Sutherland stars as Sunrisers Leeds reach The Hundred knockouts with 41-run win at Old Trafford

Sunrisers Leeds booked their place in The Hundred women's knockout phase with a 41-run win over Manchester Super Giants at Old Trafford on 11 August 2026, leapfrogging their opponents into the top three of the standings. (BBC Sport)

The victory sets up an Eliminator — the knockout match where the winner advances to the final and the loser goes home — against Southern Brave at The Oval on Friday. Trent Rockets await the survivor in Sunday's final at Lord's.

Annabel Sutherland, one of three players Sunrisers Leeds retained ahead of the 2026 season alongside Phoebe Litchfield and Kate Cross, drove the win with an unbeaten 62 from 36 balls. She cleared the rope three times and found it six more, reaching her fifty at better than a run a ball and accelerating through the second half of the innings. Sunrisers posted 166-4 from their 100 balls — a total that always looked demanding in a format where each side faces only 100 deliveries.

Litchfield gave the innings early impetus with 27 off 12 before falling, and captain Dani Gibson added a brisk 24 off 13 until Mady Villiers, the pick of Manchester's bowlers with 2-25, removed her. But Sutherland's finishing knock, arriving in the closing sets of five deliveries, pushed the target well beyond comfortable reach.

Manchester's chase stalled early. Jess Jonassen, the left-arm Australian spinner, took 3-21 and removed both of the Super Giants' Indian internationals — Smriti Mandhana for 28 and Richa Ghosh for 13. Sutherland backed her batting with the ball, returning 2-17, while Deepti Sharma chipped in with 2-21. Grace Scrivens top-scored for Manchester with 31 off 24, but no one else built a substantial partnership, and the innings closed on 125-8.

Kathryn Bryce's dismissal summed up a difficult evening for the home side. She made 15 from 14 balls before being retired out — a tactical move where a batter is withdrawn by the batting side rather than dismissed by the bowler, used here to inject fresh momentum that never materialised.

What makes this result sting for Manchester is the swing in the table. The Super Giants occupied a top-three spot going into the match; the defeat drops them below Sunrisers Leeds, who now hold the knockout position with the Eliminator days away. For Sunrisers, the performance combined the power-hitting that the shortest formats reward with disciplined, wicket-taking bowling — exactly the balance needed in a sudden-death fixture.

Sutherland's all-round showing — 62 not out and 2-17 — gave her side runs at the top of the order and breakthroughs with the ball. Jonassen's three wickets, including two key Indian batters, strangled the chase before it could gather pace.

For fans, the path is straightforward. Beat Southern Brave on Friday at The Oval and a trip to Lord's awaits. Lose, and the season ends there.