England batter Zak Crawley struck a superb half-century as Northern Superchargers coasted to an eight-wicket win over London Spirit in the men’s Hundred at Lord’s to move third in the table.
Ollie Pope had hit his own 37-ball 50 as the Spirit – second from bottom – were limited to 135 for three, with Jamie Smith adding 41.
That, though, never looked likely to be enough as Crawley’s 55 off 38 set the Superchargers on their way before captain Harry Brook saw his side home with 18 balls to spare by slapping a boundary over mid-on – to finish unbeaten on nine from three deliveries.
After Spirit opener David Warner had fallen for a four-ball duck and former New Zealand captain Kane Williamson was out for just 10, Smith edged the home side on to 70 for three at the halfway stage.
Pope hit three boundaries in his half-century and Ashton Turner added a swift 28, but still left the Spirit well short of a competitive target.
It proved anything but, with Dawid Malan making 22 in a first-wicket stand of 63 before Dan Lawrence‘s rapid 37 supported Crawley’s onslaught as the Superchargers closed out a fourth win from six games to move level on 16 points with champions Oval Invincibles and Trent Rockets.
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Southern Brave beat Welsh Fire
In the men’s Hundred at Sophia Gardens, Southern Brave battled to a four-run win over Welsh Fire to end their three-match losing streak.
Hilton Cartwright struck an unbeaten 51 to help Brave push on to 129 for eight, before paceman Jofra Archer took three wickets and then Chris Jordan held his nerve on the final delivery as Fire came up just short at 125 for eight.
Welsh Fire’s bowlers had earlier made the most of the favourable conditions, with Matt Henry returning two for five from his 20 balls after dismissing Leeus du Ploy (two) and Jason Roy (four).
Brave skipper James Vince (29) then helped his his side recover to 53 for three, before Australian Cartwright went on the attack – hitting five sixes as he reached a 19-ball half-century.
Jonny Bairstow (22) spearheaded the Fire’s run chase – hitting Craig Overton for two fours and a six in the first set.
With 20 balls left, Fire needed 27 to win and had three wickets in hand – but Tom Kohler-Cadmore (25) holed out in the deep leaving Jordan to close out his final five and get Brave over the line.
Women’s Hundred
Earlier, in the women’s Hundred, Southern Brave overcame some outstanding bowling from Jess Jonassen to edge out winless Welsh Fire by three wickets with just one ball remaining as they made it six wins out of six in the Hundred.
Chasing 112 for victory in Cardiff, the Brave got off to a solid start as England pair Maia Boucher and Danni Wyatt-Hodge put on 48 for the opening wicket, but they then ran into trouble in the form of Jonassen.
After taking the catch of Wyatt-Hodge off Georgia Davis, Jonassen – on her way to figures of four for 10 – accounted for Boucher (35) and Laura Wolvaardt to leave the visitors on 57 for three.
The Brave stabilised but another late flurry of wickets saw them go from 98 for three to 107 for seven before Georgia Adams got the winning runs off Davis, as the Brave secured a top-three finish.
In the women’s match at Lord’s, Northern Superchargers secured an eight-wicket win over London Spirit to leapfrog their hosts and move second in the table.
The Superchargers started well with the ball. Grace Ballinger and Kate Cross each took a wicket in their first 10 deliveries as Spirit opener Kira Chathli was out for a three-ball duck.
Nicola Carey then dismissed Grace Harris and Dani Gibson in consecutive balls to leave the home side in trouble at 48 for five. Issy Wong finished 24 not out as Spirit pushed on to 90 for eight, with Annabel Sutherland taking three wickets.
Despite losing Alice Davidson-Richards for a duck second delivery to Bex Tyson, who then also dismissed Davina Perrin (four), the Superchargers soon set about chasing down their modest victory target.
Phoebe Litchfield’s unbeaten 55 and Sutherland’s swift 29 saw them home at 93 for two with 34 balls remaining.
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