Perhaps the most unique tweak to the laws of cricket introduced in The Hundred is the change which allows a bowler to deliver two consecutive overs – or “sets” as we are being encouraged to call them, though the playing conditions still say “overs”.

We’ve now had (nearly) two full seasons of The Hundred, so how’s that been working out? We analysed 56 matches across both seasons (all the games for which Ball By Ball data is available thanks to cricsheet.org) to take a look.

How often are consecutive sets used?

Consecutive sets have been bowled 114 times – 69 times in 2021 (including 4 times in the very first innings of the very first game) and 45 times in 2022; so the first point of interest is that it is a tactic which teams have used a fair bit less in the second season – and overall about once per innings in 2022.

Who is bowling them?

Two teams in particular have used consecutive sets dramatically less this year – Invincibles used it 17 times in 2021, and 9 times in 2022; while Brave used it 10 times in 2021, and just once in 2022*.

Trent Rockets were the only team to use them more in 2022, having used the tactic 10 times in 2021 and 11 times in 2022.

In terms of individual bowlers, it has been fairly evenly distributed – 54 different bowlers have bowled consecutive sets, with Amanda Jade Wellington and Dane van Niekerk topping the list, each having bowled 6, with Mady Villiers just behind with 5.

When are they bowling them?

In terms of phases of the game, 34% of consecutive sets are bowled at least partly in the powerplay (30% wholly within it) while just 15% are bowled in the death (last 5) overs.

82% of consecutive sets are bowled at the same end, perhaps unsurprisingly as it is seen as disruptive to a bowler’s concentration to change ends.

Why do consecutive sets get used?

While we can obviously never know exactly what was going through the captain’s mind, we can infer something about why the tactic was used from the data.

83% of second sets follow either a wicket or a strike rate of less than 75 in the first set – 58% following a wicket, and 65% following a strike rate of less than 75. (In 40% it is both!)

How successful are consecutive sets?

Of the 66 occasions when consecutive sets were used following a wicket, only 12 (18%) were followed by another wicket, so it is pretty clear-cut that consecutive sets don’t buy additional wickets.

What about runs? Of the 74 occasions when consecutive sets followed a strike rate of less than 75 in the first set, the strike rate almost always (91%) went up in the second set; while overall across all second sets, the average strike rate of 62 for a first set almost doubled to 116 for the second.

Perhaps even more significantly, in over half of cases (57%) the strike rate in the second set exceeded that of the innings as a whole. So consecutive sets don’t really appear to buy runs (or rather, lack of runs) either.

Does this mean they “don’t work” though? Not necessarily – an over with a wicket is always likely to be followed by one without, regardless of who bowls it; and the same applies to an over with a low strike rate – we can never know what another bowler might have achieved in the same situation.

As to whether they have been a successful innovation for the game as a whole, the jury is still out. Perhaps the most significant objection is that they are simply “not cricket” – flying in the face of the game’s long-standing traditions; but on the other hand, bowling restrictions are pretty arbitrary anyway (who decided a bowler should only be able to bowl 20% of the balls in a one-day match, while a single batter could technically face all of them?) so why not change things up occasionally?

The likelihood remains though that ultimately this tweak to the laws will fall by the wayside, like “supersubs” in ODIs. (Remember them? They weren’t “just” subs, they were supersubs!!) After all, at the end of the day… if bowlers bowling consecutive overs from the same end is what really floats your boat… perhaps you are just watching the wrong bat’n’ball game!

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* The data analysed does not include the 2022 eliminator, where Brave nearly came to grief after a dramatic final over second set was hit for 21 by Nat Sciver.

In what is surely the most thrilling match in the short history of the Women’s Hundred, Nat Sciver took Trent Rockets to within touching distance of a shock win against Southern Brave, before falling just short off the last ball.

Rockets had looked dead and buried with 24 runs needed off the final five balls; but with Tahlia McGrath tasked with bowling the set, Sciver smashed her for three consecutive sixes over the leg side – two of which went several rows back into the crowd, making a mockery of the shorter “women’s” boundaries.

The equation then became four runs needed off the final ball… but an exhausted Sciver could only manage a single, leaving Brave to celebrate reaching their second consecutive Hundred final.

Brave pride themselves on being an excellent fielding unit, but several chances went begging against Sciver today – including a bad drop at mid-off by Molly Strano when Sciver had just 8 runs on the board. They will need to tighten things up if they are to have a chance against the all-round excellence of Oval Invincibles in Saturday’s final at Lord’s.

On the other hand, after finding themselves 32 for 3 and then 58 for 4 in the first innings of the match, today is yet another example to add to Brave’s hallmark list of “winning a game which we should really have lost”. Afterwards, a relieved-looking McGrath reflected that the team had faced a rollercoaster few days, unsure if they would have to play in today’s Eliminator until 6pm on Wednesday.

“There’s been a lot of travel,” she said. “There’s been a lot of unknowns, a lot of packing, a lot of changes in plans and hotels and destinations.”

“But the most important thing is we turn up and we play cricket. We know that we can win from any position – that gives us a lot of confidence going into tomorrow.”

Sciver, by contrast, looked close to tears when she appeared on the BBC immediately after the loss – telling Isa Guha: “I’m annoyed at myself [for missing out on the final ball]”.

That interview summed up Sciver’s Hundred, which has proven something of an emotional rollercoaster, after spending the past three weeks feeling almost the entire weight of the Rockets batting on her own shoulders. Only she and Elyse Villani feature in our Top 20-ranked batters; while Rockets were overall the weakest batting team in the group stages.

Juggling it with her bowling AND the captaincy ultimately proved too much, with Villani asked by Sciver to take over for the final two matches, to allow her the chance to focus purely on her own game.

“It was a conversation from Nat and Nunny [Brunt], they brought it towards myself and Sall [coach Salliann Briggs],” Villani said after the Eliminator. “They thought it might be the best fit for the last couple of games.”

“I was a little bit surprised, but at the same time, I’ve been helping them in that role, having conversations and that sort of stuff. I know they’ve had a lot on their plate and they’ve had a lot of cricket. I could completely understand where they were coming from.”

It proved a wise decision, with Sciver striking her best score of the tournament against Brave – 72 not out from just 36 balls (not to mention figures of 1 for 16).

Unfortunately for Sciver, there appears to be no such chance of a break from the limelight when England’s series against India begins next week.

“She will be the England captain while Heather Knight’s injured,” Villani confirmed. “She’s got a big job coming up.”

As I’ve written recently, asking the world’s leading all-rounder to deal with captaincy on top of everything else is a LOT… and yet the problem for England is that they are left with a total lack of other plausible candidates to do the job. Sciver’s Hundred may now be over but her biggest challenge – picking up the pieces of an England side who looked shot in the bronze medal match of the Commonwealth Games four weeks ago – is just beginning.

For the second year in succession, Southern Brave leg-spinner Amanda Jade Wellington tops our bowling rankings in The Hundred, with 14 wickets at 1.22 runs per ball – one of four leggies in the top 10, with Alana King coming in at 4, Amelia Kerr at 6 and Katie Levick at 10.

In contrast to our Batting Rankings, where 80% of the top 10 were overseas stars, the top 10 bowlers are 70% England-qualified, with only 5 overseas in the top 20, just two of whom are not leg-spinners – Sophie Molineux at 13, and Megan Schutt at 20.

Amanda Jade Wellington has been outstanding as a wicket-taking option once again, though she has been a tad more expensive in terms of economy than she was last year – last season she ranked 4th in the top 20 for economy; this year she’s 13th. As a key part of Brave’s success, the really interesting question is whether they can afford to keep her next season on a third-tier salary, or whether someone else will tempt her away with more money elsewhere? (The players earning first and second-tier salaries above her at Brave are all ones you’d want to keep too – Wyatt, Smriti, Dunkley and Shrubsole.)

Em Arlott is one of three uncapped England prospects in the top 10, and sneaks into second place above Lauren Bell thanks to her superior economy rate. Having been included in England’s Test squad v India in 2021 but not made the XI, Arlott was even more unfortunate this year when the after-effects of Covid ruled her out of contention for the Test against South Africa. At 24 she’s coming to her peak, taking wickets and maintaining a good economy rate – she might not have the hype of certain other players, or the reputation of others, but she’s performing on the pitch where it matters, and on form she really should be in the T20 squad for the India series and the World Cup.

The other two England prospects are both Invincibles players, and a key part of why Invincibles were able to maintain their bowling levels this season, despite Marizanne Kapp having to sit out of half their group-stage matches. Eva Gray is perhaps the most interesting. Though only 22 the seamer has been around the Surrey setup for a long time, but has been viewed as a useful domestic player and nothing more – she doesn’t have a contract at South East Stars –  but by keeping it simple, sticking to her strengths and not trying to bowl at 80mph, she has been pretty handy this season, and is perhaps a prospect for another region to swoop in for her if Stars can’t find a contract for her next year.

The other England prospect in the top 10 is the year’s surprise package – 17-year-old left-arm orthodox spinner Sophia Smale, who only came into the Invincibles squad as a last minute injury replacement for Emma Jones. Smale has excelled with the ball, opening the bowling on several occasions, and in the field where her speed across the ground from a standing start allows her to take catches others wouldn’t get near. Handing out a medal to Smale at a junior tournament a few years ago, Sophie Ecclestone once joked that she could be coming for her England spot one day, and while Ecclestone is probably safe for the moment… being the world’s top-ranked bowler in both white-ball formats… if Smale continues to work hard on her game, a regional contract and eventually an England one, are surely in the offing.

Bowling Ranking = Wickets / Economy

Our batting rankings are usually dominated by the big names, but it feels rare to see a list that is quite so monopolised by established internationals. In The Hundred last year, we had 3 uncapped players – Eve Jones (5th), Georgia Redmayne (14th) and Dani Gibson (15th) – in our top 15; this year you have to go down to 19 before you find the first uncapped name – Superchargers captain Holly Armitage – the only player without international recognition in the top 20. (And you have to go as deep as 28th before you find another – Bess Heath.)

There is also a worrying lack of England players in the top 20. At the last WBBL, 12 of the top 20, and 5 of the top 10, were Australians; here, only 8 (or 9 if you count Sarah Bryce) of those in the top 20 are England-qualified players, and just 2 in the top 10 are English; so suggestions that what The Hundred really needs is more overseas players might be considered… er… “ill-considered” in the light of these numbers!

Sheer weight of runs puts Laura Wolvaardt out on top, with two 50s and a highest score of 90* at a strike rate of 184 in Superchargers’ remarkable successful chase versus Originals. The prevailing wisdom that Wolvaardt is really a Test / ODI player trying to shoehorn herself into a role in the T20 game will probably follow her throughout her career, and there remains an element of truth to it: her strike rate of 134 is significantly less than the top 10 average of 149. On the other hand, 134 is hardly terrible, and the real question for teams to address is how to complement what she can bring to a team (runs) with what others can (high strike rate). Arguably Superchargers eventually stumbled upon the answer to this, with a top order of Healy, Wolvaardt and Heath, and it would have been good to see this play out over a longer, WBBL-type season with twice as many games.

Suzie Bates might have been a late addition to the Invincibles squad as their “4th overseas” but she underlined her continuing value in franchise cricket with 229 runs at 151, while also picking up the captaincy when Dane van Niekerk has missed out on selection. Most squads chose their 4th overseas with a very clear role as a “backup plan” – Deepti Sharma at Phoenix didn’t play at all, and Molly Strano at Brave played only one game – but Bates ended up playing every match, and forming a formidable partnership with Lauren Winfield-Hill which has made Invincibles a much more balanced team this season, after their over-reliance on their bowling last year.

Winfield-Hill herself is the top-ranked English player at 4, continuing her outstanding domestic summer, after shining in regional cricket too. Whether she has done enough to force herself back into the England XI as a batter remains an open question (probably not, to be honest), though it was interesting that she insisted on retaining the wicket-keeping gloves even though Invincibles had another keeper on the team, despite an injury concern in the final match, suggesting that maybe she sees this as her route back to international cricket?

Two players we definitely won’t be seeing play internationally again come in at 6 and 7 – Deandra Dottin and Lizelle Lee have both recently retired from internationals to focus on making hay (and… let’s not beat about the bush… money) in franchise cricket, and both had fair starts to their new directions; but it will be interesting to see how long they can continue to stay with the pace, without the extrinsic motivations that come with being part of an international squad. Being your own coach, fitness instructor and nutritionist no doubt sounds appealing; but can it work longer-term? It will be fascinating to watch how that evolves over the next year or so.

Batting Ranking = Runs * Strike Rate

Grace Scrivens – dropped down the order after having “failed” in the opening role earlier in the tournament – and Naomi Dattani battled through 54 balls to pull London Spirit back from the deepest of deep holes at 26-6, to overhaul Birmingham Phoenix’s 82 all out, with just 3 balls remaining. Never has the old cliché of pulling victory from the jaws of defeat seemed more apt.

Needing a win (or a tie) to qualify for the eliminator, the pressure was all on Phoenix, who decided to push Sophie Molineux up the order to open in place of Eve Jones. It was a classic case of making a decision based on reputation rather than reality – Molineux has opened the batting for Melbourne Renegades in the past, but they were never particularly successful when she did, and last season, when they had their best season ever, she batted down the order. Unsurprisingly then, she didn’t last long today – sending a limp drive off Freya Davies straight to Amelia Kerr on the ring for 3 off 3.

This brought Amy Jones to the middle, who is developing something a reputation for dealing with pressure the same way a bar of Dairy Milk deals with being left in a hot car on a sunny day. Let’s just say… it doesn’t end well for the Dairy Milk, and it didn’t for Amy Jones – cleaned-up by an admittedly beautiful delivery from Megan Schutt. Ellyse Perry lasted just one ball, and suddenly Phoenix were 15-3.

While Sophie Devine was still there hope remained, but it was looking increasingly forlorn, with both Devine and Eve Jones struggling to find the middle of the bat, and the runs drying up to a trickle. They’d reached 32 off 34 balls when Devine looked to take a quick single, realised she wasn’t going to make it, and tried to retrace her steps, but not quite in time to prevent Grace Scrivens removing the bails after a sharp throw from Charlie Dean. 32-4.

Eve Jones and Georgia Elwiss put on 25, making 24 and 14 respectively – the only Phoenix batters to reach double-figures – but their pace was less than a run a ball, and both fell to infield catches are they tried to manufacture something to up the rate; and from there Phoenix imploded to 82 all out – no doubt to the delight of Northern Superchargers, Trent Rockets and Manchester Originals, all of whom needed Phoenix to lose to retain an interest themselves in qualification for Friday’s semi-final eliminator.

But we are rapidly learning that if there’s one thing hundred-ball cricket can do it is turn on a dime, and within 11 balls of the Spirit innings it had done the kind of 180 Tony Hawk would have been proud of in his heyday. First Dani Gibson clonked Sophie Molineux to long on to register her 4th duck of the tournament – it happens, and the important thing in this super-short format is not to waste balls, which was Grace Scrivens’ “crime” when she was opening, so Gibson shouldn’t feel too badly about it.

Beth Mooney however probably should feel a little badly about her dismissal – given how few runs Spirit were chasing, there was no excuse really for the senior player to take on Sophie Devine’s arm, and she got her comeuppance!  Amelia Kerr followed her back to the dugout 2 balls later – chipping into a space, which suddenly wasn’t a space any more, as Eve Jones sprinted in to take the catch on the dive. After Phoenix had been 15-3, Spirit were now 2-3.

But with Sophie Luff and Charlie Dean at the crease, and the ask well under a run a ball, it should still have been an easy chase, and it was set up for Luff and Dean, neither of whom are big hitters, to manage their way to the total, getting them in singles if necessary. And that seemed to be the way things were going, until both were softly dismissed, followed by Alice Monaghan. 26-6, and I suspect some glum faces among the Superchargers, Rockets and Originals players watching on from their homes or hotel rooms.

The batters in the middle: Naomi Dattani – whose greatest moments on a cricket field have tended towards the “see ball/ hit ball out of the ground” end of the spectrum, and Grace Scrivens, demoted down the order having looked puzzlingly out of form in the first few matches of this tournament.

But the required rate was still within reach – it was 50 off 50 at the half-way stage – so all they needed to do was hang in there and they’d give themselves a chance. And that’s exactly what they did. Dattani finished 28 off 29; and Scrivens 26 off 30, scoring just 3 boundaries between them, but they reached the final set with a gettable 7 needed from 5 balls, and Sophie Molineux (who will want to have this game clinically erased from her memory) did the rest – cracking under the pressure, bowling a head-hight no-ball, which effectively cost 5 runs to leave Spirit needing 2 off 4 balls. Scrivens needed just one ball to finish her tournament (and London Spirit’s) on a high which no one who was here will forget in a hurry.

Oval Invincibles thrashed London Spirit by 9 wickets with 42 balls remaining at Lord’s to secure their spot in the finals of The Hundred, sending Spirit crashing out with a round of matches still to play.

Spirit should have been on a high after racking up their first win of the tournament on Wednesday against Welsh Fire. Instead they essentially lost the match within the first 25 balls, facing down 13 dots and losing 3 wickets – including the biggie of Beth Mooney, who sent up a tame catch to Alice Capsey at cover.

For the first time in this year’s tournament, Mady Villiers was tasked with opening the bowing; and after having Dani Gibson caught at mid-off, captain Dane van Niekerk chose to keep her on for a second consecutive set. The wicket of Mooney was her reward.

Before today, Villiers had bowled her full allocation of balls only once in this year’s Hundred. With Sophia Smale launching onto the scene so successfully, and Alice Capsey continuing where she left off last year, Villiers has been somewhat overshadowed: against Trent Rockets she didn’t bowl at all, while in Invincibles’ last match v Phoenix, she bowled just 10 balls – neither set in the powerplay. But she made up for it today, finishing with figures of 4 for 12 and the Match Hero award.

So what did she do differently?

“I just kept it more simple,” she said after the match. “Previously I’ve looked too much at what the other players do and I’ve focused too much on what the other person’s skills are, rather than what my best ball is.”

“I bowled my arm ball today more than I’ve bowled it in the other two games put together.”

Interestingly, her third and fourth wickets – Naomi Dattani and Grace Scrivens – were both bowled, a mode of dismissal which is unusual for Villiers. A lot more of her wickets than “average” come from stumpings (20%, compared with an average in women’s cricket of 7%) – only 15% of her dismissals are bowled (compared with an average of 24%).

Or, as Villiers put it: “I got two bowleds today. I don’t think I’ve got too many bowleds in my life!”

With Invincibles facing Manchester Originals in their final group-stage match – a game which could be important in deciding whether they qualify automatically for the final – a boost of confidence for a spinner who has so far been discarded by England this summer won’t go amiss.

Meanwhile, Spirit limped along to 80 all out, losing wickets regularly along the way and facing down far too many dot balls; leaving Suzie Bates and Lauren Winfield-Hill to come out and show them how it should have been done, smashing 12 boundaries between them (4 more than Invincibles managed in their entire innings).

Despite a revamp of their overseas ranks, with Beth Mooney and Amelia Kerr brought in to replace Chloe Tryon and Deandra Dottin (who were both felt to have underperformed), Spirit’s batting just hasn’t fired this year. Tammy Beaumont’s decision to move to Welsh Fire was a big blow; but of course the loss of Heather Knight just days before the competition started was the real biggie.

“Heather is a great person to have around, such a great leader,” Naomi Dattani said after the match. “Her experience and nous with the bat – we definitely miss having her. She’s around today and it’s been nice to have her in the dressing room and use that experience where we can.”

Dattani added that Spirit’s lop-sided schedule hadn’t helped matters:

“Three games away [to start] – we were on the road for 10, 11 days. We needed to start well. We had a couple of close games and if one of those were a win, it might have got us going.”

“We didn’t get over the line in the first couple of games and then we were on the back foot from there.”

London Spirit officially knocked Welsh Fire out of The Hundred with an 8 wicket win at Lords.

Not that Spirit are really in much position to celebrate either – their chances of making the eliminator are pretty-much zero too, though they could mathematically still sneak in on Net Run Rate – so this was very much a consolation victory; but nonetheless a win at the Home of Cricket is still a win at the Home of Cricket, and for one player in particular, this could be a career-defining game.

Having made good, quick runs coming in lower down the order for London Spirit last season, Dani Gibson would have been looking forward to building on that this year; but things didn’t go quite the way she hoped in the first two matches: a golden duck against Superchargers was followed by another first-baller against Brave.

A 12 off 7 balls against Rockets was more promising, but with Grace Scrivens struggling… of which more in a minute… today was Gibson’s chance – promoted to open the batting alongside Beth Mooney, who has had her own struggles of late, though today’s half-century was her 4th in her past 7 innings, so it’s all relative!

With the help of a small slice of luck – caught off a no ball – Gibson struck 34 off 27 balls, outscoring Mooney 25-10 in the powerplay, to get the Spirit’s chase off to the bright start they needed.

It has become the pattern in The Hundred this summer that teams score strongly in the powerplay, then fall back in the second quarter of the match, before pushing on in the third and final quarters, and today was no exception, with Spirit scoring at 150 in the powerplay, falling back to 120 in the second quarter, before pushing back up to 150+ as they pushed on to the win.

Having made the most of her opportunity, Dani Gibson has presumably got the opening role wrapped up now for the Spirit’s final two games, though they will be tough ones – Invincibles and Phoenix await, both pushing for direct final qualification if Brave slip up.

Gibson’s chance comes at the expense of Grace Scrivens, who has chosen a very bad time to have a terrible run of form. It’s not just the scores – 1, 18 and 8 – but the Strike Rates. The 18 was off 18 balls, which is “okay” (but only really “okay” for an opener in this competition) but the 1 was off 9 balls and the 8 was off 18 – Strike Rates of 11 and 44. It’s not a fair reflection of her talent, but as my dad always told me: life isn’t fair.

Everyone has dips in form – Alice Capsey had a pretty a rough patch in the Charlotte Edwards Cup earlier this summer, while Scrivens was the one putting in Player of the Match performances for Sunrisers – but no one was watching then. Now the eyes of the world are on them, it is Capsey wowing the crowds once again, while Scrivens had ended up dropped down the order, back where she started last season.

Scrivens’ biggest problem is that what’s left of the summer is short and the winter is long – though presumably she’ll go to the Under 19 World Cup in January, quite possibly as captain – but it is a 11 months until The Hundred comes around again, and that’s quite a wait for the next opportunity.

It’s also a long wait for the next opportunity for Welsh Fire, who can’t qualify for the eliminator now even if they win their remaining two games by a million runs! Most of their batters haven’t come to the party this season, while one of those that did (Hayley Matthews) left early, and is no longer available, having returned to the West Indies for their Caribbean Premier League.

Their innings today stuttered rather than flowed, with 5 “sets” – a whole quarter of the innings – producing just 1 or 2 runs.

In a tournament where the average first innings score has been 136, you can’t afford to throw away a quarter of your innings like that, and unsurprisingly Fire ended up well short of where they needed to be.

As Polly and Richard discussed on last week’s Noughtie Child Podcast, some teams develop a winning mentality, but Fire seem to have saddled themselves with a losing one. The cycle can be broken, as Tasmania proved by winning this year’s WNCL, but it takes something special, and Fire aren’t a “young” side either – the average age of today’s team was 27, with just one teenager (Hannah Baker) in the XI. They had a bit of a clear-out this season, retaining only just over half their squad – they look like they need another now, if they want to avoid an early walk through the exit door again next time around.

Oval Invincibles pulled off a convincing 8-wicket win against Birmingham Phoenix at The Oval on Tuesday, handing them a first defeat of the season and pulling ahead of them in the race for a spot in the top three.

Invincibles set up the win by restricting table-toppers Phoenix to the lowest score so far in The Hundred this season – 105 for 7 – achieving the feat even with their best bowler Marizanne Kapp sitting out with “quad soreness”.

Just as they did in the 2021 competition, Invincibles are proving the value of a strong bowling unit tasked with clear plans. They are also, again, drawing on young players to achieve success – Alice Capsey, Sophia Smale and Ryana MacDonald-Gay are all ranked in the top 10 bowlers so far in the competition.

Smale was crucial today in the powerplay, helping restrict Phoenix to a score of just 23, and running out towards midwicket to take a catch off her own bowling and get rid of the exceedingly dangerous Sophie Devine. If she isn’t quite going to do a Capsey and launch a full international career within 12 months of the competition, 17-year-old Smale can at least feel fairly confident of bagging a spot in the inaugural U19 World Cup, scheduled for South Africa in January.

Smale’s brilliant diving catch to see off Georgia Elwiss, running around from short third in front of a huge crowd at The Oval, was the kind of thing we wouldn’t have seen domestic players pull off a few years ago – they’d have been overwhelmed by the occasion; and short on the requisite skill. Vive the regional system. As Syd said on Twitter, it typified a fantastic effort in the field from Invincibles, who made it very difficult for Phoenix to score freely.

In response, Invincibles got off to a flyer, helped by the fact that Sophie Devine decided to bowl Phoebe Franklin in the powerplay instead of Emily Arlott (who ended the match as by far the most economical Phoenix bowler, conceding just 8 runs off her 17 balls). Capsey showed her disdain for Franklin, getting off the mark with a huge six over long-on, as Invincibles raced to 41 for 1 in the first 25.

Phoenix did manage to peg them back after Capsey miscued Arlott to short third off the 47th ball, with Dane van Niekerk looking like someone who hasn’t batted in a cricket match for months on end – because, well, she hasn’t. But Lauren Winfield-Hill (now the competition’s third leading run-scorer, behind Wolvaardt and Dottin) eventually brought it home for her new team with 13 balls to spare. Is Winfield-Hill this season’s “best new buy”?

Hopefully van Niekerk’s time in the middle today will have helped restore some of her old confidence, after Phoenix helpfully fluffed a run out chance against her early on, allowing her to go on and make a run-a-ball 21*. Oddly, though, she didn’t bowl; it’s not clear whether that was her choice or coach Jonathan Batty’s.

What role will DvN play in the rest of the competition? An interview by Matt Roller with stand-in skipper Suzie Bates on Cricinfo, published today, is unclear on the answer to that question. Bates describes events so far in The Hundred as an “interesting time”: “It’s just one game at a time at the moment: I’m waiting to be told what the team needs from me,” she says. Hmmmmm. There is something very strange going on inside the Invincibles camp at the moment and I’m not sure we’ve got to the bottom of it yet. Watch this space.

Martin Saxon reports

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Senior Knockout Cup

Stockport Trinity Fire 95-6 (20; Carys White 25, Ellie Mason 21)

Nantwich Vipers 97-1 (17.5; Seren Smale 40ret, Grace Michell 20)

Nantwich secured their biggest prize to date in their short history with a commanding victory here. With Bethan Robinson – four overs for seven runs – and Beth Hughes – 11 from three overs – leading the way, the Vipers attack ensured Trinity never really built up any momentum.

Seren Smale’s 40 from 32 balls well and truly broke the back of this run chase, indeed 12 was scored from the opening over, 20 from the first two and 70 from the first ten. Although the scoring slowed down after that, with some tight overs from Lauren O’Reilly, the result was never in serious doubt.

Scorecard

Development Knockout Cup

Hayfield 83-3 (20; Ruth Lomas 25ret)

Greenfield 87-6 (19.5; Abigail Barlow 28*, Zoe Cuthill 22, Bethany Garforth 20, Rosie Bradshaw 2-13)

For the first time, the Development Knockout – the competition for division three and four clubs – occupied the prime middle slot on Finals Day and those watching were rewarded with the closest finish of the day. Hayfield might have won both of the crucial clashes between these teams in Division Three East this year, but Greenfield had the last laugh here, ensuring they have a trophy to mark their first year in the Cheshire League.

Both teams started their innings slowly and there were impressively economical figures for Gracie Wray, Hannah Stewart and Lily Bailey in the first innings and Molly Doody in the second. However, both sides also rallied strongly in the closing overs, and ultimately it would be Greenfield who prevailed, overcoming the loss of two wickets in Rosie Bradshaw’s opening over. Abigail Barlow’s 28 from 22 balls supplied the finishing touch, ensuring the trophy is bound for Tameside.

Scorecard

T20 Divisional Competition

Stockport Trinity Fire 122-7 (20; Ellie Mason 43ret, Lauren O’Reilly 20, Emily Page 2-7, Maddie Lawson 2-12, Abbey Gore 2-24)

Appleton Tigers 126-5 (17.4; Georgia Heath 39ret, Emma Barlow 33, Amy Seddon 23*, Emma Royle 2-11, Kate Harvey 2-16)

Appleton completed the highest successful run chase to date in a CWCL cup final to win this competition for the first time since 2018. It all meant that Stockport Trinity were unable to repeat their T20 double of 2019 and ultimately went home empty-handed.

However, this is one match that the Stockport side appeared to be bossing during the early stages. Ellie Mason had not quite been at her fluent best in the first final of the day, but here her unbeaten 43 set her side on the way to a good total. The total looked even better when Emma Royle struck two early blows in reply, and with Lauren O’Reilly contributing some tight overs at the other end, the Tigers were reduced to 15-2 from six overs. 

However, the next four overs would see the game turned on its head, as some big hitting from Georgia Heath led the way in adding 47 in four overs, firstly cashing in from the final overs bowled by the new ball pair, then dominating the opening overs from the change bowlers. 

Heath ultimately retired with 39 from 26 balls with five fours and two sixes. Trinity also dismissed Emma Barlow short of the retirement score, so had this wicket opened the door for Trinity? The answer proved to be an emphatic No, as Amy Seddon scored nine runs from the remaining balls in that over.

Although further wickets fell, Trinity could not halt Appleton’s momentum, and having been second favourites earlier, the Warrington club ran out winners with all of 16 balls in hand.

Scorecard

It’s the age-old question in cricket – should a captain be selected first, and the team put in place around them; or should you select your best XI, and then choose a captain from that? Or, to put it a different way, how much does the wisdom and charisma of a captain matter, over and above their cricketing skills?

The Oval Invincibles management seem pretty clear on the answer to the above. In their match against Southern Brave on Sunday, they were happy to dispense with established skipper Dane van Niekerk, in order to be able to field their three other overseas players Marizanne Kapp, Shabnim Ismail and Suzie Bates. “We have four quality [overseas] players and the management decided that this is the best combination”, stand-in captain Bates said at the toss.

It’s pretty universally acknowledged that van Niekerk’s captaincy created a team environment last year which was conducive to success and ultimately led to Invincibles winning the title. OK, she didn’t have to bat in the opening game on Thursday; but dropping her seemed, well… brave. [Ed: That’s the type of pun I expect from Syd, not you.]

Whether it cost Invincibles the game is (obviously) hard to quantify, but it certainly didn’t help.

Brave had two “big” phases of their innings. The 25-ball powerplay saw Smriti Mandhana having lots of fun smoking boundaries, with Danni Wyatt’s main role at the other end being to get her partner on strike and keep her there.

Invincibles pulled it back well in the middle phases – Brave lost 5 wickets for 40 runs between the 37th and the 72nd balls. Sophia Smale was excellent yet again – a late replacement for the competition in place of the injured Emma Jones, could she be the Hundred’s equivalent of Linsey Smith, who was a last-minute injury replacement in the first year of the KSL (and went on to catch the eye of then-England coach Mark Robinson)?

After Bates put down a simple chance at midwicket off Smale’s first ball of the day, the 17-year-old kept patient, and smart. In her next set, she tempted Wyatt down the track a couple of times, and ultimately had her stumped. She then did for possibly the best T20 batter in the world at the moment, Tahlia McGrath, courtesy of an absolutely brilliant catch from Kirstie White diving forwards at short third. Perhaps most importantly, 10 out of the 20 balls Smale bowled were dots.

But at the back-end, Freya Kemp and Georgia Adams were able to take advantage of Bates’ decision to front-load her best bowlers, adding 47 runs off the final 25 balls.

With Invincibles already light on bowling due to the absence of Alice Capsey (sitting out with “stiffness” after Thursday night’s ankle injury), and Bates unable to turn her arm over due to her long-standing shoulder issues (she hasn’t bowled a ball in anger since the 2020/21 WBBL), it seemed to make even less sense to assume they could do without van Niekerk’s leg-spin.

Invincibles’ efforts at the death were also damaged by the fact that they dropped behind the required over rate, and were therefore only allowed three fielders outside the circle for the final 10 balls of the innings. There seemed to be a LOT of chat going on between balls and “sets” between Bates, Kapp and Ismail – too many captains spoiling the broth? – which certainly didn’t help matters.

In reply, Invincibles got off to a decent start, with Winfield-Hill and Bates adding 38 runs in the 25-ball powerplay. Kapp, too, did her best to jog things along, smashing 16 runs from Amanda-Jade Wellington’s second “set” of the day, including a slog-swept six.

But the “golden arm” of Georgia Adams, who bowled both Winfield-Hill and Kapp in the space of 14 balls, proved ruinous to their run-chase. There were some brave fireworks from Ryana Macdonald-Gay, but a lack of contributions from the Invincibles’ middle-order had essentially already cost them the game by that point.

If only they’d had the player who was the competition’s leading run-scorer in 2021 at their disposal – a specialist in the middle-order, if you will – to stabilise their chase…

One of the reasons why Invincibles were able to win the 2021 Women’s Hundred was their team culture. It makes this decision, which appears to have been imposed on the players with little to no notice, even more bizarre. Let’s hope it’s just a blip, or things could quickly get very difficult indeed for the Oval-based team.