Southern Brave declare maiden Hundred title to provide Shrubsole becoming farewell
Southern Brave 139 for six (Wyatt 59, Kemp 31, Cross 3-21) beat Northern Superchargers 105 (Moore 3-15, Bell 3-21) by 34 runs
Anya Shrubsole signed off from skilled cricket by lifting the Hundred trophy at Lord’s, captaining Southern Brave to their first title of their third closing. After successive defeats to Oval Invincibles, they comprehensively outplayed Northern Superchargers in entrance of a document 21,636 crowd at Lord’s.
Brave’s batting allow them to down of their first two finals and so they have been 8 for two after 9 balls on Sunday, Smriti Mandhana and Maia Bouchier falling cheaply after Superchargers opted to bowl first. But they recovered to set a goal of 140, Danni Wyatt making 59 off 38 and Freya Kemp contributing a useful 31 off 17 from No. 5.
Lauren Bell struck twice in her first eight balls in Brave’s defence, together with eradicating Superchargers’ main run-scorer Phoebe Litchfield who was nicely caught by Kemp at deep cover-point, and Superchargers have been at all times behind the sport.
Rhianna Southby, Brave’s 22-year-old wicketkeeper, has performed a vital function for them regardless of not going through a ball this season: she effected three stumpings within the chase, and completed the Hundred with a tournament-high 11 dismissals.
Jemimah Rodrigues opened the batting for Superchargers and was starved of the strike: when she was caught at further cowl for twenty-four, she had confronted simply 14 of the primary 73 balls bowled. Bell and Kalea Moore took three wickets every, and the profitable second got here when Bell whipped off the bails to run No. 11 Grace Ballinger out after a mix-up.
Shrubsole had been because of bowl the ultimate 5 balls however Superchargers have been bowled out with six to spare. Having left worldwide cricket after final yr’s World Cup, she opted to play on as Brave captain this yr and her impending retirement has been a supply of motivation for the squad all through the season, who have been decided to ship her off with a trophy.
Shrubsole appeared uncharacteristically emotional within the aftermath of the ultimate wicket, and admitted her overwhelming emotion was one in every of reduction. “We feel like we’ve played some brilliant cricket,” she mentioned, “coming into this we’d won 20 out of 25 games which is an unbelievable record. Not to have won the trophy was tough to take so it felt like this was just deserts.”
For Charlotte Edwards, their coach, this was a 3rd short-form trophy this yr, after success within the Women’s Premier League with Mumbai Indians and with Southern Vipers within the Charlotte Edwards Cup. Brave have been the perfect staff throughout the three seasons of the Hundred, and lifted an overdue trophy because the fireworks have been set off at Lord’s.
After strolling across the boundary from the stage within the Compton Stand, Shrubsole was given a guard of honour by each groups as she walked again in direction of the pavilion, holding the H-shaped trophy aloft as she did so. It was a becoming send-off for a fantastic of England girls’s cricket.
Mandhana hit the primary ball of the ultimate for 4 via level however slashed the second to gully, and when Bouchier skied Kate Cross to further cowl, they have been compelled to rebuild via Wyatt and Georgia Adams.
They had 45 off the primary 43 balls of the ultimate earlier than Wyatt reduce unfastened with back-to-back boundaries off Lucy Higham, at which level Superchargers turned ragged within the discipline. Wyatt, who completed the match as main run-scorer, swept Higham for 4 to deliver up a 35-ball 50 and lofted Georgia Wareham for the primary six of the sport.
She was primed to speed up on the demise when she was on the incorrect finish of a freak dismissal: Adams drove the ball straight again at her on the non-striker’s finish as she began to take a run, and Cross executed a easy run-out because it popped up into her fingers. When Adams holed out to midwicket after a chancy 27 off 28, Superchargers had a gap.
But Kemp added 31 with a streaky cameo, hitting 5 boundaries to maintain Brave on observe. She ultimately chopped Cross’ cutter onto her stumps; whereas Cross fumbled each a catch and a run-out likelihood off the penultimate ball, she was the decide of Superchargers’ assault with 3 for 21 off her 20.
Bell thought she had struck with the primary ball of the chase, trapping Marie Kelly on the pad just for her to efficiently assessment the on-field resolution. It hardly mattered: Kelly was dismissed by the following supply she confronted, with the ball ricocheting off her pad and onto the bottom of the stumps.
When Litchfield lofted into the deep, Brave had two early wickets and have been in charge of the sport. Southby’s sharp work gave Moore a wicket along with her first ball, stumping Hollie Armitage, and her quick fingers accounted for Bess Heath quickly after, Chloe Tryon making amends for a drop on the square-leg boundary by beating her on the skin edge.
Shrubsole had Alice Davidson-Richards lbw to depart Superchargers 5 down, and a superb catch by Bouchier – operating in off the long-on boundary, then diving forwards at full stretch – meant Rodrigues was their final hope. Having tried and didn’t construct partnerships by knocking singles, she appeared to loft Moore over further cowl however picked Adams out.
Southby pulled off her third stumping as Dobson charged Moore and missed, and Bell administered the final rites, having Higham caught at quick advantageous leg then finishing an easy run-out on the bowler’s finish to cue the celebrations.
Matt Roller is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. @mroller98