The Analysis: Laurie Evans finds form at the right time

ELIZABETH BOTCHERBY: Manchester Originals' stand-in captain has been a bit hit and miss during The Hundred, but he crushed London Spirit in the eliminator

At the halfway stage of the men's Hundred eliminator match between Manchester Originals and London Spirit, Sky Sports' commentary team all popped their eggs in the latter side’s basket.

Thanks to a breezy half-century from Ben McDermott (59 off 38) and a good old middle-order slog from Ravi Bopara (34 not out off 16), London Spirit closed on 150 for 7 – not quite the total they appeared on course for earlier in the innings but above par for the Ageas Bowl and a steep target, nonetheless.

Also in London Spirit's favour was home advantage. Not team home advantage, as the name suggests they play at Lord's, but four of their bowlers – Chris Wood, Liam Dawson, Mason Crane and Nathan Ellis - all represent Hampshire.

Laurie Evans, however, made those bowlers feel quite uncomfortable in their own homes.

^{Laurie Evans and Phil Salt [Mike Hewitt/Getty Images]}

The stand-in skipper didn't have his best T20 Blast campaign, scoring 290 at a strike rate of 125.54 for Surrey, and had been inconsistent with the bat heading into the eliminator, with knocks of 1 not out, 3, 26 not out – a middle-order smash and grab off 11 against Trent Rockets, 0, DNB, 45 off 19 against Northern Superchargers, 12 and 9.

But just as he did in the Big Bash earlier this year, he's bringing out his best at the back end of the tournament.

Evans came out of the blocks firing on all cylinders, letting a wide pass him by off his first delivery of the day before dispatching Wood for four through midwicket off the subsequent delivery. A further six fours and one six flew from his bat in the powerplay alone as he raced to 41 not out off 16 and he brought up his half-century off 19 deliveries (six fours and two sixes) – just the 29th ball of the innings.

It wasn't just boundaries, however, he and Phil Salt pushed for every run and their partnership yielded 101 runs off just 50 balls before Dawson dismissed the latter caught and bowled off the 50th delivery.

Evans departed three balls later, caught by Dan Lawrence off Crane for 72 off 34. He hit Wood for 18 off six balls, Dawson saw his 10 balls go for 21, Jordan Thompson (not a Hampshire lad) was dispatched for 16 (seven) and Ellis nine off four. Only Crane (eight off seven) could halt him.

And despite London Spirit picking up a flurry of wickets following his departure, having left his side needing just a run-a-ball off the final 47 deliveries, the opposition required a minor miracle to see themselves to Lord's. They took a further three wickets and slowed Manchester right down, but the risk-free Tom Lammonby saw them home with 11 balls to spare.

While the results haven't always been there with the bat, Evans has shown his versatility during The Hundred. He had big shoes to fill, not only given Jos Buttler's reputation but his reliable partnership with Salt, but tonight showed exactly why he backed himself to do the job at the top of the order. Nasser Hussain labelled him "Captain Fantastic" in the aftermath; it's hard to disagree.

"I would have enjoyed it a lot more if I'd finished the game off," Evans said after the match. "We felt like we had to go hard in the powerplay, we didn't want to leave too much for the guys in the middle. It was my turn to put the foot down and Salty as well did a great job."

For Trent Rockets, who will be missing one of their most economical bowlers in Tabraiz Shamsi, Evans' wicket will surely be as crucial as Salt's on Saturday night.

Related Topics

• London Spirit v Manchester Originals AS IT HAPPENED