Holders Brave beaten as Knight inspires Spirit
- Published
The Hundred women's competition, Utilita Bowl
Southern Brave 151-6 (100 balls): Wyatt 59 (35); Burns 2-6
London Spirit 153-4 (97 balls): Knight 65* (31); Knott 1-26
London Spirit won by six wickets
England captain Heather Knight inspired London Spirit to a six-wicket victory over defending champions Southern Brave in The Hundred women's competition at the Utilita Bowl.
England opener Danni Wyatt's 59 off 35 balls for the Brave - her seventh half-century in the competition's history - helped the hosts set Spirit a target of 152.
Wyatt's England team-mate and fellow opener Maia Bouchier (35) added valuable early runs, as did new Brave captain Georgia Adams (21) and South Africa all-rounder Chloe Tryon (20) at the back end of the innings.
In response, London Spirit lost the early wicket of former Australia captain Meg Lanning on 12, dismissed via a caught and bowled from 16-year-old Brave debutant Tilly Corteen-Coleman.
After a slow start, Georgia Redmayne accelerated Spirit's innings, scoring 45 runs off 31 balls before being bowled by Charli Knott.
Knight then got her side over the line, hitting an impressive 65 not out off 31 balls, her first half-century in The Hundred, to clinch the success with three balls to spare.
What else do you need to know?
Of the 16 members of England's T20 squad that were 5-0 series winners against New Zealand this summer, eight of them were in action, with both teams having four members of that England squad in their sides.
Corteen-Coleman became the youngest woman to make her debut in the competition at 16 years and 336 days old.
Wyatt's score of 59 saw her become the first women's player in the history of The Hundred to pass 700 runs, overtaking England team-mate Sophia Dunkley (699) as the previous all-time lead run scorer.
Despite Wyatt's runs, she did drop two catches in the second innings, failing to remove Lanning and England team-mate Danielle Gibson, who were both on 10 at the time.
England trio Lauren Bell (Brave), Charlie Dean and Sarah Glenn (both Spirit) all bowled their maximum of allocation of 20 balls each, but none picked up a wicket.
'It was really fun' - what they said
London Spirit captain Heather Knight: "It was really fun, really enjoyed it. Coming and beating the Brave here is really tough to do so [I'm] really chuffed with how it went today.
"I think you can sometimes try and over-hit early in your innings. I didn't get too many at the start to hit for four and then once I was in, used to the pace of the wicket, just felt like I could really put my foot down. The scoreboard sometimes give you no choice to do that and paid off today."
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.
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- Published6 June