Report
Calm Henriques sees Sixers through tricky chase against new-look Renegades
Sutherland started his captaincy reign for Renegades with a loss but produced an outstanding all-round performance with 36 not out and 2 for 20
Tristan Lavalette
16-Dec-2024
Sydney Sixers 172 for 5 (Henriques 53*, Vince 40, Sutherland 2-20) beat Melbourne Renegades 169 for 7 (Seifert 55, Sutherland 36*, Abbott 2-34, Dwarshuis 2-42) by five wickets
Captain Moises Henriques once again kept his cool in a tense chase as Sydney Sixers overcame a new-look Melbourne Renegades to start their BBL season with a five-wicket victory at the SCG.
Chasing a tricky 170, Sixers wobbled in the middle overs before Henriques took over with an unbeaten 53 from 27 balls as the home team hauled in the target with nine balls to spare.
Full postAustralia's quicks rattle India on stop-start day in Brisbane
India need 195 more runs to avoid the follow-on with six wickets in hand
Karthik Krishnaswamy
16-Dec-2024
India 51 for 4 (Rahul 33*, Starc 2-25) trail Australia 445 (Head 152, Smith 101, Carey 70, Bumrah 6-76) by 394 runs
Only 33.1 overs were possible on what may have been the stop-startiest day in the history of Test cricket, featuring as many as eight stoppages for rain, but Australia kept alive their hopes of going 2-1 up with two days remaining at the Gabba. They stretched their first-innings total to 445 on the morning of day three before Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins ripped out India's top order over the remainder of the day's play, in between the many rain breaks.
India went to stumps at 51 for 4, 394 runs adrift of Australia, and their first target when the Test match resumes will be to get to 246 to avoid the follow-on. If they get there, they dramatically improve their chances of getting to Melbourne with the series still level. Rain is expected on days four and five as well, so Australia may be battling time if they're forced to bat again.
Full postMahmud's heroic last over helps Bangladesh survive Powell's blitz
Powell's stunning 60 off 35 nearly took the hosts over the line after they were 38 for 5
Mohammad Isam
16-Dec-2024
Bangladesh 147 for 6 (Soumya 43, Hosein 2-13, McCoy 2-30) beat West Indies 140 (Powell 60, Mahedi 4-13) by seven runs
Bangladesh thwarted Rovman Powell's stunning effort to power West Indies to an improbable win, after Hasan Mahmud defended nine runs in a heroic last over to seal a seven-run victory in the first T20I at the Arnos Vale Ground. The capacity crowd were presented with a thrilling contest in West Indies' first international match in St Vincent in 10 years. While defending 147, Mahedi Hasan's four-wicket haul reduced West Indies to 38 for 5 before Powell struck four sixes and five fours in his 35-ball 60, but he couldn't quite get them through to the end after falling in the last over.
Mahmud removed Powell and Alzarri Joseph in the final over which started with West Indies needing ten runs to win. Mahmud had Powell caught behind giving the Bangladesh captain Litton Das his fifth dismissal of the game. With eight to win off the final two, Mahmud bowled Joseph for Bangladesh's first T20I win against West Indies in six years; back home in Bangladesh it was a good way to start the country's Victory Day too.
Full postWilliamson ton has England staring down prospect of heavy defeat
England tried everything after losing Ben Stokes to injury but struggled to stop the hosts' charge
Valkerie Baynes
16-Dec-2024
England 143 and 18 for 2 (Bethell 9*, Root 0*, Southee 1-4, Henry 1-14) need another 640 runs to beat New Zealand 347 and 453 (Williamson 156, Young 60, Mitchell 60, Bethell 3-72)
Kane Williamson's superb century led New Zealand to a gigantic lead over England on a third day which swung from potential tragedy for the tourists to bizarre comedy for all concerned.
"Tragedy" is often misused to describe events which are far from it and probably over-states the hamstring injury which forced Ben Stokes from the field mid-over and kept him out of action for the rest of New Zealand's imposing innings.
Full postSantner four-for sends England tumbling to 423-run defeat
Tim Southee takes two on final Test outing as New Zealand wrap up consolation win
Alan Gardner
16-Dec-2024 • Updated on 17-Dec-2024
New Zealand 347 (Santner 76, Latham 63, Potts 4-90) and 453 (Williamson 156, Young 60, Mitchell 60) beat England 143 (Henry 4-48, Santner 3-7, O'Rourke 3-33) and 234 (Bethell 76, Root 54, Santner 4-85) by 423 runs
England produced their second ignominious collapse of the match as New Zealand marked Tim Southee's Test retirement by equalling their biggest Test victory by the margin of runs. Jacob Bethell and Joe Root put on a century stand but the innings unravelled in a flurry of shots thereafter, New Zealand barely detained beyond lunch on day four.
With Ben Stokes opting not to bat after injuring his hamstring, New Zealand only needed to take seven wickets to seal a crushing win. Mitchell Santner pocketed four of them, while Southee dismissed England's top-scorer, Bethell, to finish with 2 for 34 on his final outing. He led New Zealand from the field at Seddon Park, his home ground, to bring down the curtain on a storied Test career - England's rapid demise meaning extra time to toast his departure.
Full postShedge, Suryakumar power Mumbai to Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy title
MP captain Patidar's unbeaten 40-ball 81 wasn't enough as Mumbai chased down 175 with 13 balls to spare
Himanshu Agrawal
15-Dec-2024
Mumbai 180 for 5 (Suryakumar 48, Rahane 37, Shedge 36*, Tripuresh 2-34) beat Madhya Pradesh 174 for 8 (Patidar 81*, Dias 2-32, Thakur 2-41) by five wickets
Mumbai have yet another star in the making, and yet another trophy in a cabinet which is fast running out of space. Even before the ball landed beyond the straight boundary to confirm victory in the 2024 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy final against Madhya Pradesh, Suryansh Shedge was leaping and punching the air. He now has three crucial contributions in his last four innings, the latest of which helped Mumbai seal a 175-run chase with 13 balls to spare.
Shedge hit an unbeaten 36 off 15 balls while adding an unbroken stand of 51 from 19 deliveries with Atharva Ankolekar, who hit the winning six. Shedge smashed three fours and three sixes during his knock, none more impressive than a six which would have made Suryakumar Yadav proud. The 21-year-old got across to a length ball from Venkatesh Iyer in the 17th over, and nonchalantly swiped him over long leg to all but confirm Mumbai's second Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy title. He now has knocks of 30* (eight balls), 36* (12) and 36* (15) in three of his last four T20 games.
Full postRodrigues, Sadhu hand India big win on belter
Dottin led the fight for West Indies with a rapid fifty, but her team still fell 49 runs short
Sruthi Ravindranath
15-Dec-2024
India 195 for 4 (Rodrigues 73, Mandhana 54) beat West Indies 146 for 7 (Dottin 52, Sadhu 3-37) by 49 runs
An aggressive 81-run stand between Jemimah Rodrigues and Smriti Mandhana combined with some excellent catching gave India a 1-0 lead in the three-match T20I series against West Indies.
Deandra Dottin led the fight in the 196 chase with a 28-ball 52 along with Qiana Joseph, but in the end West Indies fell 49 short with young medium-pacer Titas Sadhu taking three crucial wickets for India.
Full postCooper Connolly extends Scorchers' dominance over Stars on opening night
Chasing 147, Scorchers were in trouble at 37 for 3 before Connolly and captain Ashton Turner combined for a match-turning 68-run partnership
Tristan Lavalette
15-Dec-2024
Perth Scorchers 150 for 4 (Connolly 64, Turner 37*, Curran 1-25) beat Melbourne Stars 146 for 9 (Curran 37, Stoinis 37, Richardson 3-19, Morris 2-30) by six wickets
On a ground he has played the hero before, allrounder Cooper Connolly stepped up with a game-changing half-century as Perth Scorchers continued their long-time dominance over Melbourne Stars in the BBL season-opener at Optus Stadium.
Chasing 147, Scorchers were in trouble at 37 for 3 before Connolly and captain Ashton Turner combined for a 68-run partnership. Returning from a fractured hand sustained on the ground in last month's third ODI against Pakistan, Connolly hit 64 from 51 balls before Turner sealed the result in trademark composed fashion.
Full postBumrah bags five but Head, Smith tons flatten India
The lack of depth in India's attack showed as the day went on as Head and Smith added 241 in 302 balls
Karthik Krishnaswamy
15-Dec-2024
Australia 405 for 7 (Head 152, Smith 101, Carey 45*, Bumrah 5-72) vs India
Centuries from Travis Head and Steven Smith, those two great India tormentors, put Australia in control of the third Border-Gavaskar Test at the Gabba, on a fast-moving second day that produced 377 runs and seven wickets. Five of those wickets fell to the exceptional Jasprit Bumrah, who kept India in the contest almost singlehandedly while swelling his overall Test tally in Australia to 49; Kapil Dev (51) is now the only Indian bowler ahead of him.
Almost singlehandedly, because Bumrah wasn't the only India quick to trouble Australia here. Akash Deep kept landing the ball in testing areas and induced almost as many false shots (45) as Bumrah did (46), but ended the day wicketless. Mohammed Siraj put in a solid shift too, and for most of the first session India applied pressure from both ends and had Australia on a tight leash.
Full postBouchier, Sciver-Brunt centuries drive England at Bloemfontein
Cross fails to recover in time from back spasms as MacDonald-Gay wins first Test cap
Firdose Moonda
15-Dec-2024
Close South Africa 17 for 0 trail England 395 for 9 dec (Sciver-Brunt 128, Bouchier 126, Mlaba 4-90) by 378 runs
Nat Sciver-Brunt scored the fastest hundred in women's Tests, off 96 balls, eclipsing debutant Maia Bouchier who had briefly held the England record for herself, with a 124-ball effort in a show of batting dominance in Bloemfontein.
England finished on their ninth-highest score and were well on track to post a new record until a South African comeback late in the day clipped their tail. South Africa took 6 for 96 in the third session and left-arm spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba claimed a career-best 4 for 90, as the surface started to show early signs of turn. That will only delight England's spin pair, Charlie Dean and Sophie Ecclestone, who will know that in hot weather, the surface's deterioration will accelerate.
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