Having been set just 115 to win, Adam Lyth (47) dispatches the Welsh Fire bowlers with
ease alongside skipper Faf du Plessis as Northern Superchargers earn victory; Ben Duckett had earlier hit the Fire’s first half-century of the tournament in his unbeaten 64 to squeeze them above 100
Last Updated: 26/08/22 10:37pm
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Highlights of The Hundred clash between Welsh Fire and Northern Superchargers
Highlights of The Hundred clash between Welsh Fire and Northern Superchargers
Adam Lyth became the highest run scorer in The Hundred as the Northern
Superchargers imposed a seventh-successive defeat on the Welsh Fire at Sophia Gardens.
Story of the match
Having been set just 115 to win, Lyth (47) dispatched the Fire bowlers with ease alongside skipper Faf du Plessis as the away side coasted home with nine balls to spare, keeping their faint hopes of reaching the Eliminator alive.
Ben Duckett had earlier hit the Fire’s first half-century of the tournament in his unbeaten 64 to squeeze them above 100 but openers Lyth and Du Plessis were destructive, putting on 75 for the first wicket before both were removed by Ish Sodhi (2-14) for 47 and 32 respectively.
Welsh Fire 114-4 from 100 balls – Duckett (64no off 48 balls), Du Plooy (21 off 15 balls);
Northern Superchargers 116-4 from 100 balls – Lyth (47 off 34 balls), Du Plessis (32 off 24 balls)
Duckett had been the only Fire batter to find anything close to consistency in this summer’s competition and he rebuilt the innings alongside Leus du Plooy, who made an unbeaten 21 from 15 balls, the pair finally pushing the Fire’s rate above one run per ball in the 74th delivery after Duckett pulled successive boundaries.
He then accelerated to 64 off 48 balls, scoring eight of the side’s 11 boundaries.
Lyth got the Superchargers off to a blistering start with four boundaries that included a huge six through mid-wicket, racing to 22 off just nine balls.
The opener seemed to be batting on a different pitch to everyone else at Sophia Gardens, picking up six boundaries in the powerplay to push his side to 42-0, where Fire had managed to reach just 22-1.
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Highlights of The Hundred match between Welsh Fire and Northern Superchargers
David Willey and Harry Brook steadied the ship and saw the win home after the wickets fell, to ensure the Superchargers moved level with Southern Brave before they meet at Headingley on Wednesday.
The Fire will be hoping to avoid losing all eight of their 2022 matches when they travel to title-chasing Trent Rockets on Monday.
What they said
Northern Superchargers’ match-winner Adam Lyth: “I’m very pleased to get the win there. I’d like to have got a few more to help the team get over the line a bit quicker but I’m very happy with the win.
“I thought the bowlers were excellent. Then me and Faf [du Plussis] put on a good opening partnership and then the lads finished it off.
“There was a bit of dew [late on]. We definitely got the best of the conditions.
“It was nice to get the win and we’ve got one more game to go and hopefully we get the win.”
Adam Lyth’s innings was key to victory
Northern Superchargers captain Faf du Plessis: “It’s always a little bit easier when you’ve got a tempo to go at.
“Lyth is in good form at the minute but it was probably better batting second and a really good chase in the end.
“He’s just very clear in what he wants to do. He’s got enough options to hit the ball to leg-side or off-side.
“The chat between us was that in the first over to see what the pitch was like and when we got that information that’s when Lyth went. Welsh Fire needed to take four or five wickets at the start to be in the game.
“I don’t think there was that many fours or sixes because of the pitch but as professional cricketers you have adopt.”
What’s next?
Spirit vs Invincibles
August 27, 2022, 3:00pm
Live on 
Spirit vs Invincibles
August 27, 2022, 6:45pm
Live on 
Next up in The Hundred is a London derby double-header between London Spirit and Oval Invincibles at Lord’s on Saturday.
It has been a case of contrasting fortunes for the Spirit this year, with the women struggling near the foot of the table after one win from their first four, while the men are currently top of the lot and have the chance to cement a play-off spot with victory over their local rivals.
A win for the Invincibles women will all but secure the defending champions a play-off place too, while the men need a victory to stay in the hunt with one game to go.
The women are up first from 3pm, on Sky Sports Mix and via a live stream on skysports.com, the Sky Sports App and the Sky Sports Cricket YouTube channel. The men’s fixture follows from 6.30pm on Sky Sports The Hundred.
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