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After a long string of low scores, Andre Fletcher finally came good with a man-of-the-match performance that saw the Melbourne Stars score a massive 111-run victory over the Adelaide Strikers in Melbourne on Thursday.
Adam Zampa’s five-wicket haul was also instrumental to the Stars victory that moved them up to sixth in the Big Bash League table.
The Grenadian whose best score before Thursday was 18 against the Thunder on December 29, blasted an unbeaten 89 as the Stars racked up 179 for 2 in their 20 overs. The Spiceman smashed eight fours and four sixes in his 49-ball knock.
His 50 had come up from just 36 balls and included four fours and a six.
He featured in partnerships of 41 with fellow opener Marcus Stoinis (13); 61 with Glen Maxwell (39), and 77 with Hilton Cartwright, who remained unbeaten on 30 at the end.
Cameron Valente and Danny Briggs were the best of the Adelaide bowlers each returning figures of 1 for 36 from their respective four-over allotments.
Adelaide needing 180 to win, slumped to 68 all out in just 14.2 overs as Zampa took 5 for 17, Glen Maxwell, 2-12 and Zahir Khan 2-19 to seal the comprehensive victory.
Matt Renshaw (20), Johnathan Wells (18) and Jake Weatherald (10) were the only Adelaide batsmen to get to double figures.
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Global Super League announces schedule change ahead of 2024 Tournament
The ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League (GSL) has announced a schedule adjustment ahead of its inaugural tournament, which is set to take place at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence. The final will now be held on Friday, 6 December 2024, while the match between Hampshire Hawks and Victoria has been rescheduled to 10:00 AM on Thursday, 5 December 2024.
The tournament, featuring five teams—Guyana Amazon Warriors, Hampshire Hawks, Lahore Qalandars, Rangpur Riders, and Victoria—kicks off on Tuesday, 26 November 2024.
Sir Clive Lloyd, Chairman of the GSL, explained that the schedule changes were made in consultation with Cricket West Indies to avoid potential clashes with preparations for the West Indies' ODI series against Bangladesh.
“While the squads for the West Indies ODI series against Bangladesh have not yet been announced, we wanted to ensure that there was no chance of a clash between the conclusion of the GSL and the preparations for that series,” Lloyd said. “This decision has been made after discussions with Cricket West Indies to ensure the integrity of both the West Indies vs Bangladesh series and the GSL.”
Ticket holders for the affected matches can still use their existing tickets for entry. Those unable to attend the rescheduled games will be eligible for a full refund.
Revised Schedule for the 2024 Global Super League
26 November, 7:00 PM: Guyana Amazon Warriors vs Lahore Qalandars
27 November, 7:00 PM: Hampshire Hawks vs Rangpur Riders
29 November, 7:00 PM: Guyana Amazon Warriors vs Victoria
30 November, 10:00 AM: Hampshire Hawks vs Lahore Qalandars
1 December, 10:00 AM: Rangpur Riders vs Victoria
1 December, 7:00 PM: Guyana Amazon Warriors vs Hampshire Hawks
3 December, 7:00 PM: Victoria vs Lahore Qalandars
4 December, 7:00 PM: Guyana Amazon Warriors vs Rangpur Riders
5 December, 10:00 AM: Hampshire Hawks vs Victoria
5 December, 7:00 PM: Lahore Qalandars vs Rangpur Riders
6 December, 7:00 PM: Final – First Place vs Second Place
Inglis hails 'hard to stop' Stoinis after ruthless knock
Josh Inglis lauded "hard to stop" Marcus Stoinis as Australia signed off their T20I series against Pakistan in style, claiming a whitewash.
The hosts raced to a seven-wicket victory with almost nine overs remaining in Monday's third match.
After Australia's bowlers had limited Pakistan to just 117 runs, Stoinis ensured they signed off their final white-ball assignment in style, with his unbeaten 61 doing the damage.
Only twice has he bettered that knock in T20Is – versus New Zealand in 2021 (78) and against Oman at the World Cup earlier this year (67*).
"It's been a great week. We've had a lot of fun as a group," Inglis said. "It's been really nice.
"When Stoinis is going like that, he is really hard to stop. One of those sixes was probably the biggest I've ever seen!"
Stoinis, who was named player of the match, added: "Nice to score some runs on a beautiful wicket but credit to the bowlers who kept the total down.
"Yeah, I actually told [Haris] Rauf that this is the first time any of us got the better of him! No, he's a brilliant bowler, bowled well this series."
During their white-ball tour, Pakistan won the ODI series, their first time doing so in Australia in 22 years, but got whitewashed in the T20Is.
Despite the heavy loss, captain Agha Salman chose to focus on the positive effect the experience will have on their young players.
"I think in the middle overs, we didn't capitalise on the start," he said. "But lots of positives.
"The way Usman [Khan] batted, the way Jahandad [Khan] bowled. These youngsters will come good.
"It's obviously a big achievement winning the ODI series, but we could have done much better in the T20Is."
Australia race to seven-wicket win to whitewash Pakistan
Australia signed off on their T20I series against Pakistan in style after racing to a seven-wicket win with almost nine overs in hand in Monday's third match.
The hosts had already sealed a series success thanks to Spencer Johnson's five-for in Saturday's second match, and any hopes Pakistan had of taking a consolation win were dashed by a dismal performance with the bat in Hobart.
Pakistan were bundled out for just 117 as Aaron Hardie finished with figures of 3-21 and Johnson (2-24) and Adam Zampa (2-11) also dismissed two apiece for Australia.
Babar Azam's knock had put Pakistan in a decent position at 61-1 through six overs, but when Haseebullah Khan handed Matthew Short a simple catch off Zampa's spin ball, the wickets began to tumble with ease.
Pakistan's next five wickets fell for just 31 further runs, with seven of their batters finishing in single figures and four managing one run or fewer, with Babar (41) the only batter to score above 30.
Australia lost Short and Jake Fraser-McGurk early but Marcus Stoinis took any jeopardy out of the chase by scoring an unbeaten 61 runs off 27 balls, with his stand including five fours and five maximums.
Stoinis was unwilling to hang around, smashing Haris Rauf for 22 runs in an over to take Australia to the brink.
He then hit Shaheen Shah Afridi for 19 in the penultimate over as the hosts got the job done with 52 balls remaining.
Data Debrief: Quick and easy for Stoinis
Australia could have taken their time after being set such a paltry target, but Stoinis was determined to put on a show for those present at the Bellerive Oval.
Only twice has he bettered his knock of 61 in T20Is – versus New Zealand in 2021 (78) and against Oman at the World Cup earlier this year (67*). His strike rate of 225.92, while ruthless, falls some way short of his T20I best of 327.77 versus Sri Lanka in 2022 (59 off 18).
Pakistan's Babar, meanwhile, is now second on the all-time list of T20I run scorers with 4,192 to his name, having overtaken Virat Kohli. Only Rohit Sharma (4,231) is ahead of him.
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