London Spirit put in an all-round performance with bat and ball to register an emphatic win over Southern Brave and climbs upwards in the points table. In a game where they had to win at Lord’s, London Spirit put on an awesome batting performance to put up runs on the board before disciplined bowling led them to the win. Batting first, Spirit rode on a half-century from captain Kane Williamson and a breath-taking 44 off 18 balls from Jamie Smith to put 186/4 in 100 balls.
In reply, London Spirit relied on 3-wicket hauls from Liam Dawson and Richard Gleeson to skittle Southern Brave up for 139 in 92 balls with Reece Topley unable to bat for them due to an injury. Lots of starts by them but no one went on with a big innings for Brave as they stay in 4th place while Spirit jumped from 8th to 5th with this big win.
Kane Williamson & Jamie Smith sizzles as London Spirit post 186/4.
Put into bat first, David Warner and Jamie Smith came out to bat for London Spirit while Craig Overton had ball in hand for Southern Brave. Warner hit the first boundary off the innings hitting Overton over point. Reece Topley came onto bowl the next set as Warner hit him for a boundary towards short third man. Jamie Smith soon joined the party as he hit Overton for two consecutive boundaries and followed that up with a maximum over long-on.
Hilton Cartwright dropped a tough chance as Smith got a reprieve off Overton. Jofra Archer was welcomed into the bowling attack with a maximum from Jamie Smith over square leg. Warner then reverse swept Overton for a boundary. After 25 balls of the powerplay, London Spirit were 43/0. Reece Topley came back into the attack and was greeted with a boundary and maximum by Jamie Smith.
Topley then injured his right shoulder and called for the physio. He looked alright but walked off as a precautionary measure. Michael Bracewell came into the attack next and was crunched by Warner down the ground for the maximum. Bracewell provided the breakthrough for his side getting rid of Warner for 25 off 20 balls with 3 fours and a maximum to his name.
Bracewell bowled it full outside off and turning away from around the wicket. Warner attempted the reverse sweep again but he miscued it to the left of backward point. Jordan Thompson ran around and took the catch easily. Kane Williamson came out to bat next and got off the mark straightaway. Smith then punched Bracewell over extra cover for a boundary. But the wily spinner hit back and removed Jamie Smith for 44 off 18 balls with 4 fours and 3 sixes to his name.
Bracewell bowled it full and turning in, Smith ran down the pitch and looked to slog it over midwicket but didn’t middle the ball. Hilton Cartwright took a good catch at the fence. Ashton Turner came out to bat at 4. Jordan Thompson came into the attack next and bowled a tidy set. Turner managed to hit Overton for a boundary over wide mid-off. Turner then launched Overton over wide long-off for a maximum as London Spirit reached 88/2 after 50 balls at the halfway stage of the innings.
James Coles came into the attack as Turner got a lucky boundary away through short fine leg. Kane Williamson got into the act as he hit Coles for a boundary over the keeper and to the third man fence. The 100 came up for London Spirit in 56 balls. Williamson got stuck into Bracewell and launched him for the maximum over midwicket. Archer came back and welcomed back with a biggie over forward square leg by Williamson. Kane also hit a delightful boundary through extra covers as the 50-run stand came up between the two players.
Jordan Thompson came back into the attack and bowled a decent set. Coles then got rid of Ashton Turner for 22 off 15 balls with 2 fours and a maximum to his name. Coles bowled a full delivery outside off from around the wicket, Turner got down on one knee and looked to smoke a slog sweep against the spin and miscued the big hit. He dragged it in the air as Cartwright took a fine catch at deep midwicket. Sean Dickson came out to bat and got off the mark straightaway. After 75 balls of the innings, London Spirit were 129/3.
Williamson hit Coles for a boundary via a reverse sweep through the point region. Jofra Archer returned and Williamson showed his class as he launched him over backward point for the maximum by slicing it and held the pose. The 150 came up for the hosts in 85 balls. Jordan Thompson came back and was launched by Dickson over midwicket region. Dickson managed to hit a boundary off Thompson through deep square leg and deep midwicket.
Williamson hit Archer for a boundary to get to his fifty in 26 balls and it was a no ball as well which meant a free hit followed. Williamson hit a waist high full toss for a couple of runs off the free hit. Archer finally got his reward and dismissed Kane Williamson for 53 off 28 balls with 4 fours and 3 sixes to his name.
Archer bowled it full on the leg stump, Williamson backed away and cleared his front leg to look for a wild heave across the line and failed to get underneath it and dragged it off the inside half of the bat towards deep midwicket. Hilton Cartwright ran in to take a fine catch. Jamie Overton came out to bat next. Overton joined in the fun as he hit Thompson for back-to-back boundaries.
After a couple of braces, he hit another boundary off the same bowler straight down the ground for a boundary to end the innings as he finished things off in style did Overton. Jamie Overton remained unbeaten on 16 off 7 balls with 3 boundaries to his name while Sean Dickson remained unbeaten on 18 off 13 balls with a boundary and a maximum to his name. 8 extras given by the fielding side as London Spirit finished with an impressive 186/4 in 100 balls.
Michael Bracewell was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2/26 in 15 balls. James Coles bowled decently for his 1/22 in 15 balls. Jofra Archer had a mixed bag day with figures of 1/42 in 20 balls. Craig Overton went for 43 in 20 balls while Reece Topley bowled 10 balls for 16 runs before going off the field injured. Jordan Thompson gave away 34 runs in 20 balls. This meant that Southern Brave needed 187 to win off 100 balls to win the match.
Liam Dawson & Richard Gleeson’s 3-wicket haul skittles Southern Brave out for 139.
Chasing 187 for the win, Leus du Plooy and captain James Vince walked out to bat for Southern Brave while Luke Wood had ball in hand for London Spirit. Vince got off the mark with a boundary off Wood over midwicket. Richard Gleeson came onto bowl next and got rid of James Vince for 4 off 5 balls with a boundary to his name.
Gleeson from over the wicket bowled a short of a length outside outside off, Vince didn’t move his feet and looked to swipe across the line but he managed to drag it off the toe end to Kane Williamson who took a simple catch at mid-on. Jason Roy came out to bat next and got off the mark straightaway. Du Plooy showed his intentions clear as he nailed the scoop over the keeper for a maximum. Luke Wood dismissed the other opener as du Plooy fell for 7 off 7 balls with a maximum to his name.
He bowled a length ball outside off, du Plooy didn’t move his feet again and looked to fetch a slog from outside off-stump. He miscued it off the toe end of the bat and knew he was in trouble. Jamie Overton at midwicket had mid-on coming in his way, but managed to take a good catch. James Coles came out to bat next and got off the mark with a boundary.
Jason Roy finally got into the act as he hit Gleeson for a maximum over midwicket way back into the crowds. He also hit Gleeson for a boundary in the same set over mid-off. Jamie Overton came to bowl the final set of powerplay and Roy hit him for a boundary through extra cover and mid-off. After 25 balls of powerplay in the chase, Southern Brave were 40/2.
Liam Dawson came into the attack after powerplay as Coles launched him over cow corner for the maximum. Jafer Chohan came into the attack next as the 50 came up for Brave off 31 balls. He bowled a decent set. Coles broke the shackles as he hit Dawson for a boundary through extra covers. But Dawson hit back getting rid of Coles for 18 off 10 balls with 2 fours and a maximum to his name.
Dawson bowled it full on the middle stump spinning away. Coles got across and exposed his stumps went down on one knee for a risky sweep and missed the stroke completely and got the under edge only to see the ball clatter the off-stumps. Laurie Evans came out to bat next and got off the mark. Jamie Overton came back into the attack as Roy took him on and deposited him for a boundary and a maximum to give some momentum to the batting innings.
Dawson kept on creating havoc as he now dismissed Jason Roy for 37 off 23 balls with 3 fours and 2 sixes to his name. Dawson bowled a very full ball on the off and middle stump which was nearly a yorker. Roy tried to get his bat down in time but was a bit too late in doing so. The ball landed in the blockhole and went under his bat to rattle the stumps. Hilton Cartwright came out to bat next and got off the mark. After 50 balls in the chase, Southern Brave were 72/4 and needed a further 115 more runs off 50 balls.
Evans then took the attack to Chohan smashing him for two sixes in three balls in the set. Ashton Turner was greeted by Evans with back-to-back maximums as Brave continued to fight. The 100 came up for Southern Brave in 60 balls. Luke Wood came back into the attack and got the outside edge off Evans where Jamie Smith put down a tough chance diving to his left.
Richard Gleeson came back and got rid of Hilton Cartwright for 8 off 7 balls. He bowled it full outside off-stump, Cartwright looked to power it over long-off but he mistimed it to long-off where Luke Wood took a comfortable catch. Michael Bracewell came out to bat next. Jamie Overton struck and got rid of Bracewell for a golden duck. It was a short ball angling away which Bracewell looked to play the pull shot and got the top edge to the left of the keeper. Jamie Smith jogged few metres and took the catch easily with his gloves.
Jordan Thompson came out to bat next and got off the mark. Overton gifted 5 wides to the batting side. Thompson managed to get a boundary by slicing it over short third man for a boundary. After 75 balls of the chase, Southern Brave were 124/6 and needed a further 63 runs off the last 25 balls. Gleeson came to bowl his final set and was hit for a boundary by Thompson via a thick outside edge over the slips.
But Gleeson hit back to get rid of Evans for 37 off 21 balls with 4 sixes to his name. Gleeson bowled a short ball angling in, Evans backed away and looked to slap it over long-on but he didn’t generate enough power. Jamie Overton took an easy catch in the deep. Craig Overton came out to bat next and got off the mark. Liam Dawson then got rid of Jordan Thompson for 11 off 7 balls with 2 fours to his name.
Dawson bowled a length delivery turning into the stumps, Thompson ran down the pitch and looked to slog but the ball went under his bat and struck timber. It was delivered pretty slow and the ball didn’t rise at all. Jofra Archer came out to bat next and got off the mark. We got to know that Reece Topley won’t coming out to bat as he sustained a right shoulder injury and now London Spirit were a wicket away from winning the contest.
Luke Wood bowled a decent set giving away just one run. The winning moment soon came as Jamie Overton got rid of his brother Craig Overton for 5 off 6 balls. Full and slow from Jamie, Craig looked to slog it over midwicket but the ball gripped and turned in to strike the wood work. Archer remained on 1* as Reece Topley was absent hurt. 11 extras given by the fielding side as Southern Brave were bowled out for 139 in 92 balls handing a dominant 47-run win for London Spirit as the hosts kept their playoff hopes alive.
Liam Dawson was the pick of the bowlers for London Spirit with figures of 3/23 in 20 balls. He was ably supported by Richard Gleeson who finished with 3/30 in 20 balls. Jamie Overton chipped in with 2/35 in 17 balls. Luke Wood got a wicket in his 1/20 in 20 balls. Jafer Chohan gave 15 runs in 10 balls while Ashton Turner gave 15 runs in 5 balls. So, London Spirit won by 47 runs and for his enterprising innings of 44 off 18 balls, Jamie Smith was given the Player of the Match Award.
With this win, London Spirit climbed upwards to 5th in the points table as they have 12 points from 7 games. Southern Brave stays in 4th place with 12 points from 7 games and both teams have one game left each. After yesterday’s results, Oval Invincibles and Northern Superchargers both qualified for the playoffs.
What Lies Ahead.
We have a double header on this Super Sunday, the last double header of Hundred 2025. First up, it’s going to be bottom-placed Welsh Fire hosting third-placed Trent Rockets at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff at 7 PM IST. This will be followed by Manchester Originals who are in 7th place hosting Birmingham Phoenix who are in 6th place due to Net Run Rate and this match will be at Emirates Old Trafford in Manchester from 10:30 PM IST.
A win for Trent Rockets will send them into the playoffs and will make the remaining league games as academical. Let’s see how things pan out as teams are jostling for positions as we are at the backend of Hundred 2025 with lots still to play for and one spot up for grabs now.
Also Read: Hundred 2025: Hilton Cartwright’s Fiery Innings Highlights A Nervy Win For Southern Brave.