Molineux’s Brilliant Spin Keeps Brave Unbeaten

Sophie Molineux led the way with remarkable numbers of 3 for 7 from 20 balls, the equal second most economical figures in the competition’s history, behind only colleague Lauren Bell’s 4 for 6 against Welsh Fire last season.

“I thought Tilly bowled really well from that top end as well and Glenny played a massive role there in the middle doing what she does best.”

Southern Brave strengthened their advantage at the top of the table and appear set to take the first berth in the Hundred final after defeating London Spirit by five wickets at Lord’s.

The table-toppers demonstrated why they are considered as having the strongest bowling attack in the competition, bowling with outstanding control and variation to suffocate a Spirit batting line-up that never looked like escaping them.

Marizanne Kapp caught and bowled Lizelle Lee for 115 on the fifth ball of the reply before returning to remove the in-form Jemimah Rodrigues, but the Spirit’s total was never going to be enough on a decent Lord’s surface.

“The pitch had a little something for the spinners,” Molineux explained.

Maia Bouchier top-scored for the Brave with 46 from 38 as they struggled across the line, losing Bouchier and Molineux (23) with one run required – the latter beautifully caught by Deandra Dottin at midwicket – before finishing with seven balls to spare.

Setting a competitive aim seemed like a challenging assignment for the Spirit from the start. Kapp finished the powerplay strong with back-to-back fours off Bell, taking them to 22 for 2 after losing Amy Jones and Marie Kelly to Molineux.

Sarah Glenn’s debut resulted in the departure of Grace Harris and later Sterre Kalis, putting a lot of pressure on Kapp and Nadine de Klerk, the South African duo.

They added 27 from 29 balls, working hard against consistently tight Brave bowling, before Kapp was caught at point by Jodi Grewcock off Tilly Corteen-Coleman for 34 from 27.

De Klerk briefly gained momentum when she launched Glenn for two maximums, but the returning Molineux removed Dottin, and de Klerk was replaced by Corteen-Coleman as the home side closed on 114 for 8, needing to break the record for the lowest total successfully defended at Lord’s to win.

They were unable to do so, and the setback leaves the Spirit with only one win from their first four matches, although they remain in contention for an eliminator position as the Hundred enters the halfway stage.