It was ‘Fortress Southampton’ for both Southern Brave teams in 2021, as James Vince and Anya Shrubsole lead their sides to victories in all four matches hosted by The Ageas Bowl in the inaugural edition of The Hundred.
With the full fixtures of The Hundred in 2022 now available, we take a look back at Southern Brave’s unbeaten run at The Ageas Bowl.
Welsh Fire - Weds 3rd Aug (H - Men) & Mon 22nd Aug (A - Both)
It was a dominant display from Southern Brave’s opening batters after Fire’s Sophie Luff sent the south side in to face the music.
Southern Vipers’ Danni Wyatt and Indian opener Smitri Mandhana put on 107 for the first wicket, with both players passing 50, Wyatt’s coming in 29 balls and Mandhana’s in 37.
The partnership came to an end after 69 balls when Wyatt mishit a drive, but Mandhana kept going until she reached 78 when she was caught at long on.
A quick-fire 23 from Sophia Dunkley, plus five off two from Maia Bouchier, gave the Brave a total of 166 for the loss of just three wickets.
The Fire got off to a more sedate start as the West Indies’ Hayley Matthews fell for 18, and powerful all-rounder Bryony Smith was out just seven balls later for 33 with the score on 58-2.
Sarah Taylor was undone by her counterpart behind the stumps when she was dismissed for just four, the Vipers’ Carla Rudd catching the former England legend out of her ground.
Wickets were shared around as Wyatt, Tara Norris, Stefanie Taylor and Amanda-Jade Wellington all took one wicket each as the Fire were restricted to 127-4 to give the Brave victory by 39 runs.
It was a good time out in the evening for Brave’s men too, as they kept the Fire to 144-5 as spinners Jake Lintott and Danny Briggs picked up two scalps each.
The Fire batters got themselves in but didn’t kick on, with Tom Banton (36), Leus du Plooy (30), Glenn Phillips (30*) and Ian Cockbain (26) all making starts.
In reply, the Brave got off to a rapid start, with Paul Stirling striking 18 out of the first 19 runs when he was dismissed off the eighth ball.
Then it was the Quinton de Kock and James Vince show as both players made stylish 50s, de Kock’s coming in 29 balls and Vince’s in 36.
The Hampshire captain fell for 53 with just 40 runs required from 32 balls, and de Kock along with Alex Davies saw the Brave home with 13 balls to spare.
Birmingham Phoenix - Weds 10th Aug (A - Men)
The first Hundred game in Southampton was a strong showing for the Southern Brave, as a tricky chase of 141 was made relatively easy thanks to Danni Wyatt and Sophia Dunkley.
Amanda-Jade Wellington took 2-16 off her 20 balls, dismissing both openers Shafali Verma and Eve Jones for 22 and 33 respectively.
England’s Amy Jones, along with Australian Katie Mack attacked well but a run out and an Anya Shrubsole wicket gave the Brave a difficult but not unreachable target to chase.
Smitri Mandhana fell early, but Wyatt and Dunkley put on 60 runs together – their half-century partnership came up in just 29 balls.
Dunkley was run out just nine runs short of her 50, but the Vipers’ Danni Wyatt reached her milestone after 33 deliveries, eventually ending unbeaten on 69 not out, as the Brave chased down 141 with 18 balls remaining.
In the evening, things were a touch scratchier for the men.
They too had a strong start but with ball in hand this time around, as Daniel Bell-Drummond and New Zealand’s Finn Allen were dismissed striking at less than a run-a-ball.
Jake Lintott picked up two wickets when he clean bowled Moeen Ali with the score on 47-3, but Liam Livingstone and Miles Hammond took the attack to the Brave bowlers as they put on 104 to set Southern Brave a target of 152.
The home side’s start was a bit chalk and cheese between the two openers, as Quinton de Kock fell for just three, but Hampshire’s James Vince was motoring as he went to 50 off 30 balls.
New Zealand’s Devon Conway provided valuable support with 34 but wickets fell regularly after the halfway point in the innings, as Alex Davies (15), Ross Whiteley (4) and Colin de Grandhomme (1) were all dismissed within ten balls and the score went from 114-2 to 126-5.
Chris Jordan along with Hampshire’s Liam Dawson set about taking the attack back to the Phoenix bowlers with Jordan finishing on 17 off nine as the Brave got over the line with just three balls to spare.
Northern Superchargers - Weds 31st Aug (A)
In a rain-affected women’s match at The Ageas Bowl, the Southern Brave put in yet another stellar performance as they restricted the Northern Superchargers to just 76 from their 73-ball innings.
The bowling was tight, as none of the Superchargers batters scored at more than a run-a-ball, as the Southern Vipers’ Lauren Bell and Tara Norris took 2-19 and 1-14 respectively.
Thanks to the DLS method, the Brave were set a target of 89 in 75 balls and they would’ve wanted a better start than what prevailed, as both Danni Wyatt and Smitri Mandhana were dismissed for a combined score of just three runs, as the Brave found themselves 5-2 after 13 balls.
Enter Sophia Dunkley and the Vipers’ Maia Bouchier.
When Stafanie Taylor fell for a six-ball duck, the Brave needed 63 runs off 48 balls, with Bouchier the last of the specialist batters.
Just 35 balls later and the match was over, as Dunkley reached 50 off 28 balls, and Bouchier struck 33 off 19 as they saw the Brave over the line with a remarkable 13 balls still to go.
After the thriller of the afternoon, the crowd at The Ageas Bowl were treated to another nail-biter, as the men’s match came down to the final five balls.
George Garton kicked things off, bowling Adam Lyth for a golden duck, and from there on, none of the Superchargers batters could quite get going.
Chris Lynn and David Willey were both out in the 20s whilst Dane Vilas made 35 not out, but tight bowling from Tymal Mills, Chris Jordan and Jake Lintott helped keep the north east side to 128 from their 100 balls.
Quinton de Kock and Paul Stirling, once again, got the Brave off to a quick start with the first wicket falling on the 21st ball with the score already on 36.
But, similarly to the Superchargers’ innings, no one could quite seem to stay in on the Southampton wicket.
That is, everyone besides Quinton de Kock.
The South African keeper-batter blitzed his way to 72* off 42 balls, with nine fours and a six, to be the rock of the Brave’s innings whilst wickets fell at the opposite end.
He, along with a cameo from Chris Jordan, saw the Brave to victory by five wickets with just five balls to spare.
Oval Invincibles - Sun 14th Aug (A)
In the Brave’s only win against the Oval Invincibles, it was yet another dominant performance from the home side except this time, it was the bowlers getting stuck into the action.
A difficult first innings saw the Brave kept to just 115-3 off 100 balls, with Sophia Dunkley being the standout batter with 58* off 39 balls, along with 20s from Danni Wyatt and Stefanie Taylor.
The Invincibles seemed to be untroubled but when Tara Norris took the first wicket of her Vipers teammate Georgia Adams, the floodgates opened and they didn’t seem to stop, with the exception of Dane van Niekerk and Marizanne Kapp.
The couple put on 40 runs for the third wicket as the game seemed to be slipping away from the Brave, but when Kapp chipped Amanda-Jade Wellington to Gaby Lewis, the Brave had a way in.
The Invincibles collapsed from 64-2 to 85 all out, as Wellington was the star with the ball, taking 4-12 off 20 deliveries, along with 3-22 from Lauren Bell, as Anya Shrubsole, Tara Norris, and Fi Morris all took a wicket each to give the home side a win by 30 runs.
In the men’s game, also their only win against the Invincibles, the story was a little bit different.
The Invincibles got off to a flyer thanks to Will Jacks’ 39 off 13, but it was George Garton who made the crucial breakthroughs of both Jacks then Colin Ingram in consecutive deliveries, but the score was still 46 runs from just 18 balls.
Jake Lintott once again performed his magic in the middle period of play as he dismissed Sam Billings and Laurie Evans, whilst Danny Briggs took the key wicket of Jason Roy for just six.
Alex Blake provided some resistance as he finished on 44 not out from 28 balls, but a good comeback from the Brave kept the Invincibles to 134-7 from their 100 balls when, at the start, they looked to be on for 200.
It was then a horror start for the Brave, as they lost both openers with the score on 14.
The scoreboard didn’t make for much better reading soon after when James Vince was runout in a mix-up with Alex Davies for just 13.
The latter though remained calm and took it upon himself to see his side home.
Davies ended on 40* off 29 with George Garton (23) and Colin de Grandhomme (40*) keeping the score ticking over as the Brave romped home to a six-wicket win with just five balls remaining, as Davies sent Reece Topley into the stands with a six.
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