MI London ended their winless run in The Hundred 2026 by securing a thrilling 3-run win over London Spirit, at Lord’s, on Thursday. Reduced to 64 for 8, MI London fought their way to 122 before defending the total courtesy a fine display of bowling in the death by Hayley Matthews and Nicola Carey.
Spirit were pushed on the backfoot early in the chase, losing Grace Harris and Marie Kelly early. Amy Jones and Charlie Dean also struggled to find momentum in their innings, but Marizanne Kapp ensured the innings didn’t fall off track.
The South African cracked two boundaries and a six in her 28-ball 34. In the company of Nadine de Klerk, she took Spirit to 93 for 4 before falling to Amelia Kerr in the 76th ball of the innings. With reasonable batting power to follow, the chase was well within their grasp – needing 30 runs off the last 24 balls.
However, MI London clawed their way back, with Matthews dismissing Charis Pavley and Nadine de Klerk in quick succession. Deandra Dottin clubbed a couple of boundaries. But needing five runs off the last ball, she was run out while attempting a two.
Earlier in the day, MI London had a harrowing start to their innings. Kapp, bowling 10 balls upfront, cleaned up Matthews. A flurry of dot balls followed, and after 30 balls, MI London had picked only 22 runs. Attempts to find any momentum were nipped in the bud as Charlie Dean struck thrice in one set to leave them reeling at 23 for 5.
Chenille Henry clubbed a couple of boundaries to give MI some momentum. But once she departed, another brief collapse followed, leaving Amelia Kerr to do the late resurrection. She crafted her innings beautifully, taking on Katie George, Nadine de Klerk and Dean late in the innings. Her 41-ball 69*, which included four sixes, eventually helped the side post what proved to be a winning total.
Brief Scores: MI London 122/9 in 100 balls (Amelia Kerr 69*, Chenille Henry 22; Charlotte Dean 3-26, Hannah Rainey 2-12) beat London Spirit 119/8 in 100 balls (Nadine de Klerk 35, Marizanne Kapp 34; Hayley Matthews 2-21, Tara Norris 1-18) by 3 runs.
