“London Spirit Advance to Women’s Hundred Final”

Sports News Cricket: Redmayne’s unbeaten 53 sees London Spirit into final against Welsh Fire.

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The Women’s Hundred trophy will have a new home as the London Spirit pulled off a surprise eight-wicket win over the Oval Invincibles in Saturday’s Eliminator semi-final to set up Sunday’s final against the Welsh Fire at Lord‘s. Welsh Fire reached the Eliminator in 2023, but in the three previous editions of the tournament neither side had reached the championship game.

Cricket “To play in a home final at Lord’s, it is going to be incredible,” said Australian Georgia Redmayne, as her cover drive for four sealed her half-century and the winning runs for London Spirit.

Sports News Cricket: The Oval Invincibles, defending two-time champions, had gone into day’s play as overwhelming favourites in front of a raucous record home crowd of 15,823. Put in to bat by London Spirit, they still managed a creditable 113 runs. Set batsmen Alice Capsey and Marizanne Kapp fell to only the 74 and 77-ball mark as Spirit cashed in on the squeeze, taking five wickets in the last 14 deliveries.

The response saw Kapp strike early as Meg Lanning was caught behind off the 28th ball. However, a commanding 74-run partnership off 51 balls between Georgia Redmayne and Heather Knight saw the London Spirit home with nine balls remaining. Knight, initially playing second fiddle, finished unbeaten on 36 from 23 balls, including a towering six off Mady Villiers – an innings that will have done much to impress England coach Jon Lewis with just six weeks remaining until the T20 World Cup.

Invincibles captain Lauren Winfield-Hill rued her team’s sloppy fielding under pressure, despite missed chances in the field with both Redmayne and Knight being dropped twice. One such chance fell to Winfield-Hill herself when she grassed Redmayne, standing up to the stumps, on 19. “In a close game, in a low-scoring contest, it‘s costly,” she said afterwards.

Redmayne was also fortunate to survive an LBW appeal when she was 46, as Invincibles had already used up their one available review against Knight earlier in the match. The game was all but sealed when 19-year-old left-arm spinner Sophia Smale had to leave the field after colliding while diving to stop the ball, with just three balls remaining in her third set. “Her head‘s fine, but her heart‘s broken,” Winfield-Hill said.

That left Capsey, bowling only her second spell in the competition this year, to finish Smale’s overs but neither she was able to stem the steady flow of runs for Knight and Redmayne as Spirit eased home.

Earlier, a 45-run partnership between Redmayne and Marizanne Kapp appeared set to tip the scales for the Oval Invincibles and take the game away from new finalists – the London Spirit. Both fell in successive deliveries, however, to turn the tide of the game.