Southern Brave's title defence ends with whimper against Northern Superchargers

Southern Brave restricted Northern Superchargers for 135 but despite the best efforts of Rehan Ahmed (33 off 29) they couldn't complete a successful chase

Headingley: Northern Superchargers 135-8, Southern Brave 119-9 - Northern Superchargers won by 16 runs

Scorecard

Southern Brave's disappointing title defence in the men's Hundred ended with a whimper as they failed to chase 136 in a dead rubber defeat against Northern Superchargers at Headingley.

Both teams, out of finals contention before a ball was bowled here, should have performed better with the bat on a pitch which was tired but not disastrously so.

England's Harry Brook top-scored with 29 for the Superchargers, who were inserted by the reigning champions and made 135 for 8. Fledgling leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed and seamer James Fuller each finished with 2 for 20.

In reply, Brave slumped to 34 for 4 in 26 balls and failed to recover. In posting 119 for 9, they suffered a fifth defeat in eight - this one by 16 runs.

Ahmed continued his impressive day with 33, but South African left-arm quick Wayne Parnell's outstanding 4 for 16 ensured the Superchargers finish with a fourth win added to as many defeats.

^{Sonny Baker picked up two big wickets for Southern Brave [Stu Forster/Getty Images]}

After a breezy start, the Superchargers were checked by the varied spin of leg-spinner Ahmed, offie Paul Stirling and left-arm wrist spinner Jake Lintott. The latter two struck once apiece. Three of their top four all reached 20 and failed to go on.

After the early departure of captain Faf du Plessis to Ahmed, caught by mid-on running around towards mid-off, his opening partner Adam Lyth made 20, David Willey reached 22 and Brook with his aforementioned 29. But all holed out to catches in the deep as the score fell to 91 for 4 after 67 balls.

Seamer Sonny Baker had Lyth caught at deep midwicket off a top-edge and Brook caught in the same position pulling before Ahmed struck again when Adam Hose found long-on - 99 for 5.

Michael Pepper, David Wiese and Parnell all made it into double figures and threatened late acceleration, though Brave were as clinical with the ball and in the field as they were so often last year and not enough this. Seamer Fuller removed Wiese and Rashid in the penultimate set of five - again to catches in the deep.

In many ways, this Brave performance was a microcosm of this season's campaign. Inconsistent.

After being polished with the ball and in the field, they were all over the place with the bat in the early stages of their reply, losing some serious firepower in the first 26 balls.

^{Willey celebrates dismissing Baker with a forward roll [Stu Forster/Getty Images]}

Quinton de Kock was run out trying to take a suicidal single to short fine-leg before Parnell's left-arm seam accounted for Stirling and Alex Davies. Left-arm spinner Callum Parkinson then bowled captain James Vince.

From 34 for 4, Ahmed and Ross Whiteley steadied with a partnership of 27. However, when the latter miscued Adil Rashid's leg-spin to long-on, leaving the score at 61 for 5 after 49 balls, it felt a decisive juncture. And so it proved.

Big-hitting Singaporean Tim David drilled Wiese to long-off shortly afterwards.

Freewheeling Ahmed continued his impressive day, and a turnaround was on the cards when he shared 28 in 16 balls with Fuller, both hitting strong shots down the ground. But when Ahmed miscued Parnell to long-on, leaving the score at 104 for 7 after 83 balls, 32 runs were still required.

That target became 26 off 10, and it was all but game over when Parnell yorked Fuller for 25 to leave 22 still needed off six.

Willey closed things out by bowling Baker, even celebrating with a forward roll.

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