Aussie allrounder hits an undefeated 62 and takes two wickets to help reigning Hundred champions Sunrisers Leeds ease into the eliminator
Annabel Sutherland has inspired Sunrisers Leeds to move within one step of this year’s Hundred final by beating Manchester Super Giants in a winner-takes-all clash.
In a shootout for the final place in the top three, Sutherland’s unbeaten 62 off 36 balls helped Leeds win by 41 runs at Old Trafford, leapfrog their opponents and set up an eliminator against Southern Brave.
That means Sunrisers’ Aussie cohort of Sutherland, Phoebe Litchfield and Jess Jonassen will come up against compatriot Sophie Molineux, the Braves captain who is expected to have recovered from the upset stomach that ruled her out of Monday’s defeat by Trent Rockets.
Opener Litchfield made her intentions clear after Sunrisers were asked to bat, dashing to 27 from 12 deliveries to leapfrog Trent Rockets’ England batter Sophia Dunkley at the top of the competition’s run-scoring chart.
Allrounder Sutherland hit nine boundaries, including three consecutive sixes to finish the innings, as the visitors posted 4-166.
Sutherland told Sky Sports: “It’s the beauty of being an all-rounder, you’re in the game all the time, and I love competing, especially in a match we were calling a final. We had to win and it was nice to do a job for the team.”
Jonassen utilised her spin to take 3-21, while Deepti Sharma and Sutherland claimed two wickets apiece as Manchester, for whom their Aussie captain Meg Lanning made 10, were restricted to 8-125 in reply.
They exit the competition after slipping to fourth place in the standings.
Second-placed Leeds will continue their title defence against Southern Brave on Friday at the Oval, with table-topping Trent Rockets, captained by Ashleigh Gardner, awaiting the winners in Sunday’s final at Lord’s.
Marsh unable to save Leeds as Super Giants stand tall
Mitch Marsh’s top-scoring efforts have been to no avail as his Sunrisers Leeds side suffered a crushing 10-wicket defeat at the hands of Manchester Super Giants.
The Aussie’s 32 from 23 balls was eclipsed by Tim Seifert smashing an unbeaten 80 off 40 deliveries as Super Giants all-but secured a place in the men’s Hundred eliminator
New Zealander Seifert struck five fours and seven sixes during an unbroken opening partnership with Paul Walter (44 off 28) to secure the win with 33 balls to spare.
Victory lifted Super Giants into second place in the table, while Sunrisers dropped to third, four points clear of both MI London and Welsh Fire.
The result also confirmed Trent Rockets’ place in Sunday’s final as table-toppers.
They must wait for Thursday’s results to discover whether they have secured a semi-final spot.
The visitors were all out for 127 after being put into bat at Old Trafford, with Super Giants bowler Gus Atkinson taking 3-30 and Sonny Baker claiming 2-22.
Marsh led the way for Leeds while captain Zak Crawley, who dropped Seifert off the 51st ball of the Super Giants innings, hit 31 from 28.
