London Spirit are still alive in The Hundred after an emphatic win over Southern Brave took them level with their opponents on 12 points and meant that both are still within reach of the third qualifying spot as this wide-open men’s competition heads into its defining week.
Points Table
Match Analysis
Under the lights at Lord’s, the Spirit turned in arguably their most complete performance of the tournament to date. Jamie Smith was immense in the powerplay, pumping seven of his 18 deliveries either to or over the fence to dominate an opening stand of 66 in 36 balls with David Warner.
The Australian’s departure for 25, top-edging a reverse sweep, gave Michael Bracewell his first wicket, and the Kiwi off-spinner then induced the mishit from Smith, who picked out Hilton Cartwright on the midwicket fence to go for a brilliant 44.
Kane Williamson has simmered so far this summer but here he unfurled his full repertoire, hooking Jofra Archer for six and then driving him behind square for another maximum. His three sixes here, propelling him to a maiden half-century in the tournament, took his season tally up to five. It’s possible that the great champion is coming to the boil at just the right time.
The Brave’s attack struggled to contain, though their young left-arm spinner James Coles showed admirable nous, going for just 22 from his 15 deliveries and picking up the wicket of the dangerous Ashton Turner, caught in the deep.
In reply, much hinged on the Brave’s two white-ball icons, James Vince and Jason Roy. But when Vince plinked a pull shot off Luke Wood to mid-on, and Roy – after a sprightly cameo, including a monstrous 102-metre six off Richard Gleeson – played all round a straight one from Liam Dawson, the Brave’s assault ran aground.
For a brief moment, as Laurie Evans climbed into the spinners Jafer Chohan and Turner, hitting four sixes in five balls to leave the Brave needing 90 from 43, the most unlikely of heists seemed possible. But as wickets fell at the other end, Evans ran out of partners, momentum and belief, eventually succumbing on the long-on boundary to give Gleeson his second wicket.
Dawson took care of business at the death, picking up his third clean-bowled of the evening, with Jamie Overton then castling his brother, Craig, to clinch the match and help improve the Spirit’s run rate.
The consolation for the Brave is that they remain in the shake-up, ahead of their final match on Thursday against Welsh Fire, while the Spirit face their capital rivals on Monday at the Kia Oval. This tournament is still impossible to call.
Meerkat Match Hero, Jamie Smith, was delighted with the result. “It’s nice to get a win on the board here at Lord’s in front of our home crowd. We’ve played our best cricket of the comp there, which is obviously nice. We wanted to exploit the short boundary on one side. That was our blueprint as a batting unit. It hasn’t quite come off on a few occasions, and we could easily have gone into our shells, so we did really well to keep going.”
Batting with Warner has been a thrill, he said. “He’s played some ridiculous shots across the comp, and having these overseas players around, not only for the team but for the group of guys who aren’t playing, has been great. And obviously the skipper [Williamson] played fantastically well.”
Match Summary
London Spirit (Men) vs Southern Brave (Men), Match 26, The Hundred Mens
London Spirit (Men) 186/4 (100 balls)
Southern Brave (Men) 139/10 (92 balls)
London Spirit (Men) won by 47 runs
SCORECARD
Partnership
London Spirit keep their #TheHundred hopes alive!#RoadToTheEliminator ?? pic.twitter.com/CbWX1giWQY
— The Hundred (@thehundred) August 23, 2025
Match Stats
London Spirit (Men) Fall of wickets: 1-66 (David Warner – 7.1 ov), 2-71 (Jamie Smith – 7.5 ov), 3-126 (Ashton Turner – 14.1 ov), 4-168 (Kane Williamson – 18.2 ov)
Southern Brave (Men) Fall of wickets: 1-5 (James Vince – 1.1 ov), 2-16 (Leus du Plooy – 2.4 ov), 3-55 (James Coles – 7.2 ov), 4-71 (Jason Roy – 9.4 ov), 5-111 (Hilton Cartwright – 13.5 ov), 6-112 (Michael Bracewell – 14.2 ov), 7-129 (Laurie Evans – 15.4 ov), 8-134 (Jordan Thompson – 16.3 ov), 9-139 (Craig Overton – 18.2 ov)
Wagon Wheel
Playing XI
London Spirit (Men)
Southern Brave (Men)
Match Details:
Date: Saturday, August 23, 2025 18:00
Venue: Lord’s, London
Toss: Southern Brave (Men) elected to bowl
Umpires: Ian Blackwell (England) Mark Newell (England) Martin Saggers (England TV)
Match Referee: Steve Davis (Australia)
© Cricket World 2025
