Jos Buttler and Heinrich Klaasen scored half-centuries as the Manchester Originals cruised to a 57-run victory over the Northern Superchargers in the men’s Hundred.
The Originals were restricted in the early stages as Phil Salt and Ben McKinney both fell cheaply, but Buttler and Rachin Ravindra put on 62 from 35 deliveries before Matthew Potts dismissed Ravindra for 31.
Buttler continued to shine alongside Klaasen as the pair put on an unbeaten 69 as they finished not out on 64 and 50 respectively.
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Sonny Baker marked his England white-ball call-up by taking a hat-trick during The Hundred match between Manchester Originals and the Northern Superchargers
The Superchargers’ chase of 172 got off to a poor start when Josh Tongue struck twice in eight balls to dismiss Zak Crawley and Michael Pepper.
They were handed a further blow when Harry Brook was caught by Matty Hurst off Ravindra for just 11.
David Miller offered some resistance with a hard-fought 38 before being bowled by Tongue, who took three wickets alongside Sonny Baker – who finished the match with a hat-trick.
Phoenix ease to victory over Spirit
Birmingham’s men’s team fared better as they surpassed their 127 target to see off London Spirit with 35 balls to spare.
Captain Liam Livingstone once again did most of the damage with an unbeaten 45 – including a huge six to win it – as Phoenix eased to their second straight win.
Spirit lost Jamie Smith to a third ball duck and fellow opener David Warner departed for just nine before captain Kane Williamson steadied the ship with 33 to help them chisel a total of 126-6.
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But despite also losing both openers cheaply – Will Smeed to a duck, and Ben Duckett for 11 – Joe Clarke set the course with 54 and was joined by Livingstone who sealed their seven-wicket win.
Livingstone, who was named the Meerkat Match Hero, said: “We needed a win, but we had some confidence coming in to this one having played really well last game here at Edgbaston. The crowd are amazing, they get behind us every time we go out and play, so it’s always nice to put on a show for them.
“Our seam bowlers were phenomenal. I don’t think they missed a single yorker at the end, and then we managed to see it home with the bat. Sometimes it can be quite difficult going in after an early wicket and getting the tempo right, but Joe [Clarke] was brilliant today.
“We brought him in through The Draft to do that role, to take bowlers on at No 3 and give us some momentum, so he’s been fantastic, and he broke the chase for us.
“Back-to-back wins now. We know we’re up against it, all we can do is win our remaining games and see where we are.”
How do matches work?One hundred balls a side, the team with the most runs wins. It is as simple as that.Five bowlers can bowl up to 20 balls in an innings, including five or 10 in a row.The traditional six-ball overs seen in other forms of cricket are not used in The Hundred, with 10 balls bowled before a change of ends.The powerplay is for the first 25 balls of an innings, with only two fielders allowed outside the 30-yard circle.A 25-ball-a-side game is the minimum length that can be played in the event of wet weather.What’s next?
The Hundred continues with Southern Brave versus Oval Invincibles on Monday – both games live on Sky Sports Cricket, with the women’s match getting under way at 3pm and the men’s contest from 6.30pm.
Originals are back in action on Tuesday against Trent Rockets, while Superchargers face Spirit on Wednesday as part of another four-match day which kicks off with Welsh Fire against Southern Brave.
Phoenix have a break until their next in action, against Fire on Friday.
Watch every match across the women’s and men’s competitions live on Sky Sports from August 5-31.