Report
MI Cape Town crush Sunrisers to claim maiden SA20 title
Series of hard-hitting cameos give way to potent bowling display as home comforts prove decisive
Deivarayan Muthu
08-Feb-2025
MI Cape Town 181 for 8 (Esterhuizen 39, Brevis 38, Gleeson 2-22) beat Sunrisers Eastern Cape 105 (Abell 30, Rabada 4-25, Boult 2-9, Linde 2-20) by 76 runs
Rashid Khan's MI Cape Town have been crowned the new champions of the SA20, after they denied Aiden Markram's Sunrisers Eastern Cape a three-peat and decimated them for the third time this season, in front of a packed crowd at the Wanderers.
After opting to bat, MICT felt at home - all of their top five play for Lions at the Wanderers - and sent the ball flying over the boundaries in the Highveld. The rarefied air suited their style of play: despite losing wickets, MICT kept attacking and posted 181 for 8 on the back of electric cameos. Three of their batters passed 30 and all of them struck at 150 or above. It was Dewald Brevis who truly brought the crowd alive with his 18-ball 38. Brevis, 21, capped the season as its rising star.
Full postBalbirnie and Tucker fifties give Ireland the upper hand
The visitors struck early in the final innings to leave Zimbabwe at 38 for 3 chasing 292 in Bulawayo
Ekanth
08-Feb-2025
Zimbabwe 267 and 38 for 3 (Bennett 15*, Humphreys 1-4, McCarthy 1-14) need another 254 runs to beat Ireland 260 and 298 (Balbirnie 66 Tucker 58, Ngarava 4-55, Gwandu 2-28, Madhevere 2-48)
Ireland are well placed to complete a hat-trick of Test wins after setting Zimbabwe a target of 292 and reducing them to 38 for 3 at stumps. Andy Balbirnie and Lorcan Tucker struck fifties with contributions all the way down the order helping them take control of the game in Bulawayo.
Richard Ngarava, who took three of the last four wickets to fall, finished with a four-four; but it was the part-time spin of Wessly Madhevere that removed Balbirnie and Andy McBrine - Ireland's top scorers of the second and first innings respectively.
Full postBowlers make hay as 20 wickets fall at the WACA
It wasn't a day for batters over in the west as a lively pitch made life tough with both teams bowled out
AAP
08-Feb-2025
South Australia 124 (Sangha 45, Couch 4-33, Rocchiccioli 3-10) lead Western Australia 120 (Fanning 49, Scott 3-10, Buckingham 3-35) by four runs
Bowlers feasted as a whopping 20 wickets fell on the opening day of the Sheffield Shield clash between Western Australia and South Australia at the WACA Ground.
Defending champions WA lost 8 for 48 as they crashed from 72 for 2 to be rolled for 120 on a testing wicket on Saturday. In reply, South Australia were bowled out for 124, with WA paceman Brody Couch the chief destroyer.
Full postClayton century means Konstas made to wait at Gabba
Jack Clayton made 133 not out to help Queensland post 307 for 5 after being sent in
AAP
08-Feb-2025
Queensland 307 for 5 (Clayton 133*, Hearne 63) vs New South Wales
Jack Clayton's resolute, unbeaten century for Queensland kept returning New South Wales prodigy Sam Konstas waiting for his first Gabba innings.
Queensland No. 3 Clayton was unbeaten on 133 after day one as the Sheffield Shield returned in Brisbane on Saturday, the hosts 307 for 5 after being sent in by the Blues.
Full postPhillips 72-ball hundred flips the script as New Zealand beat Pakistan
Fakhar Zaman made 84 in the chase of 331 in Lahore, but once he fell the hosts crumbled
Danyal Rasool
08-Feb-2025
New Zealand 330 for 6 (Phillips 106*, Mitchell 81, Williamson 58, Afridi 3-88) beat Pakistan 252 all out (Fakhar 84, Santner 3-41) by 78 runs
A blistering onslaught from Glenn Phillips in the final six overs of the first innings helped New Zealand ease to a crushing win over Pakistan in the first ODI of the tri-series in Lahore. The visitors posted 330 thanks to Phillips' 72-ball century, with 98 runs coming in the final six overs. Pakistan could never quite muster a convincing response, with all hopes pinned on a flying start from Fakhar Zaman. However, when Phillips - who could seemingly do no wrong - trapped him in front for a 69-ball 84, their resistance melted away, and New Zealand's task became something of a cakewalk. To make Pakistan's evening worse, Haris Rauf picked up an injury which prevented him from batting, and New Zealand won by 78 runs.
New Zealand's innings appeared a struggle until the 44th over, with Pakistan taking regular wickets, even if half-centuries from Kane Williamson and Daryl Mitchell kept them ticking along. On a flat wicket, Pakistan's bowlers had done a stellar job restricting New Zealand's scoring rate, with Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah combining for five wickets. So it seemed, anyway, until Phillips let loose, ripping apart Pakistan's bowlers at the very end. He would score his last 77 runs in 32 balls, as New Zealand took momentum with them into the dinner break.
Full postDebutant O'Connor lifts Tasmania but Victoria take early honours
The visiting attack shared the wickets around while they were gifted two run outs by Tasmania
AAP and ESPNcricinfo staff
08-Feb-2025
Victoria 5 for 0 trail Tasmania 236 (O'Connor 53) by 231 runs
Tasmania teenager Aidan O'Connor posted a half-century on debut but couldn't prevent Victoria taking honours on day one of their Sheffield Shield clash in Hobart.
O'Connor top-scored with 53 as the hosts were bowled out for 236 on Saturday after being sent in to bat. The 18-year-old allrounder struck six fours and a six in his 92-ball innings.
Full postKuhnemann's four, Webster's late impact puts Australia on course for 2-0
Angelo Mathews and Kusal Mendis had given Sri Lanka hope but the home side lost late wickets to finish on the brink
Tristan Lavalette
08-Feb-2025
Sri Lanka 257 & 211 for 8 (Mathews 76, K Mendis 48*, Kuhnemann 4-52, Lyon 3-80) lead Australia 414 (Carey 156, Smith 131, Jayasuriya 5-151) by 54 runs
Sri Lanka's hopes of setting a tricky chase faded late on day three as Beau Webster provided key contributions with the ball and in the field to inch Australia close to a series victory.
Angelo Mathews and Kusal Mendis had breathed life into the second Test with an outstanding 70-run partnership as Sri Lanka's lead grew to 41 runs. But less than 30 minutes before stumps, Mathews lost his concentration on 76 and swept Nathan Lyon to fine leg, where a diving Webster completed a terrific catch.
Full postTamim, Mayers help Fortune Barishal chase 195 to defend their BPL crown
Rishad Hossain provided the final flourish in what was the second-highest chase in a men's T20 final
Mohammad Isam
07-Feb-2025
Fortune Barishal 195 for 7 (Tamim 54, Mayers 46, Shoriful 4-34) beat Chittagong Kings 194 for 3 (Emon 78*, Nafay 66, Ali 1-21) by three wickets
Fortune Barishal crafted the second-highest chase to win a final in men's T20 cricket, knocking off 195 against Chittagong Kings with three wickets and three balls to spare. And with that they had successfully defended their BPL crown, having come into this season as defending champions. The packed house at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka was treated to Barishal captain Tamim Iqbal striking a rapid fifty, before Kyle Mayers did the running in the middle overs and Rishad Hossain's two sixes sealed things.
Rishad slammed Binura Fernando and Hussain Talat for a six each in the last two overs before a wide finished the game. The Chittagong players were left heart-broken but Barishal had been the most consistent team through the competition, winning 11 of their 14 games overall. This was a franchise that had spent big over the past two seasons, and it showed in their depth here, holding their nerve as the game swung both ways.
Full postIreland surge ahead despite Muzarabani's heroics
Muzarabani's 67-run stand for the tenth wicket with Gwandu took Zimbabwe from a position of danger into the comforts of a slender lead
Ekanth
07-Feb-2025
Ireland 260 and 83 for 1 (Balbirnie 32*, Moor 30, Ngarava 1-25) lead Zimbabwe 267 (Welch 90, Muzarabani 47, McCarthy 4-75, McBrine 3-59) by 76 runs
Ireland and Zimbabwe continued to exchange upper hands yet again in Bulawayo but it was the visitors who were better placed at the end of the day. Barry McCarthy's versatility combined with Andy McBrine's consistency provided them with the hope of capturing a substantial lead.
Blessing Muzarabani's inspired 67-run stand for the tenth wicket with Trevor Gwandu took Zimbabwe from a position of danger into the comforts of a hard-fought if slender lead. But it was a sign of the pitch easing out, something Ireland's top order took advantage of.
Full postSmith and Carey dominate with hundreds in double-century stand
Australia took firm control of the second Test with a pair of outstanding centuries as Sri Lanka's attack struggled
Tristan Lavalette
07-Feb-2025
Australia 330 for 3 (Carey 139*, Smith 120*) lead Sri Lanka 257 (Kusal 85, Chandimal 74, Starc 3-37, Kuhnemann 3-63, Lyon 3-96) by 73 runs
Seemingly having a ball experimenting with the reverse sweep, Steven Smith's mastery in Asia continued and he combined with a dashing Alex Carey to defy a sharp-turning, deteriorating Galle surface as Australia grabbed firm control of the second Test.
The game was in the balance when Australia were 91 for 3 just after lunch on day two in reply to Sri Lanka's first-innings of 257. But stand-in skipper Smith and Carey produced an unbroken 239-run partnership to deflate a Sri Lankan team staring down the barrel of a hefty series defeat.
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