THE HUNDRED, 2025
The win has just kept the Spirit afloat in The Hundred © Getty
Enterprising knocks from Jamie Smith and skipper Kane Williamson set up London Spirit’s big win over Southern Brave. The win has kept them just alive in the race for the third qualifying spot alongside Brave. The result has also ensured the qualification of Oval Invincibles and Northern Superchargers.
Spirit started off in great fashion through their openers Smith and David Warner putting on 66 for the opening wicket. Even though it was Warner who kicked things off with a boundary, Smith was the aggressor as he took on Craig Overton for two fours and a six in a set and never looked back. He hit two more sixes – one each off Jofra Archer and Reece Topley before the opening partnership finally came to an end with Warner miscuing a reverse sweep. In the same set, Smith also departed following a stunning 18-ball 44 as Michael Bracewell sent both the openers packing.
However, the two new batters didn’t really opt for a period of consolidation. Instead, Ashton Turner also targeted Overton on an evening where he continued to leak runs. A reverse sweep for a boundary got Williamson going and he backed it up with two sixes – one against his countryman Bracewell and the other against Archer – to turn on the heat. While Turner departed, Williamson continued to put on a show and brought up a fifty. A couple of handy cameos then followed suit lower down the order that pushed the total to a very strong territory.
The run chase then began in disastrous fashion for Brave as they lost both their openers for single-digit scores. Jason Roy counterattacked his way to a 23-ball 37 but Liam Dawson castled him and James Coles to reduce Brave to 71 for 4. While Laurie Evans did thrill by clearing the ropes four times, he literally found no support at the other end. From 111 for 4, Brave were bowled out for 139 as Richard Gleeson, Dawson and Jamie Overton combined to wreck the lower order in little time to deliver a thumping win.
Brief scores: London Spirit 186/4 in 100 balls (Kane Williamson 53, Jamie Smith 44; Michael Bracewell 2/26) beat Southern Brave 139 in 92 balls (Laurie Evans 37; Liam Dawson 3/23, Richard Gleeson 3/30) by47 runs
© Cricbuzz
