All posts by n8rngtd.top

Surrey and Warwickshire had been set to allow in fans for return of first-class cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Jul-2020Plans for Surrey and Warwickshire to allow a limited number of fans to attend their opening Bob Willis Trophy fixtures have been shelved after the UK government cancelled a number of pilots around allowing crowds at sporting events due to rising coronavirus infection rates.Successful trial events were held at both Kia Oval and Edgbaston last week, with both counties hoping to allow in up to 2500 members to watch the return of first-class cricket. However, in a press conference on Firday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that these would not now go ahead.The news means that the return of fans at county games looks increasingly unlikely this summer. The government had provisionally set a date of October 1 for allowing the return of crowds, but many counties had been optimistic that this could be brought forward.The ECB has been working closely with Public Health England and local health authorities in order to allow the resumption of domestic cricket, after a four-month delay. While games will continue behind closed doors, the possibility of allowing some fans in to watch the T20 Blast in September now seems remote.In a statement, the ECB said: “We understand this is disappointing for supporters who have waited a long time to see their clubs in action and were looking forward to attending pilot events at the Kia Oval and Edgbaston this weekend.A socially distanced crowd watches on in front of the gas holder•Getty Images

“However, we understand the reasons the government has made this decision, and remain ready to work with them to ensure supporters can safely return to stadiums when government advice allows.”We are pleased the Bob Willis Trophy will still begin this weekend behind closed doors, and fans will be able to watch their teams in action through the online streams being provided.”Richard Gould, the chief executive of Surrey, has previously warned that counties would need attendance levels to be “back to normal” by next summer, or it would risk changing the structure of the game “significantly”.”I know this will cause great disappointment for those that were due to come to the Kia Oval on Saturday and Sunday, and I apologise that we are unable to welcome you this weekend,” Gould said. “Club staff and players are also very disappointed. We will continue to work hard and hope to see supporters back into our ground before the end of the summer.”With the bulk of the ECB’s funding coming from its broadcasting deals, the governing body remains hopeful of a number of Blast games – including the quarter-finals and Finals Day – being televised on Sky. England’s international fixtures, already being played behind closed doors in tightly controlled, bio-secure environments, will not be affected.

LSG have been over-reliant on their top three, but have found a way out of most holes because of their exceptional bowling line-up

Alagappan Muthu24-May-20222:26

Will Virat Kohli’s form be key for RCB to progress?

Big picture

“We needed another team. Now it’s all on us,” Glenn Maxwell said as Royal Challengers Bangalore celebrated making it to the playoffs. It is a sentiment that would have really resonated with his team-mates. Everybody appreciates a second chance but players of the quality of Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis and Josh Hazlewood tend to know exactly what to do to make the most of it. Kohli, in particular, will be thrilled that he has something tangible to play for especially now that he’s finally hit form.

Live in the USA

If you’re in the USA, you can watch the match live on ESPN+

By building a team of allrounders, Lucknow Super Giants have been able to find a way out of a lot of tough spots, but the one thing they haven’t been able to shake is an extreme reliance on their top order. KL Rahul (537 runs at 48.8), Quinton de Kock (502 runs at 38.6), and Deepak Hooda (406 runs at 31.2) have carried a line-up where the others have collectively contributed only 789 runs at 17.2.A weakness that glaring would have pulled a lot of teams out of playoff contention, but Super Giants are here because their bowling has been exceptional. They took 96 wickets in the league stage at an average of 23.8 and strike rate of 17.1. They’re No. 1 in each of those metrics.

In the news

Krunal Pandya missed Super Giants’ last league game with a niggle. He’s had almost a week’s worth of recovery time. If it isn’t a serious injury, he should be back in the playing XI.Harshal Patel split the webbing on his bowling hand and his stitches came off on Tuesday. He should be fit for the game, he said on the team’s YouTube channel. In case he doesn’t make it, Akash Deep could take his place.

Likely XIs

Royal Challengers Bangalore: 1 Faf du Plessis (capt), 2 Virat Kohli, 3 Rajat Patidar, 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 Mahipal Lomror, 6 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 7 Shahbaz Ahmed, 8 Wanindu Hasaranga, 9 Harshal Patel/Akash Deep, 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Mohammed SirajLucknow Super Giants: 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 KL Rahul (capt), 3 Deepak Hooda, 4 Krunal Pandya, 5 Ayush Badoni, 6 Marcus Stoinis, 7 Jason Holder, 8 Avesh Khan, 9 Dushmantha Chameera, 10 Mohsin Khan, 11 Ravi BishnoiIn Royal Challengers Bangalore’s last game, Virat Kohli looked as fluent as he ever has this season•PTI

Strategy punt

Maxwell has had a fairly fun time bowling to Rahul in T20 cricket: 23 balls, 23 runs and two wickets. Royal Challengers will be hoping the trend continues on Wednesday.Fingerspin can be used as a weapon against Maxwell too, with Krunal getting rid of him four times in 13 meetings. Krunal has very good numbers against Dinesh Karthik as well: 28 balls, 24 runs and two wickets.

Stats that matter

• Eden Gardens has hosted 16 IPL matches over the last four years and in each and every one of them the captain winning the toss has opted to bowl. Nine of those games have resulted in victories. The average first innings score here, since IPL 2018, is 183.
• Super Giants are yet to win a single match against the teams that have qualified for the playoffs in this year. So perhaps they’ll take heart that they are facing the bowling attack that has conceded the most sixes in IPL 2022 – RCB with 123 – on a ground that has the highest sixes per match ratio (17) since IPL 2018.
• Following up on a breakthrough 2021 season, Avesh Khan has yet again picked up at least five wickets in every phase of a T20 game. He’s the only player in IPL history to do it twice.
• This has been the year of Dinesh Karthik. He has the best death-overs strike rate (226.37) in the IPL (min 50 balls faced). It’s helped him find his way back into the Indian team. And now he has the trophy in his sights. Given all that you wouldn’t put it past him to correct his playoffs record which currently reads: 246 runs in 15 innings at an average of 16.4 and strike rate of 107.
• There has been a distinct difference in Rahul this season when he has batted first (425 runs at an average of 85 and strike rate of 149) and when he has batted second (112 runs at an average of 18.7 and strike rate of 101). His whole team has been having the same hang-up. Super Giants have lost four of the six games they’ve had to chase in this campaign.

Only Sune Luus crosses 20 for South Africa as the hosts fail to chase down 130

Valkerie Baynes10-Feb-2023South Africa’s highly anticipated home Women’s T20 World Cup got underway in the most dramatic fashion with Sri Lanka securing a big upset against the hosts, winning by three runs before a record crowd in Cape Town.This match had it all. A thrilling contest set up by Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu’s half-century before her fellow old guard of Inoka Ranaweera, Sugandika Kumari and Oshadi Ranasinghe kept their cool to run through South Africa’s line-up and secure a memorable victory in front of 8402 spectators, the most for a women’s cricket match in South Africa.Amid a friendly party atmosphere with the grass banks well packed with dancing spectators, the home fans grimaced in the tight moments, and screamed and fist-pumped in the good times, riding each wave with their team. And there were plenty of ebbs and flows too. South Africa’s quicks Marizanne Kapp and Shabnim Ismail contained Athapaththu and her opening partner Harshitha Samarawickrama early, before Athapaththu’s knock of 68 off 50 balls, in which she peeled off boundaries in clutches and staged an 86-run stand for the second wicket with 17-year-old Vishmi Gunaratne. Then Kapp took the key wicket of Athapaththu to keep South Africa’s target to an achievable 130. But Sri Lanka never gave up and reaped their reward with Ranaweera removing Laura Wolvaardt, Kapp and captain Sune Luus and, ultimately, dashing the hopes of the home side.

Sri Lanka keep their cool

Tazmin Brits never really got going after being struck on the helmet attempting a pull shot off Achini Kulasooriya and fell slicing Ranasinghe to extra cover. Kapp scored only 12 before she holed out to mid-on and when Ranaweera struck again to remove Wolvaardt with 77 needed off 10.2 overs, South Africa were still ahead of Sri Lanka at the same point but by no means safe.However, with Luus and an in-form Chloe Tryon at the crease, there appeared no reason to panic. But then Tryon and Anneke Bosch fell in the space of three balls, and Luus, who was saved by a wayward throw after a terrible mix-up with Sinalo Jafta, was stumped as Ranaweera claimed her third and put her side within reach of victory. Needing 13 off the last over, Ismail was run out and Sugandika yielded just two runs off the next three balls, meaning that Nonkululeko Mlaba’s four off the last was not enough.Chamari Athapaththu scored 68 off 50 balls to steer Sri Lanka to a competitive total•ICC/Getty Images

Athapaththu to the rescue (again)

Athapaththu lifted Sri Lanka after a slow start and, while it was a script we had read before – she has now scored all three of Sri Lanka’s fifties at Women’s T20 World Cups and seven of their top eight scores at the tournament – it was vital. By the end of the powerplay, they had just 28 runs on the board and at the halfway point of the innings were 45 for 1.The match was almost four overs old before Sri Lanka found the boundary, via Athapaththu’s slash through extra cover off Kapp. She reeled off two more back-to-back with a slog sweep and then a pull as Mlaba bowled first too full, then too short. Nadine de Klerk entered the attack in the seventh over with immediate effect though as Samarawickrama spooned the ball straight to short midwicket.Athapaththu knew she had to get moving and she unleashed three fours in a row off de Klerk, twice through extra cover before pulling a short ball over deep square leg. Gunaratne, Sri Lanka’s Under-19 captain, then piled on three more in a row, dispatching Ismail through deep midwicket, slicing past deep third and clearing wicketkeeper Jafta’s head.

Kapp takes back control

Gunaratne added 35 off 34 balls before a direct hit from Brits ended her stand with Athapaththu after she had nudged Kapp towards short cover for a quick single. But then Kapp made the major breakthrough, as Athapaththu picked out de Klerk at deep-backward square leg.After a tearful start to the match when wife Dane van Niekerk, who was left out of the squad for failing a 2km running test, helped her mark out her run-up before heading to the commentary box, Kapp ended the evening as South Africa’s best bowler, her four overs costing just 15 runs after she and Ismail had smothered Sri Lanka early. Ismail chimed in at the end with the wicket of Nilakshi de Silva and let out a roar. But it would turn to more tears, this time for Luus, who has taken over the captaincy from van Niekerk and whose task of taking her side to the knockout stage just became infinitely harder.

Both teams were docked two points and fined 40% of their match fees as both sides were deemed two overs short of their targets

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Jun-2023Australia and England have both been penalised for slow over-rates in the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston losing two World Test Championship [WTC] points each while players from both sides have been fined 40% of their match fees.Match referee Andy Pycroft ruled that both teams were two overs short of their targets after time allowances were factored in. Teams are docked one WTC point, and 20% of their match fee for each over they are short of their target. Both captains, Pat Cummins and Ben Stokes, accepted the sanctions.Related

• Shubman Gill fined for criticism of TV umpire's decision

There were just 82 overs bowled on day one of the Test, with Australia only bowling 78 before England declared and bowled four overs before stumps. England did bowl 90 overs on the second day, utilising the extra half-hour to do so. Rain affected both the third and the fifth day of the Test match, but England were deemed short of their targets on those days.The penalties mean England are on negative two points after losing their opening Test of the new WTC cycle, while Australia are on ten points, having accrued 12 for their dramatic two-wicket victory.Australia were fined 80% of their match fees in the WTC final at the Oval two weeks ago for slow over-rates. They also missed a spot at the 2021 WTC final in Southampton due to being docked crucial WTC points for slow over-rates in that cycle.

Teenage batter following in footsteps of father Andrew, who spent his career at Lancs

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Jun-2024Rocky Flintoff, son of former England allrounder Andrew Flintoff, has signed his first professional contract with Lancashire at the age of 16.Flinfoff, who was earlier this week named in the England Under-19s squad to face Sri Lanka, joined the Lancashire academy last year. He has featured four times for the 2nd XI this season, hitting a half-century against Durham and a hundred against Warwickshire.Clips of him batting went viral on social media due to the similarity of his technique to that of his father.”I’m very happy and excited to have signed my first professional contract with Lancashire,” Rocky Flintoff said. “It’s something that I’ve been working towards since I started playing cricket, so to sign for my home county is a dream come true.”I’ve been with the club since I was 8 years old, so to have the opportunity to keep representing the Red Rose is a big honour. I have loved playing for the Second XI so far this season and I’m looking forward to continuing to work hard on all aspects of my game.”Mark Chilton, Lancashire’s director of cricket performance, said: “I would like to congratulate Rocky, his family and everybody who has been with him on his journey in cricket so far.”He has impressed the coaching staff with his performances and determined attitude for the Second XI already this season. He is a grounded individual and knows the work starts now for him to fulfil his potential in the years ahead.”Rocky will be away with the England U19s for the next couple of weeks, and we look forward to welcoming him into the professional squad after that.”Andrew Flintoff made his Lancashire debut in 1995 before going on to become one of England’s most-pivotal allrounders, playing more than 200 times across formats and famous for his role in helping to regain the Ashes in 2005, after 16 years in Australian hands.

Heather Knight, Sydney Thunder’s captain, is the most significant of the potential departures

AAP11-Nov-2023WBBL clubs are facing the prospect of being robbed of marquee English players for the competition’s final due to a scheduling clash.England named their squad for a looming multi-format series in India on Friday night, with nine WBBL players included ahead of the first T20 on December 7.The majority of those will be able to skip a team camp in Oman, but England officials have confirmed to AAP they will be expected in Mumbai by December 2. That is the same date as the WBBL final.Related

• WBBL mid-season takeaways: Grace's bat, TV umpires and Thunder's revival

• Hannah Darlington takes five as Sydney Thunder return to top of the table

• Sophie Ecclestone back for England tour of India following shoulder surgery

AAP has been told that players will be able to remain in Australia through to the end of November, meaning they would be available for all games bar the final.Sydney Thunder captain Heather Knight headlines the list of potentially impacted players, along with Perth Scorchers pair Nat Sciver-Brunt and Amy Jones.Thunder quick Lauren Bell, Adelaide Strikers allrounder Danielle Gibson and Brisbane Heat batter Bess Heath are among other players who would be scheduled to return.Melbourne Stars would be the club most impacted with Maia Bouchier, Alice Capsey and Sophia Dunkley all in England’s squad, but at this stage look unlikely to make finals.Clubs were aware of the possible scheduling clash when players were signed. Exemptions have been made in the past for players to stay on longer, and it is not beyond the realms of possibility that a similar push could be made in coming weeks for the English to feature in the final.The loss of Knight in particular would come as a significant blow to the Thunder. The club have been the feel-good story of this summer’s WBBL, going from winning one game last year to dropping just one of their opening eight this season.They are now the frontrunners to automatically qualify to host the final, after sitting at the top of the ladder at the halfway mark.Knight has been a pillar of Thunder’s top-order this season in capitalising on big starts from their openers, hitting 168 runs at an average of 42 and strike-rate above 140.Thunder coach Lisa Keightley does have strong links to the English setup, having previously coached the national side.Scorchers would also be desperate to hang onto their English pairing if they reach the final. Sciver-Brunt is one of the most dangerous players in the competition, and while she was only signed for part of the season, the 31-year-old is expected to play out the rest of the tournament until England calls.

She will evaluate her leadership skills and batting in the series against Pakistan and NZ before deciding if she wants the job full time

Firdose Moonda25-Aug-2023Laura Wolvaardt will use South Africa’s series against Pakistan and New Zealand to see if she is “able to handle” the pressures of captaincy alongside her batting in order to decide if she wants the job full time.Wolvaardt was named interim captain in place of Sune Luus, who stood down last week, and promised to be a “soft-spoken,” skipper who will “lead through my actions.” She will take charge of the team for 14 matches (six in Pakistan and eight at home against New Zealand), having done the job twice before, in ODIs against India in 2021.”It was important for the next two tours for it [captaincy] to be more of an interim position to see if it’s something I am able to handle and if I can still focus on my batting with the added responsibility,” Wolvaardt said, from England, where she was playing in the Hundred. “I had a conversation with the coach and the head selector… We mutually agreed on the two tours to see if it was something I would respond well to, batting wise and leadership wise as well.”Related

• Moreeng to continue as South Africa women's coach despite calls for change

• South Africa's women's team to get equal match fees as the men

• CSA to be less rigid in applying fitness standards

• Luus steps down as South Africa captain ahead of Pakistan tour

• South Africa name Wolvaardt as women team's interim captain

At 24, Wolvaardt is young in age but rich in experience. She made her international debut seven years ago, but is already third on South Africa’s all-time highest run-getters’ ODI list and sixth on their T20I charts. Plus, she has already played in three T20I and two fifty-over World Cups. She also has experience in leagues around the world. She is also one of only two squad members – Luus being the other – who has played in Pakistan. Given the importance of the ODI matches, in particular, which are part of the qualification process for the next World Cup, South Africa will need Wolvaardt at her best and coach Hilton Moreeng believes they will get it.”She is a very disciplined cricketer. The way she goes about her game is evident to everyone in the team. I don’t think the responsibility will impact her performance,” Moreeng said. “She knows the importance of both roles she plays in the team. We don’t think it should be a challenge regarding her performances.”Wolvaardt herself is “excited,” by the opportunity and “looking forward to actually doing it,” despite indicating she was not ready to captain earlier in the year. That, she says, was a bluff out of respect for the incumbents. “It’s definitely always something that has been in the back of my mind. At the time, we had great leaders in Dane and Sune so I didn’t want to say anything that could impact that,” she said. “I was just biding my time and the opportunity has presented itself. I am very excited. I think it will test me as a cricketer and develop my game as well.”Asked how she will approach the task of leadership, Wolvaardt replied with the class of one of her cover drives. “I like to think of myself as quite calm and composed. I am hoping I am able to bring that on the field as well but we’ll see what happens in tight games,” she joked. “I am a little bit more soft-spoken than what other captains might be. I am just going to try and lead from my actions and lead from the front. Hopefully that’s alright.”Wolvaardt has not been part of the team’s pre-tour camp in South Africa because she has been playing in the women’s Hundred and will meet up with the squad in Pakistan. She does not see her absence from what Moreeng described as an intense discussion on the issues affecting the squad, including some players’ unhappiness with him continuing in the job, as an issue. “I’ve been in the side for seven or eight years. It’s not like I am coming into a side where I don’t know half of the people,” she said.She was also not in South Africa for the launch for the announcement of the professionalism of the top-tier of the women’s domestic game, which will see 66 players contracted across six teams. Having given up the opportunity to pursue a degree in medicine to build a career in cricket, Wolvaardt knows first-hand the sacrifices generations of female cricketers had to make to play the game and welcomed the development.”It’s incredible that girls have a bit more of a pathway to come through,” she said. “It’s always been a challenge for us to fill the gaps because there is not much support outside of the national team or there wasn’t. I’m really looking forward to the future. We will be able to keep a lot more young girls in cricket. They will actually see it as a viable career option. And it takes a little bit of pressure off the contracted players as well because you have that safety net to fall back on. Hopefully we are able to play with a bit more freedom knowing that we have that.”

The allrounder felt Pakistan may have been better served trying to squeeze the scoring rather than chase wickets on a slow pitch

Danyal Rasool24-Jul-2022Taking six wickets on the first day of a Test after losing the toss and bowling on a slow pitch might not be the worst day’s work. But with Sri Lanka having pushed past 300, scoring at 3.66 runs per over across the day, Pakistan were pushed onto the back foot by the time stumps were called in Galle on the first day of the second Test.Pakistan allrounder Mohammad Nawaz, who picked up two wickets on the day, indicated Pakistan might have got things strategically wrong by choosing to press ahead in search for wickets as opposed to trying to restrict the runs.”I think we let them score a little bit too much,” Nawaz said. “The pitch isn’t like the first Test; it wasn’t turning and the pitch was slow. I think we would have been better served by squeezing the score rather than attacking. Because the pitch was very slow and the wickets weren’t coming as easily, you needed to work especially hard for them. So if we’d restricted their score, perhaps the wickets would have come easier.”For much of the day, it was the home batters that dictated the tempo of the play, scoring at over four runs per over in the first and last sessions. In the morning, Sri Lanka’s positive intent was laid crystal clear in the way Oshada Fernando played, scoring 50 off 70 balls including three sixes off the spinners. In the final session, even when Naseem Shah threatened to burst through the lower order with a late new-ball wicket, Pakistan went searching, and Niroshan Dickwella’s unbeaten 43-ball 42 kept the scoring rate sprightly.Nawaz singled out Oshada for praise, but it wasn’t as if Pakistan had no chances. Late in the second and third sessions, two straightforward catches were put down, reprieving Angelo Mathews and Niroshan Dickwella respectively. Pakistan captain Babar Azam was responsible for shelling both chances, leaving Nawaz to rue what might have been.”In cricket, anyone can drop catches,” Nawaz said. “It’s very rare that it happens to Babar, but if those catches had been taken then we might have been able to restrict them to a lower score. Oshada attacked the spinners in the morning and the scoring happened quickly, and then when Chandimal and Mathews struck up a partnership, that was very effective for them.”I think it could still be a spinner’s game, because I expect the pitch behaviour to change on the third and fourth day. In the second innings, the spinners will be more effective.”

He made 31 not out from 15 balls after his team lost 4 for 12 in 16 deliveries

Alex Malcolm14-Jan-2021A classy innings from Joe Burns guided Brisbane Heat to a nervy win over the hapless Melbourne Renegades in a crowd-less game in Canberra.The game was moved earlier in the week from Melbourne to Canberra due to the Victorian government’s changing Covid-19 border restrictions on travellers from Brisbane and as a result no tickets were made available for the match.Burns made 31 not out from 15 balls after the Heat had lost 4 for 12 in 16 deliveries to help his side to their fifth win of the season. Both sides did their best to lose the game. The Renegades had earlier dropped Chris Lynn twice and also dismissed him off a no-ball during his 40-ball 50. But Lynn handed back the momentum at a critical moment sparking a mini-collapse before Burns steadied the ship.Joe Burns played a confident knock in chase•Getty Images

The Renegades had set a defendable total of 6 for 149 on what was a pretty slow pitch. Beau Webster overcame a slow start to finish with 50 not out from 40 balls while Jake Fraser-McGurk made an enterprising 40 from 33. The pair rescued the Renegades after they had slumped to 4 for 59. Matthew Kuhnemann, Mark Steketee, and Morne Morkel bowled 36 dot balls between them and combined for four wickets. Morkel and Steketee were particularly impressive at the death after Kuhnemann had squeezed the Renegades in the middle overs.Finch at FourWhen Aaron Finch batted at No.3 in the Renegades disastrous loss to Perth Scorchers it seemed the experiment of batting the Australia T20I captain and opener out of position might end there. But with Shaun Marsh’s return not only did he not open, he batted outside the top three for the first time in his BBL career and for the first time in 91 T20 innings globally. Since batting at No.4 in an IPL game in 2018 Finch had opened in 85 T20 innings and batted at No. 3 six times. In that period, only Babar Azam has scored more runs as an opener, while no one has scored more than Finch’s five centuries. Of the eight openers who have scored 2000 runs or more in the period, Finch has the highest strike-rate and the third-highest average.Marsh and Mackenzie Harvey opened and when Marsh departed for his first golden duck in BBL cricket, Sam Harper walked out at No.3. Harper and Harvey struck four fours and a six in the powerplay but fell within four balls of each other to leave the Renegades 3 for 36. Finch looked like a fish out of water at No. 4 scoring just 13 off 13 with Kuhnemann tying him down. He was trapped lbw by Jack Wildermuth to a ball nipping back and keeping a touch low to leave the Renegades 4 for 59.Super SubMorkel, with 544 international wickets for South Africa, was called in as the X-factor sub at the 10-over mark for his first game for the Heat and his first game as a local player. As surprising as he was as a sub choice, the move to sub Xavier Bartlett out after he had bowled one over conceding just two runs was equally perplexing. But Bartlett’s struggles at the death in the last game meant the Heat were able to get five overs out of Bartlett and Morkel at a cost of 31. Morkel bowled a Power Surge over and two overs at the death, taking 1 for 29 in his first outing off an ankle injury. Steketee also bowled well in the key overs taking 2 for 24 from four. Oddly, Lewis Gregory did not bowl an over for the innings.The Renegades were able to salvage a defendable total thanks to Fraser-McGurk and Webster. The pair put on 57 with Fraser-McGurk scoring 40 off 33 including a powerful six of Steketee. Webster, who had been the Renegades’ best batsman last season, was struggling at 22 off 30 but he made up for it scoring 28 off his last 10 balls to reach his first half-century of the season off the last ball of the innings.Once, twice, three times a charm for LynnLynn was dropped twice during his half-century against Sydney Sixers and he had even more luck against the Renegades. Lynn and Max Bryant had hardly got away from the Renegades scoring at just over a run-a-ball in the chase. Bryant holed out trying to up the ante. Lynn nearly did the same but Noor Ahmad dropped a skier at deep backward square off Jack Prestwidge. The Heat scraped past the Bash Boost target of 71 off the last ball of the 10th over, having taken 13 from Ahmad’s over. Prestwidge then compounded the error. He had Lynn miscue a catch to mid-off with a well-thought-out piece of bowling from around the wicket. The catch was well held, but replays showed Prestwidge had delivered a rare back foot no-ball, and Lynn survived. The free-hit went for four from Joe Denly’s bat. Two overs later, Lynn was dropped again. This time, Peter Hatzoglou was the offender at backward point off Imad Wasim. Lynn reached his second half-century in a row. But he didn’t make the Renegades pay. He chopped on off Kane Richardson trying to flay him on the up through the offside with the Heat still needing 44 to win from 37 balls.Burns brillianceLynn’s dismissal sparked a mini-collapse. The Heat lost 4 for 12 in 16 balls with a swathe of rash shots as the frugal bowling of Imad and Richardson caused some needless panic. But Burns provided a cool head with some help from the Renegades’ inexperienced spinners. Burns struck two fours and a six in four balls without really taking a risk. Hatzoglou dropped short twice and Ahmad tossed one up in the slot for Burns to slog sweep into the empty stands. Burns finished the job in the 19th over with a glorious check drive and then a fortunate thick edge off Richardson. But fortune favours the brave, and Burns deserved every bit of it.

Since they last won the title, Sydney Sixers have consistently reached the finals but stumbled short of the prize

Andrew McGlashan25-Jan-2025Sydney Sixers captain Moises Henriques has called for the club to take a hard look at why they have stumbled in finals over recent seasons after falling to crosstown rivals Sydney Thunder in the Challenger on Friday, but he refused to blame the absence of key players on Australia Test duty.Sixers had given themselves a double chance of reaching Monday’s final by finishing second in the regular season but lost to Hobart Hurricanes in the Qualifier before coming up short against Thunder at the SCG.It meant that since winning the second of back-to-back titles in the 2020-21 season, they have won just two out of nine matches in finals series.Related

• All the BBL lists ahead of the trade window and those off contract

• Thunder one step away from BBL title as Billings, spinners shine

• Warner 'still the best by a country mile' as he leads Thunder to BBL final

“Unfortunately we’ve saved our worst two performances for the last two games of the year,” he said. “We do have to have a look at how we’ve performed in finals the last three years because I don’t think our record is great now. We gave ourselves two chances this year because of how well we played throughout the year. We had two chances last year as well and two chances the year before.”I am proud that we’ve got a group that consistently puts us in a position to win the tournament and gives us the very best opportunity at the end of the league games to go on and win but unfortunately this year we weren’t good enough.”Henriques said the debrief on the season would start straightaway. After the final there is a ten-day trade window where out-of-contract players from other clubs can be signed. Sixers head into that period with ten on their list – the maximum permitted – leaving Jackson Bird, Daniel Hughes, Hayden Kerr, Ben Manenti and Kurtis Patterson as those who are free agents.”It’s the high pressure nature of sport that you can’t always perform when you want to,” Henriques said. “Why we’ve been not able to play our best in these games is something we’re going to have to have a look at and definitely discuss for a while after the game because we’re not rushing off to anywhere. There’s a lot to learn from the last couple of days.”Some of the best learnings are in these situations because a lot of that group is going to be around again next year and hopefully we can put ourselves in a position next year to challenge again.”Steven Smith was available for three matches this season where he made a spectacular 121 not out followed by 52 but, along with Todd Murphy and Sean Abbott, left after the regular season for Australia’s training camp in Dubai ahead of the Sri Lanka tour.When Sixers won the first of the back-to-back titles in the 2019-2020 season, they had Smith, Nathan Lyon (who is now with Melbourne Renegades) and Josh Hazlewood (currently recovering from injury) available for the finals along with their regular key names.”It’s a really tough one,” Henriques said when asked about the overlapping schedules. “I think the pinnacle of cricket is playing international sport for your country and we’re very proud of the three guys that get selected. That’s obviously not including Starcy and Josh Hazlewood.”That’s a feather in our cap as a squad that they want to play cricket for our team and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I still feel like we’ve got players that can win us the match when they go away.”I said before the last game to the group, even though we only had 12 players, somehow it was still a headache to try and pick 11 because of what I believe to be the quality of this group and the quality of players that we have.”In the 2020-21 final, James Vince produced the match-winning hand of 95 against Perth Scorchers and has remained a regular with the club but left early for the ILT20, as did West Indies left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein. The other draft signing was young English legspinner Jafer Chohan who stood out when he came into the side, returning 2 for 28 and 2 for 22 the two finals, conceding just one boundary in each game.”He’s been really impressive,” Henriques said. “He sat patiently waiting for a game. I think through the four matches that he played, I couldn’t remember one bad ball, which, for a wristspinner, is just extraordinary. I think he’s got a big future ahead of him.”