Two Southern Brave bowlers each took a wicket with their very first ball against Sunrisers Leeds in the women's Hundred on Saturday 25 July at Headingley — a double act so rare that it sounds like a misprint on the scorecard.

Issy Wong struck with her opening delivery. Then Tilly Corteen-Coleman did the same. For the uninitiated, The Hundred is cricket's 100-balls-per-side format, designed for fast, accessible matches — and a first-ball wicket, where the bowler dismisses a batter off the very first delivery they bowl, is already uncommon in any format. Two in one innings borders on the absurd. (BBC Sport)

The match was part of The Hundred 2026's opening fixture at Headingley, where the home women's and men's Sunrisers Leeds sides each faced Southern Brave. The women's game was scheduled for an 11:00am start, with the men's match to follow at 2:30pm. (The Hundred)

Sunrisers Leeds Women chased down their target, finishing on 109 for 3 to win by seven wickets, according to results published on 23 July. (The Hundred)

What makes the double first-ball wicket so arresting is the sheer improbability. A batter facing a new bowler has the advantage of observation — they watch the delivery, judge the pace, adjust. To be dismissed before that adjustment can happen, off the first ball a bowler sends down, leaves no room for correction. For it to happen twice, to two different Brave bowlers in the same match, defies the percentages that govern cricket's long, statistical grind.

Wong, a pace bowler known for her sharp bouncers, and Corteen-Coleman, a left-arm spinner, offered contrasting methods to the same outcome — pace and guile each proving enough to beat the batter's first look.

The Hundred, now in its latest season under fresh ECB auction rules published in March, has made a habit of these compressed moments of drama. The format's brevity — each side faces just 100 deliveries, roughly 65 minutes of play per innings — means every ball carries disproportionate weight. A first-ball wicket in a Test match, spread across a day's play, settles into context. Here, it reshapes the innings inside seconds.

Southern Brave's attack for 2026 also features Lauren Bell, who topped the wicket-taking charts in last year's Hundred competition and returned to the side for this season. (ECB) Brave's next fixture sees them travel to the Utilita Bowl to face MI London Women on Monday 27 July at 3:00pm. (The Hundred)

For now, the headline belongs to Wong and Corteen-Coleman — two bowlers, two first deliveries, two wickets. Cricket rarely repeats itself. This day, it did.