The Hundred 2023: All you need to know ahead of Brave v Superchargers & Invincibles v Originals in Sunday's finals
- Published
The Hundred finals |
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Venue: Lord's Date: Sunday, 27 August Times: 14:15 & 18:00 BST (Sun) |
Coverage: Both games live on BBC Two, BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport online. Radio commentary on both matches, plus live text, clips and analysis on the BBC Sport website |
After three weeks of thrilling cricket, The Hundred 2023 reaches its conclusion on Sunday.
Here is everything you need to know and things you should look out for:
Who is playing and when?
Here are the all-important fixtures and start times (all times BST):
14:15: Southern Brave women v Northern Superchargers women
18:00: Oval Invincibles men v Manchester Originals men
Two new winners
After Saturday's eliminators saw Southern Brave men knocked out, we are guaranteed two new names on the trophies.
In the women's competition, two-time champions Oval Invincibles could only finish fifth in the group stage.
That means Southern Brave - runners-up in the first two seasons - or Northern Superchargers, who have never made the knockouts before, will be first-time champions.
In the men's final, Manchester Originals, who beat Brave in Saturday's eliminator, will look to go one better than the 2022 final when they lost to Trent Rockets.
Oval Invincibles, who topped the table to advance straight to the final, are in the knockout stages for the first time.
Farewell to World Cup heroes
Two of England's 2017 Women's World Cup winners are saying farewell this weekend.
Welsh Fire spinner Alex Hartley bowed out on Saturday while Sunday will see Southern Brave captain Anya Shrubsole retire from cricket.
Shrubsole played 173 games for England across all formats, claiming 227 wickets, including six in a player-of-the-match performance against India in that famous World Cup final win at Lord's.
She also played domestic cricket for Somerset, Western Storm, Perth Scorchers, Berkshire and Southern Vipers during a 19-year professional career.
"I knew I was retiring before this competition and you have that hope you'll make it to the final, but I often find sport isn't that kind so I feel incredibly lucky that the team have performed so well and we get to play in the final," Shrubsole told BBC Radio 5 Live.
Brave head coach Charlotte Edwards said: "She has one big performance left in her with the ball. There were a few doubts about her this summer but she keeps stepping up and keeps performing. That's what I admire her most for. She has led the team brilliantly and hopefully she can recreate some of that magic from 2017 at Lord's on Sunday.
"We have been such a dominant force in this format for two years. I hope she gets the ending and deserves it for all she has done for the game."
Who should I look out for?
There will be an array of world-class talent on show in both finals.
Manchester Originals have England white-ball skipper and tournament top scorer Jos Buttler and England opener Phil Salt in their ranks.
Sam Curran, player of the tournament at last year's T20 World Cup, is in the Oval Invincibles side as well as the pacey Gus Atkinson, who has just been called up to the England squad for the first time.
That is in addition to Jason Roy, Will Jacks, Tom Curran and captain Sam Billings, who have all played for England.
Speaking about Sam Curran, Billings said: "It is pretty much ingrained in him [to deal with pressure]. For such a young player, he's got a huge amount of evidence behind him to suggest that he is a big-game player. He does it consistently.
"I don't want to put too much pressure on him but the great thing is we've got other players in that mould.
"He's done it to the very top level but he's a huge asset to have in your side, especially with his character off the field - no matter how on the field is going.
"He is someone I'd have in my side every day of the week and his brother is not too bad either! Tom has just gone from strength to strength, particularly his batting.
"The characters they both have... To have one of them is brilliant but to have two of them, I'm very lucky."
The women's competition is equally stacked...
India superstar Smriti Mandhana, the most expensive player at the inaugural Indian Women's Premier League earlier this year, opens the batting for Southern Brave alongside England international Danni Wyatt. They also have England seamer Lauren Bell opening the bowling.
Northern Superchargers have talented Australian duo Phoebe Litchfield and Georgia Wareham, plus England seamer Kate Cross and newbie Bess Heath.
Speaking about Litchfield, Superchargers captain Hollie Armitage said: "She's taken the game on and got stuck in. The contributions she's already had for us have been really beneficial and hopefully she can do exactly the same.
"Her stats speak for themselves. She plays 360 and has really taken on the role in the middle order. She is a brilliant character off the field and has settled in amazingly."
How is the race for top run-scorer and wicket-taker looking?
As well as the Hundred trophy, there are also plenty of individual awards on the line.
Buttler looks set to take home the gong for men's top run-scorer having hit 380 so far - 167 more than anyone else playing in the final. The women's competition is much closer, with just 56 runs separating the top six, with four of them in action.
Litchfield is second, 34 behind current leader Tammy Beaumont, while Brave's Maia Bouchier, Wyatt and Mandhana are still in contention.
Brave spinner Georgia Adams looks set to end as top wicket-taker, with Superchargers spinner Wareham five behind her tally of 16.
Tymal Mills leads the men's bowling charts with 16 and is six wickets clear of anyone playing in the final.
How to watch on the BBC
However you want to keep updated with The Hundred finals, the BBC has you covered.
Both games are live on BBC Two, BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport online, with coverage starting at 14:00 and running until 21:30.
You can also hear radio commentary on both matches on BBC Sounds, while the BBC Sport website and app will host the TV and radio coverage alongside live text updates, video clips and analysis.
The commentary team across TV and radio includes Isa Guha, Alison Mitchell, Melissa Story and Henry Moeran, with expert analysis from the likes of Hartley, Mills, Michael Vaughan, Tash Farrant, Suzie Bates, Carlos Brathwaite, Sophie Devine, Phil Tufnell and Steven Finn.
Finals day at Lord's will include a performance between the two matches by Brit Award winners Rudimental.
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