Report
Owen five-for sends Unicorns to their first defeat of MLC 2025
Unicorns are still on top of the table, but Freedom now have the same points as them and are only behind on net-run rate
ESPNcricinfo staff
29-Jun-2025
Washington Freedom 169 for 6 (Phillips 58, Edwards 42, Pienaar 30*, Bartlett 4-32) beat San Francisco Unicorns 157 for 9 ( Short 67, Hamilton 31*, Owen 5-17) by 12 runs
San Francisco Unicorns are not unbeaten in MLC 2025 anymore, and though they are still right up there on the points table, it's only on net run-rate now, after Mitchell Owen's five-for helped Washington Freedom hand them a 12-run defeat in Dallas on Saturday.
Matthew Short, the captain, had another good day with the bat as Unicorns started their chase of 170, a smallish target looking at the way the games have gone so far. But he had to go it alone at the start, with Unicorns getting to 52 for 1 in the powerplay despite Finn Allen and Jake Fraser-McGurk contributing very little.
Full postMandhana, Shree Charani hand England their heaviest T20I defeat
Standing in for Harmanpreet, who suffered a head injury in the warm-up game, Mandhana struck her maiden T20I ton while Charani took four wickets on debut
Valkerie Baynes
28-Jun-2025
India 210 for 5 (Mandhana 112, Deol 43, Bell 3-27) beat England 113 (Sciver-Brunt 66, Shree Charani 4-12) by 97 runs
A maiden T20I century for stand-in skipper Smriti Mandhana powered India to an emphatic 97-run victory over England to open their five-match series at Trent Bridge.
With Harmanpreet Kaur sitting out after she suffered a head knock during the warm-up game against ECB Developent XI on Wednesday, Mandhana struck three sixes and 15 fours on her way to 112 off 62 balls in a beautiful knock which only ended in the final over of India's innings after they had been sent in.
Full postDebutant Pretorius, Bosch lead South Africa's dominance
South Africa finished the day one on 418 for 9 against sloppy Zimbabwe
Himanshu Agrawal
28-Jun-2025
South Africa 418 for 9 (Pretorius 153, Bosch 100*, Brevis 51, Chivanga 4-82) vs Zimbabwe
How much luck is too much? Long before 19-year-old Lhuan-dre Pretorius became the youngest ever to score 150 in men's Test cricket, he had been given four reprieves thanks to a mixture of the umpiring and the absence of DRS. After getting lives on 30, 54, 55 and 127, Pretorius ended up scoring 153 off 160 balls. At the time of his dismissal, he alone had scored more than half of South Africa's total against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo.
By the end of the day, Corbin Bosch's maiden Test hundred added to fellow debutant Dewald Brevis' counterattacking 51 from 41 deliveries earlier in the day, as the visitors finished day one of the first Test on 418 for 9.
Full postJayasuriya five-for ties the bow around Sri Lanka's victory
They needed less than half an hour on the fourth morning to take the last four Bangladesh wickets
Madushka Balasuriya
28-Jun-2025
Sri Lanka 458 (Nissanka 158, Chandimal 93, Kusal 84, Taijul 5-131) beat Bangladesh 247 (Shadman 46, Dinusha 3-22, Asitha 3-51) and 133 (Mushfiqur 26, Jayasuriya 5-56) by an innings and 78 runs
Sri Lanka needed just 28 minutes on the fourth morning to pick up the final four Bangladesh wickets, and with it wrap up a win by an innings and 78 runs. It was Sri Lanka's ninth innings-victory over Bangladesh, which gave them the series 1-0 and also some crucial World Test Championship points.
Prabath Jayasuriya did the bulk of the damage - with some handy assists from wicketkeeper Kusal Mendis, who had been off the field the previous day nursing a sore shoulder - picking up figures of 5 for 56, his 12th five-wicket haul in Tests.
Full postHetmyer tops Pooran with dramatic last-ball six as Orcas get first win
Seattle Orcas pulled off the highest successful chase in MLC after Nicholas Pooran (108* in 60 balls) and Tajinder Singh (95 in 35 balls) had taken MI New York to 237
ESPNcricinfo staff
28-Jun-2025
Seattle Orcas 238 for 7 (Hetmyer 97*, Mayers 37, Raza 30, Boult 3-31, Potgieter 2-46) beat MI New York 237 for 4 (Pooran 108*, Tajinder 95, Mayers 2-34, Coetzee 2-46) by three wickets
In a game where 475 runs were scored, it came down to Seattle Orcas needing nine from the last six balls to beat MI New York. And they almost failed to get them, with Kieron Pollard bowling three dots. But, with six needed off the last ball, Shimron Hetmyer got on one knee to a full delivery on off stump and walloped it over square leg. Just like that, Nicholas Pooran's 60-ball 108 and Tajinder Singh's 35-ball 95 went in vain.
It was Orcas' first win of the season, under new captain Sikandar Raza and without an official head coach in place. And also the highest successful chase in the two-and-a-half-season-long history of MLC.
Full postHazlewood's five helps Australia surge to victory inside three days
West Indies bowled out for 141 in a session after Head, Webster and Carey combined to set up a match-winning lead with the bat
Andrew McGlashan
27-Jun-2025
Australia 180 & 310 (Carey 65, Webster 63, Head 61, S Joseph 5-87) beat West Indies 190 & 141 (S Joseph 44, Hazlewood 5-43) by 159 runs
Josh Hazlewood led Australia's surge to a 159-run victory in Barbados as West Indies lost all ten wickets in the final session of the third day, the final two falling in consecutive deliveries to Nathan Lyon in what would have been the last over of the day.
Australia claimed the extra half-hour with West Indies seven down but with Shamar Joseph throwing the bat, having been dropped in the deep by Sam Konstas, and Justin Greaves playing solidly, it appeared Australia would be forced to return on the fourth day. However, Shamar edged to slip before Jayden Seales was caught at short leg to end the match. It completed a performance where familiar Australia strengths came to the fore amid continued questions about the top order, but they were confronted by challenging conditions.
Full postSuryavanshi produces the fireworks as India Under-19s rout England
IPL's breakout star produces another fast-paced innings after Rocky Flintoff top-scores for England
ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay
27-Jun-2025
India U19 178 for 4 (Suryavanshi 48, Kundu 45*) beat England U19 174 (Flintoff 56, Mohammed 42) by six wickets
India's 14-year-old sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi scored 48 from just 19 balls as India's Under-19 side made short work of beating England in the first of five Youth ODIs at Hove.
Suryavanshi, who became the youngest-ever century maker in men's T20 when he hit 101 off 38 balls for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL earlier this year, made a startling debut to competitive cricket in England, putting on 71 in 7.3 overs with his captain, Ayush Mhatre as England were overwhelmed, losing by six wickets with 26 overs to spare.
Full postKusal Mendis counterattack balloons Sri Lanka's lead before Bangladesh collapse
His 84 off 87 balls took hosts 211 up in the first innings, before the SL spinners struck on a turning pitch
Danyal Rasool
27-Jun-2025
Stumps Bangladesh 247 and 115 for 6 (Mushfiqur 26, Dhananjaya 2-13, Jayasuriya 2-47) trail Sri Lanka 458 (Nissanka 158, Chandimal 93, Kusal 84, Taijul 5-131) by 96 runs
Sri Lanka moved within four wickets of sealing a series win, with Bangladesh still 96 runs adrift of their first-innings lead in the second Test. After a dominant second day, the hosts consolidated their command on the game with another clinical display, stretching their lead past 200 before Bangladesh collapsed in their second innings. For Sri Lanka, Prabath Jayasuriya led a spin-bowling attack that sent Bangladesh scrambling, leaving them on the cusp of an innings defeat.
A lead of 211 appeared impregnable on a surface that was beginning to take turn. Bangladesh's brief bright start was cut short on the cusp of tea when, off the last ball of the session, Anamul Haque's eyes lit up at a short delivery, only to be beaten by the extra pace and bounce as he toe-ended it to short midwicket.
Full postPhillips does it for Washington Freedom in last-ball thriller
Andre Fletcher's century in vain for Knight Riders
ESPNcricinfo staff
27-Jun-2025
Washington Freedom 214 for 5 (Owen 43, Maxwell 42, Phillips 33*, Gous 31, Sangha 2-35) beat Los Angeles Knight Riders 213 for 4 (Fletcher 104, Chand 41, Russell 30*, Holland 2-25) by five wickets
It took the combined might of Mitchell Owen, Andries Gous, Glenn Maxwell and Glenn Phillips - not without help from Rachin Ravindra and Obus Pienaar - to match, and eventually top, Andre Fletcher on Thursday night at MLC 2025. Even then, it took till the last ball, and a dropped catch on that ball, to do it.
Los Angeles Knight Riders, down on their luck and in the points table in, put up 213 for 4 against Washington Freedom, riding on Fletcher's 60-ball 104. But it wasn't enough - though it went down to the wire thanks to an almost-fantastic last over of the chase from Andre Russell. But Freedom got over the line in the end when Jason Holder dropped Phillips at mid-on off a spooned-out yorker, and climbed up to second place on the table, while Knight Riders remained at No. 5.
Full postFast bowlers and TV umpire headline a rollercoaster day with Test in the balance
Seam bowlers have taken 23 of 24 wickets to fall in two days as Australia edged to an 82-run second innings lead with six wickets in hand
Andrew McGlashan
26-Jun-2025
Australia 180 & 92 for 4 (Webster 19*, S Joseph 1-15, A Joseph 1-15) lead West Indies 190 (Hope 48, Starc 3-65) by 82 runs
Quality fast bowling on a pitch offering plenty, batting frailties and a collection of third-umpiring controversies were among the headlines on another engrossing day at Kensington Oval as the ball continued to dominate with the opening Test between Australia and West Indies set to be a low-scoring scrap.
By the close, Australia sat with a lead of 82 as the top-order faltered again in demanding conditions, having bowled the home side out for 190. They would be confident of defending a target of around 200 although will still take considerable work to achieve on a surface where runs have been at a premium. What the unbeaten pair of Travis Head and Beau Webster, along with next batter Alex Carey, can deliver may prove decisive.
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