Winter Watch (w/e 25th Nov) T10 League well underway while Sussex women suffer WT20 despair

Sussex duo Danni Wyatt and Linsey Simith suffered heartbreak in the World T20 final on Saturday night after Australia beat them by eight wickets in Antigua. 

Having won the toss, England opted to bat first but on a slow surface, runs were hard to come by and the wickets tumbled around opener Wyatt. 

The Sussex star stood firm, scoring 43 off 37 balls, but her teammates struggled to get going against the Aussie bowling attack, with captain Heather Knight the only other English batter to reach double figures. 

England eventually limped to 105 all out, and in just over 15 overs, Australia reached their target to claim their fourth T20 title in five editions. 

Earlier in the week, Wyatt had helped England into the final with a convincing win over India. Her excellent fielding saw Radha Yadav directly run out, before Amy Jones and Nat Sciver saw their side home with eight wickets to spare. 

A direct hit from @Danni_Wyatt to run out Radha Yadav was voted the @Nissan Play of the Day from the @WorldT20 semi-finals! 👏

Check out the candidates from tonight's final following the match at https://t.co/omsDy28GGv!#WT20 #WatchThis pic.twitter.com/cISwkYf255

— ICC (@ICC) November 24, 2018

Danny Briggs was also in international action this week, representing England Lions against Pakistan A in Abu Dhabi. 

Across the four-day match, Briggs bowled 23 overs, and despite not taking a wicket, ended on solid figures of 53. He also scored 21 in the Lions' second innings, but couldn't prevent his side from falling to defeat.  

Abid Ali and Usman Salahuddin masterminded the impressive Pakistan run-chase, after being set a daunting 312 to win. Ali's excellent knock of 113 in the second innings was dovetailed by Salahuddin's important 77, as their side won by four wickets. 

The second ever T10 League started on Wednesday, with a number of Sussex players part of the tournament. Luke Wright, Chris Jordan, Phil Salt and Rashid Khan are all involved, but the first Sharks to play were Tymal Mills and Laurie Evans, for Rajputs, against Jofra Archer's Sindhis. 

The Sindhis were put into bat first, and ended their 10 overs 94-6, with Archer unbeaten on four, but were completely blown away by Mohammad Shahzad in the second innings. Mills and Evans could only watch on as their teammate smashed 74 off just 16 balls to secure Rajputs their first win of the competition. 

Archer was in T10 action the following day, and his side got off the mark with a win against Chris Gayle's Kerala Knights. The Sussex star bowled his two overs excellently, going for just six runs, before a 50 from Sindhis captain Shane Watson secured the victory by nine wickets.

Luke Wright's Bengal Tigers were in action straight after Archer and the Sindhis, and they were also comfortable winners, beating Northern Warriors by 36 runs. 

Batting further down the order than usual, Wright wasn't required at the crease as Jason Roy raced to 60 off 29 balls. The Warriors were eventually set 131 to win, but could only reach 94-7 in their 10 overs. 

Chris Jordan and Rashid Khan were the next Sharks in action on Thursday, facing up against each other as Jordan's Punjabi Legends took on Khan's Maratha Arabians. 

The Legends batted first, and Jordan impressed by scoring 19 off just seven balls as his side finished 121-6, before his skill with the ball shone through. 

In just 1.2 overs, the Sussex man was on fire and took 4-6 as the Arabians crumbled in their pursuit of 122. They became the first ever T10 side to be bowled out, falling 43 runs short of their target. 

🤯 @CJordan produced some magic in the @T10League last night, taking 4-6 from just eight balls!

(🎥 via SA Official) pic.twitter.com/SofR8Am7Aq

— Sussex Cricket (@SussexCCC) November 23, 2018

Mills and Evans were back in action with Rajputs on Friday, but couldn't prevent their side from falling to a narrow defeat with just two balls remaining. 

With two fours and two sixes, Evans impressed to score 27 off 19 and help the Rajputs set Pakhtoons 122 to win. 

Mills dismissed opener Cameron Delport to get his side off to the perfect start, but from then on, the wickets were hard to come by and with two balls remaining, Andre Fletcher saw Pakhtoons home. 

Khan and Wright came up against each other when the Maratha Arabians put the Bengal Tigers into bat, with Wright opening the batting alongside Roy. A spectacular Alex Hales catch meant the Sharks captain could only score three, before Khan dismissed Mohammad Nabi for 16 to leave the Tigers 91-7 at the end of their 10 overs. 

Hazratullah Zazai led the Arabians' reply, thumping 76 off 35 balls to put his side on the brink of victory, before Khan came in at number three to seal victory with the winning run. 

Jordan's Punjabi Legends side suffered their first taste of defeat in this year's T10 league, losing by 99 runs to the Northern Warriors. Jordan couldn't find the breakthrough during his two overs, as an excellent 77 from Nicholas Pooran steered the Warriors to the win. 

On Saturday, Archer took two wickets during in a thrilling match between Sindhis and Pakhtoons. In what was the highest scoring encounter of the tournament, Pakhtoons set Archer's team 138 to win after the Sussex fast-bowler dismissed Colin Ingram and Shafiqullah. 

It was a daunting target for the Sindhis, but one they threatened to chase thanks to Shane Watson's quickfire 29 and Thisara Perera's 49. Archer finished 6*, but his side fell nine runs short of victory. 

In another battle between to Sussex Sharks, Luke Wright came out on top as the Bengal Tigers conquered Chris Jordan and the Punjabi Legends. 

The Legends were put into bat first, but could only manage 77 from their 10 overs. In reply, Roy was dismissed by Jordan, before Wright came to the crease to score 23 off 13. Eventually, the Tigers won by six wickets with four overs remaining. 

Evans scored more runs on Sunday for Rajputs, reaching 38* off 19 balls. Rain meant the match was abandoned, but Rajputs have done enough to secure their spot in the second round of the competition. 

💪 38* for our man @LaurieEvans32 as @RajputsT10 reach the second round of the @T10League! pic.twitter.com/Nsq75WzZHy

— Sussex Cricket (@SussexCCC) November 25, 2018

Group leaders Northern Warriors claimed another victory, this time at the expense of Rashid Khan and the Arabians. Our man Khan dismissed Nicholas Pooran, but the Warriors remained in control to win by eight wickets. 

Over in Australia, wet weather meant George Garton, for Monash Tigers and Luke Wells, for Casey-South Melbourne were unable to play any cricket. Despite the wash-out, Wells is loving his time in Australia.

In an interview with the local Melbourne press, the batsman said: “It’s a great club, Casey, and there is a lot of caring people, and I really feel like everyone cares about the club, whether it’s from the fourths to the ones, and everyone in between. It feels like a family club." 

Read the full interview with Luke here. 

Finally, in South Africa, David Wiese made his Mzansi Super League debut for Paarl Rocks against Cape Town Blitz. The Rocks put their opponents into bat first, with Wiese claiming the wicket of Claude Linde, before his side reached their target of 141 inside 19 overs to get their campaign off to a winning start.