The Southern Brave were the first of the winners on a dramatic day of first-class “crash, bang and wallop” cricket which saw a packed Lords crowd no-where short of incredible entertainment and cricket at its very best.
And then, for the Oval Invincibles to overcome their trials to lift the men’s version, this was a day of Hundred magic, the likes of which is bringing more and more people to the game – in which ever guise it may be.
In the women’s final, the Brave – who lost to Oval Invincibles in the previous two finals – were strong-willed enough to beat the Northern Superchargers to win the women's title after recovering from 8-2 to post 139-6 thanks to opener Danni Wyatt's 59 and Freya Kemp's 31 from just 17 balls. With the threat from the Superchargers long gone after their dismissal for 105, with six balls remaining, their win meant Brave captain Anya Shrubsole lifted The Hundred trophy after her final game as a professional, with the pace bowler now following her former England team-mates Katherine Sciver-Brunt and Alex Hartley into retirement.
"I couldn't think of a better way to end my career than this,” a delighted Shrubsole said. “It's hard to put into words.
"That group of girls and staff really deserve these celebrations. We have played some phenomenal cricket throughout this competition."
"At 34-5 it all came down to Tom Curran and Jimmy Neesham and the way they played in a pressure situation,” said elated Invincibles all-rounder Sam Curran after their victory over Manchester Originals.
It came after the Invincibles staged a remarkable fightback to beat the Originals in the second outstanding game for a fully entertained Bank Holiday Lords crowd. Whilst this was the second successive final defeat for the Originals, the Invincibles take the men's title for the first time, joining Southern Brave women as the champions of 2023.
