There were four international captains on show in the Women’s Hundred on England’s south coast and Australia’s Sophie Molineux has ended up the happiest.
Molineux did not deliver the best individual performance of the quartet. That came from West Indies skipper Hayley Matthews, who took 4-22 in her allocated 20 balls, then made 32 off 28.
But Molineux was on the winning side, playing a key role as skipper and bowler (1-22 off 20) as her Southern Brave franchise maintained their 100 per cent start with a one-run victory over still winless MI London on Monday (Tuesday AEST).
South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt was also playing for the Brave, while New Zealand’s skipper Melie Kerr played for MI, though their captain was neither Matthews or Kerr, but Englishwoman Hollie Armitage, who does not lead the national side.
The Brave’s male counterparts were less pleased, going down on the last ball after only making 9-129 despite allrounders Marcus Stoinis and Nikhil Chaudhary making life difficult for MI London.
Stoinis took two wickets in as many balls in the Powerplay, removing ex-Brave captain James Vince before having Nicholas Pooran caught behind first ball.
Chaudhary then ensured a nervy finish, the leg-spinner bowling Tom Curran to leave the equation at eight needed from seven balls. Rashid Khan was then run out to bring Trent Boult to the crease with three required from three.
The following ball was a dot, drilled back at Chaudhary who failed to cling onto a tough caught-and-bowled, resulting in a lengthy delay as he required treatment from the physio. Next ball Boult swiped a single through midwicket, leaving Pope on strike to hit the winning runs.
“A very tight one at the end there,” said MI’s Will Jacks after making 54 off 41. “Very relieved to get over the line. It was a hard-fought game on a tricky surface.”
In the earlier game, Molineux missed out with the bat, making four from seven balls as the Brave struggled for late-innings acceleration, but made up for it in the field.
They made a sharp start on Hampshire’s large Rosebowl ground with Maia Bouchier (31 off 22) and Jemimah Rodrigues (32 off 22) setting the platform, but failing to kick on.
Molineux came to the crease with the Brave 3-104 off 76 balls, India’s Rodrigues having been caught in the deep off Matthews.
The Victorian took three balls to get off the mark as she sought to give the strike to Wolvaardt. But the South African (35 off 30) was bowled soon after by a well-flighted googly from Kerr (1-21 off 20 balls).
That left Molineux to take the lead, but she could only eke out two singles off international teammate Nicola Carey before being stumped charging Matthews.
Carey, closing out the innings, took 1-18 off her 20 including a quicksilver stumping by Kira Chatli as the Brave failed to score off the last four balls.
Their final tally of 7-126 offered hope to the visitors. Molineux bowled the second set of five, offering her a chance to gain revenge against Matthews, but was cut for an early four. She brought herself back periodically as she shrewdly rotated the bowlers, keeping MI mostly just behind the clock.
After a tight set from Izzy Wong left MI needing 15 off 10, Molineux returned for her final stint and bowled Chinelle Henry (two) with an inswinging yorker.
That brought in Carey who reverse-swept for two and paddled for four, but MI still needed eight off the last five balls, bowled by Lauren Bell.
England teammate Danni Wyatt-Hodge (52no off 42) and Australian Carey (eight not out off five) scampered hard but the boundary they needed proved elusive.
“This team has great belief,” said Rodrigues. “It’s the calmness we show under pressure. When the partnership was building we kept saying one wicket could turn things around. It’s a game of cricket, anything can happen.”
The Hundred 2026 women’s standings
Team
Matches played
M
Wins
W
Losses
L
Ties
T
Drawn
D
No results
N/R
Net Run Rate
NRR
Deductions
Ded.
Batting Bonus
Bat
Bowling Bonus
Bowl
Total points
PTS
1
SBW
3
3
0
0
0
0
0.25
0
0
0
12
2
MSW
2
1
0
0
0
1
3.288
0
0
0
6
3
TRW
2
1
1
0
0
0
2.685
0
0
0
4
4
WFW
2
1
1
0
0
0
1.3
0
0
0
4
5
SLW
2
1
1
0
0
0
0.943
0
0
0
4
6
LSW
2
1
1
0
0
0
-1.434
0
0
0
4
7
BPW
2
0
1
0
0
1
-7.768
0
0
0
2
8
MLW
3
0
3
0
0
0
-1.841
0
0
0
0
Legend
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
D: Drawn
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
Bat: Batting Bonus
Bowl: Bowling Bonus
PTS: Total points
The Hundred 2026 men’s standings
Team
Matches played
M
Wins
W
Losses
L
Ties
T
Drawn
D
No results
N/R
Net Run Rate
NRR
Deductions
Ded.
Batting Bonus
Bat
Bowling Bonus
Bowl
Total points
PTS
1
MSG
2
2
0
0
0
0
2.35
0
0
0
8
2
WFM
2
2
0
0
0
0
0.527
0
0
0
8
3
MLM
3
2
1
0
0
0
0.183
0
0
0
8
4
MSM
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
5
TRM
2
1
1
0
0
0
-0.133
0
0
0
4
6
SLM
2
1
1
0
0
0
-0.609
0
0
0
4
7
BPM
2
1
1
0
0
0
-1.925
0
0
0
4
8
SBM
3
0
3
0
0
0
-0.201
0
0
0
0
9
LSM
2
0
2
0
0
0
-0.275
0
0
0
0
Legend
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
D: Drawn
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
Bat: Batting Bonus
Bowl: Bowling Bonus
PTS: Total points
Australians in the Hundred
(* denotes bought in auction)
Birmingham Phoenix
Men: Mitch Owen £130,000 (A$244,000)
Women: Ellyse Perry £100,000 (A$187,436), Alana King* £37,500 (A$70,000), Lucy Hamilton withdrawn
London Spirit
Men: Adam Zampa £190,000 (A$357,000), Andrew Tye
Women: Grace Harris £70,000 (A$131,000)
Manchester Super Giants
Women: Meg Lanning £95,000 (A$178,000), Maitlan Brown* £40,000 (A$75,000)
MI London
Women: Nicola Carey* £95,000 (A$178,000)
Southern Brave
Men: Marcus Stoinis £150,000 (A$282,000), Nikhil Chaudhary* £31,000 (A$58,000)
Women: Sophie Molineux* £47,500 (A$89,000), Lizelle Lee £27,500 (A$53,000)
Sunrisers Leeds
Men: Mitch Marsh £200,000 (A$376,000), Nathan Ellis £145,000 (A$278,000)
Women: Annabel Sutherland £130,000 (A$244,000), Phoebe Litchfield £120,000 (A$225,000), Jess Jonassen* £110,000 (A$206,000)
Trent Rockets
Men: Tim David £350,000 (A$658,000)
Women: Beth Mooney* £210,000 ($A394,000), Ashleigh Gardner £100,000 (A$187,000), Kim Garth £42,000 (A$79,000), Sam Bates £15,000 (A$29,000)
Welsh Fire
Men: Matt Short* £75,000 (A$140,978)
Women: Georgia Wareham £100,000 (A$187,000), Georgia Voll £80,000 (A$150,000), Heather Graham* £27,500 (A$52,000)
