Brisbane Heat have kept their finals hopes alive with a convincing win over the hapless Sydney Thunder

Two days shy of his 38th birthday, Brad Hodge put on a batting master-class to help the Melbourne Stars to a crucial win over the Adelaide Strikers

The Big Bash League's marquee player Shane Warne will miss the Melbourne Stars clash with the Adelaide Strikers after travelling to the UK for Christmas

The first half of the BBL has been lukewarm, but it has been good enough to inspire poetry

The Sixers, the defending BBL champions and the recent Champions League winners, were humbled by the Strikers to the tune of 9 wickets at the Adelaide Oval

A half-century from Ricky Ponting and a hat-trick from Xavier Doherty helped the Hobart Hurricanes to a comfortable 30-run win over the Sydney Thunder

Brisbane Heat coach Darren Lehmann has been charged with breaching Cricket Australia's Code of Behaviour when he questioned the legitimacy of Marlon Samuels' bowling action

A captivating partnership between Brad Hodge and Glenn Maxwell, and effective bowling helped the Stars claim an important 21-run win against the Sixers at the MCG

Melbourne Renegades, unfashionable and unfancied before the tournament began, won their third straight game, beating Hobart Hurricanes by seven wickets at Docklands Stadium

Nathan Coulter-Nile's incredible power hitting inspired the Perth Scorchers to victory over the Brisbane Heat in a rain affected match at the Gabba

The appearance of Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels created a great buzz and expectation around the cavernous ANZ Stadium but the match was as lacklustre as the crowd, as the Renegades relegated the Thunder to their second loss

BBL officials were forced to clarify the match result from Wednesday night's clash after confusion clouded the Melbourne Stars 10-wicket win.

Perth Scorchers were thrashed by Melbourne Stars in one of the most bizarre games of cricket ever witnessed in Australia

Phillips Hughes hit an attacking 74 to set up a successful chase after Adelaide's spinners tied down the Scorchers

Aaron Finch stole the show at the BBL season opener, with an audacious century that lead his unfancied Renegades to a comfortable eight-wicket win over the Stars

Back after the rousing success of season one, the stakes for BBL two are higher still

A four hour plane flight, 2600km travelled, three days off. The journey from the Adelaide Oval to the WACA could not provide a starker contrast for the players

Asghar Stanikzai and Mohammad Nabi played spirited innings but four wickets for Mitchell Starc helped ensure victory for Australia

Why did Cricket Australia dump their state-based Twenty20 format for a shiny new city-based one? One word: TV