James Sutherland says the decision to play a Big Bash League match in Canberra lies with the clubs.

Dan Vettori, coach of the Brisbane Heat, Middlesex and the Royal Bangalore Challengers, is considered one of the bright young things in the bright young game. One of his philosophies is that cricketers are more likely to play the T20 game well when they feel slightly under-prepared.

She's on the verge of becoming the first Indigenous woman to play cricket for Australia in nearly 60 years.

Sydney Thunder will come with a minimum price tag of almost $400,000 in this month's IPL auction.

Australian Twenty20 representative Andrew Tye has praised the role the Big Bash League plays in developing the next crop of T20 stars.

• 32 mins ago

Controversial Melbourne Stars batsman Kevin Pietersen has been fined $5000 for comments made about an umpiring decision in his side's BBL semi-final loss to Perth.

West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell has been banned for one year following a doping whereabouts rule violation.

Aaron Finch will captain an Australian Twenty20 side against Sri Lanka missing several marquee names but one which selectors hope master blaster Chris Lynn will be fit for.

Kim Garth came to Australia to train with the Sixers three weeks ago and will leave with a WBBL medal.

Mitchell Johnson says he wouldn't be surprised if Australia played three spinners in India.

Perth Scorchers coach Justin Langer says he'll do everything he can to ensure veteran batsman Michael Klinger gets a long-awaited call-up into Australia's T20 squad.

As the sixth edition of the Big Bash came to a close on Saturday night, we named our team of the tournament.

The Sydney Sixers' Big Bash dream is over after a humiliating loss to Perth Scorchers at the WACA.

• Live

Follow our live match tracker for stats, commentary and more as Perth host Sydney in the finale of the Big Bash League.

• UPDATED

The Sydney Sixers are WBBL champions after prevailing over the Perth Scorchers at the WACA.

The football seasons just get longer and longer. Gentlemen of the game played in heaven, February is NOT winter. It's hot and humid – perfect cricket weather!

Perth's heat and a dry WACA surface could play into the hands of the visiting Sydney Sixers in Saturday's BBL final, according to spinner Johan Botha.

Australia's cricketers have praised Cricket Australia for helping to make the Big Bash League a success – at a time when they are fighting to retain the payment system they believe has underpinned the growth in the game.

Cricket ACT wants the Sydney Thunder to descend on Canberra for the next BBL.

Lessons learnt from last year's decider and a record-breaking semi-final win have the Sydney Sixers poised to claim their maiden Women's Big Bash title against Perth on Saturday.

Cricket Australia says more afternoon and twilight Big Bash League matches will be considered in an attempt to squeeze an extra eight games into the BBL season without it dragging it out too long.

Fit-again Perth Scorchers paceman Jason Behrendorff is looming as a shock inclusion for Saturday's Big Bash League final against the Sydney Sixers at the WACA Ground.

Nathan Lyon will be up against "big brother" Mitchell Johnson for the first time in the BBL final.

The Big Bash League has again been the biggest success story of the Australian summer but it is running into serious problems

DRS won't be introduced into the Big Bash any time soon, despite Johan Botha's controversial dismissal.

Ashleigh Gardner is on the verge of national selection after a superb Big Bash season.

Kevin Pietersen should be suspended for on-air comments criticising an umpiring decision during a BBL match, a former Test umpire says.

The Sydney Sixers have won a super over thriller to progress to Saturday's Big Bash final.

The Sixers' women have cruised into the women's Big Bash final after a thumping win over Hobart.

While David Hussey has retired from the Melbourne Stars, the former captain insists Kevin Pietersen is part of the "fabric" of the franchise and will remain a crucial cog in next summer's Big Bash League campaign.

• Live

Follow our live match tracker for stats, commentary and more as Brisbane host Sydney in a do-or-die semi final at the Gabba.

• UPDATED

Australian fast bowler Joe Mennie has been readmitted to hospital with a minor brain bleed after being struck on the side of the head at Sydney Sixers training on Monday.

Australian coach Darren Lehmann has launched into Kevin Pietersen, urging the Melbourne Stars to dump the maverick batsman after the Stars were beaten in Tuesday night's Big Bash League semi-final.

Mitchell Johnson produced one of the greatest bowling displays ever seen in BBL history to lead the Perth Scorchers to a seven-wicket victory over the Melbourne Stars in Tuesday night's semi-final at the WACA Ground.

• Live

Follow our live blog as the Scorchers host the Stars in a do-or-die semi-final in Perth.

The television ratings war has heated up with Channel Seven hitting out at suggestions Channel 10's Big Bash League dominated over the first week of the Australian Open.

• EXCLUSIVE

Exclusive: The trade period for the Big Bash League and Women's Big Bash League has been suspended as tensions rise between players and Cricket Australia over pay.

Marizanne Kapp and Dane Van Niekerk will both play for the Sixers women against the Hobart Hurricanes.

New Zealand import Colin Munro has expressed a strong desire to return to the Big Bash next season.

The futures of the Big Bash League's two oldest players, Brad Hodge and Brad Hogg, is unclear, despite strong seasons from the veteran pair.

Peter Siddle's absence from first-class cricket looks set to stretch beyond three months.

Cricket Australia must turn the new generation's passion for T20 into a love of Test cricket, says Shane Watson.

Cricket NSW chief Andrew Jones believes the Big Bash should play a round in south-east Asia.

The Melbourne Stars have dropped specialist wicketkeeper Sam Harper in the hope of profiting from greater firepower in their top order in Tuesday's Big Bash League semi-final.

Cricket Australia will release all-rounder Marcus Stoinis from the ODI squad in time for the Melbourne Stars' BBL semi-final on Tuesday.

Sarah Aley says the Sydney Sixers are strong enough to overcome Ellyse Perry's hamstring injury.

Melbourne Stars chief executive Clint Cooper has called for a Big Bash League symposium in a bid to find a solution to scheduling to allow Australia's international players more time in the burgeoning Twenty20 competition.

Melbourne Stars skipper David Hussey says national selectors should consider reborn slugger Bob Quiney for a surprise international call-up for next month's Twenty20 campaign against Sri Lanka.

Sydney Sixers paceman Sean Abbott is putting forward a compelling case for a recall to the Australian side after emerging as one of the players of this summer's Big Bash League.

Melbourne Stars captain David Hussey insists his struggling side will head to Perth for a Big Bash League semi-final on Tuesday with confidence despite losing their past two matches.

The weakened Melbourne Stars will head into this week's semi-final against the Perth Scorchers needing a burst of inspiration after dropping their final two regular season Big Bash League matches.

The Sydney Sixers have booked a ticket to Brisbane for the semi-finals after coming back from the brink of elimination to beat an undermanned Melbourne Stars at the MCG on Saturday night.

Ellyse Perry has suffered a hamstring injury that looks set to rule her out for the rest of the WBBL.

• Live

The Stars take on the Sydney Sixers at the MCG fighting for a finals spot and chance of a home semi-final.

Shaun Marsh has found form with the bat to help steer the Perth Scorchers to a home BBL semi-final with a seven-wicket win over the Hobart Hurricanes.

A boundary by Corrine Hall has secured the Hobart Hurricanes a narrow victory over the Melbourne Stars and a spot in the WBBL semi-finals.

"There's no formal system because it hasn't been an issue and we don't see it as being an issue any time soon."

Aaron Finch doubts Peter Nevill will be ready to return for the Melbourne Renegades if they happen to make next week's Big Bash League semi-finals.

The Melbourne Renegades have kept their Big Bash League finals hopes alive with a stunning one-run win over the Brisbane Heat.

The Sydney Sixers women will likely be playing finals away from home despite heading for a top-two finish.

• Live

It's do or die for the Renegades as they travel to the Gabba to face the Heat.

Kevin Pietersen has taken aim at Cricket Australia, claiming it has reneged on a promise to free allrounder Marcus Stoinis from international duty for Saturday night's pivotal Big Bash League clash against the Sydney Sixers.

Adelaide Strikers batsman Jono Dean will return to ACT cricket in the coming weeks after Big Bash campaign.

The Sixers head to Melbourne knowing a win against the Stars will secure their place in the BBL finals.

ACT Comets regular Andrew Harriott will go from selling BBL clothes to wearing them on Friday night.

Emma Kearney isn't sure she'll get much sleep on Friday night but says that won't matter if her Melbourne Stars can clinch a place in the Women's Big Bash League finals.

He was dressed like he'd been plucked from "C-Grade club cricket", but Seb Gotch has showed he has what it takes to make it in the professional game.

The Sydney Thunder have crashed out of Big Bash finals contention after a heavy loss to Adelaide.

Confusion reigned supreme for the Sydney Sixers after their super-over WBBL defeat to the Thunder.

Banishing suggestions of "doom and gloom", the Melbourne Stars are cautiously hopeful of being boosted by the return of one of their international representatives for Saturday night's season-defining Big Bash League clash against the Sydney Sixers at the MCG.

• Live

Follow our live match tracker as the Thunder host Adelaide at Spotless Stadium.

The Melbourne Renegades will need to combat a Brisbane Heat side determined to rubber-stamp a home Big Bash League semi-final when they clash at the Gabba on Friday night.

This wasn't the script the Melbourne Stars expected from this contest between the competition's top two franchises.

• Live

Follow the action as Brisbane travel to Melbourne to face the Stars at the MCG.

Former Test wicketkeeper Peter Nevill will return to Sydney for further scans to determine the nature of Monday night's freak injury.

Cricket Australia has approved the use of a green bat by the Thunder's West Indian import Carlos Brathwaite.

• UPDATED

Wicketkeeper Peter Nevill suffered a bizarre facial injury as his Melbourne Renegades downed the Adelaide Strikers by six runs.

• Live

It'll be all over for the losers as the Strikers host the Renegades.

Melbourne Stars veteran Luke Wright insists complacency won't be an issue in Tuesday night's top-of-the-table clash against a weakened Brisbane Heat.

A pair of streakers who interrupted a Big Bash League match at the Sydney Cricket Ground are facing fines of up to $5500 after being charged over the nudie run.

The Melbourne Stars surged into top spot on the BBL ladder with a crushing seven-wicket win over the Perth Scorchers at the WACA Ground on Saturday night.

The Thunder are threatening to steal the Sixers' place in the top four after an eight-wicket derby win over their Sydney rivals on Saturday night blew the Big Bash finals race wide open.

Channel Ten delayed the start of their 5pm news to take in the closest finish in Big Bash history, with 17,346 fans crammed into the SCG by the time the game finished.

Fresh for a loss to the Perth Scorchers while missing their star batsman Chris Lynn to international duty, the Brisbane Heat were left fuming after captain Brendan McCullum was suspended for a slow over-rate.

Cricket Australia has made a rod for its own back with the current programming, an evolutionary rather than revolutionary schedule that Charles Darwin may have described.

It may be the hottest sporting league in the country, but the Big Bash has no immediate plans to expand from its current eight-team format.

The Big Bash League has grown from a domestic competition into an international phenomenon.

The Thunder are focusing on cricket and not the Sixers' rivalry ahead of Saturday's Sydney Smash.

The Melbourne Stars have the opportunity of claiming a firm grip on a top-four spot on Saturday but they will need to combat a rejuvenated Mitchell Johnson declaring his thirst for the sport has returned.

Like any binge television viewing, the Big Bash League moves too fast for analysis of one particular match. Themes can, however, emerge from the continuum, and here's a report card of the BBL06 season so far.

Melburnians head to Adelaide Oval in need of a "miracle" and facing the harsh reality they are on the cusp of missing the Big Bash League finals for the fourth-straight year.

West Indian superstar Hayley Matthews is in town as the Hobart Hurricanes take on the Sydney Sixers.

Batting dynamo Ben McDermott labelled his match-winning innings the best of his young life as he guided the Hobart Hurricanes to a record-breaking run chase against the Melbourne Renegades on Thursday night.

Brisbane Heat will not appeal skipper Brendon McCullum's one-match suspension for the Big Bash League team's slow over rate.

• Live

Follow our live match tracker as Melbourne host Hobart at Etihad Stadium.

Finals are looming in the sixth edition of the Big Bash League. Here's a look at what each team must do to qualify for post-season action.

Brisbane's Big Bash League title aspirations have been dealt a massive blow, with captain Brendon McCullum facing a potential one-game suspension after their 27-run loss to Perth on Wednesday.

The Melbourne Renegades have made two changes to their 13-man squad ahead of a crucial clash with the Hobart Hurricanes at Etihad Stadium on Thursday night.