Northern Superchargers 145 for 6 (Wolvaardt 50, Wellington 3-17) beat Southern Brave 125 for 9 (Dunkley 38) by 20 runs
Southern Brave suffered their first defeat of the Women’s Hundred, losing by 20 runs to Northern Superchargers to leave their hopes of direct qualification to Saturday’s final in tatters.
Brave could muster only 125 for 9 in reply to leave them with an anxious wait to see whether Oval Invincibles could leapfrog them by beating Manchester Originals on Wednesday afternoon. Invincibles’ commanding win means Brave face Trent Rockets in Friday’s eliminator.
Superchargers’ margin of victory was not enough to secure their place in the knockout stages: they needed to win by 46 runs to leapfrog third-placed Rockets on net run-rate.
“It’s a bittersweet win,” Hollie Armitage, Superchargers’ captain, said. “We knew going out there with the ball that we needed to restrict them to 99 to get our net run-rate up to where it needed to be to finish third.
“Unfortunately we weren’t able to do that. But I’m really pleased with how the girls went about their business today. We went out there and played some really good cricket and have beaten a fantastic side.”
After being put into bat in front of a home crowd, Superchargers were again faced with the early loss of Alyssa Healy who rocketed a ball straight into the hands of Dunkley at cover for 17.
Wolvaardt’s classy innings saw her pass the record for the most runs scored by any woman in the Hundred’s short history, having racked up 286 runs across six innings before she was caught superbly on the boundary by Wyatt. The previous record holder, Dane van Niekerk, managed 256 from 10 innings last season.
A cameo from Jenny Gunn with 15 from 7 balls after Wolvaardt’s dismissal gave the Superchargers a whiff of qualification, setting the Brave 146 to win. The home side’s hopes were boosted by a perfect start in the field, Wyatt falling off the first ball of the innings caught at short fine leg, and her opening partner, the dangerous Mandhana, falling just eight balls later.
As Brave’s batting line-up wobbled under pressure, Dunkley stood firm with wickets falling around her. Tahlia McGrath was bowled by the impressive Graham and Maia Bouchier was caught off Davidson-Richards.
By the time Georgia Adams nicked off to a tempting delivery from Levick, Dunkley was the only thing standing in between Superchargers and an unlikely qualification.
Her steady innings of 38 off 30 came to an end when she was caught on the boundary by Graham, effectively taking Brave’s hopes of winning the game with her as she walked back to the dugout.
But the bowlers could not see Brave home with the bat, and they finished on 125 for 9.