Sunrisers Leeds make 241, the highest total in the Hundred, and still only climb to fourth

London Spirit won the toss at Headingley on Tuesday night and put Sunrisers Leeds in. Twenty-nine balls later the score was 67 without loss and Mitchell Marsh had 54 of them. By the end of the innings the Hundred had a new highest score, a new record partnership, and Adam Zampa had figures nobody wants next to their name.

Sunrisers finished on 241 for 2 from their 100 balls. The previous best in the competition’s six years was 226. Spirit made 204 for 6 in reply, which in any other week would have been a decent night out, and lost by 37 runs.

Marsh and Rickelton take it apart

Marsh made 76 from 37 balls with seven sixes and six fours, and reached his fifty in 24. Ryan Rickelton, keeping wicket and opening, was on 8 while Marsh was on 54, and then stopped being the junior partner: 94 not out from 42, with eight sixes, his fifty coming up in 21 balls.

Their opening stand was worth 148 from 65 balls, the highest partnership for any wicket in the history of the tournament. Marsh eventually holed out to Adam Milne with the score at 148, which counts as a release for Spirit only in the narrowest sense, because Harry Brook walked in next.

Brook made 55 from 18 balls in front of his home crowd. Five fours, five sixes, a fifty in 15 deliveries, and a second-wicket stand with Rickelton that reached 50 in 20 balls and 83 by the time he fell. Dan Lawrence then hit 10 from three balls at the death because the innings had stopped obeying normal rules some time earlier.

The bowling figures are worth reading slowly. Zampa’s 10 balls cost 33. Andrew Tye went for 42 from 20. Jamie Overton conceded 37 from 10, Liam Livingstone 23 from 5. David Willey and Milne took the only wickets to fall, for 35 and 37 respectively. James Coles got through his 20 balls for 30 and was the pick of them, which on this evidence is a low bar cleared with some relief.

Willey saves something from it

Chasing 242 was never realistic and Spirit’s start removed the last of the doubt. Jonny Bairstow was caught behind by Rickelton off Reece Topley on the second ball of the innings. Lhuan-dre Pretorius went for 5, Livingstone counterattacked for 34 from 13 and got out doing it, and James Coles was lbw to Nathan Ellis for a two-ball duck. Spirit were 56 for 4 inside the 25-ball powerplay.

Dewald Brevis made 38 from 21 and, from 56 for 5, Willey batted properly. He finished 83 not out from 46 balls with ten fours, adding an unbroken 74 with Jamie Overton, who made 27 from 15. It cut the margin and did something for a net run rate sitting at minus 0.410, and on a night like this that is what counts as a result.

Topley took 2 for 30 and Ellis 2 for 42. The most economical spell of the whole match belonged to Abrar Ahmed, who bowled five balls for 2 runs and was not asked back.

The reward for a record is fourth place

Here is the part that will annoy Sunrisers. They have now scored 898 runs across five matches, more than anyone in the competition, they have just broken the tournament’s highest-score record, and they sit fourth. Twelve points, three wins from five, a net run rate of 0.348 that leaves them behind MI London on 0.399 with identical records.

Trent Rockets and Welsh Fire lead on 16 points. Sunrisers still have Birmingham Phoenix, Welsh Fire and Manchester Super Giants to play, and given how their batting is going, the Welsh Fire fixture looks like the one that decides whether they make the knockouts.

Spirit are seventh with one win from five and face MI London next. Three group games remain, and on 4 points with a net run rate of minus 0.410 they need most of them.

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