Southern Brave breezed through to the final of the Women’s Hundred next Sunday with a comfortable 8 wicket win against London Spirit at Lord’s on Saturday.
Having won all their 7 group matches Southern Brave now have the chance to be the first franchise side to go undefeated in the group stages of the Hundred if they can beat Welsh Fire in their final match next Thursday. “That would be awesome, and I think just the momentum we need heading into the final, we don’t really want our first loss right before the final at Lord’s. We will definitely be looking to play our best cricket in that game and go 8 out of 8” said my player of the match Laura Wolvaardt.
Wolvaardt, who passed 1000 runs in the Hundred on Saturday, the first overseas player, during her innings of 56 not out from 40 balls, played the definitive role in Brave’s victory. The South African captain reeled off a series of front foot drives including 2 6s in a crucial partnership of 95 from 62 balls with opening batter Maia Bouchier. Wolvaardt’s half century was her first in this year’s competition, and as I found out after the game her first at Lord’s. “I’ve played two games here, and they have not gone well. I really enjoy it here at The Hundred. It’s such a fun competition to be a part of. it’s a really fun month for me” said Wolvaardt.
49/1 in the power play compared to the Spirit’s 24/1, Southern Brave always looked in control. Clever running between the wickets running twos to the larger side by Bouchier and Wolvaardt also kept the scoreboard ahead of the required rate.
There was a slight wobble in the scoring rate by the visitors after Bouchier fell for 43 (34) with the score on 108/2 from 70 balls but Southern Brave got home with 6 balls to spare. Leg spinner Sarah Glenn, who has just been recalled to the England squad for the one-day World Cup in India proved to be the tightest London Spirit bowler conceding only 20 runs from her full allocation.
Earlier London Spirit scored 125/8 having been put in by the Hundred’s best bowling side. Lauren Bell, the tournament’s leading wicket taker with 15 was at her miserly best taking 1/18 from her 20 balls.
The home side stumbled to in the power play, recovered to 100/3 off 74 balls, and then limped to their final tally. Brave bowled tightly at the finish, kept the pressure on in the field and together with some injudicious running by London Spirit left them short of a target to test the league leaders.
Cordelia Griffith with an impressive 44 (34) and Australian Charli Knott 36 (26) rescued London Spirit when they came together at 36/3 off 34 balls following an irresponsible shot by star batter Grace Harris. Harris got off the mark with a six-2nd ball before being caught next ball on the long on boundary.
Indeed, the situation could and should have been much worse one run later, if Bouchier had taken a simple catch running in from long on to dismiss Griffith. The Griffith and Knott partnership of 67 from 41 balls then laid a foundation for a much bigger score. “It looked like they looked set for 150 or 160 at one stage but that finish we had with the ball was amazing” said Wolvaardt.
While Knott acknowledged they needed more runs. “We didn’t have enough runs on the board. We were tracking along nicely and then lost a few wickets at the back end. We were probably twenty runs short. We always wanted 140 on this surface”.
Ultimately 125, as Knott confirmed, was not enough to seriously challenge a side playing with the confidence of Southern Brave. They seem to have all bases covered. Well led by Georgia Adams, they posses both batters and bowlers in form and the best keeper in Rhianna Southby. Three of their batters Wolvaardt (199 runs), and Danni Wyatt Hodge (190) Bouchier (171) are in the top ten run scorers while Bell (15), Sophie Devine (11) Tilly Corteen Coleman (10) and Maddy Villiers (10) are in the top ten wicket takers.
They will take a lot of beating as they enter the final week of The Hundred 2025.
Meanwhile, defending champions London Spirit who started in a blaze of glory with a dominant win against last season’s runners up Oval Invincibles are stuttering. Three wins to open the tournament has been followed by three defeats in their last four matches.
However, following Manchester Originals surprise defeat today against Birmingham Phoenix, London Spirit have moved up to 3rd on net run rate. A place in the eliminator against Northern Superchargers could be on the cards if they can repeat their opening day win against Oval Invincibles. On current form I wouldn’t count on it.
Player of the Match – Laura Wolvaardt – a class act. Her driving off the front foot is a joy to see watching up high in the media centre. Another feature on Saturday was her excellent running between the wickets in her decisive partnership with Maia Bouchier. The Hundred is not all about striking 4s and 6s. Rotation of the strike is vital.
Southern Brave 126/2 beat London Spirit 125/8 by 8 wickets