Southern Brave cemented their place in the top three with a win over Welsh Fire in their penultimate Women's Championship match; The Hundred is available live on Sky Sports until 31 August.
Image: Southern Brave maintain winning streak against Welsh Fire in The Hundred (ECB Images)
Table-topper Southern Brave continued his dominance of this year's Ladies' Hundred, securing his place in the top three after a tight success over the ambitious Welsh Fire in the penultimate round.
Madi Villiers, needing six in her final five deliveries, lost her wicket after two runs at first attempt and Georgia Adams was spectacularly caught at long-on as she and Rhianna Southby completed the decisive run to leave the Braves winners with one ball to spare.
The Welsh Fire lost key player Hayley Matthews (0) in the first innings to Sophie Devine (2-23) in the return, but Sophie Dunkley (31 off 25) continued the form she showed at Kia Oval on Saturday, starting aggressively and scoring four times.
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The Brave piled on the pressure when Lauren Bell cleverly intercepted Tammy Beaumont's strike with support from Maya Boucher in midfield, leaving the Fire with a 32-2 lead at the end of the Powerplay phase.
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Tammy Beaumont was left in disbelief after Maya Bouchier made a spectacular one-handed grab that robbed her of a confident shot.
Tilly Courteen-Coleman returned to the attack to end Dunkley's run, and Georgia Elviss quietly scored 36 runs without a loss to end the Fire's innings at 111-6.
Bouchier (35/30) and Danny Wyatt-Hodge (18/14) made it 32-0 in the Powerplay, reducing the required score to 80 points.
The Fire counterattacked, with Jess Jonassen making a brilliant interception in the middle, feeding Georgia Davis before taking out Bouchier and Laura Wulwardt herself.
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Devine responded with a powerful six-pointer against Davis to ease the tension, and Freya Kemp (17/15) sent the ball into the stands to bring the Braves within a goal. However, Kemp was soon beaten, caught by Shabnim Ismail off a Jonassen pass.
Chloe Tryon slowed the pace and Jonassen finished 4-10. Devine (25) outscored Matthews and Davis, leaving the Braves needing to score 10 points in the last 10 innings and six in the final five.
Northern Superchargers win by eight wickets
The Northern Superchargers secured a comfortable victory over the London Spirit at Lord's to move up to second in the Women's Hundred table.
Despite a less than perfect performance from Holly Armitage, Manchester Originals' defeat earlier in the season has boosted their chances of reaching the final after the Spirit's second defeat of the season.
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The Superchargers started strongly, with Grace Ballinger (2-12) and Kate Cross (1-20) taking wickets in the first 10 deliveries. Nicola Carey (2-17) removed Grace Harris and Dani Gibson in quick succession to dent the morale of the Spirit, who failed to mount a threat.
The purple-clad team achieved the target with confidence, losing two wickets and keeping 34 balls in reserve.
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The Spirit were keen to prove their independence from Harris, while the Superchargers were given confidence by the progress of Phoebe Litchfield, who won the Meerkat Match Hero award for a powerful 38 off 55 balls.
On a day when the Southern Brave secured a play-off place, the battle for a place in the final between their rivals and the Manchester Originals (all on 16 points) continues. The Originals play the Trent Rockets on Thursday.
Match Rules
- An inning consists of 100 balls. The team with the higher score wins.
- Bowlers can bowl up to 20 balls per innings, in runs of 5 or 10.
- Instead of the classic 6-ball overs, 10-ball blocks are used.
- Powerplay lasts the first 25 balls: only two field players are outside the 30-yard line.
- The minimum speed of play is 25 balls per minute in adverse weather conditions.
Upcoming games
The Hundred continues on Thursday on Sky Sports Cricket with the Trent Rockets taking on the Oval Invincibles and the Manchester Originals returning on Sunday against the Birmingham Phoenix.
On Saturday, the London Spirit take on the Southern Brave, while the Northern Superchargers take on the Oval Invincibles.
The Welsh Fire resume play on Friday against the Birmingham Phoenix.
Watch every match of the men's and women's tournament live on Sky Sports until 31 August.
Sourse: skysports.com
