Sunrisers Leeds picked up their first victory of the 2026 Hundred men's competition on 25 July, beating Southern Brave by five runs at Headingley. Set 188 to win, Brave closed on 182-5 — close, but not close enough — to remain winless after two matches. The result lifts Leeds off the mark after they had lost their opener to MI London by seven wickets (BBC Sport).

The platform was laid by Mitchell Marsh. The Australian all-rounder opened the batting alongside wicketkeeper Ryan Rickelton and tore into the Brave attack from the start, racing to fifty off 26 balls and finishing on 69 from 34 deliveries. By the halfway point of their 100-ball innings — each team faces 100 deliveries in the Hundred, rather than a fixed number of overs — Leeds were already 102 without loss (BBC Sport).

Zak Crawley captained the side and batted at three, with Harry Brook at four and Dan Lawrence at five, though Marsh's assault meant the middle order was needed only to keep the momentum ticking. Leeds posted 187-5 from their allotment (ESPNcricinfo).

Brave's chase had promise. McKinney struck 44 off 23 balls and Stubbs finished unbeaten on 42 from 20, keeping the required rate within reach deep into the second half. But Adil Rashid's leg-spin proved the decisive hand. He took 3-21 from his 20 balls, including the key wicket of Marsh in the first innings and then two more in the chase to apply the brakes. Abrar chipped in with 2-33 for Leeds, and those five wickets between the spinners were enough to peg Brave back at the finish (BBC Sport).

One set of balls will linger in the memory of anyone who watched it live. Luke Wood bowled a set — the Hundred's equivalent of an over, five legal deliveries — that leaked 28 runs and included four free hits, the no-ball penalty that gives batters an unobstructed swing. It was the kind of passage that can swing a 100-ball game on its own, and it gave Marsh the fuel he needed to accelerate (BBC Sport).

The match was the men's half of a double-header at Headingley, the fifth fixture of the 2026 men's competition. In the women's game earlier in the day, Southern Brave Women beat Sunrisers Leeds Women by five wickets with four balls to spare, with Jemimah Rodrigues and Issy Wong playing leading roles — Brave's second win of the women's tournament (ESPNcricinfo).

For Leeds, the breakthrough is straightforward: a first win, a dangerous opener firing, and a home crowd sent home happy. For Brave, two defeats from two leaves work to do, and the margin — five runs — will sting.