Manchester Super Giants beat Trent Rockets by five wickets in the men's Hundred final at Lord's, denying the Rockets a chance to complete a rare double after their women's side had already been crowned champions earlier the same day. Chasing 159 for victory, Super Giants got home with two balls remaining despite a nervy finish, as Tim Seifert's blistering innings proved decisive.
According to a broadcast preview of the finals schedule, the women's final between Trent Rockets and Sunrisers Leeds was staged first at Lord's on 16 August, with the men's contest following at 6pm BST and a reserve day held in reserve for 17 August in case of interruption. Timings differed slightly between outlets: one report placed the women's final at 14:15 BST and the men's match at 18:00 BST, according to a preview of finals day, while a competition listing service put the men's start at 17:00 GMT, according to ESPN's competition schedule.
How did Manchester Super Giants complete the chase?
With only three runs required from the final nine deliveries, Mohammad Amir struck twice in quick succession, removing Heinrich Klaasen and Michael Bracewell, while Ben Sanderson followed with two dot balls to leave Super Giants needing three from three. Liam Dawson settled the tension by clearing mid-wicket for six, sealing the title with two balls unused. Klaasen was dismissed via a diving boundary catch taken by Aneurin Donald, and Bracewell was trapped in front, before Dawson survived a pair of anxious swings and misses to finish the match in style. Dawson had struck air with his first two deliveries of the final over before the winning six over deep midwicket, having earlier missed a chance to finish the game sooner.
What laid the foundation for the winning total?
New Zealand batter Tim Seifert top-scored with a rapid 72 from 38 balls, striking seven sixes and four fours to put the chase firmly in Super Giants' favour. He and Paul Walter, who had also starred in the Eliminator, put on 66 runs from just 31 balls for the opening wicket. Jos Buttler then briefly lit up the 27,416-strong crowd with three sixes in a quickfire 23 from 14 balls, before Laurie Evans steadied things with an unbeaten 27 as the innings edged towards its target. Seifert reached his half-century by slogging Calvin Harrison into the second tier of the Mound Stand, with Super Giants reaching 87 for one off 50 balls, before Buttler struck back-to-back sixes off the same bowler in a spell that briefly threatened to take the game away from the Rockets entirely, only for Buttler to fall attempting a third six.
Rockets came close to removing Seifert on 33 when Finn Allen produced an extraordinary relay effort on the boundary, leaping beyond the rope before flicking the ball back into play for Harrison to complete the catch. The dismissal was overturned on review after replays showed his foot had brushed the rope before he leapt back into play, costing him what would have been a leading contender for catch of the tournament. Seifert departed with 22 balls still remaining and 23 runs required, leaving the finish tighter than the Super Giants would have wanted.
How did Trent Rockets' innings unfold?
Ben Duckett gave the Rockets a firm start with 31 before falling to a sharp delivery from Noor Ahmad, caught behind. He had earlier been dropped on 23 when he reverse-swept a ball towards Josh Tongue, his England and Nottinghamshire teammate, who erred at short third; Duckett had made 141 against India at Lord's in July and appeared set for another big score before Ahmad's wrong'un found the inside edge. Within four balls, captain Sam Billings was run out for seven in untidy fashion and Tim David was dismissed first ball, also by Ahmad, swinging the momentum towards Super Giants; David's dismissal capped a difficult tournament for the Australian, who managed just 90 runs from eight innings after a reported £350,000 signing. Ahmad finished with figures reported as 3 for 29 in some coverage and 3 for 33 in others, having dismissed Allen, Duckett and David.
Aneurin Donald then counter-attacked with 38 from 19 balls, sweeping Ahmad for six and hooking a short ball from Sonny Baker into the crowd, showing flashes of real quality before dragging one from Dawson onto his own stumps; his innings also included some mid-pitch miscommunication that led to Billings' run out. Late support from Mitch Santner, whose unbeaten 20 took his season batting average to 146, and Lewis Gregory, who struck a brutal 16-ball 32, lifted the total to 158 for 8, a score that ultimately proved short of the mark. Gregory had also hit the winning runs when Trent Rockets last won the tournament four years earlier. Allen, for his part, was caught at long-off for 15 having earlier been at the centre of the marginal boundary decision. With Buttler choosing to bowl first, the early battle between Duckett and an England pace trio of Tongue, Baker and Gus Atkinson had been billed as pivotal, with Duckett scooping two sixes off the fuller lengths from Atkinson and Baker before his eventual dismissal.
Why did the Rockets fall short of a historic double?
Trent Rockets had entered the men's final having already topped the group table and progressed directly through from their final league fixture, and their women's team had won the corresponding title on the same afternoon at Lord's, according to live coverage of the women's final. Trent Rockets' women's side had beaten Sunrisers Leeds by eight wickets after bowling them out for a season-low 91, sealing their first-ever Women's Hundred title, as reported in our coverage of that match. A men's victory would have made Trent Rockets the first franchise to sweep both Hundred titles in a single edition of the competition, but Super Giants' chase ensured that milestone remained unclaimed. This was also a second consecutive men's final appearance for the Rockets, though only Ben Sanderson remained from their squad in last year's decider.
How significant was Seifert's innings in context?
Seifert's 72 matched Will Jacks' record for the highest individual score in a Hundred final and lifted his tournament total to 394 runs at an average close to 50, the second-highest run tally of the competition behind Mitchell Marsh. His partnership with Paul Walter at the top of the order has been a recurring strength for Super Giants across their last five matches, with stands of 74, 119 and 128 preceding Thursday's 66, interrupted only by a duck for Seifert in the Eliminator. Notably, according to match coverage from earlier in the tournament, Seifert had already produced an unbeaten 80 from 40 balls against Sunrisers Leeds on 11 August, a knock that helped Super Giants secure a 10-wicket win and confirm their place in the knockout stages, as detailed in our earlier report on that Old Trafford victory. Manchester Super Giants then converted that momentum into a place in the final by beating Sunrisers Leeds again in the Eliminator on 14 August, with Josh Tongue and Paul Walter starring, according to a report on the eliminator win.
What history lay between these two sides before the final?
The two franchises had met twice in the closing stages of the group phase, with contrasting results. On 31 July, according to a report on the group-stage fixture, Finn Allen struck an unbeaten 72 from 35 balls to help Trent Rockets beat Manchester Super Giants by six wickets and move to the top of the standings, a result also confirmed by a separate account of that match. Super Giants gained a measure of revenge on 14 August, beating the Rockets by 20 runs in the match that eventually set up Thursday's final meeting between the two sides, as detailed in coverage of that fixture. The Hundred's format guaranteed that the league leaders advanced straight to the final, while the second- and third-placed sides met in an eliminator, according to a preview of finals day.
The result also marked a turnaround for the Old Trafford-based franchise, which had been renamed Manchester Super Giants this season after previously competing as the Originals, part of what has been described as the tournament's shift towards an IPL-style ownership model. The club had lost two earlier men's finals, including the 2022 decider against these same Trent Rockets, which remains their only previous men's title in the competition, meaning Thursday's win came at their third attempt. Super Giants' route through the tournament had also included an 87-run win over Birmingham Phoenix built on Jos Buttler's 90 from 50 balls, and a seven-run victory over London Spirit at Lord's in which Seifert made 67, as reported in our coverage of the Phoenix match and our report on the Spirit fixture.
What was the atmosphere like at Lord's?
Lord's hosted a lively build-up before the final, with singer Ella Eyre performing as the finals-day musical guest while both sides warmed up nearby, accompanied by daytime fireworks. The occasion drew a crowd of 27,416 for the men's decider, following directly on from the women's final earlier in the day.
What happens next?
With the final completed on 16 August, the scheduled reserve day of 17 August at Lord's was not required. The tournament's men's and women's competitions for the season are now concluded, with attention turning to the release of full standings, run-scorer and wicket-taker charts, and reflection on the impact of the competition's new ownership structures this year.
Key Facts
- Manchester Super Giants won by five wickets, chasing down 159 with two balls remaining, having reached 162 for 5.
- Tim Seifert scored 72 from 38 balls, equalling the record for the highest score in a Hundred men's final.
- Trent Rockets' women's team had already won their title earlier on 16 August, meaning a men's win would have completed a rare double.
- Mohammad Amir took two crucial late wickets, while Noor Ahmad's figures were reported as either 3 for 29 or 3 for 33 depending on the source.
- The win is Manchester Super Giants' first men's Hundred title at their third attempt, following two previous final defeats including one to Trent Rockets in 2022.
