Laurie Evans powers Originals into Hundred final with 34-ball 72
London Spirit outgunned despite posting competitive 151 target in Ageas Bowl eliminator
London Spirit outgunned despite posting competitive 151 target in Ageas Bowl eliminator
Scorer: Ranjith P | Commentator: Alan Gardner
9.05pm: It was comfortable in the end, set up by a blistering opening stand worth 101 off 50 balls - and with captain Laurie Evans blasting what turned out to be a decisive 72 off 34. Originals' comeback from losing their first three games is (almost) complete. Just like Southern Brave last year, they've won six in a row. Can Dawid Malan and co stop them in their tracks tomorrow? As has been the way through much of the Hundred, most of the drama today was reserved for the women's game. But anyway, the Originals march on and Rockets will be primed for them. It's all set up for the finale at Lord's, so join us again tomorrow for 400 balls of fun. What's not to like? (Don't answer that...) Bye!
Laurie Evans is the Match Hero: "I would have enjoyed it more if I'd finished the job off. Great to get over the line, team have been incredible, six in a row and we go again. {Opening stand] We felt like we had to go hard in the powerplay, knowing it would break up. Didn't want to leave too much for the guys in the back end. Been the story of our campaign, different guys have stepped up. Been so enjoyable to be part of. [Captaincy] I'd rather have Jos here, huge player to be missed. No secret, just good blokes having a good time and playing some good cricket, working hard for each other. Trent have been fantastic, the pressure will be on them to win as the best team. We'll just go there and try to cause an upset."
London Spirit captain Eoin Morgan: "[Where went wrong?] With the bat unfortunately. Thought we were in a magnificent position to past 165-170. The feedback from the partnership at the top was it was a really good wicket to bat on but we didn't capitalise. The Originals came out and played beautifully, we talked about breaking the partnership and getting into the game but it came a bit too late. We started well but haven't continued to get better. Originals capitalised on conditions more than we did tonight. They deserve to be in the final, they've outplayed us, outbatted us and outbowled us. Formula we stumbled upon, played well when batting first. Chasing hasn't been our forte. It was a case of trying to stick to our forte, but we couldn't get enough runs for our bowlers. [Future?] Tournament's quite a long way away next year. Loved the pod, loved spending more time at home with my family. Who knows next year."
Morgan brings an extra fielder into the ring
Just a couple of hits away now. Ellis for his final set
London Spirit outgunned despite posting competitive 151 target in Ageas Bowl eliminator
He's not the hero the tournament was expected to uncover but 6ft 7in allrounder has been quietly integral for Manchester Originals