Northern Superchargers secured their maiden Women’s Hundred title at Lord’s on Sunday after beating Southern Brave by seven wickets.
The final was a rematch of the 2023 game which Brave won comfortably, while this season the Southampton-based side had enjoyed a faultless procession to the final in winning all eight of their group-stage matches.
Brave, though, faltered at the last after being put in to bat by a Superchargers side high on confidence following their 42-run hammering of London Spirit in the eliminator on Saturday. Kate Cross quickly found herself on a hat-trick, Sophie Devine and Freya Kemp both holed out in the 20s, and the Brave captain, Georgia Adams, was run out after hitting the ball straight back to the bowler Cross and dashing out of her ground. Brave put just 115 runs on the board.
Brave had defended a total of 106 three days ago at Southampton against Welsh Fire, but Superchargers are a far stronger batting side. The world’s leading proponent of the switch-hit, the 22-year-old Australian left-hander Phoebe Litchfield, once again showcased her extraordinary talent, with two of her five boundaries struck from a right-handed stance.
Litchfield was ultimately undone with a conventional sweep which ended up in the hands of Lauren Bell at short fine leg, but by the time she was dismissed – shortly after a 15-minute rain delay – the equation was down to a run a ball and an unbeaten partnership of 60 from 24 balls between Annabel Sutherland and Nicola Carey saw Superchargers home with 12 balls to spare.
Superchargers enjoyed their fair share of luck – Chloe Tryon could have seen off Carey lbw first ball had Brave referred the not-out decision to the third umpire, while Bell actually clipped the top of Sutherland’s stumps but failed to dislodge the bails – but the pair remained unbeaten, Sutherland sealing the win in style with a six lofted over long-on.
Whatever happened in the final on Sunday was scarcely going to eclipse the events of 24 hours previously, when the 18-year-old prodigy Davina Perrin struck a once-in-a-lifetime century to propel Superchargers into the final, and herself into England contention.
All eyes were on Perrin as she walked out to the middle at Lord’s and continued where she had left off with back-to-back boundaries against Bell, including disdainfully ramping her bouncer – the shot of a supremely confident player who has just played the innings of her career.
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There was a collective sigh of disappointment around the ground when Perrin skied a catch to mid-on for just 17. But while she couldn’t quite match her mammoth efforts of the previous day, she can look back with satisfaction on an innings which launched her side to an odds-defying Hundred title.
