The Hundred

Pooran hit a 41-ball 65* including four fours and as many sixes, following up his 62 in their previous game against the Southern Brave, to help the Superchargers post 145-5 from their hundred balls after being put in to bat by the Invincibles.

Sam Curran was the best bowler on the day for the Invincibles with 2-20 from 15 balls.

The Invincibles were then restricted to 126-9 from their 100 balls in reply.

Donovan Ferreira tried his best with a fighting 24-ball 49 including two fours and five sixes but excellent spells of 2-18 off 10 balls from Matthew Potts and 2-26 from 20 balls from Jordan Clark proved too hard to overcome.

Nicholas Pooran delivered a masterclass in power-hitting as he hammered an unbeaten 66 off just 33 balls to lead Northern Superchargers to a thrilling seven-wicket victory over Manchester Originals in The Hundred on Sunday.

Pooran's explosive innings, highlighted by eight towering sixes, turned the tide in a match that seemed to be slipping away from the Superchargers at various points.

The Superchargers, chasing 153 for victory, found themselves in a precarious position at 29 for 2, needing over 100 runs with more than half the innings gone. The situation was made even more daunting by a suspected hamstring injury to Ben Stokes which forced him to leave the field.

Despite the early setbacks, Pooran, who has been in scintillating form throughout the tournament, stepped up to the challenge. He walked in with everything to do and proceeded to unleash a brutal assault on the Originals' bowlers. Alongside Harry Brook, who contributed a crucial 43, and Adam Hose, Pooran methodically dismantled the opposition's attack, ensuring that the Superchargers stayed alive in the competition.

The Originals, led by Phil Salt's blistering 61, had earlier posted 152 for 7, riding on the momentum of the highest-ever Powerplay score in the competition. However, the Superchargers' spinners, led by Mitchell Santner with figures of 3 for 24, pulled things back, restricting the Originals to a manageable total.

The chase, though steep, was made to look routine by Pooran's brilliance. The West Indian powerhouse demonstrated his ability to take the game away from the opposition with clean hitting and smart rotation of strike. Brook and Hose provided valuable support, ensuring that the Superchargers crossed the line with 62 balls to spare.

Reflecting on his match-winning knock, Pooran said, "It's definitely one of my better innings, knowing the situation of the game. Walking into bat with 100+ runs to get, and in this format, it creeps up on you very fast, but I was really happy that I could contribute and be there to the end."

He added, "You don't win tournaments with just one person contributing. It's really good when your teammates can contribute, and hopefully, we can go to our game on Tuesday and fight. If we lost the game today, we'd be out of the tournament. I'm happy that I could be there to the end, contribute, get the win for the team, and hopefully, the result will be the same again on Tuesday."

The victory keeps the Superchargers' hopes alive as they prepare to face London Spirit in a must-win game at Headingley on Tuesday.

The 29-year-old is set to make his comeback from a dislocated shoulder on Thursday when the Northern Superchargers host Birmingham Phoenix at Headingley.

His career has been ravaged by fitness setbacks, with the latest issue – sustained in April playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League – occurring in the aftermath of an ankle problem and a series of serious back issues.

Topley is eager to make up for lost time and admits the 100-ball franchise tournament is his “vessel” back to the top level as he eyes a spot on his country’s plane for the 50-over competition in India in the autumn.

“It has gone really well,” he said of his rehabilitation, speaking at the launch of KP Snacks’ community cricket pitches initiative which will fund 100 new pitches over the next three years.

“You can spend a lot of time soul searching and asking why but in the end you’ve just got to get on the front foot and deal with it and almost have a typical British attitude of stiff upper lip and crack on.

“I’m really excited to get back out there. Playing again fills me with so much excitement. Let’s hope it’s the start of a relatively successful end of the summer and winter, obviously with the World Cup on the horizon.

“The Hundred is almost like end-stage rehab to an extent.

“I want to do well for the Supercharges – we’ve got a great squad that want to go all the way in the comp – and I want to put in some performances that contribute to that.”

Topley sat out last year’s Hundred as his priority was the T20 World Cup.

However, he missed England’s triumphant campaign in Australia due to damaging ankle ligaments on a boundary rope.

Having just returned from that major disappointment, the left-armer was quickly back on the treatment table after a painful incident in his inaugural IPL match.

“I knew I was going home when I was sat in Bangalore with my humerus in front of my pec,” he said.

“I was just like, ‘how quickly can I get home to have surgery?’.

“The Hundred, last year I didn’t play in it, but this year it’s my vessel to get back into cricket and I can’t wait to play.

“I don’t think you change anything in terms of how you perceive the game (because of injuries).

“You have a big sense of gratification that you’re out there. You love the fact that you’re playing cricket, rather than you turn up and have the sense that it’s just another game. ”

England’s World Cup defence begins on October 5 against New Zealand in Ahmedabad.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Lord's Cricket Ground (@homeofcricket)

Topley, who claimed a record six-for against India at Lord’s last summer, hopes his return to international duty will come in four-match ODI series against the Kiwis and Ireland in September.

“We haven’t played a massive amount of 50-over cricket so those games will be quite pivotal in the lead up to the World Cup,” he said.

“I will look to hopefully play in those and get up to speed as soon as possible.”

:: KP Snacks are funding 100 new community cricket pitches over the next three years. To find out more visit: everyonein.co.uk/pitchfinder

Russell, 34, smashed an unbeaten 23-ball 64 that included six fours and five sixes in Manchester Originals' mammoth score of 188-2. He was given the perfect platform after openers Joss Buttler (68) and Phil Salt (34) gave the side a solid start with a stand of 64.

Buttler clubbed three fours and five sixes in his 42-ball knock while Salt found the boundary ropes on four occasions and cleared it once is his innings that lasted 22 balls. However, while both knocks were impressive, they paled in comparison to the mayhem that Russell produced scoring at a rate of 278 per cent to drive Manchester to within 12 runs of the 200 mark.

Jake Lintott, who dismissed Salt was the best of the Brave bowlers with 1-28 from 20 balls while Michael Hogan took Buttler’s wicket to finish with 1-48 from his 20 ball allotment.

Faced with a daunting target, Southampton crumbled under the scoreboard pressure, capitulating to 120 all out.

Openers Quinton de Kock (21) and James Vince (20) gave them a good enough platform with an opening stand of 36 but Southampton Brave were simply unable to maintain the scoring rate of 1.88 runs per ball.

George Garton’s 25 from 14 balls and Ross Whiteley 21 from 12 attempted a short-lived late-order revival that would invariably come to nought.
Russell picked up the wicket of the dangerous Tim David, who made a run-a-ball 10 to finish with figures of 1-7 from five balls.

It was Paul Walter, though, who did the most damage with 3-20 from 15 balls. Mark Pattinson and Tristan Stubbs took two wickets each for the Manchester Originals.

For his heroic efforts with bat and ball, Russell was named Player of the Match.

The Phoenix restricted the Rockets to 118 all out off their 100 balls after winning the toss and putting them in to bat.

Southee, along with fellow pacers Adam Milne and Chris Wood, started brilliantly for the Phoenix as Tom Banton (5), Alex Hales (9), Joe Root (2) and Rovman Powell (1) all fell within the first 30 balls to leave the Rockets 22-4.

Tom Alsop and Imad Wasim steadied the ship with a 77-run fifth wicket partnership but the innings came to an end quickly after the wicket of Alsop and Wasim being retired out.

Southee was brilliant on his way to figures of 5-12 from his 20 deliveries while Wood took 2-30 off 20 balls.

The Phoenix then needed 93 balls to reach 120-4. They got a good start from England opener Ben Duckett who made 30 off 16 balls before he fell to Luke Wood 17 balls into the reply.

The wickets of Jamie Smith (0), Moeen Ali (13) and Dan Mousley (0) followed soon after bringing Liam Livingstone and Jacob Bethell to the crease together.

The pair then saw their team home, with Bethell finishing 38* off 29 balls and Livingston finishing 30* off 32 balls.

Luke Wood and John Turner took two wickets, each for the Rockets.

With one game left before the knockout rounds, the Phoenix are third with 10 points, just one ahead of the Northern Superchargers, while the Rockets are fifth with six points.

The left-arm quick produced sensational figures of three wickets for one run in Wednesday’s victory over Manchester Originals – the cheapest 20-ball spell ever recorded in The Hundred.

Even more remarkable was the fact that the 27-year-old had never set foot on English soil before and only arrived in the country on Monday, having played in the final of Canada’s Global T20 the day before.

“I don’t know when it will sink in really, I’m not even sure it will. I’m pretty speechless,” he told the PA news agency.

“You never come into a game expecting to concede one run, especially bowling at players like Jos Buttler and Phil Salt first up. I was trying to remember where the one came from and I couldn’t picture it. I’m enjoying it now because it will probably never happen again, but was quite cool to be a part of.

“It was raining when I arrived in England so I didn’t have a chance to have a roll out in the middle the day before, and I didn’t know how I was going to feel out on the pitch. But playing out there at the Oval felt awesome.”

Johnson’s whirlwind week also saw him called up by Australia for the first time, for the T20 series against South Africa at the end of the month.

Had things been different he could have found himself thrown into this summer’s unforgettable Test series against England, which finished 2-2 after gripping the cricket world for seven weeks.

He was on another franchise assignment with Los Angeles Knight Riders when Cricket Australia told him he may be needed for the fourth and fifth Tests, though left-armer Mitchell Starc eventually played through despite some injury niggles.

“I reckon I watched every ball of that series,” he said.

“I was placed on standby for the last couple of Tests so I had to be following things pretty closely.

“I grew up admiring Starcy my whole life, ever since he came on the scene. He’s the ultimate athlete, durable, fast, takes crucial wickets.

“I like the way he goes about things, I’d love to be anywhere near him to be honest. Test cricket is number one at the forefront of my mind, hopefully in a couple of years I’m still bowling well and I get a chance (to face England), but we’ve got another six games here with Invincibles and that’s as far ahead as I’m thinking now.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Spencer Johnson (@spencejohnson)

The first of those comes against Northern Superchargers at Headingley on Friday, where compatriot Matthew Short will be looking to do more damage to Johnson’s figures than the Originals managed.

“I know I’ll go for more than one next time, it’s one of those things that will probably never happen again,” he admitted.

“Cricket is pretty fickle game, but if it’s swinging and I’m hitting the right length, we’ve seen it can be tough to score. Shorty has got me a couple of times back in Australia and I’m looking to level the playing field!”

There have been two seasons of the eight-team tournament, with a third due to get under way in August, but it continues to divide opinion and attract debate.

The Hundred was effectively ring-fenced and spared scrutiny during the high-performance review of English cricket helmed by Sir Andrew Strauss last year, but with several of its key recommendations discarded the Daily Mail and The Cricketer have reported that the governing body is now ready to put it back on the table. The ECB has been approached for comment.

Reverting to the T20 format and a two-division structure with promotion and relegation is one suggestion, but any changes are unlikely to come quickly. While contracts associated to the competition, from players to backroom staff, typically run year to year and could be unpicked with relative ease, the ECB’s current broadcast deal with Sky runs to 2028 while the BBC’s existing free-to-air arrangement covers at least the next two editions.

It is perhaps relevant that the ECB is currently led by chief executive Richard Gould and chair Richard Thompson. The pair held matching roles at Surrey when The Hundred was first under mooted, with the club forthright in their opposition during their tenure.

Gould has publicly reversed his stance since taking over at the ECB, declaring the 100-ball tournament “a significant success” and predicting it would have “a long future”.

Opinions on The Hundred remain mixed. The elevation of the women’s game has been an unvarnished success, while there is evidence that the scheduling, marketing and ticket pricing have helped attract new fans and a broader demographic to cricket grounds.

But the financial situation is disputed. A report from Worcestershire chair Fanos Hira, a chartered accountant, attaches a £9million loss to the first two seasons but the ECB argues that it turned a profit of £11.8m.

The Hundred has been granted a clear window at the height of summer, taking place throughout August in the immediate aftermath of the Ashes, but appears unlikely to be granted the same luxury in 2024.

The peak summer month of August has been controversially ring-fenced for the third season of The Hundred, which still polarises opinion among cricket fans and is exclusively played in the UK.

Reports last month suggested its structure was being considered and the theory gained traction with the news Sanjay Patel, mastermind and managing director of The Hundred, would leave the ECB in September.

But Gould argued the distinction between the 100-ball competition and its T20 rivals abroad is a selling point and admitted Sky and the BBC, the ECB’s broadcast partners, are champions of The Hundred.

“In a crowded market, it is a point of difference,” Gould said on the Final Word podcast. “The format is not something that’s on my agenda, in this regard.

“Sky have been really supportive in driving it forward, it’s given us that point of difference and everyone in the cricketing world has heard of The Hundred, that’s a good thing.

“As long as people are talking about the game, I’m happy.

“There is always going to be arguments with competition, as to what we do and where we go next but we will be utterly pragmatic and more focused on progressive improvement and we will do it in a collaborative manner where everybody can feel involved.”

According to a report from Worcestershire chair Fanos Hira, the competition made a £9million loss in its first two seasons, a figure disputed by the ECB which says a profit of £11.8m was achieved.

Gould and ECB chair Richard Thompson were once prominent critics when The Hundred was first broached during their stints in identical roles at Surrey but the pair’s stance has softened appreciably.

But while Gould sees substantial upsides to The Hundred, he believes there is room for improvement amid a proliferation of domestic white-ball competitions from all over the world fighting for attention.

“You see the competition we’re in globally now and every country needs to have a super primetime white-ball domestic competition,” Gould said.

“We have invested very heavily in The Hundred over a number of years, both emotionally and financially.

“We are not going to take The Hundred out, we are going to make it bigger and better. We’re going to make the whole of cricket bigger and better, that is our aim.

“I think the level of investment that has gone into The Hundred has delivered really good returns in terms of a new audience. The broadcasters really enjoy it, the BBC have put it on free-to-air.”

Gould, who has already opened the door for multi-year central contracts and increased match fees for England players, accepted salaries in The Hundred may need to go up to compete with its market rivals.

Currently, the highest bracket for the men in The Hundred is £125,000 while for women it is £31,250.

“Salaries will need to go up, not just for The Hundred but also for international cricket because we can see there is a global market for players,” Gould added.

“The difficulty for the ECB and our revenues is we have so many mouths to feed whereas the franchise tournaments can just take the cream off the top, they don’t get charged for the players, they’re very efficient models at getting money back into the players’ pockets but they’re not funding the pathway.

“We’re always going to fund the pathway but having a really strong and healthy pathway is the secret to long-term success, you’ve got to have the players.”

The Invincibles were in trouble after being reduced to 34 for five with England stars Jason Roy and Sam Curran out for ducks.

However, Neesham and Tom Curran rallied as they combined to add 127 off 65  balls and set a challenging total of 161 for five.

The Originals made an indifferent start as Phil Salt was caught by Sam Curran off brother Tom and Manchester scored just 14 runs as a further three wickets fell, with Jos Buttler, Wayne Madsen and Laurie Evans all dismissed.

Max Holden tried to keep their hopes alive with a spirited 37 before falling to Sam Curran as the Invincibles ensured Manchester fell to a second successive final defeat.

The Vipers player-coach, a World Cup winner in 2017, was named player of the match after taking two for 24, having removed both of the The Blaze’s openers before bad weather stopped play on Saturday night.

A half-century from Danni Wyatt helped wrap up a comprehensive victory on Sunday, and it marked a turning point for Shrubsole, who said afterwards it was her last game for the Vipers as she will retire from playing after The Hundred.

“It’s hard to put an exact date on when I made the decision,” the 31-year-old said. “Through the course of this tournament it just became clear to me that my time was up.

“I carried on playing because I really enjoy playing, but I guess the pain element of it – if I’m being totally honest – made it not particularly enjoyable at times, so in lots of ways it was a pretty easy decision to call it a day at the end of this year.

“I told my team-mates on Friday night. I didn’t see it playing out like this, I told the girls because I wanted them to know but I didn’t think they’d make it really obvious.

“I feel very lucky to have played the last few seasons with this group, because they’re an exceptional team and an exceptional bunch of people.”

Shrubsole retired from international cricket last year, but has continued to play for Berkshire, the Vipers and Southern Brave.

She came through the ranks at Somerset and earned her first England call up as a teenager in 2008, going on to eight Tests, 86 ODIs and 79 T20 matches.