SWINDON'S Lauren Bell suffered heartbreak in the final of The Hundred on Saturday after her Southern Brave side fell to a five-wicket defeat to Oval Invincibles at Lord's.
The 21-year-old did not bat as the Ageas-Bowl outfit posted 101-7 but was able to make a considerable impact with the ball.
Bell recorded figures of 20-1-14 with nine dots, and was the only Brave bowler not to be hit for a boundary.
But the Swindon-born fast bowler's contribution was not enough to wrestle the trophy off the Invincibles, who lived up to their name by retaining the title in front of a record crowd. Marizanne Kapp once again steering her side home in a rerun of the inaugural final against the Brave.
The South Africa international was player of the match for a in the 2021 final after starring with bat and ball and once again showed her taste for the big occasions with a decisive all-round display.
In front of 20,840 fans – a new domestic high – she took one for 19 in her 20 deliveries before leading the Invincibles’ pursuit of 102 with 37 not out. Her 33-ball knock, which contained five boundaries, was the best of the day and the top score yet in the women’s showpiece.
The Brave had scraped together an underwhelming 101 for seven after opting to bat first, but the chase was from a walkover once Lauren Winfield-Hill and Suzie Bates fell cheaply at the top.
At the halfway mark they were teetering on 59 for four, England seamer Bell having scattered Mady Villiers’ stumps with the 50th delivery of the innings.
But Kapp held her nerve while others lost theirs, piecing together a match-winning innings in a game where the bowlers set the agenda.
Alice Capsey, the breakout star of last year’s tournament and a reliable performer once again, weighed in with a handy 25 from 17 balls but had a couple of slices of luck along the way.
Captain Anya Shrubsole shelled a straightforward catch when the 18-year-old had just five to her name, with Capsey cashing in on her reprieve by hitting two fours and a long, straight six in the next set of five. Smriti Mandhana also put her down on 22, but that proved a less costly error thanks to Georgia Adams, who got Capsey reverse-sweeping.
Kapp picked her moments to attack astutely, taking consecutive fours off Amanda-Jade Wellington and two more in a costly visit from Shrubsole, meaning the asking rate never got away. The winning runs came with six balls remaining, Emily Windsor cutting Tahlia McGrath to the ropes to seal the deal in style.
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