Alice Davidson-Richards and Kate Cross impressed after being left out of England’s Cricket World Cup squad as Northern Superchargers knocked two-time champions Oval Invincibles out of Hundred play-off contention.
Davidson-Richards hit 50 from 32 balls, including nine fours, as the hosts reached their target of 126 with five deliveries to spare at Headingley for a seven-wicket victory and fifth win in seven games.
Cross – who described her World Cup omission as “savage” – had earlier taken 2-16 and a smart catch in the deep to help limit Invincibles, Hundred winners in 2021 and 2022, to 125-6.
Superchargers are now up to 20 points and will secure a top-three finish by winning their final group game against Manchester Originals on Tuesday, although they could still advance with a defeat such is their strong net run-rate.
But Invincibles remain on eight points after a fifth defeat in seven and are now unable to reach the knockout stages
Skipper Lauren Winfield-Hill (35 off 40) top-scored for Invincibles, while Australian trio Phoebe Litchfield (29 off 21), Annabel Sutherland (17no off 16) and Nicola Carey (25no) shone for Superchargers in the run chase.
Phoebe Litchfield helped Superchargers to a seven-wicket win at Headingley
How do matches work?
- One hundred balls a side, the team with the most runs wins. It is as simple as that.
- Five bowlers can bowl up to 20 balls in an innings, including five or 10 in a row.
- The traditional six-ball overs seen in other forms of cricket are not used in The Hundred, with 10 balls bowled before a change of ends.
- The powerplay is for the first 25 balls of an innings, with only two fielders allowed outside the 30-yard circle.
- A 25-ball-a-side game is the minimum length that can be played in the event of wet weather.
What’s next?
Sunday is a four-match day in The Hundred, with Welsh Fire taking on Trent Rockets in Cardiff (women’s match at 11am, men’s at 2.30pm), plus Manchester Originals vs Birmingham Phoenix at Emirates Old Trafford (women’s match at 2.30pm, men’s at 6pm).
Watch every match across the women’s and men’s competitions in The Hundred live on Sky Sports from August 5-31.