The Hundred: Trent Rockets Wait at Lord's in Both Finals
Manchester Super Giants and Sunrisers Leeds came through Friday's eliminators, and both now face the side that topped the group in each competition. Southern Brave, who won their first five, are out.
The Hundred reaches Lord's on Sunday, and in both competitions the same franchise is waiting there.
The men's eliminator
Manchester Super Giants beat Sunrisers Leeds by 20 runs at The Oval, posting 186 for 4 and holding Leeds to 166 for 7. They go to Lord's to face Trent Rockets, who finished top of the men's group stage.
The women's eliminator
Sunrisers Leeds chased down a modest 115 against Southern Brave with 11 balls to spare, winning by five wickets to reach the final against Trent Rockets.
That result closes an odd season for Southern Brave. They won their first five matches and looked like the best side in the competition by some distance. They then lost their way in the closing fortnight and have gone out in a chase of 115.
Trent Rockets, twice
The Rockets topped both group stages and now play both finals, having spent the last three weeks quietly winning while the attention went elsewhere. We noted ten days ago that they had pulled clear in both tables with a fifth win in six. Nothing since has changed that.
Sunday at Lord's
Women's final: Trent Rockets against Sunrisers Leeds. Men's final: Trent Rockets against Manchester Super Giants.
For a competition that has spent five seasons being argued about, a finals day where one club can win both titles is a reasonable advertisement for it. The Super Giants arrive with the man who became T20 cricket's leading run scorer inside this tournament ten days ago, which is not the worst way to walk into a final either.