James Anderson and Jos Buttler starred as Manchester Originals inflicted a seven-wicket defeat upon Northern Superchargers ahead of their Hundred Eliminator contest.
The Superchargers were already assured of a place in a Saturday showdown at The Oval but missed the chance to move above the Trent Rockets into second place as they lost at home for the first time in this year’s tournament.
The Originals won the toss and chose to field, with Anderson bowling the first 10, and rapidly picking up his first and second wickets in The Hundred, accompanied by a broad grin.
He then had his former international team-mate – and Superchargers captain – Harry Brook dropped in the deep before seeing England’s white-ball captain try his falling-over scoop, with the failed attempt leaving Brook on his bottom and Anderson in stitches.
Brook (20 off 20) was then caught off Scott Currie and Zak Crawley (17 off 17) holed out, and with the Superchargers at 73-5 off 67 balls, the Originals were in the box seat.
Jos Buttler starred with the bat for Manchester Originals
Enter the 40-year-old Samit Patel, three years younger than Anderson perhaps, but still very much a senior citizen in professional cricketing terms.
When he was dismissed off the penultimate delivery, he had pummelled four fours and three sixes in his 19-ball 42 and, along with David Miller (30 off 22), given the Superchargers something to defend at 139-8 despite Tom Aspinwall’s impressive 3-17.
The Superchargers’ opening bowlers Jacob Duffy and Matthew Potts were tidy as they prevented Phil Salt (9 off 13) and Ben McKinney (6 off 8) from breaking free.
But once they had gone, Buttler and Rachin Ravindra (47 not out off 23) showed just why they are rated two of the best white-ball batters in the world.
A thrilling partnership of 99 from 48 balls ensured the Originals finished the competition on a high and consigned the Superchargers to a third-place group finish, barring a catastrophic defeat by the Rockets to the Phoenix tomorrow at Trent Bridge.
Buttler was imperious, smiting seven fours and five sixes in his 37-ball 70 before being bowled by Adil Rashid, at which point only 10 were needed from 21 balls.
Rashid conceded 39 from his 20, the most he has ever leaked in The Hundred, and successive boundaries from Ravindra sealed the deal with seven wickets and 16 balls to spare.
Meerkat Match Hero Buttler said: “The surface was a bit tricky, a bit slow. I thought we bowled exceptionally well apart from three or four balls and that allowed us to chase it down.
“We showed our best cricket in this last game when we were already out of the tournament, which is frustrating.
“Overall, over the course of the tournament, we left a lot out there. In a couple of games, we failed to get over the line and we are where we deserve to be in the end. Tonight, we showed what we are truly capable of as a team.”
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 coming up on Wednesday?
Trent Rockets welcome Birmingham Phoenix to Trent Bridge with the women’s match under way from 3pm and the men’s getting going at 6.30pm, live on Sky Sports Cricket.
Watch every match across the women’s and men’s competitions in The Hundred live on Sky Sports until August 31.