Oval Invincibles celebrated victory in The Hundred with a thumping win over Southern Brave in the Lord's final; Marizanne Kapp (4-9) took three wickets in the first 10 balls of the innings as the Brave collapsed to 14-6 before they were eventually bowled out for 73
Sunday 22 August 2021 07:12, UK
Oval Invincibles are The Hundred's first ever champions! Marizanne Kapp starred as a brilliant bowling effort saw Southern Brave capitulate to in the chase at Lord's...
Oval Invincibles are The Hundred champions after a remarkable collapse from Southern Brave in the women's final at Lord's.
South African Marizanne Kapp was the star, scoring a valuable 26 from 14 balls to take the Invincibles up to 121-6 from their 100 balls, before claiming three wickets in the first 10 balls of the chase to trigger a staggering Brave collapse.
The fast bowler then returned to finish the job, taking the final wicket as the Brave were dismissed for 73 - the lowest total in the women's competition - to finish with tournament-best figures of 4-9.
Brave would have been happy with their bowling effort, keeping the Invincibles to a very gettable total, with captain Anya Shrubsole (2-16) and Lauren Bell (2-24) particularly impressive.
However, those performances were rendered irrelevant in the space of half an hour as the Brave imploded to find themselves 14-6 and essentially left playing for pride after 36 balls of the reply.
Kapp got it started by having the dangerous Danni Wyatt caught behind for a four-ball duck and, having been kept on for a second set of five, accounted for another England batter as Sophia Dunkley (0) edged to slip.
Gaby Lewis followed from the 10th ball, handing Kapp her third wicket, as the Brave's top three all departed without scoring and with the pressure mounting, things only got worse.
When 17-year-old Alice Capsey had Shrubsole superbly caught by Kapp, the Brave were six down and the Invincibles had the trophy all-but won.
Fi Morris (23) helped make it slightly more respectable for the Brave but she was run out late on and it was left to Kapp to crown a brilliant day for the Invincibles by bowling Bell to start the celebrations for Dane van Niekerk's side.
Kapp came out to bat with the Invincibles in desperate need of some quick runs to try and post a competitive total. Her task became even tougher when captain Van Niekerk fell just a few balls later.
She was undeterred though and her quickfire knock of 26 from 14 balls, including four boundaries, gave the Invincibles some momentum to end their innings.
That, though, was nothing compared to what she did with the ball. Southern Brave's batters have excelled throughout the tournament but Kapp showed all her class and experience to tear through the top-order is a fantastic opening burst.
Big-hitters Wyatt and Dunkley edged behind before Capsey took the catch at short fine leg after a top-edge from Lewis.
The 31-year-old seamer was backed up by more excellent Invincibles bowling but also did her part in the field as well with a superb catch, returning the favour for Capsey, to get rid of Shrubsole.
From there on it was a procession but it seemed only right that it was left to Kapp to clinch the victory, an emphatic end to an emphatic victory.
