The Hundred men’s competition: Final, Lord’s
Trent Rockets 158-8 (100 balls): Donald 38 (19); Noor 3-33
Manchester Super Giants 162-5 (98 balls): Seifert 72 (38); Amir 3-29
Manchester Super Giants won by five wickets
Scorecard
Manchester Super Giants survived a late wobble with the bat to beat Trent Rockets by five wickets and win the franchise’s first Hundred title at Lord’s.
Super Giants needed a straightforward three off the last nine balls in pursuit of 159, before Mohammad Amir dismissed Heinrich Klaasen and Michael Bracewell and Ben Sanderson bowled two dot balls to bring the equation down to three off three.
But Liam Dawson held his nerve to hit the winning runs with a six over mid-wicket, sealing victory with two balls to spare.
The chase had been set up by New Zealand’s Tim Seifert, who struck a magnificent 72 off 38, featuring seven sixes and four fours in a brutal display of power.
Rockets had the chance to dismiss Seifert on 33, but Finn Allen’s astonishing relay effort on the boundary was ruled out because his foot had touched the boundary rope before he had jumped over, denying him a sure contender for the catch of the tournament.
The result meant the Rockets, who finished top of the table and so progressed straight into the final from their last group game on Monday, failed to become the first franchise to win both men’s and women’s competitions in the same edition of The Hundred.
Ben Duckett’s 31 gave them a solid platform, but, in the space of four deliveries, captain Sam Billings was run out for seven and Tim David fell first ball to Noor Ahmad as Super Giants took control.
Aneurin Donald blitzed 38 off 19 before quickfire cameos of 20 from Mitch Santner and 32 from Lewis Gregory lifted the Rockets to 158-8.
But it proved to be below-par as Seifert and Paul Walter, the Super Giants’ star in the Eliminator, added 66 off 31 balls for the first wicket before Jos Buttler briefly entertained a crowd of 27,416 with three sixes in his 23 off 14.
The Old Trafford-based side, renamed the Super Giants from this season having preivously been the Originals, lost two previous men’s finals, including to the Rockets in 2022, which remains their sole men’s title.