Southern Brave pull off Old Trafford heist

Reece Topley hits a boundary off the penultimate ball as Manchester Originals allow victory to slip through their fingers, after four wickets for Scott Currie

ECB Media | 06/08/2025 at 21:17

Old Trafford: Manchester Originals 131-4, Southern Brave 133-9 - Southern Brave won by one wicket

Reece Topley carved his first ball for four to take Southern Brave to a dramatic one-wicket win against Manchester Originals in The Hundred.

Last man Topley walked out with three runs needed from two balls, after Craig Overton (18 off 8) and Tymal Mills (eight off four) had wrestled the game back from the home team's grasp with a vital 25-run partnership.

Before the duo came together, the equation was 28 needed from 13, and the smart money would have been on Originals; indeed, Phil Salt might wonder how his team didn't get over the line, across an innings that saw both 42-year-old Jimmy Anderson and 17-year-old Farhan Ahmed make their debuts in the competition.

Mills was awarded player of the match partly for his efforts with the bat, but he had earlier taken 3 for 22 as Originals put together 131 for 4.

Salt was the stand-out with the bat for the home team, making a 41-ball 60 and becoming the leading run-scorer in The Hundred men's competition as he did so.

Mark Chapman added some late impetus to the Originals' batting effort, and the home faithful would have been confident throughout much of the Brave's reply that their total would be enough to see them to a winning start.

But they weren't counting on the late intervention of Overton, Mills and Topley.