five sixes but the USA international agonisingly fell one run short of a maiden T20 century when he was bowled by Andre Russell in the final over.

England batter Jordan Cox made 29 and West Indies international Rovman Powell hit four sixes in his unbeaten 38 off 24 to help the Capitals post 196-5 off their 20 overs at Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Zayed Stadium.

The Knight Riders were miles behind in the chase until former West Indies all-rounder Russell started an onslaught. Keeping hold of the strike, he needed 26 off the final over and got the equation down to 11 required off the last three balls.

But Capitals left-arm fast bowler Muhammad Jawadullah just about held his nerve as Russell, who finished unbeaten on 53 off 33, could not find the fence again, with the Knight Riders closing on 187-8.

England opener Phil Salt was the next highest scorer for Abu Dhabi, with 33 off 29, while Afghanistan left-arm wrist-spinner Waqar Salamkheil took 3-34.

The Capitals move up to third in the six-team league after their second victory, while the Knight riders remain fifth, having now lost four matches in a row.

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Sam Curran cracked an unbeaten 67 off 43 balls as Desert Vipers claimed an eight-wicket victory over Gulf Giants in the International League T20.

The Giants had batted first but were soon in trouble at 67-5 with skipper James Vince among those to fall cheaply.

Liam Dawson added some respectability to their total after he top scored with an unbeaten 38 from 14 balls, including three sixes.

Khuzaima Tanveer finished the pick of the Vipers bowling with 4-10 ably supported by Curran (1-27) and Noor Ahmad (2-22) but a total of 157-7 did not look particularly daunting.

Chris Wood removed Vipers opener Fakhar Zaman for 14 while Hasan Nawaz made just seven but at 35-2 Curran and Max Holden took the game to the Giants' attack.

Curran clubbed five fours and three sixes in an aggressive knock as he top scored for the Vipers, while Holden finished on 64 not out off 41 balls as they cruised home with 19 balls to spare.

The Vipers have now won five consecutive matches on the bounce and are top of the standings with 10 points while the Giants stay second on six points.

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The 15th edition of Australia's men's Big Bash League starts on Sunday, immediately after the women's competition ends on Saturday.

The T20 franchise tournament clashes with Australia's home Test summer as usual and will run until 25 January.

There are 44 matches in total - 40 in the group stage and four in the knockouts.

Eight teams are taking part: Adelaide Strikers, Brisbane Heat, Hobart Hurricanes, Melbourne Renegades, Melbourne Stars, Perth Scorchers, Sydney Sixers and Sydney Thunder.

Hobart Hurricanes are the defending champions after beating Sydney Thunder by seven wickets in last year's final.

The eight sides play each other twice in the group stage, with the top four progressing to the knockouts, which work as follows:

20 January - Qualifier: First v second (08:15 GMT)

21 January - Knockout: Third v fourth (08:15 GMT)

23 January - Challenger: Loser of Qualifier v winner of Knockout (08:15 GMT)

25 January - Final: Winner of Qualifier v winner of Challenger (08:15 GMT)

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Listen to commentary on selected Big Bash matches on BBC Sounds.

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Fast bowler Luke Wood and all-rounders Jamie Overton and Rehan Ahmed are among 13 English players set to feature in the Big Bash League.

All three were in England's squad for their last T20 series against New Zealand and will look to use the tournament to boost their chances of being included for February's T20 World Cup.

Overton returns to Adelaide Strikers and is joined by Wood, who previously played for Melbourne Stars in the 2022-23 season.

Ahmed will make his Big Bash debut with defending champions Hobart Hurricanes, who have also signed Chris Jordan.

All-rounder Sam Curran will also look to boost his World Cup hopes when he joins Sydney Sixers once the International League T20 finishes. He should be available for four to six group matches and the knockout stages.

Left-arm seamer Reece Topley has signed as a temporary replacement for New Zealand's Lockie Ferguson at Sydney Thunder and will represent them before going to play in the SA20.

English players involved in Big Bash 2025-26

Adelaide Strikers: Jamie Overton and Luke Wood

Brisbane Heat: Tom Alsop

Hobart Hurricanes: Rehan Ahmed and Chris Jordan

Melbourne Stars: Joe Clarke and Tom Curran

Perth Scorchers: Laurie Evans and David Payne

Sydney Sixers: Sam Curran and Jafer Chohan

Sydney Thunder: Sam Billings and Reece Topley

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Pakistan duo Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi are set to make their debuts in the Big Bash League, alongside a host of Australia and overseas stars.

Batter Babar will play for Sydney Sixers, while left-arm quick Shaheen has been signed by Brisbane Heat.

Compatriots Shadab Khan (Sydney Thunder), Haris Rauf (Melbourne Stars) and Hasan Ali (Adelaide Strikers) are also among the standout overseas names.

Australia white-ball stars Tim David and Nathan Ellis (both Hobart Hurricanes), Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis (both Stars), plus David Warner and Sam Konstas (both Sydney Thunder) are set to feature in the whole tournament.

The availability of Steve Smith (Sixers), Travis Head (Strikers) and Mitchell Starc (Sixers) and the rest of Australia's Ashes players is set to be decided once the series against England ends in early January.

Seamer Josh Hazlewood will likely miss the tournament as he recovers from injury, while Pat Cummins is not registered with a side.

India's Ravichandran Ashwin was also set to make his tournament debut but had to withdrawn due to a knee injury.

Selected non-England players involved in Big Bash 2025-26

Adelaide Strikers: Hasan Ali, Alex Carey, Travis Head, Matt Short, Chris Lynn

Brisbane Heat: Shaheen Afridi, Colin Munro, Xavier Bartlett, Spencer Johnson, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Michael Neser, Matthew Renshaw

Hobart Hurricanes: Rishad Hossain, Nathan Ellis, Tim David, Riley Meredith, Mitch Owen, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster, Matthew Wade

Melbourne Renegades: Hassan Khan, Muhammad Rizwan, Tim Seifert, Jason Behrendorff, Brendan Dogged, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Nathan Lyon, Adam Zampa

Melbourne Stars: Haris Rauf, Scott Boland, Hilton Cartwright, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stones, Mitch Swepson

Perth Scorchers: Finn Allen, Ashton Agar, Cooper Connolly, Josh Inglis, Mitch Marsh, Jhye Richardson, Ashton Turner

Sydney Sixers: Babar Azam, Sean Abbott, Ben Dwarshuis, Josh Philippe, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc

Sydney Thunder: Shadab Khan, Lockie Ferguson, David Warner, Sam Konstas, Tanveer Sangha, Cameron Bancroft