SALT STING AS FIRE MISS OUT
MANCHESTER Originals claimed their second win of The Hundred and moved to second place in the table thanks to a seven wicket win over Welsh Fire in Cardiff.
The Fire won the toss and chose to bat, setting the Originals a target of 151 to win thanks to some late order hitting from Leus du Plooy and Matt Critchley.
Joe Clarke and Phil Salt made the chase look very straightforward as they put on 94, the highest opening stand of the competition, with Clarke making 58 from 31 balls.
The target had looked a stiff one at the halfway stage, but Originals chased it down with five balls to spare.
10 consecutive balls from Tom Hartley put the Originals in charge of the early stages of the match with the left arm spinner removing both the Fire openers inside the Power Play.
Those wickets brought Ben Duckett and Glenn Phillips to the crease and they looked to rebuild. It was Duckett who took the role of aggressor as he looked to sweep and reverse sweep the spinners.
Phillips found it harder to get going and he eventually fell when he looked to force the pace, caught on the boundary off the bowling of Originals’ captain Carlos Brathwaite for 12. When Duckett fell three balls later, brilliantly run out by Colin Ackermann with a pickup and throw of his own bowling, the Fire were 62 for three. The home side needed someone to kick on and it was Leus du Plooy who stepped up as he smoked the Originals bowlers around the ground on his way to 43 from 22.
Du Plooy was well supported by Matt Critchley who made 30 from 17 as the fire closed out their innings on 150 for six. While the Fire batters have scored freely during the tournament their bowlers have struggled to contain and this was the case in this match as the Originals opening pair put their team into a position of complete dominance. By the time Clarke fell, caught on the cover boundary off the bowling of Ryan Higgins, the Originals needed 57 runs from 50 balls and all the pressure had gone from the chase. Salt couldn’t see his team home, falling to Critchley for 30. But Colin Munro was there at the death to take the Originals to victory, finishing with a hugely creditable 33 from 27.