Zak Crawley batted like a man possessed and looked in full flow as his unbeaten 55 helped Northern Superchargers to an easy 8-wicket win with 18 balls to spare. Zak Crawley had a point to prove to his detractors and he did that with flying colours. London Spirit batting first at Lord’s put up 135/3 on the back of Ollie Pope’s unbeaten 52 and Jamie Smith’s 41 at the top of the order while Ashton Turner also made 28 off 22 balls with Tom Lawes picking up 2 wickets for Superchargers.
In reply, Zak Crawley was the star as he carried his bat with his unbeaten 55 off 38 balls. Dawid Malan played well for his 22 off 21 balls while Daniel Lawrence made 37 off 22 balls before captain Harry Brook delivered the finishing touches as Superchargers won by 8 wickets with 18 balls to spare. The Superchargers occupy the third spot while London Spirit with this loss are in 7th place.
Ollie Pope’s Unbeaten 52 propels London Spirit to 135/3.
Put into bat first, Jamie Smith and David Warner walked out to bat for London Spirit while Jacob Duffy had ball in hand for Northern Superchargers. Duffy bowled a tight first set as Matthew Potts came to bowl the next set. Potts struck straightaway getting rid of David Warner for a 4th ball duck. Length delivery angling in from Potts, Warner walked down the track and looked to slash hard but he miscued it to deep point where Tom Lawes took a routine catch. Captain Kane Williamson walked out to bat next and got off the mark.
Smith got into the act hitting Duffy for a boundary, the first of the match. Williamson got into the act as well hitting Potts for a boundary and he hit another boundary off Potts few balls later. Smith took the attack to Duffy hitting him for a boundary and launching him over deep backward square leg for a maximum as London Spirit reached 33/1 in 25 balls at the end of the powerplay.
Tom Lawes came into the attack and got rid of captain Kane Williamson for 10 off 9 balls with two boundaries to his name. Lawes bowled a length delivery outside off, Williamson looked to slog it over deep midwicket but he skied it right up in the air. Crawley ran in from the fence and dived forward to take an excellent catch. Ollie Pope came out to bat at 4 and got off the mark straightaway.
Mitchell Santner came into the attack as Jamie Smith welcomed him with a boundary through point region. Adil Rashid came into the attack and bowled a tight set even though the 50 came up for Spirit in 39 balls. Smith once again attacked Santner and got a boundary away to deep midwicket. Rashid bowled another tidy set as London Spirit reached 65/2 in 50 balls at the halfway stage of the innings.
Tom Lawes came back into the attack as Pope greeted him with a boundary. But Lawes soon got a wicket under his belt getting rid of Smith for 41 off 27 balls with 4 fours and a maximum to his name. Lawes bowled a short of a length angled back into the batter from outside off, Smith stood tall and heaved it away on the leg side, dragging it off the inner half of the bat straight down the throat of Daniel Lawrence at deep midwicket. Ashton Turner came out to bat next and got off the mark as he hit Lawes for consecutive boundaries to make his intentions clear.
Rashid came back and once again runs came in singles against him. Turner then hit Lawes for another boundary through short fine leg. Matthew Potts came back into the attack as Pope got a reprieve as Rashid dropped the catch and deflected it to the boundary ropes. Soon, the 100 came up for London Spirit in 72 balls as Santner bowled a decent set as well. After 75 balls, London Spirit were 103/3.
Tom Lawes came back into the attack and bowled decently even though Pope got a cheeky boundary away over the keeper’s head. Adil Rashid bowled his final set and runs came in singles as he completed his spell wicketless but gave away less than run a ball. Santner came back to the attack as the 50-run stand came up between Pope and Turner. But Santner also kept things tight and completed his decent spell as well.
Duffy came back for his final set and bowled another tight set as Spirit had lost all momentum despite having wickets in hand. Soon, Ollie Pope brought up his fifty off 37 balls and it was a good innings. But runs came in ones and twos as London Spirit ended with 135/3 in 100 balls. Pope’s innings consisted off 3 fours and no sixes in his unbeaten 52 off 38 balls while Ashton Turner remained unbeaten on 28 off 22 balls with 3 fours and no sixes to his name. 4 extras given by the fielding side.
Tom Lawes got a couple of wickets for his 2/34 in 20 balls while Matthew Potts got 1/30 in 20 balls. Jacob Duffy gave away 24 runs in 20 balls while Mitchell Santner gave away 28 runs in 20 balls and Adil Rashid gave away only 18 runs in 20 balls. They did not pick up a wicket but kept things very much under check. It meant Northern Superchargers needed 136 to win off 100 balls.
Zak Crawley’s Unbeaten 55 Powers Northern Superchargers To An Easy Win.Â
Chasing 136 for the win, Zak Crawley and Dawid Malan walked out to bat for Northern Superchargers while Daniel Worrall had ball in his hand for London Spirit. Crawley made his intentions clear as he hit a hat-trick of boundaries off Worrall. Luke Wood came into the attack next and was greeted with a boundary from Crawley. Worrall bowled a decent set thereafter. Crawley once again managed to get a boundary away off Wood.
Malan got into the act and joined the party as he launched Worrall over extra covers for the maximum. At the end of 25 balls of powerplay, Northern Superchargers had raced away to 44/0. Richard Gleeson came into the attack after powerplay and bowled a tidy set. Liam Dawson came into the attack as the 50 came up for Northern Superchargers and for the partnership off 32 balls.
A stumping chance was missed by Jamie Smith off Dawson as Crawley got a reprieve. Jamie Overton came into the attack and gifted away 4 leg byes to the batting team. But he got rid of Dawid Malan for 22 off 21 balls with a maximum to his name. Overton bowled a hard length ball pitching on middle and going across the southpaw. Malan was looking to heave it over widish mid-on but got hit high on the bat as the ball ballooned straight to mid-on where Ashton Turner took a sitter. Daniel Lawrence came out to bat next.
Overton continued for another set and bowled a decent one as Northern Superchargers reached 68/1 after 50 balls at the halfway stage of the chase and now needed exactly another 68 runs off 50 balls with 9 wickets in hand. Dawson came back and kept things tidy. Lawrence finally broke the shackles when he hit Wood for a boundary through extra cover. Gleeson bowled a decent set.
Crawley smashed Overton and launched him over long-on for the maximum while Lawrence also hit Overton for a boundary as the 100 came up for Northern Superchargers in 69 balls. Lawrence hit Dawson for a boundary and launched him for a maximum as well over wide long-on as the 50-run stand came up between Lawrence and Crawley. After 75 balls, Northern Superchargers were 117/1 and now needed a mere 19 off 25 balls.
Gleeson came back and gave something to cheer for Spirit as he dismissed Daniel Lawrence for 37 off 22 balls with 3 fours and a maximum to his name. Gleeson bowled it short outside off, Lawrence scythed it to deep point where Sean Dickson took a comfortable catch. Captain Harry Brook came to the crease next and got off the mark which was also a no ball. Crawley took advantage of the free hit by smashing it over deep midwicket for the maximum and got to his fifty in 36 balls.
Harry Brook managed to get his first boundary away off Gleeson towards backward point region. Ashton Turner came into the attack to bowl but could only bowl two balls as Harry Brook the captain finished things off in style with another boundary through mid-on as Superchargers won this game by 8 wickets with 18 balls to spare. Crawley remained unbeaten on 55 off 38 balls with 5 fours and 2 sixes to his name while Brook remained unbeaten on 9 off 3 balls with 2 boundaries to his name. 15 extras gifted by the fielding side.
Richard Gleeson got a wicket in his 1/26 in 15 balls while Jamie Overton got a wicket in his 1/22 in 15 balls. Liam Dawson gave away 27 runs in 20 balls while Daniel Worrall gave 26 runs in 15 balls and Luke Wood gave away 28 runs in 15 balls. Ashton Turner came to bowl 2 balls and gave away 5 runs. So, Northern Superchargers win by 8 wickets with 18 balls to spare and for his swashbuckling innings, Zak Crawley was awarded Player of the Match.
Northern Superchargers with this victory solidify third place with 16 points from 6 games with 4 wins and 2 losses while London Spirit slips to 7th place with 8 points after 6 games having won 2 and lost 4 games.
What Lies Ahead.Â
The bandwagon shifts to The Oval in London for the next game in Hundred 2025. It is Oval Invincibles the defending champions hosting Trent Rockets in a top-of-the table clash. Both teams have won 4 out of 5 games and have garnered 16 points from 5 games with Oval ahead on Net Run Rate. The winner of tonight’s game will top the table while the loser will be in second place.
Who will win in the battle of the top 2 sides? Only time will tell as the excitement builds up for Match 23 of the tournament as we are now into the last 10 games before playoffs with teams jostling for positions to finish in top 3. Let’s see how things unfold from here.
Also Read: Hundred 2025: Sam Curran’s All-Round Heroics Enables Oval Invincibles To Another Emphatic Win.