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Southern Brave Women extended their unbeaten run to three from three in The Hundred Women’s 2026, edging MI London Women by a single run at The Rose Bowl. Jemimah Rodrigues’ 32 and Lauren Bell’s composed final over proved decisive as Danni Wyatt-Hodge’s 52 not out went in vain.
Southampton, England: Cricket does not always reward the deserving. On a warm Monday evening at the Utilita Bowl, MI London Women played the best cricket they have managed all tournament — Wyatt-Hodge blazed, Hollie Armitage built, and Hayley Matthews dismantled — and still they came up a single run short. Southern Brave Women, unbeaten since 2025 and imperious across the first two matches of this campaign, had to reach into their deepest reserves to stay that way. Lauren Bell ensured they did, but only just.
A Sluggish Start, A Rodrigues Spark
MI London skipper Hayley Matthews won the toss and chose to field, a decision that looked astute in the opening phase as her bowlers kept the Brave in check. Lizelle Lee fell early for 9, and Maia Bouchier — threatening with 31 from 22 balls — was brilliantly caught by Amelia Kerr in the deep off Matthews’ bowling to leave the home side at 44 for 2.
What followed was the innings’ defining passage. Jemimah Rodrigues arrived at the crease to join a circumspect Laura Wolvaardt, and the Indian batter quickly took charge. She targeted Chinelle Henry to push the score through 70 from 55 balls, then swept Kerr with authority as the partnership raced to 50 in just 35 balls. The pair put on 60 runs for the third wicket — Rodrigues scoring 32 of them at a strike rate that injected urgency into an innings that had threatened to drift.
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Wolvaardt took longer to find her rhythm, scratching to just 13 from her opening 20 deliveries before a Henry misfield at long-on gave her the licence to play. She added 35 before Kerr turned catcher into wicket-taker, bowling her around her legs with a straight one as Wolvaardt attempted a slog-sweep.
Matthews Finishes the Job — Almost
The back end belonged to Hayley Matthews. After Rodrigues fell to a stunning piece of captaincy — Matthews catching her own bowling, giving Kerr the catch at the rope — the MI London skipper returned at the death to rip through the Brave’s lower order. Two wickets in three deliveries, including a brilliant stumping by Kira Chathli to dismiss Issy Wong, left Southern Brave closing at 126 for 7 from their 100 balls. Matthews finished with 4 for 22, a performance that had the visiting dressing room believing.
The Chase: Hope, The Partnership, and the DRS Twist
MI London did not chase tentatively. They came out swinging. The powerplay yielded 33 without loss, Wyatt-Hodge and Matthews moving fluently before the latter fell in the 10th set of five balls. It was Wyatt-Hodge and Armitage who then put the chase firmly in MI London’s hands, building a partnership of 67 that carried them to 81 for 1 at the strategic timeout with 45 still needed from 30 balls. The equation was eminently manageable.
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Then came the moment that turned the match. Armitage, having made 27 from 21 balls and with the win in her sights, was undone by a beautifully flighted Sarah Glenn delivery. She went for the expansive shot over off stump, the outside edge flew through to keeper Lizelle Lee, and Southern Brave reviewed. Ultra-edge confirmed contact. Armitage had to walk, and suddenly the target became 18 from 15.
Bell Does What Bell Does
Sophie Molineux bowled a clinical penultimate set of five to leave Lauren Bell with eight to defend from the final five deliveries. Wyatt-Hodge, still at the crease and still capable of finishing the job, needed just two scoring shots. Bell had different ideas.
The England seamer bowled with precision and variation — off-pace deliveries, cutters, nothing inviting — and Wyatt-Hodge, for all her brilliance in scoring 52 not out, could not find the boundary the chase demanded. A Brave fielder fumbled one chance under pressure, momentarily setting hearts racing, but Bell held firm ball by ball. The last delivery arrived with four needed, was clipped to the deep, and did not reach the rope. Brave had won by one run. Their 11th consecutive Hundred victory, their third from three in this tournament, secured by the slimmest of margins.
The Unbeaten Record Holds — for Now
Jemimah Rodrigues, named Player of the Match, was composed in the aftermath. “This team has great belief,” she said. “It’s the calmness we show under pressure. When the partnership was building we kept saying one wicket could turn things around. It’s a game of cricket, anything can happen.”
On the pitch conditions, she added: “It was a bit tricky. If you hit good lengths, it was difficult to keep getting those boundaries.”
Southern Brave Women remain top of the Hundred Women’s table with three wins from three and a healthy net run rate. MI London Women, meanwhile, are still searching for their first point of the competition — a result that flatters neither their batting effort on this occasion nor the quality of their captain’s bowling. They will need to find a way to convert performances into victories, and soon.
A 7,339-strong crowd at The Rose Bowl went home divided: some having witnessed Brave’s extraordinary resilience, others wondering just how MI London let this one slip.
Scores: Southern Brave 126/7 (100 balls) — Jemimah Rodrigues 32 (22), Laura Wolvaardt 35 (30); Hayley Matthews 4-22
MI London Women 125/3 (100 balls) — Danni Wyatt-Hodge 52* (42), Hayley Matthews 32 (28); Sophie Molineux 1/22
Result: Southern Brave Women won by 1 run
Player of the Match: Jemimah Rodrigues (Southern Brave Women) — 32 (22)
