Hurricanes will return to the site of its grand final disappointment on January 21

Adelaide Strikers v Hobart Hurricanes at Adelaide Oval, January 21, 6:45pm

The BBL fixtures will tease audiences by not dishing up the grand final replay between Adelaide Strikers and Hobart Hurricanes until January 21.Strikers will be at home for the side’s first meeting, which will see the Hurricanes return to the site of its grand final disappointment.Hurricanes lost that match by 25 runs, as it failed to chase down Strikers’
formidable score of 2-202.Jake Weatherald rose to the occasion on the day, smashing 115 runs off 70 balls to break the record for the highest score in a BBL final.To claim victory again, however, the Strikers will have to tame Hurricanes star player D’Arcy Short, who scored a record-breaking 572 runs at 57.20 last season.

The Melbourne derby will headline a New Year’s Day double-header

Melbourne Stars v Melbourne Renegades at the MCG, January 1, 7:15pm

The Melbourne derby will headline a New Year’s Day double-header under lights at the MCG.The teams played each other twice within a week last season and shared the town’s bragging rights – Renegades won the first match at the MCG by six wickets, before the Stars turned the tables with a 23 run win at Docklands Stadium.It was one of only two wins
last season for the Stars, who left daylight between itself and second-to-last Brisbane Heat.But Stars enjoy a dominant record over their cross-city rivals having won 9 and lost four against the Renegades.This year’s derby will once again dish up the exciting prospect of a showdown between Stars’ big hitting Glenn Maxwell, and the world’s best T20I batsman Finch.

Christmas Eve will see the first of two Sydney Smash fixtures

Sydney Thunder v Sydney Sixers at Sydney Showground, December 24, 7:15pm

Cricket will come to Christmas Eve this season, with two matches taking place in a BBL first.The night’s prime-time slot is reserved for the drama of what is arguably the regular season’s marquee fixture; the Sydney Smash at Sydney Showground.The two Sydney teams shared the spoils last season after remarkably thrilling audiences with not one, but
two last-ball epics.Sydney Thunder won the first tie after now Indian Premier League champion Shane Watson rolled back the years with 77 runs off 46.The Sixers returned the favour at the SCG a month later when it snapped a six-match losing streak by claiming an eight-wicket win on the last ball.If the history between the two sides is anything to go by, this contest is a must-see.

Perth Scorchers’ visit to Melbourne will be the side’s first without Justin Langer

Melbourne Renegades v Perth Scorchers at Docklands, December 20, 7:15pm

Perth Scorchers’ visit to Melbourne for the second match of the season marks a new era.It will be the side’s first without Justin Langer.JL’s promotion to the Australian team ended a massively successful stint as head coach of the Scorchers, who he took control of in
November 2012.He took the side to four finals, winning premierships in BBL 03, 04 and 06.Perth cricket legend, and Langer’s mentee, Adam Voges will take control of the side for BBL 08, with his first test being a Renegades outfit with T20 stars Aaron Finch and Dan Christian.

Brisbane Heat take on Adelaide Strikers at home on December 19 for the league’s curtain raiser

Brisbane Heat v Adelaide Strikers at the Gabba, December 19, 6:15pm

Every season needs a blockbuster curtain raiser, and BBL 08 will be no exception as Brisbane Heat take on Adelaide Strikers at home on December 19.The match means audiences won’t be left waiting for a chance to see last season’s champions, the Strikers, in their first title-defence assignment.The Strikers will fancy their chances with championship-
winning stars – including Alex Carey, Jake Weatherald, Billy Stanlake and Rashid Kahn – on-board for another season.But the Heat won’t be without star power of its own, with ‘Bash Brothers’ Chris Lynn and Brendon McCullum determined to improve on the side’s lowly seventh place finish last season.Adelaide won the sides’ only match-up last season by 56 runs on New Year’s Eve.

Mohammad Irfan makes history with record T20 spell

It was an impressive show from Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Irfan as he bowled 23 consecutive dot balls to register the most economical figures in T20 cricket history.While playing for Barbados Tridents in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), Irfan finished with figures of 4-3-1-2 but was unable to guide his team to victory against St Kitts and Nevis Patriots.Opting to field first, Patriots kept Tridents to 147 for 6 with Ben Cutting and Anton Devcich picking up two wickets apiece.
Jason Holder was the top-scorer with a 35-ball 54.While chasing, the Patriots were off to a terrible start as Irfan dismissed Chris Gayle off the very first ball and then, followed it up with the wicket of Evin Lewis. Irfan kept bothering the batsmen with his consistent bowling and when he finished his spell in the seventh over, the Patriots were 18 for 2.However, the dominance was short-lived as Brandon King (49-ball 60) and Ben Cutting (21-ball 29) steadied the innings and they were able to complete the chase within 18.5 overs.

Ian Healy says Australia is ‘lucky’ to have Tim Paine

TIM Paine may be winless from his six matches in charge of Australia, but former Test wicketkeeper Ian Healy believes the team is “lucky” to have him.Healy told foxsports.com.au Australia is suffering from an alarming dearth of cricketing experience and had no option but to hand the captaincy to Paine, who was struggling for state selection before last year.But the 119-Test player-turned-commentator conceded the 33-year-old would not have been his first choice if there were other experienced players to turn to following Steve Smith’s suspension for ball-tampering.“It’s a bit of a sore point that there are no other candidates, you know? What are we developing,
where are our cricketers?” Healy said after joining Fox Cricket’s commentary team.“I would have liked to have had ready one or two more experienced cricketers than Tim Paine having to take on the captaincy.”He added: “No one’s been guilty of making a mistake here, it’s just the way it panned out … it had to be lumped onto Painey. We’re lucky to have Painey as an experienced cricketer in the mix.”Healy sympathised with Paine, who was handed the unenviable task of leading the side in the wake of the Cape Town cheating scandal.He took control of the side in March for the fourth and final Test of the South Africa series. Australia suffered a crushing 492-run defeat.

Glenn Maxwell is taking his Big Bash talents to the bush

THE Big Bash is going bush after confirmation the Melbourne Stars will move another home game away from the MCG this summer to play a historic match for points in Moe. The Stars will clash with the Adelaide Strikers at Moe’s Ted Summerton Reserve, which can accommodate up to 10,000 spectators, on January 23. It means the Stars will play just five of 14 games in the expanded BBL fixture list at the MCG having also locked in a home game at Metricon Stadium on the Gold Coast against the Sydney Thunder.
Two gaps were left in the BBL schedule when it was announced, one for each Melbourne team, with the Stars now going to Moe and cross-town rivals the Renegades likely to take one game to Geelong. The Stars are yet to confirm their captain for this campaign, after John Hastings left to join the Sydney Sixers, and the two international players to replace Kevin Pietersen and Luke Wright have not been announced.It’s believed English leg-spinner Adil Rashid and West Indian star Dwayne Bravo are likely to fill take those spots.

Root, Buttler Join Sydney Thunder for Big Bash League 2018-19

England's Test captain Joe Root and vice-captain Jos Buttler have agreed a deal to play for Sydney Thunder in the first half of the 2018-19 Big Bash League.Both players will be available for seven games that fall between England's winter tours to Sri Lanka and the West Indies.Root went unsold in the lucrative Indian Premier League auction in January and has played just 12 T20 matches since
England's defeat by West Indies in the World T20 final in April 2016 due to a combination of his Test commitments and poor form.By contrast, Buttler is one of most in demand players in the world in the short form of the game and is fresh from hitting his first Test century in England's third test defeat to India.Buttler starred for the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL this year and returns to Sydney Thunder after scoring 202 runs in six innings during last year's Big Bash.

Joe Root and Jos Buttler agree Sydney Thunder stint

England Test captain Joe Root and vice-captain Jos Buttler will play for Sydney Thunder in this winter's Twenty20 Big Bash League in Australia. Root has not played in an overseas T20 competition before and the 27-year-old went unsold in the Indian Premier League auction in January.Buttler, also 27, played six times for the Thunder in 2017-18 and previously played for Melbourne Renegades.The 2018-19 Big Bash runs from 18 December to 17 February.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has cleared Root and Buttler to play in the first half of the tournament as it falls between winter tours to Sri Lanka and West Indies.Root has played only 12 T20 matches since England's defeat by West Indies in the World Twenty20 final in April 2016, with eight for his country and four for Yorkshire.He was rested for the T20 tri-series against Australia and New Zealand earlier this year and dropped for the deciding T20 against India in July.

Mitchell Johnson took 20 wickets at 22.75 for the Perth Scorchers

MITCHELL Johnson has called time on his Big Bash League career, with his manager hinting the extended length of this summer’s edition influenced the fast bowler’s decision. The eighth edition of the BBL will feature a full home-and-away season, meaning each team will play 14 matches before finals.“The intensity and length of the BBL is just too much for someone who will be 37 at the start of the summer,” Johnson’s manager, Sam Halvorsen, told The West Australian.The fourth greatest Test wicket-taker in Australian
history, Johnson is hoping to play in the inaugural United Arab Emirates Twenty20 League which only runs for 24 days – the BBL runs 60 days – with each of the five franchises to play eight games.“Mitch has put his name up for the Emirates tournament in Dubai, but that is half the length of the BBL,” Halvorsen said.The quick took 20 wickets at 22.75 runs apiece with an economy of 6.14 across his two seasons with the Perth Scorchers and was the team’s best bowler in their title winning BBL 06 campaign. He took 13 wickets at 15.46 that season, leaking only 5.91 runs an over. While he was not as dangerous last summer (seven wickets at 36.28), he was among the tournament’s most economic bowlers (6.35).

Mitchell Johnson announces retirement from Big Bash League

The former Australia seamer Mitchell Johnson on Wednesday announced his retirement from the Big Bash league. The left-arm seamer, who played for Perth Scorchers, will continue to ply his trade for other T20 leagues around the world, but will not participate in Australia’s T20 competition in the 2018-19 season. The bowler will be 37 when the season starts, and with all the team set to play 14 games for the first time in a full home-and-away season, he thinks it will be too much pressure on him at his age.
Speaking to The West Australian, Johnson’s manager Sam Halvorsen said, “The intensity and length of the BBL are just too much for someone who will be 37 at the start of the summer.” He further added that the former Australia international has put forth his name for the inaugural United Arab Emirates Twenty20 league, though.“Mitch has put his name up for the Emirates tournament in Dubai, but that is half the length of the BBL,” he said. It still remains unclear whether Johnson, who currently plays for Kolkata Knight Riders, will return to play in the Indian Premier League next year.In his Big Bash League career, Johnson has picked up 20 wickets in his kitty in 19 games at an economy rate of 6.15 with the figures of 3/3 in the 2016-17 semifinal as his best spell. Overall, he has played a total of 112 T20 matches in his career with 123 wickets to his name, at an average of 25.78.

Mitchell Johnson retires from Perth Scorchers and BBL en route to UAE

Mitchell Johnson’s Australian career is over.The veteran left-arm fast bowler told Perth Scorchers coach Adam Voges yesterday that he would no longer play in the Big Bash League and instead focus on shorter overseas tournaments.The 36-year-old played for the Scorchers for the past two seasons and had a profound impact in Perth’s win in 2016-17, with returns of 3-3 in the semifinal and 1-13 in the final. Johnson left the door open to continue playing after Perth lost their semi-final to Hobart at Optus Stadium this year,
but his manager Sam Halvorsen confirmed yesterday that the BBL’s expansion to 14 home-and-away games would be too onerous.He intends to play in the inaugural United Arab Emirates Twenty20 league in December and January.“The intensity and length of the BBL is just too much for someone who will be 37 at the start of the summer,” Halvorsen said.“Mitch has put his name up for the Emirates tournament in Dubai, but that is half the length of the BBL.”Five franchises will each play eight games over 24 days in the new UAE tournament.

Mitchell Johnson Quits 'Lengthy' Big Bash League

The high intensity and length of the Big Bash League (BBL) has forced Australia fast bowling great Mitchell Johnson to distance himself from it's further seasons, also raising questions about his further involvement with the Indian Premier League (IPL). Cricket Australia (CA) had recently announced a revamp of the BBL, switching it to a full home-and-away season with 14 games, plus the finals. Johnson, who will turn 37 this November,
however has stressed on his availability for other global Twenty20 competitions and is currently eyeing the 10-over tournament to be played in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)."The intensity and length of the BBL is just too much for someone who will be 37 at the start of the summer," Johnson's manager Sam Halvorsen was quoted as saying by The West Australian newspaper."Mitch has put his name up for the Emirates tournament in Dubai, but that is half the length of the BBL," he added.

Mitchell Johnson calls time on Big Bash League career

Mitchell Johnson, the former Australia paceman, announced his retirement from the Big Bash League, but stressed he would be available for other T20 competitions around the globe.Johnson, who played for Perth Scorchers, will be 37 by the time the 2018-19 BBL commences in December, with each team set to play 14 games for the first time in a full home-and-away season.Johnson cited this increased intensity as the reason behind his
decision. “The intensity and length of the BBL is just too much for someone who will be 37 at the start of the summer," Johnson's manager, Sam Halvorsen, told The West Australian.Johnson has put his name up for the inaugural United Arab Emirates Twenty20 league, though, and will also be vying for place in the T-10 league to be held in the UAE later this year.“Mitch has put his name up for the Emirates tournament in Dubai, but that is half the length of the BBL," Halvorsen added.