West Indies captain Hayley Matthews produced another all-round masterclass to fire Welsh Fire into the knockout stages of The Hundred women’s tournament following a comprehensive nine-wicket win over cellar dwellers Southern Brave at the Utilita Bowl on Wednesday.

Matthews, who has been enjoying superb form for the Welsh Fire, was again on song, as she captured 4-14 in 20 balls to restrict Southern Brave to 103 before hammering an unbeaten 26-ball 35 to get her franchise across the line at 106-1 with 26 balls to spare. Captain Tammy Beaumont was also left unbeaten as she topscored with 59 off 40 deliveries.

With the win, Welsh Fire are now in a strong position, due to their superior net run rate, to finish in top spot and qualify automatically for the Hundred final at Lord's on Sunday. Oval Invincibles require a convincing win over Trent Rockets on Wednesday afternoon to leapfrog them.

Scores: Southern Brave 103 all out (100 balls); Welsh Fire 106-1 (74 balls)

“I think we've been really good. When you look at our line-up, we've got a lot of experience, and we've played on that really well,” Matthews said in a post-game interview.

“The bowlers have done a really good job at making sure we don't have to chase too big of a total. I think it's been a complete team performance, and that's where we've performed really well; everyone's been chipping in and playing their role,” she added.

After Beaumont inserted Southern Brave at the toss, Matthews dismissed the in-form Danni Wyatt (two), caught at deep midwicket, before Smriti Mandhana (one) departed four balls later to the pace of Shabnim Ismail to leave the Brave 15 for 2 at the end of the PowerPlay.

Whatever hopes Southern Brave had of repairing the damage were dashed when Jess Jonassen had Georgia Adams (six) stumped. Maia Bouchier (10) was Matthews’ second scalp, brilliantly caught by Phoebe Franklin in the deep, before Freya Kemp (two) knicked one behind to give Jonassen her second wicket.

Matthews got her third when she bowled Naomi Dattani (two) and then completed her allotment with the scalp of Kalea Moore (zero), as Southern Brave were in totters at 47 for 7.

Chloe Tyron was the only bright spark of the innings, as she posted an aggressive 38-ball 55, including seven fours and a solitary six at the backend, as she dominated a 52-run eight-wicket stand with wicketkeeper Rhianna Southby (15).

Matthews’ haul was supported by Jess Jonassen (3-21) and Freya Davies (2-14).

Despite losing Sophia Dunkley (seven) to Lauren Bell early, the result was never in doubt for Welsh Fire, as Beaumont was especially strong on anything loose, working the field with sweeps and cuts, while Matthews picked the gaps behind square in a 72-run stand off a mere 54 balls.

Beaumont raised her half-century in just 31 balls in a knock that had 10 boundaries, while the Barbadian, Matthews, struck five boundaries in her knock as Welsh Fire continue to blaze heading into the business end of the tournament.

 

James Anderson is considering a U-turn on his international retirement just a month on from playing his final Test match against West Indies at Lord's. 

Anderson, who took 704 wickets in 188 games for England, did not officially call time on his career and is now considering a return to the white-ball format. 

He recently joined the England coaching staff as a fast-bowling mentor following his retirement, and is helping Ben Stokes and the side ahead of their Test series with Sri Lanka next week. 

However, the 42-year-old is now pondering potential avenues for a return to the T20 Arena or even in next season's Hundred competition. 

Anderson has dedicated the last 10 years to red-ball cricket, not featuring in a 20-over game since 2014, but feels "still fit enough" to prolong his illustrious career. 

"I might be in a bit of denial because I'm well aware I won't play for England again, but I've still not made a decision on my actual cricket career," Anderson told the Press Association.

"There's definitely a bit of intrigue with the shorter formats because I've not played any franchise stuff before.

"Watching The Hundred this year, seeing the ball swing around, it makes me feel like I could do a job there.

"I know it's a while since I played it and my age will get brought up again but I really feel I'll be good enough to play that form of cricket."

An inspired spell of bowling from New Zealander Tim Southee and some good batting from Barbados-born Jacob Bethell propelled the Birmingham Phoenix to a six-wicket win over Rovman Powell’s Trent Rockets in Men’s Hundred action at Edgbaston on Monday.

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.

Barbados-born Jacob Bethell made 38*.

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.

 

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.

 

 

Kieron Pollard played one of his trademark innings to help the Southern Brave secure an improbable victory over the Trent Rockets in the Men’s Hundred at The Rose Bowl in Southampton on Saturday.

After winning the toss and batting first, the Rockets posted 126-8 from their 100 balls.

Openers Tom Banton and Adam Lyth gave the Rockets a good start with a partnership of 46 for the first wicket before both went in quick succession for 30 and 16, respectively.

A series of starts from Alex Hales (15), Joe Root (16), Rovman Powell (16) and captain Lewis Gregory (19) propelled the Rockets to their score.

Chris Jordan was the pick of the bowlers for the Brave with 3-22 from his 20 balls while Jofra Archer and Danny Briggs took two wickets, each.

The Brave then needed 99 balls to reach 127-8 and secure victory.

After a 43-run opening partnership between Alex Davies and captain James Vince, the Brave lost a cluster of wickets very quickly, eventually struggling at 78-6, needing 49 from 20 balls.

Kieron Pollard, who at that point has scored six off 14 balls, faced up to Rashid Khan in a crucial set of five to likely determine the outcome of the game.

The former West Indies captain then produced one of the most brutal displays of hitting of his career, belting Khan for five sixes in a row to put the Brave firmly in control, now needing 19 from 15 for victory.

The momentum continued in the way of the brave as the next set of five balls went for 10 runs to leave the Brave needing nine runs off 10 balls.

Pollard’s innings came to an end off the first ball of the next set for a 23-ball 45 including two fours and five sixes, bringing Jofra Archer to the crease to join Chris Jordan.

With the Brave eventually needing four runs off two balls, Jordan hit Lewis Gregory for four over square leg to secure the win.

Shimron Hetmyer’s 44 wasn’t enough to prevent the London Spirit from going down by 12 runs to the Manchester Originals in the Men’s Hundred at Lord’s on Friday.

The Originals, after being inserted by the Spirit, made 135-5 from their 100 balls thanks to 58 from Captain Phil Salt and 38 from Max Holden.

Pacers Richard Gleeson and Olly Stone took two wickets, each, for the Spirit while Andre Russell went wicketless while conceding only 14 from his 10 deliveries.

The Spirit then fell just short of their target, reaching 123-5 from their 100 balls.

Opener Keaton Jennings led the way with 61* off 50 balls while Hetmyer, batting at five, made 44 off 35 balls including three fours and a six.

Fazalhaq Farooqi took 3-24 from 20 balls for the Originals.

This result means the Spirit, like their opponents, have no chance to advance to the knockout phase of the tournament.

This was the Originals’ first win in six games while the Spirit have a similar record and are one spot above them in the eight-team table.

Nicholas Pooran hit a second consecutive half-century to lead the Northern Superchargers to a 19-run win over the Oval Invincibles in the Men’s Hundred at The Oval in London on Friday.

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.

 

West Indies captain Hayley Matthews produced an excellent knock to spearhead the Welsh Fire in their six-wicket win over the London Spirit in action in the Women’s Hundred at Lord’s on Thursday.

The Spirit first posted 150-5 from their 100 balls after Fire captain Tammy Beaumont won the toss and put them in to bat.

Danielle Gibson led the way with the bat with a 25-ball 41 while Deepti Sharma made 39* off 26 balls in support.

Freya Davies took 2-19 from her 20 deliveries for the Fire while Beth Langston, Jess Jonassen and Georgia Davis shared the other three wickets.

Needing 151 off their 100 balls for victory, the Fire lost skipper Beaumont for 6 off the 11th ball of the innings bringing Matthews to the crease.

The Bajan batted through the rest of the chase on her way to 78* off just 46 balls as the Fire reached 151-4 off 95 balls.

She hit 11 fours and two sixes in her 59 minutes in the middle. Sarah Bryce provided the most support for Matthews with 21 off 18 balls including three fours.

Danielle Gibson completed a good all-round performance with 2-28 off 15 balls.

This was the Fire’s second win in three games and moves them up to third in the eight-team table with four points, the same as the Spirit in second and the Oval Invincibles in first.

Nicholas Pooran led the way with a half-century as the Northern Superchargers secured a seven-wicket win over the Southern Brave to open their account in this season’s Hundred at Headingley in Leeds on Tuesday.

The Brave, after winning the toss and electing to bat, posted 146-8 off their 100 balls thanks to a 22-ball 37 from former West Indies captain Kieron Pollard and cameos of 28 and 26 from Alex Davies and James Coles, respectively.

Callum Parkinson took 2-38 from his 20 balls of left-arm spin for the Superchargers.

The Superchargers then needed only 85 balls to reach 147-3 and secure their first win of the season.

Pooran than led the successful chase with 62 off 34 balls including four fours and five sixes while captain Harry Brook finished 34* off 20 balls including four fours and a six.

Opener Graham Clark also chipped in with 27.

Akeal Hosein took 1-19 off 15 balls for the Brave.

Full Scores:

Southern Brave 146-8 off 100 balls (Kieron Pollard 37, Alex Davies 28, James Coles 26, Callum Parkinson 2-38)

Northern Superchargers 147-3 off 85 balls (Nicholas Pooran 62, Harry Brook 34*, Graham Clark 27, Akeal Hosein 1-19, Jofra Archer 1-19)

Caribbean Premier League (CPL)'s CEO believes scheduling arrangements through collaboration by the various T20 leagues should be routine to avoid the frequent tournament clashes, which forces players to fly from one tournament to another in a short window.

Russell’s suggestion came during an interview with ESPNcricinfo, as he called for regular meetings among franchise leagues owners and administrators to solve cricket's global scheduling crisis. This, as CPL and the Hundred have overlapped in the past, but will avoid a clash this season, following dialogue with England Cricket Board (ECB) earlier this year.

“[The ECB] have a defined window that they have to play in, and it happened that we could move everything out to ensure that we didn't clash [with the Hundred]. It makes absolutely zero sense if you've got [Sunil] Narine and [Andre] Russell having to fly back the day before the final of the Hundred. That's in no one's interests, and certainly not the Hundred's,” Russell declared.