Southern Brave won the Women’s Hundred for the third time in a row with a 34-run victory over Northern Superchargers, giving Anya Shrubsole a fairytale send-off in the final at Lord’s.
Wyatt’s brilliant 59 off 38 balls saw her overtake fellow England player Tammy Beaumont at the top of the table with 295 runs.
Freya Kemp’s 31 and Georgia Adams’ 27 helped the Brave to a 139-six victory on a dry pitch, despite England seamer Kate Cross’ three for 21.
Jemimah Rodrigues made 24 in the chase, but Kalea Moore returned three for 15 and Lauren Bell three for 21, and Rhianna Southby had three stumpings as the Superchargers were bowled out for 105.
It meant the Brave, who were bridesmaids in the first two finals, finally got their hands on the trophy, a fitting conclusion to a glittering career for retiring skipper Shrubsole, who took the match-winning wicket in England’s World Cup success over India at Lord’s six years ago.
Much of the Brave’s success on the way to the final had been predicated on the triad of Smriti Mandhana, Wyatt, and Maia Bouchier, but after being placed in, two were gone in the blink of an eye.Mandhana sent the first ball of the match to the point boundary only to slice the next from Grace Ballinger to fly-slip, while Bouchier played too quickly at one from Cross, leaving the Brave eight for two.
Wyatt, on the other hand, played a gem of an innings, sweeping well and smashing inside out over the off-side to reach 50 from 35 balls with nine fours. She and Adams added 84 in 63 balls with a magnificent straight six.
Cross’ underarm throw terminated Wyatt’s run prematurely, and Adams, who had been dropped earlier by Georgia Wareham, hit out to the same fielder for 27.
Kemp’s spectacular cameo, which included swinging the bat out of her hands, lifted the Brave above par before she and Chloe Tryon both fell in Cross’ brilliant final set.
Marie Kelly was called out lbw to Bell’s first delivery of the chase, only to be overturned on review, but unfazed, the England speedster bowled her off the pads with the second.
Phoebe Litchfield took up the chase with two contemptuous early fours in an attempt to reclaim the lead over Wyatt.
She would only get to 13 before swinging at another Bell delivery to a catcher in the deep.
Rodrigues scored five runs on a misjudged Tryon throw at the stumps, but only 28 came on the powerplay.
Southby then took the stage, stumping first Hollie Armitage and then England newcomer Bess Heath, the latter having previously smashed Bell over the ropes for six.
Shrubsole contributed a farewell wicket of Alice Davidson-Richards, and once Rodrigues holed out in the increasingly desperate pursuit of boundaries, Brave were all but home.
