Report
Bartlett and Peirson raise Heat to deflate Stars
It was Stars' second defeat in two outings in BBL 2024-25
AAP
18-Dec-2024
Brisbane Heat 163 for 2 (Peirson 72*, Bryant 36*, Stoinis 1-20) beat Melbourne Stars 162 for 6 (Harper 46, Clarke 32, Bartlett 3-25) by eight wickets
Injury-hit Brisbane Heat kicked off their BBL title defence with a crushing eight-wicket win over the Melbourne Stars at the MCG. Chasing Stars' 162 for 6, Heat cruised to victory with 11 balls to spare as wicketkeeper Jimmy Peirson (72 not out) batted for the entire innings to post his highest BBL score.
Peirson combined for an unbeaten 78-run stand with Max Bryant (36 not out) to deflate Stars, who were pegged back by Xavier Bartlett.
Full postRain has final say as Australia, India draw at the Gabba
Australia and India conjured up the most intriguing of what-ifs in the 22 overs that were possible on the fifth day
Karthik Krishnaswamy
18-Dec-2024
Australia 445 (Head 152, Smith 101, Carey 70, Bumrah 6-76) and 89 for 7 dec (Bumrah 3-18) drew with India 260 (Rahul 84, Jadeja 77, Cummins 4-81, Starc 3-83) and 8 for 0
Rain had the last word at the Gabba, as was widely expected, but only after Australia and India conjured up the most intriguing of what-ifs in the 22 overs that were possible on the fifth day of the third Border-Gavaskar Test match.
After taking the final India wicket four overs into the day's play and securing a 185-run first-innings lead, Australia made one final push for victory, going hard at India's bowling, losing quick wickets in the process, and declaring at 89 for 7 after 18 helter-skelter third-innings overs. That left India with a target of 275 in a theoretical 54 overs. Only 2.1 were possible, as bad light drove the players off the field before rain came back down to signal an early finish.
Full postMahedi, Taskin help Bangladesh defend 129 to claim series
A combined bowling effort followed a powerful cameo of 35 off 17 from Shamim Hossain
Mohammad Isam
18-Dec-2024
Bangladesh 129 for 7 (Shamim 35*, Mehidy 26, Motie 2-25) beat West Indies 102 (Chase 32, Hosein 31, Taskin 3-16) by 27 runs
Bangladesh defended their modest score of 129 to clinch the T20I series with a 2-0 lead, beating West Indies by 27 runs in the second game at the Arnos Vale Ground in St Vincent. It was Bangladesh's lowest total winning a game while batting first against West Indies. It was a combined effort from their quicks and spinners who took advantage of a pitch that offered a lot to the bowlers throughout the game.
Bangladesh were stretched to their total by Shamim Hossain's late blast, hitting an unbeaten 35 off 17 balls. The bowlers responded superbly thereafter, with Taskin Ahmed taking three wickets while Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain and Tanzim Hasan all taking two each.
Full postDottin, Matthews make easy work of India in series-levelling win
Captain Matthews leads chase with an unbeaten 47-ball 85 after Dottin's excellence with the ball and on the field restricts India
Shashank Kishore
17-Dec-2024
West Indies 160 for 1 (Matthews 85*, Joseph 38) beat India 159 for 9 (Mandhana 62, Dottin 2-14, Fletcher 2-28) by nine wickets
West Indies levelled the T20I series in style, with captain Hayley Matthews at the forefront of a robust batting performance in a nine-wicket thrashing. Matthews hit an unbeaten 85, courtesy 17 fours, just four less than India's 21, to help West Indies break a sequence of nine straight T20I losses to India.
Matthews' brilliance helped cover for a shoddy fielding display in which Qiana Joseph, who also fuelled the chase with 38, put down India's stand-in captain Smriti Mandhanaonce, one of three lives she got on the night. However, India's 159 for 9, in the face of dew and some serious batting muscle in the opposition, was never going to be enough.
Full postEngland romp to 286-run victory as Bell chimes in South Africa collapse
England romp to first Test victory for ten years as wheels come off for SA in second innings
Firdose Moonda
17-Dec-2024
England 395 for 9 dec and 236 (Knight 90, Mlaba 6-67) beat South Africa 281 (Wolvaardt 65, Kapp 57, Luus 56, Bell 4-49) and 64 (Bell 4-27, Ecclestone 2-7) by 286 runs
England have won their first Test in 10 years and as many matches by beating South Africa by 286 runs in Bloemfontein. They dismissed South Africa for 64 in their second innings, their lowest Test total after setting them a target of 351.
Lauren Bell, who registered a career-best 4 for 49 in the first innings, rewrote her own record and picked up 4 for 27 to finish with a player-of-the-match haul of 8 for 76. Lauren Filer and Sophie Ecclestone were also among the wickets as England bowled South Africa out in 19.4 overs to win inside three days.
Full postSams' 6, 6, 4, 6, 4, 4 powers Thunder comeback
Sams hit legspinner Lloyd Pope for 31 runs in the 19th over to stun Adelaide Strikers
Tristan Lavalette
17-Dec-2024
Sydney Thunder 183 for 8 (Konstas 56, Sams 42*, Overton 2-28) beat Adelaide Strikers 182 for 8 (Overton 45*, Weatherald 40, Ferguson 3-24, Green 3-27) by two wickets
Late heroics from Daniel Sams and a dazzling BBL debut from Sam Konstas ensured David Warner started his Sydney Thunder captaincy reign with a remarkable victory over Adelaide Strikers in Canberra.
Chasing 183 in good batting conditions at Manuka Oval, Thunder appeared on track when Konstas smashed 56 off 27 balls at the top of the order. The 19-year-old became the youngest player in BBL history to hit a half-century and also made the fastest 50 in Thunder history.
Full postAyub and Agha the heroes as Pakistan ace tense chase
Agha, who won the Player-of-the-Match award thanks to his all-round excellence, handed the award to Ayub
Danyal Rasool
17-Dec-2024
Pakistan 242 for 7 (Ayub 109, Agha 82*, Baartman 2-37) beat South Africa 239 for 9 (Klaasen 86, Agha 4-32, Abrar 2-32) by 3 wickets
Saim Ayub's dream debut season soared to new heights as a magnificent hundred from the Pakistan opener helped seal a thrilling win in the first ODI over South Africa in Paarl. Taking charge of a game that looked a lost cause when Pakistan lost four early in a chase of 240, he struck up a 141-run partnership with Salman Agha, whose all-round contribution began with a four-wicket haul and culminated in an unbeaten 82 as he held his nerve in a tense late stand with Naseem Shah to get Pakistan over the line with three balls and as many wickets to spare.
All of this appeared a world away when Pakistan stumbled badly in pursuit of what should have been a below-par first-innings effort from South Africa. Marco Jansen cleaned up Abdullah Shafique with a pearler first up, swinging it back in to brush off stump. Babar Azam muddled through for a turgid 23 that does little to allay concerns over his own form, with Ottneil Baartman - who began with two maiden overs, drawing him into a miscue that went straight to the cover fielder. It was swiftly followed by captain Mohammad Rizwan being cleaned up off the pads, and a flustered Pakistan were in a generous enough mood to gift South Africa another wicket when Kamran Ghulam set off for a run Ayub had no interest in.
Full postPersistent rain washes out opening ODI after Omarzai takes four
Only 9.2 overs of play was possible after rain had reduced the contest to 28-overs-a-side
Ashish Pant
17-Dec-2024
Zimbabwe 44 for 5 (Curran 15, Omarzai 4-18) vs Afghanistan
Match abandoned
Match abandoned
Rain played spoilsport as the opening ODI between Afghanistan and Zimbabwe was called off after just 9.2 overs of play.
Earlier, persistent rain had delayed the start by close to four hours with the game reduced to a 28-overs-a-side affair. When the weather finally cleared, Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi had no hesitation to bowl considering the overhead conditions.
Full postRahul and Jadeja fight to help India avoid follow-on
India's last wicket pair put on 39 to help them take the innings into the final day at the Gabba
Karthik Krishnaswamy
17-Dec-2024
India 252 for 9 (Rahul 84, Jadeja 77, Cummins 4-80, Starc 3-83) trail Australia 445 by 193 runs
India took a massive step towards leaving Brisbane with the Border-Gavaskar Trophy still level, as their last-wicket pair put on a rousing, unbroken 39 to steer their team past the follow-on mark. With only one day's play remaining, Australia's chances of winning this third Test have taken a big hit, particularly as they contend with the absence of Josh Hazlewood, who has been ruled out of this Test match and possibly the rest of the series with a calf strain.
In Hazlewood's absence, his two great fast-bowling buddies took on a massive workload, sending down 60% of the 74.5 overs of India's innings, with Pat Cummins picking up four wickets and Mitchell Starc three.
Full postEngland seize control in new-ball onslaught as South Africa collapse
Wolvaardt, Luus and Kapp all make fifties but are unable to capitalise
Firdose Moonda
16-Dec-2024
England 395 for 9 dec and 31 for 1 lead South Africa 281 (Wolvaardt 65, Kapp 57, Luus 56, Bell 4-49) by 145 runs
Laura Wolvaardt, Marizanne Kapp and Sune Luus all scored half-centuries but none went on three figures as England took control of the one-off Test in Bloemfontein.
Lauren Bell's career-best 4 for 49, which included the first and second-last wickets of the innings, will steal the headlines but England's seamers were collectively excellent and well deployed by captain Heather Knight. Lauren Filer operated in short, sharp bursts which allowed her to maintain good pace, debutant Ryana MacDonald-Gay made crucial breakthroughs with the old ball and Nat Sciver-Brunt was typically disciplined as South Africa failed to build on their decent starts.
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