The Hundred: Manchester Originals knocked out with defeat to London Spirit
Sophie Ecclestone cracks 32 off 26 balls as Manchester Originals post 127-5 batting first; Kate Cross dismisses England team-mate Tammy Beaumont for golden duck and Alex Hartley takes three-for, but London Spirit chase down their target as Deepti Sharma hits unbeaten 34 from 23 balls
Tuesday 10 August 2021 22:18, UK
London Spirit dumped Manchester Originals out of The Hundred with two games to spare as they edged a thrilling encounter at Emirates Old Trafford to see themselves jump up to fifth in the women's table - one point off second spot.
STORY OF THE MATCH
Chasing 128 to win, the Spirit lost Tammy Beaumont for a first-ball duck, but appeared to be serenely reeling in their target as Heather Knight (35 off 26 balls) and Deandra Dottin (28 off 23) put on a fifty partnership for the third wicket.
Kate Cross (2-29) - who had earlier accounted for her England team-mate Beaumont - returned to take another big wicket, Dottin caught at mid-off, while Alex Hartley (3-32) quickly added Knight and Danielle Gibson (7) - three wickets falling in the space of six balls.
But, far from fall apart, Deepti Sharma came in for the Spirit and struck a classy, unbeaten 34 from 23 deliveries to see the visiting side over the line, Charlotte Dean (12no off 7) striking the winning boundary with two balls to spare.
MATCH HERO
Sharma was rightly named Hero of the Match as, in addition to her match-winning knock, she also claimed two wickets for the loss of just 10 runs after the Originals won the toss and opted to bat first.
Knight too was miserly with her off-spin, conceding only 19 - and taking a wicket - from her allocation of 20 balls as Spirit's spinners helped restrict Originals to 127-5.
Sophie Ecclestone, who struck two sixes in her 32 off 26 balls for Manchester, could not claim a wicket but was similarly economical, conceding 26 from her 20, while fellow left-arm spinner Hartley was a little more expensive but claimed three key wickets.
Ultimately, though, Sharma's all-round contribution proved decisive.
WHAT THEY SAID
Spirit match-winner, Deepti Sharma: "I enjoyed it. We did exactly what we discussed in the meeting and stuck to our strengths.
"We have two games left, and we have to win them. We are positive."
Originals spinner, Sophie Ecclestone: "It's disappointing to lose another one, but that's the Hundred for you. Things can change so quickly in five balls.
"We just have to go again next game. We're not going to roll over, and it would be great to get another couple of wins on the board.
WHAT'S NEXT?
We are heading down south to The Ageas Bowl for Wednesday's double-header, as Southern Brave and Welsh Fire meet, with both matches live on Sky Sports Cricket, Sky Sports Mix and Sky Sports Main Event from 2.30pm and 6pm respectively.
The Hundred Live
The Hundred Live
The women's game will also be available to stream via the Sky Sports Cricket YouTube channel, with the table-topping Brave taking on the seventh-placed Fire, who simply must win.
The Fire's men's squad are also struggling down in seventh spot in need of a win, while the Brave - currently in fourth - could leap to the top of the table with victory.
Watch The Hundred live on Sky Sports between now and August 21.
