Sunrisers Leeds booked their place in the knockout phase of The Hundred women’s competition with a commanding 41-run victory over Manchester Super Giants at Old Trafford, posting 166-4 before restricting Manchester Super Giants to 125-8. Annabel Sutherland’s unbeaten 62 and three wickets from Jess Jonassen proved decisive, sending Sunrisers Leeds into Friday’s Eliminator against Southern Brave at The Oval while ending Manchester Super Giants’ hopes.
Manchester, England: There is a particular cruelty to knockout cricket at this stage of a tournament: one performance can define a season, and another can end it in the same afternoon. For Manchester Super Giants, that reckoning arrived at Old Trafford in brutal fashion. For Sunrisers Leeds, it was the platform they needed to leapfrog their opponents in the standings.
Sutherland’s power seals the platform
Sunrisers Leeds’ innings was built on the kind of clean hitting that turns a competitive total into a match-winning one. Phoebe Litchfield set the tone at the top, striking 27 off just 12 balls before falling to Mady Villiers at mid-wicket, and captain Dani Gibson added a brisk 24 from 13 deliveries before she too was accounted for by Villiers.
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It was Sutherland, though, who defined the innings. Unbeaten on 62 off 36 balls, laced with three sixes and six fours, she took Sunrisers Leeds from a solid position to a total that always felt beyond Manchester Super Giants’ reach. Villiers finished with 2-25, the pick of the attack, but it was not enough to prevent Sunrisers Leeds closing on 166-4.
Jonassen and the middle-order collapse
Chasing 167, Manchester Super Giants never established the rhythm required to trouble a target of this size. Grace Scrivens top-scored with 31 off 24 balls, but the innings lacked the partnerships needed to sustain momentum, and the required rate climbed steadily out of reach.
Jess Jonassen was the destroyer-in-chief, finishing with 3-21, including the crucial wickets of Smriti Mandhana (28) and Richa Ghosh (13). Sutherland, having already made her mark with the bat, returned to take 2-17, while Deepti Sharma claimed 2-21 as the innings unravelled to 125-8.
Bryce’s second retirement and a familiar frustration
Amid the chase, Kathryn Bryce’s departure carried its own subplot. Retired out after scoring 15 from 14 balls, it marked the second time in The Hundred that Bryce has been dismissed in this manner — the first coming while playing for Manchester Originals against Northern Superchargers in August 2024. It is a rare enough tactic in English cricket that its repetition, against the same player, will not go unnoticed.
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Meg Lanning was unable to arrest the slide either, bowled by Jonassen for 10 off 15 balls. By the time Manchester Super Giants’ innings closed on 125-8, the margin of defeat — 41 runs — told its own story of a chase that never found its footing.
What the result means
The victory lifts Sunrisers Leeds into the top three of the standings at Manchester Super Giants’ direct expense, confirming their place in the knockout phase while eliminating their opponents from contention entirely. For a competition where margins between qualification and elimination can be desperately thin, this was as clear-cut as it gets.
Looking ahead
Sunrisers Leeds now turn their attention to Friday’s Eliminator against Southern Brave at The Oval, with the winner progressing to face Trent Rockets in Sunday’s final at Lord’s. Before that, The Hundred’s women’s competition continues on Wednesday, with Welsh Fire hosting London Spirit at Sophia Gardens and Birmingham Phoenix facing MI London at Edgbaston — two fixtures that will further sharpen the picture of who joins Sunrisers Leeds and Trent Rockets in the race for the title, given not all four teams involved can advance to the knockout stages.
