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Vince's classy century leads Sydney Sixers to record chase
In a battle of England openers, Vince came out on top after Ben Duckett had raced out of the blocks early
AAP
26-Dec-2024
Sydney Sixers 198 for 2 (Vince 101*) beat Melbourne Stars 194 for 9 (Duckett 68, Bird 3-35)
James Vince's blazing century helped Sydney Sixers pull off one of the most dominant BBL chases ever, hauling in 195 with 11 balls to spare to beat the hapless Melbourne Stars.
In a display of power and precision, Vince hit 101 from 58 balls at the SCG to win the battle of the Brits over the equally hard-hitting Ben Duckett.
Full postWilliams' 145* leads Zimbabwe's domination against Afghanistan on Boxing Day
He was supported by half-centuries from debutant Ben Curran and Sean Ervine, as Afghanistan clearly missed Rashid Khan
Sreshth Shah
26-Dec-2024
Zimbabwe 363 for 4 (Williams 145*, Curran 68, Ervine 56*, Ghazanfar 2-83) vs Afghanistan
With his family and well-wishers watching along from the Queens Sports Club balcony, Zimbabwe's veteran batter Sean Williams celebrated his fifth Test ton in Bulawayo to give the hosts the upper hand in the Boxing Day Test against Afghanistan, as they finished on 363 for 4.
Williams not only negated Afghanistan's spin challenge comfortably but also dominated the other bowlers to finish unbeaten on 145. His control percentage of 90 on a surface that offered decent turn right from the start of play displayed just that, with the inexperienced Afghanistan bowling attack - the visitors were missing Rashid Khan for the Test owing to personal reasons - looking both deflated and bruised by the end of it.
Full postPaterson, Bosch lead South Africa's Boxing Day domination
Ghulam and Rizwan added 81, but Pakistan were eventually out for 211 on opening day
Danyal Rasool
26-Dec-2024
South Africa 82 for 3 (Markram 47*, Shahzad 2-28) trail Pakistan 211 (Gulam 54, Paterson 5-61, Bosch 4-63) by 129 runs
South Africa did to Pakistan what they always do to Pakistan at Centurion, blitzing them with the ball in the second hour of the first session before skittling them out for 209. Corbin Bosch and Dane Paterson cashed in after a superb opening hour of bowling from Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen, which openers Shan Masood and Saim Ayub rode their luck to survive. A couple of partnerships for Pakistan were more than offset by the wickets Paterson, who ended up with five, and Bosch, took in clumps, and just after the third session began, Pakistan had folded for 209, Kamran Ghulam's half-century the only real source of resistance. Pakistan responded gamely with the ball in hand, puncturing South Africa with three wickets, but having added 82, South Africa will feel they have had the better of the day.
The story of the opening session changed the moment Temba Bavuma through the ball to debutant Bosch. He began with a loosener well outside off stump. Masood, who had been forced to deal with an unerring fourth stump all of the first hour, had his eyes light up as he slashed at it, with a thick outside edge carrying to Marco Jansen at third slip to give him a first-ball wicket.
Full postKonstas' debut, Bumrah's riposte highlight Boxing Day
Bumrah had a significant say with three wickets although it was Australia who edged the honours with their top four all passing fifty
Andrew McGlashan
26-Dec-2024
Australia 311 for 6 (Smith 68*, Cummins 8*, Labuschagne 72, Bumrah 3-75) vs India
Sam Konstas, the 19-year-old making his Test debut, lit up the MCG with an audacious display of strokeplay against Jasprit Bumrah which in the process riled Virat Kohli on a compelling Boxing Day at the MCG. The world's best fast bowler still had a significant say with three wickets although it was Australia who edged the honours with their top four all passing fifty.
By stumps, Steven Smith was the key figure in how much further Australia's first innings would be able to extend as he eyed his second hundred in three innings after Bumrah had sparked a middle-order wobble. Yet it was the opening passage of the Test that could well go down as defining.
Full postDeol maiden hundred outshines Matthews' as India take series
Matthews' knock wasn't enough as West Indies were eventually bowled out for 238 in big chase
Shashank Kishore
24-Dec-2024
India 358 for 5 (Deol 115, Rawal 76, Mandhana 53, Rodrigues 52) beat West Indies 238 (Matthews 106, Campbelle 38, Mishra 3-49, Rawal 2-37, Deepti 2-40, Sadhu 2-42) by 115 runs
The game witnessed two majestic hundreds, from Harleen Deol and Hayley Matthews. Where Deol had support of three other half-centurions in the Indian innings, Matthews had none. And that in a monumental chase of 359 was simply not good enough.
The end result was another one-sided fare that gave India the ODI series with one match remaining, but it was also one where West Indies showed a lot more fight than they did two nights ago. They nearly batted out the 50 overs to take away something from a contest they never looked like bossing at any point.
Full postRogers, middle order help Renegades edge past Scorchers despite late hiccups
Renegades' chase featured cameos from Bethell, Seifert and Evans even as there was a middle-order collapse
AAP
23-Dec-2024
Melbourne Renegades 144 for 8 (Bethell 30, Seifert 28, Behrendorff 2-33) beat Perth Scorchers 143 for 8 (Connolly 66, Rogers 3-22, O'Neill 1-18) by two wickets
Melbourne Renegades squeezed out a two-wicket win over Perth Scorchers on a much-criticised Marvel Stadium surface to end a six-match losing streak against the West Australian team.
Social media fired up over a patchy-looking outfield which looked well below its best following a university graduation ceremony last week attended by tens of thousands of people, plus several recent concerts from Pearl Jam and Coldplay, among others.
Full postAll-round Sutherland and quick-scoring Gardner lead Australia to ODI series win
Good efforts from Suzie Bates and Amelia Kerr went in vain as Australia continued their winning momentum
Tristan Lavalette
23-Dec-2024
Australia 290 (Gardner 74, Litchfield 50, Sutherland 42, Kerr 4-54, Mair 3-58, Devine 2-49) beat New Zealand 215 (Bates 53, Green 39, King 3-34, Sutherland 3-39) by 75 runs
Ashleigh Gardner continued her batting resurgence with a rapid half-century and Annabel Sutherland produced another superb all-round effort as Australia wrapped up a 2-0 series victory after overwhelming New Zealand in the third ODI at Basin Reserve.
In their last match before next month's Ashes, Australia elected to bat and started briskly with an 88-run opening partnership between captain Alyssa Healy and Phoebe Litchfield. But they endured a familiar wobble and slumped to 127 for 4 as quick Rosemary Mair and legspinner Amelia Kerr engineered a fightback for New Zealand.
Full postMcSweeney seals thriller for Heat days after Test omission
The 25-year-old got Heat home in an innings of composure and character.
AAP
22-Dec-2024
Brisbane Heat 175 for 7 (McSweeney 78*, Renshaw 54, Pope 2-17) beat Adelaide Strikers 174 for 6 (Jamie Overton 45*, Prestwidge 2-16) by three wickets
Nathan McSweeney has rebounded from his Test axing to inspire Brisbane to a last-ball BBL victory over Adelaide Strikers with a brilliant and unbeaten 78. He was "devastated" on being dropped from Australia's side for the remainder of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy but the 25-year-old got Heat home in an innings of composure and character.
Heat spinner Mitchell Swepson hit the final delivery of the chase off Liam Scott for a single over point to secure a three-wicket win, but the hero was McSweeney. After being put under pressure by India spearhead Jasprit Bumrah in the Test series, he found himself in a high-pressure chase after Strikers had posted 174 for 6.
Full postSaim Ayub hundred condemns South Africa to maiden home ODI whitewash
Klaasen and Bosch resist in stiff run-chase, but can't prevent historic series result
Firdose Moonda
22-Dec-2024
Pakistan 308 for 9 (Ayub 101, Rizwan 53, Babar 52) beat South Africa 271 (Klaasen 81, Bosch 40*, Muqeem 4-52) by 36 runs (DLS)
South Africa were blanked for the first time in a bilateral ODI series at home after losing by 36 runs to Pakistan in a rain-affected game at the Wanderers. Saim Ayub starred with bat and ball by scoring a second hundred in the series and with figures of 1 for 34. Debutant wristpinner Sufiyan Muqeem took 4 for 52 to again ask questions of South Africa's ability against spin.
The loss means South Africa have won only one out of three ODI series this year, after also losing to Afghanistan in Sharjah, and two out of six ODI series under white-ball coach Rob Walter, who took over in February 2023. Pakistan, on the other hand, completed a fifth successive bilateral series win after beating New Zealand, Afghanistan, Australia and Zimbabwe.
Full postRenuka, Mandhana consign West Indies to record loss
The hosts dominated from start to finish despite not batting to full potential, winning by 211 runs
Shashank Kishore
22-Dec-2024
India 314 for 9 (Mandhana 91, Harleen 44, James 5-45) beat West Indies 103 (Fletcher 24, Renuka 5-29) by 211 runs
After a T20I series that went to the decider, the first of three ODIs between India and West Indies was a thoroughly one-sided fare. The hosts dominated from start to finish despite not batting to full potential, while still scoring an imposing 314 for 9, and then hardly flexed their bowling muscle to run past a West Indies line-up that folded like nine pins.
The architects of the win were Smriti Mandhana, who top scored with 91, and Renuka Singh, who had an unchanged opening spell of 8-1-19-4 en route a maiden ODI five-for. Two of those strikes happened to be of Hayley Matthews and Deandra Dottin inside the first five overs of the chase. The game was decided right there.
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