THE HUNDRED: With the end of the third instalment of The Hundred drawing ever closer we have reached the Eliminator stage, which sees two teams from both the men’s and women’s competitions fight it out for a place in the final. We preview both games below.
Women’s Eliminator – Northern Superchargers v Welsh Fire
This year’s women’s Hundred eliminator sees Hollie Armitage’s Northern Superchargers take on Tammy Beaumont’s Welsh Fire at The Oval to set up a final against Southern Brave on Sunday.
Northern Superchargers are the higher ranked of the two teams as they finished second in the table, but that form may not tell all under the pressure of a straight knockout match.
The Oval is a notoriously good batting pitch and that could play into the hands of the Superchargers, who have the leading run scorer in the competition in Phoebe Litchfield – the right hander has amassed 266 runs at a strike rate of just over 133.
Welsh Fire finished third in the division and will also have to reverse the result of the earlier fixture between these sides, which saw the Superchargers win by 16 runs.
Welsh Fire have a superstar batter of their own in Tammy Beaumont, with the England international scoring 13 runs fewer than Litchfield despite missing one game. Beaumont has scored at a strike rate of over 159, the highest among the top five run scorers in the competition, and her ability to lead and perform under pressure make a Welsh Fire win at 1.84 the best bet.
Men’s Eliminator – Manchester Originals v Southern Brave
The men’s Eliminator looks to be another run fest as Manchester Originals and Southern Brave, led by superstar batsmen Jos Buttler and James Vince, go head-to-head for a spot in the final against Oval Invincibles.
Jos Buttler has been the driving force behind the Originals’ success as he tops the run chart with 298 to his name, 60 more than the next best batsman. Run scoring has looked easy at times for the Originals with Jamie Overton also making 167 runs so far, and the flat wicket at The Oval could play into their hands.
Southern Brave’s success story has been very different as they boast an elite bowling attack with tight fielding to limit teams to as little runs as possible. Tymal Mills has been the pick of the bowlers, picking up 15 wickets so far at an outstanding average of 12.
The Brave haven’t had a go to run scorer and Josh Allen, who ranks ninth of the top runs scorers in the competition this year, has been the main contributor the Brave’s run total.
This all sets up perfectly for a thrilling showcase of explosive run scoring against precise bowling and elite fielding. With the high-scoring nature of the Oval pitch, we see the Original’s being able to put away the Brave’s bowlers and get over the line at 1.83.
