Australian stars hit the winning runs, and took out player-of-the-final and -tournament gongs, but the most love was reserved for an absentee
In a fitting climax to a women’s tournament studded with Australian quality, Annabel Sutherland, Nicola Carey and Phoebe Litchfield piloted the Northern Superchargers expertly to victory in the Hundred final at Lord’s.
Sutherland delivered yet another fine all-round performance, Carey was voted player of the match and Litchfield the MVP of the tournament on Monday (AEST) as the trio of Australian internationals all excelled in the Superchargers’ seven-wicket stroll over the previously unbeaten Southern Brave.
Sutherland finished the job with a straight six, ending up 28no, after she had also earlier been instrumental in setting up the Leeds-based team’s triumph by taking 2-23 off her 20 balls, grabbing the key wickets of the Brave’s top-scorers Freya Kemp and Danni Wyatt-Hodge as the Southampton side slumped to 6-115.
Litchfield cracked a two-a-ball 26, with a six and four fours, to lead the way and become the top-scorer of the tournament with her 292 runs taking her past the Oval Invincibles’ Meg Lanning.
Then Carey, who’s been a revelation since she joined the team just over a fortnight ago following a tournament-ending injury to the equally impressive Georgia Wareham, took control, clouting an unbeaten 35 off 25 balls with five boundaries as she shared in an unbeaten stand of 60 with Sutherland.
It enabled the Superchargers to ease over the line with 12 balls to spare, a well-deserved triumph for the side who have been dominant in the second half of the campaign largely thanks to some scintillating cricket from the players who captain Hollie Armitage dubbed the “fantastic Aussies”.
Perhaps the most fantastic of all had been Litchfield, the 22-year-old who’s played enough brilliant knocks to be presented the player of the tournament gong by former England paceman Stuart Broad.
“I’m surprised, honestly,” said Litchfield. “If you’d told me a month ago that we’d be lifting the trophy and I’d be having this (award) in my hands, I probably wouldn’t have believed you. So, it’s been an awesome month. This is pretty cool.”
Carey admitted she had not been in the best shape when she got the call to join the team after Wareham’s injury, but she quickly got into the groove, ending up with the highest strike-rate of any batter in the tournament (167.79) except for the 173.98 of compatriot Grace Harris (London Spirit).
The 31-year-old Camperdown international Carey reckoned she had enjoyed a “wild” two weeks.
“A couple of weeks ago, I was back home in Tasmania, doing a cold pre-season,” she reflected. “So to get the call-up first of all was pretty surprising and to finish the couple of weeks with a win, it couldn’t have gone better.
“It’s honestly been a whirlwind. I haven’t had something like that where you get a message one night, the next day-and-a-half later you’re on a plane, then a day-and-a-half later you’re on the field. It was pretty crazy.
But the Superchargers didn’t forget the contribution of Wareham, the teammate they all got to know as “Wolf”. As they collected the trophy, they brought a life-size cardboard cut-out of the allrounder with them to share in the victory celebrations.
Australians in The Hundred 2025
Birmingham Phoenix: Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Georgia Voll
London Spirit: David Warner, Ashton Turner; Grace Harris, Georgia Redmayne, Charli Knott
Manchester Originals: Beth Mooney
Northern Superchargers: Phoebe Litchfield, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham, Nicola Carey
Oval Invincibles: Jason Behrendorff; Amanda-Jade Wellington, Meg Lanning
Southern Brave: Hilton Cartwright
Trent Rockets: Marcus Stoinis; Ash Gardner, Alana King, Heather Graham
Welsh Fire: Steve Smith, Riley Meredith, Chris Green; Jess Jonassen
