Leeds sunrise 116 for 5 (Winfield Hill 37, Dipti 28*, Wong 3-21) won South Brave 114 for 7 (Lee 32, Baker 2-13) with five wickets
Comforts of home at Winfield Hill
But Winfield-Hill – who called The Oval home for the Hundred’s first five seasons – expertly powered the chase with a running-ball 37. She started slowly before running in and launching Molineux over Lauren Bell’s head at mid-wicket, taking the equation from 30 off 29 to 22 off 27 with successive boundaries off Tilly Corteen-Coleman.
She was unable to cross the Sunrisers’ line, losing leg to Wong, and Dani Gibson dropped the first ball trying to drag Wong across the line. But Jonassen survived the hat-trick, watched Dipte fire twice, then scored the winner through the offside to put them back into the net.
Dipti only batted twice in the group stage, but upheld the decision to promote her to No. 5 in the knockout match. “I was keeping it very simple,” she said, before praising the team environment under coach Adi Birrell. “I love the way they create the environment, especially with Adi,” she added. “He’s always funny and doesn’t pressure us.”
Not brave enough
The Brave arrived at The Oval on the back of three straight defeats after starting the season with five straight wins, and it showed in their approach with the bat. They have only reached 130 goals once this season, losing their reliable player Jemima Rodriguez to a hamstring injury towards the end of the group stage.
Lizelle Lee got off to a fast start, reversing a lbw decision off Jonassen and striking just six in the innings off Kate Cross as she reached 27 from 20 in the powerplay. But she was cleverly stunned by Winfield-Hill as she pulled her back foot from her crease, and was the only brave batsman to record a strike rate above 120 (minimum five balls).
As Laura Wolvaardt and Maia Bouchier fell in quick succession, Molineux and Charli Knott struck like players who knew there were precious few strokes to follow. They added 33 off 29 balls for the fourth wicket, and even three late balls off the front foot couldn’t help them get to 120.
Sutherland got two for two at the death when Jodie Grocock was caught at deep mid-wicket and Naomi Dattani fouled to short leg, but Gibson could not hang on to a difficult chance at deep mid-wicket from a triple ball.
Baker’s Dozen
Baker won two caps when England fielded a second-row side in Ireland in late 2024, but could soon enter contention for a first-choice squad. She has outperformed Glenn, England’s other key leg-spinner, by a hundred, and is the Sunrisers’ second-highest wicket-taker heading into Sunday’s final.
She was impressive in the Eliminator, keeping her stumps in play throughout and conceding only 13 – appropriately, Baker’s twelve – from her 20 balls. Lee stumbled early in her spell and held her nerve as Knott leapt across the stumps on the sweep, sticking to a very straight line to clear the stump.
Keep it tight
Lee has struggled behind the stumps all season, and the contrast between her and the excellent Winfield-Hill was emblematic of both teams’ precision. The Sunrisers conceded just three extras – all off the front foot – compared to 18 for the Brave, which included eight wides and two four-hit combinations.
Matt Roller is a senior reporter at Cricinfo. @mroller98
