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Melbourne Stars 219 for 5 (Maxwell 76*, Webster 51, Stoinis 32, Chaudhary 1-37) beat Hobart Hurricanes 179 (Ellis 40, Owen 38, Steketee 4-24, Usama 2-31) by 40 runs
Stars needed a win to leapfrog Perth Scorchers into fourth place and qualify for the finals. They took care of business against a Hurricanes team with little to play for.
After a woeful start to the season with five straight defeats, Stars have gained significant momentum with five straight wins to book a knockout final against Sydney Thunder at the Showgrounds.
The match was essentially a tune-up for Hurricanes, who had already locked up top spot and a home final in the Qualifier against Sydney Sixers.
Maxwell ignites again after Webster's half-century
All eyes were on Maxwell. But the big crowd at the MCG had to wait for their hero as openers Sam Harper and Thomas Rogers laid a solid platform.
Stars have badly struggled at the top of the order with Harper particularly out of form. But they peeled off 19 runs in the first two overs in the best opening stand of the season for Stars.
Having ended a run of five straight single digit scores, Harper could not go on with it after he was trapped lbw by the spin of Nikhil Chaudhary.
Maxwell, fresh off his extraordinary 90 against Renegades, started fast and smashed Chaudhary down the ground for six on his fourth delivery. His presence had a profound effect on Webster, who shook from his slumber to put the foot down.
Webster hogged the strike, but didn't cop the wrath of Maxwell's legion of fans as he powered to his half-century with a six down the ground.
Maxwell took over after Webster's dismissal and had the crowd in the palm of his hands when he got under a slower short delivery from left-arm quick Marcus Bean and with a flick of the wrists whacked it over fine leg.
He was unstoppable at the death, clubbing a six off quick Cameron Gannon to reach his half-century and then smashing two more into the crowd as Stars powered past 200.
Hurricanes experiment with their attack
With little to play for, Hurricanes decided to play it safe. Spearhead Riley Meredith did not play while Nathan Ellis only bowled one over with Ben McDermott on the Fox Sports broadcast saying he was managing a sore groin.
Ellis used the match to experiment and seven bowlers were used. Tim David's handy offspin opened the bowling, while Chris Jordan bowled in the backend in his return from a back injury but struggled amid Maxwell's onslaught.
With injured quick Billy Stanlake to miss the finals, his position is up for grabs and seemingly a race between Bean and Gannon, freshly signed as Stanlake's replacement.
Bean, plucked out of Tasmanian club cricket, impressed in his professional debut against Brisbane Heat at the Gabba. Sporting a change of hair colour, from gold to silver, Bean enjoyed the wicket of Stoinis with an awkward delivery that climbed and hurried the batter.
But he suffered in the backend and so too did Gannon, who was playing in the BBL for the first time in three years. He's been in outstanding Sheffield Shield form, but Gannon struggled with his lengths to finish with 0 for 48 off 4 overs. Bean took 1 for 45 off his 4.
Hurricanes were also extremely sloppy in the field to cap a forgettable performance.
Steketee continues strong form
Steketee struck again two balls alter when Charlie Wakim drove straight to backward point. He trapped McDermott lbw in his next over before claiming Ellis at the end to finish with 4 for 24 off 3.3 overs.
Owen unleashes early but in vain
He also took a liking to veteran quick Peter Siddle with several mighty blows, unleashing his considerable power, to motor to 34 off 10 balls. But he slowed down slightly before holing out on 38 as Hurricanes' slim chances effectively ended.
Ellis top-scored with a rapid 40 at the end until he holed out to - quite fittingly - Maxwell, who pumped his fist to the jubilant fans knowing Stars' season will continue.
Tristan Lavalette is a journalist based in Perth
'RIP TikTok': Gauff hopes app ban is short-lived
MELBOURNE, Australia -- American tennis star Coco Gauff mourned the loss of TikTok's app back home, writing on a TV camera lens "RIP TikTok USA" and drawing a broken heart right after winning a match at the Australian Open to reach the quarterfinals.
Gauff's 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 victory over Belinda Bencic in the Grand Slam tournament's main stadium finished on Sunday afternoon local time in Melbourne -- about an hour after TikTok could no longer be found on prominent app stores on Saturday in the United States.
The TikTok website told users that the short-form social media video platform was no longer available. The blackout began just hours before a federal ban on TikTok took effect.
Gauff, who has more than 750,000 followers on TikTok, said Sunday that she would probably have more time to pursue other interests with the app inaccessible on her phone in Melbourne.
"I could not access it after my match. I honestly thought I would be able to get away with it because I was in Australia," Gauff said at her news conference. "Hopefully it comes back. ... It's really sad. I've been on the app since it was called Musical.ly. I love TikTok. It's like an escape. I honestly do that before matches. I guess it will force me to read books more -- be more of a productive human, probably. Maybe it's a blessing in disguise."
Tennis players at many tournaments often are handed a pen after a win so they can deliver whatever thoughts they want via the lens of a courtside camera. In this case, Gauff paused a bit to think and said, "I think I'm going to go with this one," before offering her TikTok message in blue ink.
At the French Open in June 2022, after reaching her first Grand Slam final as a teenager, Gauff referred to a recent spate of mass shootings in the U.S. at the time and wrote in marker: "Peace. End gun violence."
Now 20, Gauff is one of the top players in her sport. She won the 2023 US Open and is currently ranked No. 3.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said he would "most likely" give TikTok a 90-day reprieve from the ban after taking office Monday.
Users opening the TikTok app on Saturday encountered a pop-up message preventing them from scrolling videos that read, "Sorry, TikTok isn't available right now."
"A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S.," the message said. "Unfortunately that means you can't use TikTok for now. We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office."
TikTok also told its users to stay tuned. Gauff added Sunday that she had a feeling TikTok would somehow come back.
Defending Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka, who lives in Miami and is a huge TikTok fan, said she also is hoping for a quick resolution.
The Belarusian has over 500,000 followers on TikTok and recreated one of her viral dance videos with fans on Rod Laver Arena after her opening-round victory a week ago.
"This isn't something we can control and I hope they're going to figure it out, because I love TikTok," she said.
Gauff frequently has posted on TikTok, often mimicking popular trends.
"I feel this is the third or fourth time this has happened. This time it's just like, 'Whatever.' If I wake up and it doesn't work, fine. I'm done wasting my time figuring it out," Gauff said earlier during the Australian Open. "I see there's a new app called RedNote that a lot of people are migrating over to. So I feel, regardless, people are going to be fine because people are always going to migrate to another app."
She added that she hoped TikTok would survive, calling it "a great thing for a lot of small businesses in our country, and a lot of creators make money on it and have the chance to spread stories. Personally, me, a lot of great stories I've heard are from TikTok and connecting with people has been (through) TikTok. I hope it will stay, (but) obviously I don't know all the security issues and things like that."
In Washington, lawmakers and administration officials have long raised concerns about the app, which they see as a national security threat due to its Chinese ownership. TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a technology company based in Beijing that operates the well-known video editing app CapCut and Lemon8, both of which were also unavailable for service Saturday evening.
The federal law required ByteDance to cut ties with TikTok by Sunday or face a nationwide ban. The statute was passed by Congress in April after it was included as part of a high-priority $95 billion package that provided foreign aid to Ukraine and Israel. President Joe Biden quickly signed it, and then TikTok and ByteDance quickly sued on First Amendment grounds.
While defending the law in court, the Biden administration argued it was concerned about TikTok collecting vast swaths of U.S. user data that could fall into the hands of the Chinese government through coercion.
Officials have also warned the algorithm that fuels what users see on the app is vulnerable to manipulation by Chinese authorities, who can use it to shape content on the platform in a way that's difficult to detect. But to date, the U.S. has not publicly provided evidence of TikTok handing user data to Chinese authorities or tinkering with its algorithm to benefit Chinese interests.
The Supreme Court unanimously decided on Friday the risk to national security posed by TikTok's ties to China overcomes concerns about limiting speech by the app or its 170 million users in the United States.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Medvedev heavily fined for Australian Open behaviour
Daniil Medvedev has been fined over 60,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct following his behaviour at the Australian Open.
The Russian fifth seed destroyed a net camera by furiously smashing his racquet into it during a five-set first-round win against world number 418 Kasidit Samrej.
He then incurred a point penalty during his second-round defeat by American teenager Learner Tien after throwing his racquet, before failing to attend a mandatory post-match news conference.
Medvedev collected 200,000 Australian dollars (102,000) for reaching the second round at Melbourne Park.
However, he will be required to pay fines totalling 76,000 US dollars (62,400) after overstepping the mark with his behaviour.
The 28-year-old reached the final in Australia last year but the surprising defeat this time by Tien, 19, marked his earliest exit at a Grand Slam since a first-round loss at the 2023 French Open.
Britain's Jack Draper has also been fined 4,000 US dollars (3,287) for smashing his racquet during his third-round win over Aleksandar Vukic.
Coco Gauff fought from a set down to beat Belinda Bencic and join defending champion Aryna Sabalenka in the Australian Open quarter-finals.
The American third seed was not at her best but outlasted Switzerland's Bencic 5-7 6-2 6-1.
Earlier, Sabalenka breezed past Russian 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva in a 6-1 6-2 victory.
Gauff's victory in 34 degree heat - the hottest day of the tournament so far - extended the 20-year-old's winning run to 11 matches.
"Maybe a couple of years ago, if I lost the first set I might lose the match, and I remember my dad said 'we've got to toughen you up'," said Gauff.
"I was just trying to put myself in the position where I could leave the court and feel proud of myself."
Belarusian top seed Sabalenka, 26, meanwhile, remains on course for a third straight Australian Open title after wrapping up her win over Andreeva in just 62 minutes on Rod Laver Arena.
It was the two-time champion's 18th win in a row at Melbourne Park, and sets up a quarter-final against another Russian, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Pavlyuchenkova beat Croatia's Donna Vekic 7-6 (7-0) 6-0 in the fourth round earlier on Sunday.
Gauff will play 11th seed Paula Badosa in the last eight after the Spaniard defeated Serbia's Olga Danilovic 6-1 7-6 (7-2).
Should they both win their quarter-finals, Sabalenka and Gauff will meet in the semi-finals.
Ailing Draper abandons Alcaraz match as Melbourne run ends
British number one Jack Draper ran out of steam at the Australian Open as he retired injured against Spanish third seed Carlos Alcaraz in the fourth round.
Draper, seeded 15th, called a halt to the match when trailing 7-5 6-1 against four-time major champion Alcaraz on a hot day in Melbourne.
The 23-year-old left-hander, who came into the tournament with a hip injury, needed treatment off the court after the first set before abandoning the contest when the second quickly slipped away.
He held both hands up to the crowd by way of an apology before going off Rod Laver Arena to a warm ovation.
Draper, who came through three gruelling five-set matches to reach the fourth round, was the only Briton to reach the last 16 of the men's or women's singles.
"After how much I have played, I didn't pull up amazingly well," said Draper.
Before this Australian Open campaign, he had not played competitively since the end of October.
"I was really, really sore after I played my last match because I have been managing this hip thing," Draper said.
"I wasn't expecting to come this far in all honesty. With all the hours I have played, it has been a bit too much on my body."
Alcaraz, 21, was far from his best during their contest but continues his bid to become the youngest man in the Open era to complete the career Grand Slam.
The reigning back-to-back Wimbledon champion, who also won the 2022 US Open and 2024 French Open, could face Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals.
Serbia's Djokovic, aiming for a record-extending 11th men's singles title in Australia, plays Czech Jiri Lehecka later on Sunday.
Transfer rumors, news: Al Hilal eye Salah, Rodrygo to replace Neymar
Al Hilal have identified Liverpool's Mohamed Salah and Real Madrid's Rodrygo as possible replacements for Neymar, while Manchester United are reportedly ahead of Manchester City in the race to sign Nuno Mendes. Join us for the latest transfer news, rumors and gossip from around the globe.
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- Arsenal's Mikel Arteta rues Liverpool depth after draw
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TRENDING RUMORS
- Saudi Pro League heavyweights Al Hilal want Liverpool's Mohamed Salah or Real Madrid's Rodrygo to replace Neymar, reports Rudy Galetti. This comes just days after Al-Za'eem head coach Jorge Jesus hinted that Neymar was on his way out of the club, with ESPN sources confirming that the 32-year-old Brazil star is in preliminary talks with three MLS sides -- including Chicago Fire FC -- over a proposed move. Salah is out of contract with Liverpool in June, while Rodrygo has been fighting for first-team minutes at Madrid since Kylian Mbappé joined the club last summer.
- Manchester United are leading rivals Manchester City in a race to sign Paris Saint-Germain left-back Nuno Mendes, according to Football Insider. The 22-year-old has long been seen as a priority for the Red Devils as a solution for their troublesome left-back spot, while City have earmarked Mendes as a potential cornerstone of their looming squad rebuild. Regardless, both clubs may need to continue their searches as L'Équipe says the Portugal international sees himself staying with the French capital club for the foreseeable future and wants to sign a new deal.
- Manchester City want to sign FC Porto goalkeeper Diogo Costa as a replacement for Ederson in the summer, according to Football Transfers. Talks are already underway with a summer deal for the 25-year-old quickly gaining momentum. Ederson has been the topic of strong interest and tempting financial offers from Saudi Arabia.
- In addition to pursuing Manchester City right-back Kyle Walker, Rudy Galetti reports that AC Milan also want to bring in a new midfielder this January. The Rossoneri are evaluating a long list of names and have asked Juventus for fresh information on Nicolo Fagioli as the 23-year-old could be available.
- Internazionale are carefully monitoring Bologna duo Sam Beukema and Santiago Castro, says Calciomercato. Juventus have previously been mentioned regarding Beukema and there is a possibility that they could make a move for the 26-year-old in the summer, while there is growing interest in Castro from elsewhere. Centre-back Beukema has been rated at 25 million, while striker Castro won't be allowed to leave the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara for less than 30m.
- Lens are interested in a January move for Bayern Munich goalkeeper Daniel Peretz and have already submitted a formal offer to the Bundesliga club, reports Sky Sports Deutschland, which adds that the 24-year-old currently intends to stay put. Meanwhile, Bayern are in negotiations to sign Jonas Urbig from FC Cologne this window, but an agreement has not yet been reached.
Pakistan 230 (Shakeel 84, Rizwan 71, Seales 3-27) and 157 (Masood 52, Warrican 7-32) beat West Indies 137 (Warrican 31*, Noman 5-39, Sajid 4-65) and 123 (Athanaze 55, Sajid 5-50, Abrar 4-27) by 127 runs
West Indies had about 15 overs to face before lunch, and Pakistan just about made victory safe in this time. The visitors began with positive intent, having realised that poking and prodding would get them nowhere. It saw them through the first four overs, but as Sajid said yesterday, the strategy was to attack with the ball and defend with the field. Brathwaite employed the slog sweep to good effect so Pakistan had a fielder at deep midwicket, and it was him that the opener picked out to give Pakistan their first breakthrough.
But the momentum shifted once more when Shan Masood turned to Abrar Ahmed. The slightly different challenge his legspin poses saw a beauty to dismiss Imlach, the ball drifting in and ripping away to take his outside edge. He would also break the next partnership, thanks to some variable bounce and a splendid diving catch at first slip from Salman Agha, before Agha took the regulation catch the following ball to send Gudakesh Motie on his way.
By now, West Indies' resistance had been completely broken. Athanaze missed a straight one from Sajid to leave Pakistan one away, and Abrar put a bow on proceedings as the shot West Indies played often to try to cope on this surface - the high-risk reverse sweep - carried onto the stumps.
Kamran Ghulam had hung around until then, but some extra turn from Warrican drew his outside edge to give Warrican his first five-wicket haul in Test cricket. West Indies began to burrow into the tail as Warrican grew in confidence. He varied his pace to trap Noman in front of the stumps as he tried a reverse sweep, before making it seven when Sajid miscued a slog and got an edge to backward point.
The ninth wicket did not register directly in Warrican's account, but it may as well have. Agha prodded one to him on the off side and hared off for a single, but Warrican picked up cleanly and hit the stumps direct, catching Khurram Shahzad well out of his crease. The innings wrapped up when Agha tried to go over the top against Motie, only to find long-off, and Pakistan were all out for 157.
On a surface like this, and with the spinners Pakistan have, though, it was still, by some distance, more than enough.
Smith hit by elbow injury scare ahead of Sri Lanka Tests
England to go spin heavy while Alana King presses for T20 recall
"They've played in our T20 team pretty much for the last couple of years altogether," Knight said of the spin trio. "They've been a real strength of ours, those three bowlers, the different attributes they bring, the different types of spin, and the different roles that they play.
"Sarah will definitely come in. She's one of the best spinners in the world. She's been outstanding for us, particularly in those middle overs, taking wickets and then really squeezing oppositions. It's been a big part of our tactics against opposition teams."
Australia are confident they have the batting order to counter whatever England throw at them, having taken Ecclestone for her second-most expensive ODI figures in Hobart
Australia will retain the Ashes with victory in Sydney, but this is their first T20I since they exited last year's World Cup in the semi-final against South Africa. And, while Georgia Voll's inclusion in the squad is the only change in personnel, there remain questions to be answered about how they line-up.
"I think I would be surprised [if King wasn't selected]," Knight said. "We're probably expecting a couple of leggies. They've obviously had some success against us in the series, but we'll have to see who lines up tomorrow."
Sophie Molineux, who played in the recent World Cup, is injured so there is an opening for King with the selectors having moved on from Jess Jonassen. King was also the joint-leading wicket-taker in this season's WBBL with Perth Scorchers, claiming 20 at 13.30.
"I think she'd make a massive impact, but, equally, you saw Georgia Wareham, her impact [when] she came in the other game," Litchfield said. "Those two have been bowling amazingly well in T20 cricket for long periods of time and Georgia Wareham's probably had the luck of the green being selected, but they offer so much individually and you'd love to put them both in the side, but unfortunately there's probably not much room so it's a tough choice because they're so good."
The other interest around Australia is how they structure their batting order after the T20 World Cup where a failed experiment with Wareham at No. 3 found the likes of Litchfield and Annabel Sutherland having very few deliveries to make an impact.
"Our batting order is just ridiculous," Litchfield said. "I'm pretty excited for our team to unleash the shackles tomorrow. I really enjoy it in the middle order. I think you look at the likes of Ellyse Perry, Tahlia McGrath, Ash Gardner, they're striking the ball really well at the moment. Probably better than I am. So full trust in them.
"I think the situation [in the World Cup] was always quite tough, the slow wickets. If you give me an extra 20 balls, I probably won't strike at 160. So I think the way I came in and the position that we were in forced me to do that. But in every game of T20 cricket, I'm trying to play the same way and try to score as many runs off as little balls as possible."
Australia (possible): 1 Alyssa Healy (capt & wk), 2 Beth Mooney, 3 Ellyse Perry, 4 Ash Gardner, 5 Phoebe Litchfield, 6 Tahlia McGrath, 7 Annabel Sutherland, 8 Georgia Wareham, 9 Alana King, 10 Darcie Brown, 11 Megan Schutt
England (possible): 1 Maia Bouchier, 2 Danni Wyatt-Hodge, 3 Sophia Dunkley, 4 Nat Sciver-Brunt, 5 Heather Knight (capt), 6 Amy Jones (wk), 7 Freya Kemp, 8 Charlie Dean, 9 Sophie Ecclestone, 10 Sarah Glenn, 11 Lauren Bell
Andrew McGlashan is a deputy editor at ESPNcricinfo
'It hurts': Campbell, Lions see magical year end
DETROIT -- It was a somber scene inside the Detroit Lions locker room Saturday night as players left Ford Field disappointed.
After a magical regular-season run, the top-seeded Lions suffered a 45-31 upset loss to the Washington Commanders behind a five-turnover performance in the NFC divisional round matchup.
Coach Dan Campbell got emotional afterward while trying to discuss what the record-setting 15-win season and the players meant to him following the Lions' playoff elimination.
It was difficult for him to put the loss into words. The Lions became the first team in NFL history to lose a playoff game when having 300-plus pass and 200-plus rushing yards.
"We just didn't play great, and I mentioned we didn't complement each other and that's the same thing. At the end of the day, I didn't have them ready," Campbell said. "It's hard to look at it."
After Lions All-Pro receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown completed his postgame interviews, veteran quarterback Jared Goff sat beside him at his locker before putting his face in his hands.
Goff also received a hug from safety Kerby Joseph. His teammates supported him after a tough game where he threw three interceptions and lost a fumble. He finished 23-for-40 for 313 yards with a touchdown, but also briefly exited the game in the second quarter to be evaluated for a concussion after absorbing a big hit during Commanders safety Quan Martin's pick-six.
"I'm still kind of processing this. I'm going to have some hard nights coming up unfortunately. It's hard. I wish I could give you guys a better answer right now," Goff said. "It's disappointing. It's hard. We had everything we wanted. Home field advantage, the fans were incredible and unfortunately, we just let it slip out of our hands."
In a back-and-forth first-half battle, the Lions trailed by 10 at halftime. With 52 points combined, it matched the highest scoring first half in any game since the 2019 divisional playoffs between the Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans, according to ESPN Research.
Campbell described the beginning of the game as being "odd" as the Lions struggled to find a groove. On the defense's second play, starting cornerback Amik Robertson left the contest and wouldn't return after breaking his arm. He will undergo surgery Sunday, according to Campbell.
Robertson joined a long line of injuries, notably on defense, as Detroit was playing with 16 players on the injured reserve list. Still, Campbell refused to make any excuses and said the loss didn't hurt any extra, based upon their No. 1 seeding.
"No. It just hurts to lose, man, and I don't care if you're the seven seed, six seed, five seed, one seed, because I've lost at all of them damn near and it stings," Campbell said. "And it hurts ... it hurts."
After missing the past three regular-season games with an MCL injury, running back David Montgomery returned with seven carries for 28 yards. However, Detroit's other running back, Jahmyr Gibbs, continued to establish himself as a bona fide star with two touchdowns. Gibbs' 22 scrimmage touchdowns this season tied NFL great Gale Sayers (1965) for the most in a season by a player 22 years old or younger.
The Lions led the league in scoring (33.2 points per game) during the regular season. They won the NFC North for the second year in a row.
Detroit also captured every road game for the first time in a season while winning 11 straight contests, but as great a campaign it was for the organization, it was too soon for Campbell to reflect on those achievements following the crushing defeat to the Commanders.
"No. I just think it's just not the time, man. It's hard when you lose, and you lose these games, man," Campbell said as he fought back tears. "It's like the players, what they put into it. A lot of people don't know what they go through. You have to get up, body's beat to s---, mentally stay locked in and do those things, so long season."
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