The Hundred 2023: Harry Brook's century in vain as Welsh Fire beat Northern Superchargers

England batter Harry Brook's majestic century proved to be in vain as Northern Superchargers lost to Welsh Fire by eight wickets in The Hundred.

Brook finished on 105 not out, including 11 fours and seven sixes, as Superchargers posted 158-7.

The 24-year-old was on 83 with five balls remaining and smashed three fours and a six to bring up his ton.

But Fire reached their target with 10 balls to spare to eliminate Superchargers from the competition.

Opener Stevie Eskinazi hit an entertaining 58 from 28 balls and Joe Clarke finished unbeaten on 42 to guide Fire to victory.

England's Jonny Bairstow made 44 before he was sensationally caught by Brook's juggling effort on the boundary.

Fire will reach the knockouts if Manchester Originals beat Southern Brave on Wednesday.

Brook's phenomenal solo effort with the bat came after Fire had restricted Superchargers to 10-3 and then 78-6, with the Yorkshireman adding 58 out of an eighth-wicket partnership of 66 with Matthew Potts.

He delighted his home crowd with an astonishing display of power and innovation, scoring to all parts of the ground as the wickets tumbled around him and bringing up the quickest century in The Hundred, off just 41 balls.

Earlier this month, Brook was left out of England's 50-over World Cup squad but said he "can't complain" about missing out to Ben Stokes, who came out of one-day international retirement.

Brook is the third men's player to score a century in The Hundred after Will Jacks and Will Smeed's efforts in 2022, while Tammy Beaumont became the first women's centurion in this year's campaign.

Beaumont's 118 is the highest individual score in The Hundred, while Jacks' 108 for Oval Invincibles is the highest men's score.

• Superchargers cruise to victory over Fire

• Who needs what to reach The Hundred finals?

What else do you need to know?

• England bowler David Willey took 2-10 as he and Matt Henry restricted Superchargers in the powerplay - but neither of them bowled their full allocation of 20 balls. Willey had 10 balls left and Henry five.

• Captain Tom Abell opted for David Payne at the death, who conceded 53 from 20 balls, including Brook's five-ball onslaught.

• No other Superchargers batter scored more than 15 as Brook defied a strong Fire bowling performance.

• Eskinazi dominated in his opening stand with Bairstow, scoring 58 in their partnership of 77.

• But his dismissal allowed Bairstow to step up alongside Clarke, the pair adding 63 for the second wicket from just 31 balls.

• Brook's catch to dismiss Bairstow involved him taking the ball on the boundary on one leg, flicking it back to himself as he jumped and landed inside the ropes before overbalancing and throwing the ball to Adam Hose to take it cleanly.

'We can be proud of our performances' - what they said

Match hero Harry Brook on Sky Sports: "I was just trying to hit the ball hard and straight. I had a lot of clarity out there.

"The tough thing [in this tournament] is getting people together and not knowing many people. You have to bond as quick as possible. We'll see what happens with the World Cup - I just want to concentrate on every game, whoever it is for, and see what happens."

Welsh Fire opener Stevie Eskinazi on Sky Sports: "The game is all about momentum and when someone finishes like Brook did, you have to wrestle it back and thankfully we did.

"It's been really nice to come into a team of good blokes and the coaching staff have got us playing some really good cricket.

"We can be really proud of our performances as a group, and we are proud regardless of [whether we qualify or not] after a tough couple of years."