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Spirit take wicket on final ball to beat Fire in thrilling finish
The Hundred women’s competition, Sophia Gardens
London Spirit 124 (99 balls): Knott 47 (33); Davies 3-16, Levick 3-26
Welsh Fire 122-5 (100 balls): Dunkley 36 (29); Harris 1-4
Spirit won by two runs
London Spirit narrowly defeated Welsh Fire in a rematch of the 2024 final, securing a captivating two-run victory on the final ball at Sophia Gardens.
With seven runs needed from the last five deliveries, and three required off the final ball in Fire’s chase of 125, Grace Harris of Australia held her composure as Georgia Elwiss was brilliantly caught by Spirit captain Charlie Dean at mid-off.
Fire appeared to be in control of their chase at 101-2, with England opener Sophia Dunkley scoring 36 and Australia’s Jess Jonassen contributing 29.
However, Dunkley’s dismissal with 19 balls remaining shifted the momentum to Spirit, and Fire faltered. Dean’s calculated risk of using part-time bowler Harris to close out the game proved to be a decisive masterstroke.
This marked the second women’s match of the day to be decided by two runs on the final ball, following Manchester Originals’ earlier narrow victory over Oval Invincibles by the same margin.
Spirit remain undefeated after two matches as they aim to defend their title, while Fire face a demoralizing defeat, remaining winless.
Fire’s bowlers made an excellent start, reducing Spirit to 85-7 after they chose to bat. However, Australian all-rounder Charli Knott contributed a crucial 47 from 33 balls, helping them reach a total of 124 all out.
Kira Chathli and Georgia Redmayne added 34 for the first wicket before Fire leg-spinner Katie Levick took two wickets in two balls during a collapse of four wickets for just one run.
Levick finished with figures of 3-26, while former England seamer Freya Davies also impressed with 3-16.
The Hundred 2025 – fixtures, results & reports
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Originals hold off Invincibles to claim narrow win in Women’s Hundred
The Hundred women’s competition, The Kia Oval
Manchester Originals 139-6 (100 balls): Mooney 70 (45); Kapp 2-22
Oval Invincibles 137-3 (100 balls): Lanning 56 (42); Ecclestone 1-18
Originals won by two runs
In the earlier women’s game on Saturday at The Kia Oval, Manchester Originals also held their nerve to claim a dramatic win by the same margin over Oval Invincibles.
Having set the Invincibles 140 to win, with captain Beth Mooney hitting a fine 70 from 45 balls, the Originals took just three wickets but maintained their discipline as the match went down to the last ball.
The game swung one way then the other in the closing stages, culminating in the Invincibles needing four to win off the final ball.
But Originals all-rounder Deandra Dottin nailed her yorker and Marizanne Kapp could only dig it out for a single.
Former Australia captain Meg Lanning led the way in the chase and when she was dropped on 52, with the ball going for four after slipping through Fi Morris’ grasp, it looked like being the Invincibles’ day.
However, she was caught in the deep next delivery and, despite Paige Scholfield thumping Dottin for six to leave the hosts needing five from two balls, the Invincibles fell to a second loss in two games.
Originals can celebrate their first win of the campaign – and their first over Invincibles in The Hundred.
It’s another four-game day on Sunday with double-headers in Southampton and Nottingham.
It starts at the Ageas Bowl with Southern Brave against Birmingham Phoenix (11:00/14:30 BST) before Trent Rockets face Northern Superchargers (14:30/ 18:00 BST) at Trent Bridge.
You can follow ball-by-ball commentary on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, BBC Sounds and the BBC Sport website and app.
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