Originals 52-0published at 29 balls

29 balls

Banged in short by David Wiese and the ball just sits up nicely for Phil Salt to hammer it away over the leg side for six!

Stephan Shemilt
BBC Sport chief cricket writer at Old Trafford

Jos Buttler is ticking now.

Overcorrection Brydon Carse and this time Jos Buttler is able to go back and guide a late cut down to deep third for another boundary.

Four more! Short again from Carse and Buttler pulls it behind square for a third boundary on the trot.

Too full from Brydon Carse and Jos Buttler nails it over cover for four.

No need to run for those.

Jos Buttler follows up the boundary with a reverse sweep. Again not timed but it beats the in-field and it goes in front of square before stopping short of the boundary sponge.

Three more to the Originals total.

Not off the middle of the bat for Jos Buttler but he gets enough on it to muscle the ball over the off side for four.

With the ball stopping in the pitch a little, Phil Salt has struggled for timing so far but he connects well enough with this one.

Pumped over mid-off for four.

Another welcome boundary for the Originals as the ball from Reece Topley's flicks off the hip of Phil Salt and races to the boundary for four leg byes.

That cloud burst in Cardiff was relatively short-lived and we'll be getting underway in 10 minutes time.

They're absolutely blasting out "It's Raining Men" on the ground's speakers.

Image source, Getty Images

Super timing from Jos Buttler!

Little more than a push but the ball beats extra cover and runs away to the boundary.

A single makes it seven runs from left-arm spinner Callum Parkinson's five.

Swing and a miss from Jos Buttler to end the Reece Topley set.

Four from it, three singles and a leg-side wide.

Swing back into the poads for Reece Topley an a bit of bounce, too, as Phil Salt punches the ball back towards mid-on for a single.

That bounce caused the ball to hang in the air for a while but it was never in danger of being caught.

The Superchargers fielders walk out to subdued applause but there are big cheers as Originals openers Jos Buttler and Phil Salt walk through the fireworks and onto the pitch.

Brief delay over, we're ready for the first ball. It'll be bowled by Reece Topley.

And in Cardiff we've had a sudden downpour that's sent everyone scurrying for cover beneath the stands.

The hover cover is out and the plastic sheeting has been extended across the square.

Back in Manchester, the main cover has come off but the light rain we've had in the last half hour or so means that the start has been delayed by five minutes.

Hopefully that's the only delay we get today.

In the women's competition, Welsh Fire and London Spirit are facing off in Cardiff. Fire are looking to consolidate their places in the knockout places, while Spirit sit in seventh and are playing for dignity.

Spirit captain Heather Knight has won the toss and chosen to bowl.

Welsh Fire: Sophia Dunkley, Tammy Beaumont (c), Hayley Matthews, Sarah Bryce (wk), Laura Harris, Georgia Elwiss, Freya Davies, Alex Griffiths, Shabnim Ismail, Claire Nicholas, Alex Hartley

London Spirit: Grace Harris, Danielle Gibson, Amelia Kerr, Heather Knight (c), Richa Ghosh (wk), Sarah Glenn, Grace Scrivens, Charlie Dean, Sophie Munro, Tara Norris, Lauren Filer

Oval Invincibles will be interested spectators today. The table-toppers' place in the Lord's final will be confirmed if Manchester Originals fail to win.

So a Superchargers win, a tie or an abandoned match - and, as mentioned earlier, there is a bit of rain around - would guarantee Invincibles finish top.

That is all but assured anyway due to their vastly superior net run-rate but any of those results above would make absolutely sure.

Manchester Originals: Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (c & wk), Laurie Evans, Max Holden, Ashton Turner, Paul Walter, Jamie Overton, Calvin Harrison, Tom Hartley, Josh Tongue, Zaman Khan.

Northern Superchargers: Adam Lyth, Matthew Short, Tom Banton (wk), Harry Brook, Adam Hose, David Wiese, Brydon Carse, Wayne Parnell (c), Adil Rashid, Callum Parkinson, Reece Topley.

Northern Superchargers captain Wayne Parnell: "We would have batted as well, that's the general trend here at Old Trafford. But having said that we have the chance to restrict them to a chaseable total.

"We have had a couple of close games, now it's time to focus on the last two. Hopefully the weather stays away.

"The equation is pretty simple for us. We have two games left and we have to win both of them."

Manchester Originals captain Jos Buttler: "Traditionally, Old Trafford is a good place to bat first and the pitch looks a but dry, a bit used so we'll try to get out there, post a total and defend it.

"We're just sticking to the processing, trusting that we've got good players and that good players will play well.

"Today is a new day, what's gone is gone and this is a huge game for both sides with the table the table is stacked up. It should be a cracker."