Written by Megan Taylor, sports reporter covering international sports since 2020
Phoebe Litchfield struck 43 from 26 balls as SunRisers Leeds began their Hundred title defence with a seven-wicket victory over MI London at The Oval on Tuesday. The Australian batter helped complete the chase of 108 with 31 balls remaining, giving the renamed champions an immediate winning start.
The 23-year-old arrived after making 48 in Australia’s Women’s T20 World Cup final victory over England at Lord’s earlier this month. SunRisers Leeds restricted MI London to 8-107 before reaching 3-109 with little late pressure.
The men’s match from the same double-header is covered in Nicholas Pooran Powers MI London to Opening Hundred Victory.
SunRisers Leeds bowlers take control
MI London began with a 56-run opening stand between Hayley Matthews and Danni Wyatt-Hodge, who scored 33 and 29 respectively. The innings faded once SunRisers Leeds broke that partnership and started changing pace.
SunRisers Leeds captain Dani Gibson took 2-17, including the wicket of Australian all-rounder Nicola Carey for five. Hannah Baker claimed 2-16 and Deepti Sharma collected 2-20, while Annabel Sutherland returned 1-14 from her maximum 20 deliveries.
“We were really good and put them under pressure with wickets,” SunRisers Leeds coach Adi Birrell said.
The disciplined bowling denied MI London any strong finish after the early platform. The official Hundred match centre records the opening game at The Oval on July 21.
Phoebe Litchfield controls the chase
SunRisers Leeds lost Bryony Smith and Jess Jonassen cheaply, but Phoebe Litchfield quickly shifted the chase back in the champions’ favour. Her clean scoring kept the required rate under control and prevented MI London from building pressure through dot balls.
Phoebe Litchfield was bowled by Scotland spinner Kirstie Gordon with 27 runs still required. Annabel Sutherland then made an unbeaten 30, while Dani Gibson contributed 12 not out to complete the chase.
“Then our spinners held their line and length bravely. It worked out and we took our catches,” Phoebe Litchfield said.
“That's a winning formula.”
SunRisers Leeds combined accurate spin bowling with calm middle-order batting, the same balance that carried the team to last season’s title. Phoebe Litchfield’s innings also showed that her World Cup form has transferred directly into the short format.
