Could they be heading FOR another group stage clean sweep?
Southern Brave brushed aside London Spirit at Lord’s on Saturday by 5 wickets with 7 balls to spare. Could another group stage clean sweep be on the cards for the Southampton based franchise.
They did stutter at the very end of their chase, losing two wickets when the scores were level at 114 but Brave always had the game under control.
Having won the toss and asked London Spirit to bat on a slow Lord’s surface they soon had them in trouble. Southern Brave Skipper Sophie Molineux bowled superbly. Her left arm spin put a brake on the home side in the power play. She dismissed Amy Jones for 3 and the inform Marie Kelly (2nd ball) for a duck to leave Spirit 10/2 off 14 balls. Her tight line offered no width to the Spirit batters. Her final figures of 3/7 off 20 balls made it hard for the home side to post a competitive total. The Australian skipper is now the leading wicket taker in this year’s Hundred with ten.
As well as having such a varied bowling attack Southern Brave are probably the sharpest fielding unit in this year’s competition. Jemimah Rodrigues is a joy to watch as she buzzes around the field and must frighten batters when she gets near the ball.
The only batter who looked capable of setting Brave a challenging target was South African all rounder Marizanne Kapp. Kapp, who to date in the tournament has played a couple of quick scoring cameos, looked more determined today to play a longer innings.
After Kapp was out for 34 (27) the only other batter to make an impression was her compatriot Nadine de Klerk 38 (28) who smashed three 6’s at the end of the innings.
“I think quite a difficult wicket to bat on earlier, to bat first and put something on the board. The wicket was very slow and quite sticky and there was a little bit of turn as well. It’s hard when you lose two wickets in the power play and you have to play catch up on a wicket like that. If you lose the toss you need to find a way to get runs on the board and score runs on this wicket. We know it’s going to be slow in the next couple of games,” said de Klerk
Southern Brave’s other spinners, young Tilly Corteen Coleman and Sarah Glenn both got two wickets each as London Spirit stumbled their way to 114.
“They are probably the best bowling unit in the competition so far. I think they are world class, especially the spinners they have and then they have Lauren Bell and Issy Wong. They know what every batter’s strength are. They assessed the conditions better than us today,” said de Klerk.
London Spirit’s only chance was early wickets and Kapp delivered after 4 balls when she took a difficult caught and bowled chance to remove Lizelle Lee. Southern Brave’s other opener Maia Bouchier looked in good touch from the start, there are few better players to watch when in full flow and she was soon into her stride scoring boundaries on both sides of the wicket.
Kapp’s 20 balls were all used up by the 55-ball mark and in her last five she bowled Indian international Rodrigues to give the home side a whiff of a chance at 62/3 (53). The home side tried eight bowlers, so all options were explored by skipper Charlie Dean.
Enter centre stage captain Molineux 23 (24) {pictured above) who added 52 with Bouchier to bring the scores level. The pair were then out off consecutive balls trying to hit the winning run, Bouchier stumped charging down the wicket while Molineux was fabulously caught one handed at a very close short midwicket by Deandre Dottin. The catch of The Hundred 2026? There is unlikely to be one better.
In the end a Southern Brave victory with seven balls to spare exaggerated how close the game was.
Well led, with a world class bowling attack and a well drilled fielding group Southern Brave are going to take a lot of beating. Perhaps their one weakness is batting after number six which could expose them if chasing a large score but with that bowling group that might not be required. Plus, they have now won at Lord’s and if they reach the final in two weeks’ time will have the experience of playing on this slow wicket.
They were my tip to win the Women’s Hundred. Less said about my Men’s Hundred selection.
London Spirt, who have one win and a tie from their four games need to bounce back straight away. Three more wins depending on results might give them a chance of reaching the eliminator stage but more likely they will need to win all their four remaining games.
A defiant de Klerk said, “I think there is so much fight within our group, and this team is going to bounce back very strong and keep fighting and finding a way”.
I think they will fall short. A team of all-rounders who are especially dependent on Marizanne Kapp doesn’t look to have the right balance.
Could it be another clean sweep for Southern Brave in 2026 but this year including the final at Lord’s on Sunday 16 August?
Stephen’s Standout player
Sophie Molineux – The World Cup winning skipper could be on the way to leading Southern Brave to their 2nd triumph in the Women’s Hundred and redemption for last year’s final defeat. She combined an exemplary spell of left arm spin (3/7) with a calm knock of 23 in the deciding partnership.
She’s really led the group well, nice and calm and quiet on the field, she keeps the group calm and chilled but at the same time is pretty precise with what she’s doing” said South African captain and Southern Brave number three Laura Wolvaardt.
Southern Brave 115/5 Bouchier 46 Molineux 23 Kapp 2/16 de Klerk 2/18
London Spirit 114/8 de Klerk 38 Kapp 34 Molineux 3/7 Corteen Coleman 2/26 Glenn 2/28
Southern Brave won by 5 wickets with 7 balls to spare