Brave cruise to win over Spirit as Vince and Overton star

The Hundred men's competition, Utilita Bowl

London Spirit 138-9 (100 balls): Dawson 45* (19); C Overton 3-16

Southern Brave 139-3 (89 balls): Vince 56 (35); Lawrence 1-13

Southern Brave won by seven wickets

Scorecard. Table

Southern Brave claimed a seven-wicket victory over London Spirit to start their season in The Hundred men's competition at the Utilita Bowl.

Batting first, the Spirit were struggling at 49-5 after 48 balls, with England international Craig Overton taking three early wickets for the Brave.

The Spirit did however fight back, first via Dan Lawrence, who scored 38, and then via a late flurry of runs from Liam Dawson, who ended not out on 45 off just 19 balls as the Spirit ended on 138-9.

The Brave got their chase off to a flying start through their opening batters. Captain James Vince, alongside Dan Hughes (45), put on a 95-run stand for the opening wicket.

Vince went on to make 56 before being bowled by opposing captain Lawrence, but by that point, Brave needed just 22 runs to win from the final 28 balls.

The hosts clinched victory with 11 balls to spare, with Leus du Plooy ending on 23 not out.

What else do you need to know?

• Jofra Archer made his debut for the Brave, having missed the previous three seasons through injury. Taking the wicket of experienced West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell, Archer ended with figures of 1-24 from his 20 balls.

• Teenage spinner Rehan Ahmed, who has played in all three formats for England, was part of the Southern Brave side. He was the only one of Brave's six bowlers not to pick up a wicket, finishing with figures of 0-29 from his 20 balls.

• Two wickets for the Brave's Tymal Mills made him only the fourth bowler in the history of The Hundred men’s competition to take 25 wickets.

• Dawson's score of 45 not out, including four fours and three sixes, was his highest in The Hundred.

• Vince’s score of 56 made him the seventh player in the history of The Hundred men’s competition to surpass 600 runs.

• Brave Opener Hughes scored 45 off 30 balls in what is set to be his only appearance of the tournament, having only played as a replacement for Finn Allen, who is playing in Major League Cricket.

'Vincey's a phenomenal player' - what they said

Southern Brave bowler Craig Overton: "It’s massive. This competition’s only eight games. It’s a short one so you need to start well and it’s a nice performance today and hopefully we can carry that on next week.

"Vincey’s a phenomenal player, he’s obviously done it for years in the Blast and he’s carried that form into The Hundred and he’s done really well."

What is happening on Thursday?

There will be another double-header on Thursday, this time at Old Trafford as Manchester Originals host Welsh Fire (women's at 15:00 BST and men's at 18:30).

You will be able to watch both games lives on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.

There will also be ball-by-ball commentary on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, BBC Sounds and the BBC Sport website and app.