Southern Brave booked their spot in the women’s Hundred final after beating London Spirit by eight wickets at Lord’s for their seventh win in as many matches this season.
Brave coasted to their target of 126 with six balls remaining as Laura Wolvaardt (56no off 40 balls) and Maia Bouchier (43 off 34) stitched a stand of 95 from 62 deliveries after the early exit of Dani Wyatt-Hodge (8), who was trapped lbw by Issy Wong (2-34).
Cordelia Griffith (44 off 34) and Charli Knott (36 off 26) shared a partnership of 67 from 41 balls for Spirit but the home side then lost five wickets for 22 runs at the back end of their innings, including two run outs, as Brave spinner Mady Villiers recorded figures of 3-38.
Brave reached the first three Hundred finals, losing to Oval Invincibles in 2021 and 2022 before finally landing the title in 2023 when they beat Northern Superchargers.
The Southampton-based side finished bottom off the table last year after winning just one match but have bounced back in style this term with seamer Lauren Bell topping the wicket-taking charts with 15 scalps.
Defending champions Spirit can still qualify for the eliminator but will probably need to win their final league fixture, at home to the already-eliminated Oval Invincibles on Monday, to stand a chance.
Davidson-Richards stars after England snub as Invincibles eliminated
Alice Davidson-Richards and Kate Cross impressed after being left out of England’s Cricket World Cup squad as Northern Superchargers knocked two-time champions Invincibles out of play-off contention.
Alice Davidson-Richards struck nine fours in her 50 from 32 balls for Northern Superchargers against Oval Invincibles
Davidson-Richards hit 50 from 32 balls, including nine fours, as the hosts reached their target of 126 with five deliveries to spare at Headingley for a seven-wicket victory and fifth win in seven games.
Cross – who described her World Cup omission as “savage” – had earlier taken 2-16 and a smart catch in the deep to help limit Invincibles to 125-6.
Superchargers are now up to 20 points and will secure a top-three finish by winning their final group game against Manchester Originals on Tuesday, although they could still advance with a defeat such is their strong net run-rate.
But Invincibles remain on eight points after a fifth defeat in seven and are now unable to reach the knockout stages.
Skipper Lauren Winfield-Hill (35 off 40) top-scored for Invincibles, while Australian trio Phoebe Litchfield (29 off 21), Annabel Sutherland (17no off 16) and Nicola Carey (25no) shone for Superchargers in the run chase.
Phoebe Litchfield helped Superchargers to a seven-wicket win at Headingley
How do matches work?
- One hundred balls a side, the team with the most runs wins. It is as simple as that.
- Five bowlers can bowl up to 20 balls in an innings, including five or 10 in a row.
- The traditional six-ball overs seen in other forms of cricket are not used in The Hundred, with 10 balls bowled before a change of ends.
- The powerplay is for the first 25 balls of an innings, with only two fielders allowed outside the 30-yard circle.
- A 25-ball-a-side game is the minimum length that can be played in the event of wet weather.
What’s next?
Sunday is a four-match day in The Hundred, with Welsh Fire taking on Trent Rockets in Cardiff (women’s match at 11am, men’s at 2.30pm), plus Manchester Originals vs Birmingham Phoenix at Emirates Old Trafford (women’s match at 2.30pm, men’s at 6pm).
Watch every match across the women’s and men’s competitions in The Hundred live on Sky Sports from August 5-31.