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The Hundred: Northern Superchargers edge London Spirit in thriller to end five-match losing streak

Northern Superchargers (127-4 from 100 balls) edge out London Spirit (122-7 from 100 balls) in Headingley thriller; Twenty-year-old Bess Heath hits 57 from 34 deliveries before Alice Davidson-Richards limits Spirit to just seven runs from final five balls

Sunday 14 August 2022 15:32, UK

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Highlights from Northern Superchargers' five-run victory over London Spirit at Headingley

Northern Superchargers snapped a run of five consecutive defeats in The Hundred, beating London Spirit by five runs at Headingley as Beth Heath fired a fifty before Alice Davidson-Richards held her nerve at the death...

Story of the match

Heath, 20, outshone her more renowned Superchargers team-mates, hitting 57 from 34 balls, including nine fours and a six, as her side posted 127-4 from their 100 deliveries.

That total looked under par at halfway but it proved enough despite the best efforts of Sophie Luff (39no off 30) as Spirit could only make 122-7.

The Hundred: Northern Superchargers vs London Spirit - score summary

Northern Superchargers 127-4 from 100 balls - Heath (57 off 34 balls); A Kerr (2-27 from 20 balls); Scrivens (1-5 from 10 balls), Davies (1-29 from 20 balls)

London Spirit 122-7 from 100 balls - Davidson-Richards (2-20 from 20 balls), Levick (1-8 from 10 balls); Luff (39no off 30 balls)

The visitors required 13 from Alice Davidson-Richards' final five deliveries, which became nine from four when Charlie Dean slammed her England team-mate over the off-side for four.

However, Davidson-Richards (2-20 off 20) conceded only three singles from that point and also dismissed Dean as Spirit were subjected to a second straight loss to start the campaign having gone down to Southern Brave in their opening game on Friday.

Bess Heath (Getty Images)
Image: Northern Superchargers' Bess Heath scored 57 from 34 balls before her side's bowlers restricted London Spirit at Headingley

Superchargers defeat to reigning champions Oval Invincibles on Thursday followed four losses in a row to conclude the 2021 season but they are now toasting a long-awaited victory.

Spirit's charge faded when they slipped from 48-0 to 55-3 following three wickets in eight balls and two in two - Beth Mooney (30 off 20) run out brilliantly by fellow Australia opener Alyssa Healy - and Luff's unbeaten knock ultimately came in vain.

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Alyssa Healy brilliantly ran out fellow Australian Beth Mooney in Northern Superchargers' game with London Spirit at Headingley

Luff had earlier been guilty of two blemishes in the field, dropping Heath on 44 and 56 in an innings in which the Superchargers batter nailed three fours in a row off New Zealand leg-spinner Amelia Kerr (2-27 from 20 balls).

Healy (22 off 17) and South Africa's Laura Wolvaardt (24no off 29) also contributed, although Superchargers' third overseas player, India's Jemimah Rodrigues, was bowled by a Freya Davies slower ball for just two.

Sophie Luff (London Spirit)
Image: Sophie Luff's unbeaten 39 came in vain for Spirit, who have started the 2022 season with successive defeats

Player of the Match, Bess Heath: We thrive under pressure

Heath said: "Being able to play in front of my family and friends is amazing. [Laura Wolvaardt] and I decided it was for me to take the innings on and for her to be the anchor. It was a case of if the ball was there to hit, find your boundary and if not find the singles.

"ADR [Alice Davidson-Richards] then bowled extremely well under pressure. As a group I think we do well under pressure, we thrive off it."

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Match Hero Bess Heath reflects on Northern Superchargers' win over London Spirit at Headingley

Luff 'gutted' she couldn't steer Spirit to victory

London Spirit batter Sophie Luff: "We just left ourselves too much to do at the backend. We lost a cluster of wickets in the middle and maybe spent a little too long rebuilding.

"If we could have got a couple of boundaries away with maybe 10-15 balls to go, that could have been the difference but we were always chasing the game.

"I've come into this competition on the back of a couple of scores, but it's a completely different format and I'm in a different role batting down the order. I'm trying to finish games, and ultimately I didn't get us across the line. I'm gutted about that."

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What's next?

The Hundred Live

The Hundred Live

After a bumper four-game Sunday, the Hundred then continues apace on Monday with a double header from Edgbaston as Birmingham Phoenix face Trent Rockets in both the men's and women's tournaments.

The women are up first from 3pm, with the men to follow from 6.30pm. Both games are live on Sky Sports The Hundred and Sky Sports Mix and are also available for free via live streams on skysports.com, the Sky Sports App and the Sky Sports Cricket YouTube channel.

Watch every match from The Hundred this summer live on Sky Sports.

Tickets for The Hundred are selling fast! If you want to be part of the action, go to thehundred.com/tickets

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