Southern Brave secured a five-wicket victory over London Spirit in a low-scoring encounter at Lord’s in the Hundred men’s competition. England fast bowler Jofra Archer was the standout performer with the ball, claiming season-best figures of 4-9, including three wickets in his final set of deliveries. Spirit were restricted to 105 all out, with their innings lasting 92 balls. Jonny Bairstow top-scored for the home side with 56 from 43 balls, while James Rew contributed 11. The visitors’ total was undermined by a dramatic late collapse in which they lost their final five wickets for just two runs across seven balls. Marcus Stoinis also took 3-17 to support Archer’s bowling performance.
Brave’s chase began promisingly with Jamie Smith hitting 36 from 22 balls, but they faced a wobble when they slipped to 60-5, still requiring 46 runs from 48 balls. The turning point came through David Miller, who scored an unbeaten 39 from 28 balls to stabilize the innings. Miller formed an unbroken 51-run partnership with fellow South African Tristan Stubbs, who finished with 12 not out. Despite battling a hand injury, Miller struck crucial boundaries, including hitting Liam Livingstone for successive sixes to complete the chase with four balls unused.
The victory moved Southern Brave up three places to fourth in the standings on eight points. London Spirit fell one place to seventh position with one win from four games.
In the second match at Edgbaston, Welsh Fire defeated bottom-placed Birmingham Phoenix by seven wickets. Joe Root scored an unbeaten 58 from 40 balls in his first match following his reappointment as England Test captain, striking four boundaries from his opening three deliveries. Phil Salt provided support with 46 from 36 balls, sharing a 77-run opening partnership with Root. Phoenix managed 137-9 batting first, with Joe Clarke top-scoring on 35 from 23 balls despite the side suffering an innings collapse from 53-1 to 79-5. Welsh Fire claimed victory with four balls remaining, moving them from fifth to second in the table.
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