Summary

  • The Hundred: Southern Brave v Welsh Fire women, Utilita Bowl

  • Brave win by 29 runs as already-eliminated Fire crumble to 77-9, chasing 107

  • Fire 77-9 (100 balls): Beaumont 28 (33); Bell 4-6

  • Brave 106-8 (100 balls): Adams 30* (26); Matthews 2-16

  • Brave are first team - men's or women's - to win every group stage game in a Hundred campaign

  • Brave will face winner of Eliminator between Superchargers v Spirit in Sunday's final

Live Reporting

by Mike Peter & Matthew Henry

  2. 'We never felt out of the game'

    Southern Brave captain Georgia Adams speaking on Sky Sports: "Tammy [Beaumont] looked like she was in one of her moods to steer her team home. We communicated well as a bowling attack to drag our length back and keep the stumps in play. We never felt out of the game.

    "Not often do you get a situation where you know you are already in a final. We wanted to test ourselves under pressure so we are pleased to be on the winning side today."

    On Lauren Bell: "Lauren has great control and looks really clear about what she wants to do. She is a threat in any phase of the game and can be really adaptable."

  3. 'We will take this momentum to the final'

    Southern Brave bowler Lauren Bell speaking on Sky Sports: "It has been a good tournament for us. This is such a good group of girls and it has been amazing.

    "We bowled exceptionally well as a unit. Getting those dot balls was an important part of squeezing that total. It was great. I feel in a really good place with my bowling and am just playing cricket and enjoying it.

    "We are an unbelievable fielding unit and we showed just how good we are today. Keeping our unbeaten total was really key for us and we also wanted to take momentum into the final. We didn't want to slip up today."

    On the final: "We need to be clear and stick to the basics we have done really well."

  4. Rufus Bullough
    CricViz analyst

    Southern Brave have comfortably been the best side in the history of the women’s Hundred, winning 71% of all of their games.

    The next highest win percentage comes from Northern Superchargers with 55%.

  5. The group stage of the women's Hundred comes to a close and the undefeated Brave now head to Sunday's final at Lord's, where they'll face either Northern Superchargers or London Spirit, who face off in Saturday's eliminator match.

    Brave have completed their group stage with an entirely unchanged XI, and their settled side really dominated Fire in that chase as the visitors lost 8 wickets for 27 runs after a reasonable start.

    Fire miss out on the chance to move above Birmingham Phoenix in the final standings and end up rock bottom of the standings with one win from eight games.

  6. Melissa Story
    Test Match Special commentator on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra

    Outstanding figures for Lauren Bell. Southern Brave will go into the final on Sunday with plenty of confidence.

    They pulled this game back fantastically.

  7. wicket

    Southern Brave win by 29 runs
    Breaking

    Ismail c Corteen-Coleman b Bell 0 (Fire 77-9)

    Shabnim Ismail in for the last two balls of a lost cause - and she goes from the final delivery of the innings!

    Southern Brave become the first side to go unbeaten in the group stage of The Hundred, and it's fitting that it's the tournament's leading wicket taker who wraps up their eighth win.

    Ismail sends a big edge to Tilly Corteen-Coleman at short third, and Bell finishes with superb figures of 4-6 from her 20 deliveries.

    Meanwhile only three Fire batters made it out of single figures, with Tammy Beaumont top-scoring with a season-best 28.

  8. Steven Finn
    Former England fast bowler on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

    Lauren Bell gets her reward. She went full this time and Sophie Devine did well to settle herself underneath it.

    That would have been dropped by a lot of other people.

  9. wicket

    WICKET

    Griffiths c Devine b Bell 8 (Fire 77-8)

    Skied top-edge... taken.

    Alex Griffiths faces two dot balls from Lauren Bell and takes a big swing at the seamer's third delivery.

    Sophie Devine gets underneath it around the mid-off area and takes the catch to seal Bell's third wicket.

  10. Fire 77-7

    30 runs needed

    Davies replaces Davis at the crease as Fire's Freya comes in to bat.

    She gets two behind square and a further single to see Devine finish with figures of 1-19 and leave the visitors needing 30 from the final set of the deliveries.

    Five sixes off Lauren Bell? Why not...

  11. Steven Finn
    Former England fast bowler on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

    Georgia Davis had no choice there. She needed to try and thrash that through the off-side but Sophie Devine spotted it and got the ball to cut back.

    Good bowling.

  12. wicket

    WICKET

    Davis b Devine 1 (Fire 74-7)

    Cleaned up.

    Fire desperately need boundaries and Georgia Davis has to go for a big heave to Sophie Devine's first delivery.

    The New Zealander sends down a cutter and strikes off stump.

  13. Fire 74-6

    33 runs needed

    New batter Georgia Davis works a single off her legs off Tilly Corteen-Coleman's final ball.

    The spinner finishes with figures of 1-22.

  14. Melissa Story
    Test Match Special commentator on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra

    Welsh Fire are desperate at this stage and Georgia Elwiss looks frustrated. She was not even in the frame when the bails were taken off.

  15. wicket

    WICKET

    Elwiss run out (Kemp/Southby) 10 (Fire 73-6)

    Georgia Elwiss isn't going to make it back...

    She strikes to the left of Freya Kemp at cover point and sets off for a single, but is sent back by Alex Griffiths.

    Kemp gathered well on the dive and throws in for Rhianna Southby to take off the bails.

    The Fire batter had just scored four from the previous delivery - sending the ball behind square for the first boundary in 40 balls.

  16. Rufus Bullough
    CricViz analyst

    Welsh Fire’s middle order (batters 4-8) have averaged just 11 runs per wicket through the course of the competition - comfortably the lowest of all teams.

  17. Fire 67-5

    40 runs needed

    Ah, there's a fourth two, with Alex Griffiths working Georgia Adams through backward square.

    It's boundaries that are desperately needed though - we haven't had one since the 48th ball of the innings.

    Griffiths adds a single off the final delivery of the set to move to seven - it's hammered hard back at the Brave skipper and is that a drop? It deflected off her fingers...

  18. Steven Finn
    Former England fast bowler on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

    You have to be proactive and take the bowling on as a chasing side or you have to try to push the fielders. There doesn't feel like enough intelligent cricket today.

    Twos are no long enough so it is swing or bust for these two in the middle.

  19. Fire 63-5

    44 runs needed

    Sophie Devine returns for her third set of five deliveries.

    Three singles again - Fire have only managed to run a second on three occasions in this innings.

    The required run-rate is now above two runs a ball.

  20. Fire 60-5

    47 runs needed

    Chloe Tryon's back and she concedes a mere three singles as Brave continue to turn the screw.

    Just two boundaries since the 15th ball of the Fire innings.