Match 2, Southampton, July 24, 2024, 07:30 PM
Southern Brave Women
151/6(20.0ov)
London Spirit Women
153/4(19.2ov)
London Spirit Women beat Southern Brave Women by 6 wickets
Right then, that is it from this game of the Women's Hundred 2024 with the defending champions Southern Brave Women starting their campaign with a defeat against the London Spirit Women. The next game of the Women's division will be played between Manchester Originals Women and Welsh Fire Women on 25th July 2024 at 7.30 pm IST (2 pm GMT). However, the Men's division of Southern Brave and London Spirit will be against one another in a short while. You can just switch tabs to enjoy all the build-up to that game. Cheers!
Heather Knight, the skipper of London Spirit Women, is the unarguable Player of the Match for her blistering knock of 65 from just 31 balls. She says it was fun. Adds the wind was playing a big part and says winning here against the defending champs is special. She thinks they conceded 10-15 more runs and also dropped a couple of chances in the field. Appreciates Danni Wyatt and says she played a brilliant knock for her team. Adds that they managed to stick in the game till the end and is might proud of the girls. On her batting, she says she tries to get herself going. Says she tried to use the pace of the wicket and once she settled her eyes, it paid off. Lauds Redmayne and says she was brilliant at the top and gave them a good start.
Earlier in the game, batting first, Southern Brave Women scored 151 after 100 balls. The side got off to a flying start and the openers managed to knit a partnership of 57 for the first wicket. Charli Knott and Freya Kemp couldn't do much with the bat but Georgia Adams and Chloe Tryon played good knocks in their early 20s. Danni Wyatt started the campaign with a half-century of her own while Maia Bouchier batted well for her score of 35. Bowlers of London Spirit Women did relatively well to drag things back in their favor at the end of the innings. The aggressive approach from the London Spirit Women's skipper, Heather Knight, and timely wickets from the bowlers combined well. Erin Burns got a couple of wickets while Sophie Munro, Danielle Gibson, and Eva Gray got one each as well.
Bowling from the Braves was good to start with but they leaked a lot in the later stage of the game and weren't helped by the fielders either. Tilly Corteen-Coleman and Charli Knott were the only wicket takers with one each. The bowlers of Southern Brave Women had a good total to defend but they got beaten to a sensational knock from the skipper of London Spirit Women, Heather Knight.
Chasing down a decent enough total, The Spirits weren't off to the best of starts. The side struggled big time for runs and at the halfway stage of the chase, they were stranded at 66 for 2 and had a lot to do in the second half of the chase. Georgia Adams and Heather Knight showed their class and took the game deep with Georgia Redmayne taking calculative risks. Georgia Redmayne along with Heather Knight knitted a partnership of 49 off 39 balls for the third wicket that got them closer to what they were after as a unit. Heather Knight continued to bat deep and took charge right when an opportunity was there for her to go for the kill. Heather Knight batted well and got the job done with a boundary and stayed unbeaten at 65 runs.
A topsy-turvy game but it's the bat of Heather Knight that's done the talking and London Spirit Women are off to a winning start to this edition as they defeat the defending champions by 6 wickets. They were reeling around the halfway stage but then came in Knight, and robbed the game off from the claws of the Southern Brave Women.
In over# 20
4
2
Georgia Adams 24/0(2.2)
97
4
FOUR! And she does the job in style for her! What a brave knock this is from Heather Knight. The London Spirit Women have humbled the defending champions. Georgia Adams lands it right under the base of the bat. Heather Knight punishes the ball, and hits it down the ground for a boundary. No chance for the fielder who runs and dives to her left from long on. The ball races into the fence. London Spirit Women win by 6 wickets and with 3 balls to spare.
96
2
Good running between the wickets! Flighted one, on middle, Heather Knight skips down the track and taps it into the gap between mid on and mid-wicket for a couple of runs. Just a solitary hit away now. Will Knight finish off in the next ball?
In over# 19
4
2
1
0
1
Lauren Bell 23/0(4)
95
4
FOUR! HEATHER KNIGHT, YOU BEAUTY! Slower one, on the off stump line, Heather Knight waits for the ball to arrive. She sees the fielder at mid off inside the ring and simply flat bats it over the fielder for a boundary. Just 5 needed off the last remaining set.
94
2
Lauren Bell cannons in a fuller-length delivery, straight and on the middle, Heather Knight exposes her stumps and drives it between cover and point for a couple of runs.
93
1
Too slow again, but outside off, Erin Burns moves leg side of the ball and cuts it through cover-point for a single and gets Knight back on strike. 11 needed off the last 7 deliveries.
92
.
Takes all the pace again does Lauren Bell, curves it into the batter on a length, Erin Burns adjusts her shot by hitting it back to the bowler.
91
1
Bell bowls with a leg-side heavy field. Slow and on off, Heather Knight drives it to widish mid off and rotates the strike.
In over# 18
1
4
0
6
4
Tilly Corteen-Coleman 39/1(4)
90
1
Full on the middle stump. Heather Knight mistimes the scoop which lands safely in the off side. Quick single to retain strike.
89
4
FOUR! 50 for Heather Knight and this is her highest score in The Hundred! Brave might be the name of the opposition team but Knight has lived up to that name with this solid counterpunch. Flatter on the middle stump. Knight is down the track again and spanks the drive between the diving extra cover and mid off. She threads the gap to perfection and gets a crucial boundary.
88
.
Full on the pads, Knight plays the reverse sweep straight to short third man.