Men's Hundred 2026, SRL-M vs LS-M 20th Match Match Report, August 04, 2026

The sides were sitting sixth and seventh respectively at the start, both still in with a shout of qualification in a congested table, but Sunrisers have now moved up to fourth in the table, level with MI London.

On a belting pitch, Mitchell Marsh was his usual belligerent self, becoming the 2026 tournament’s leading run-scorer on his way to a 24-ball fifty. He now has 23 sixes, nine more than the man in second place, Jos Buttler, with team-mates Ryan Rickelton and Harry Brook in third and fourth place.

The score was 119 for 0 after 50 balls, the highest halfway score in the Hundred history as Rickelton went to fifty even quicker than Marsh, off 21 balls. When the pair reached 131 off 54 balls, they had recorded the highest partnership in the Hundred men’s history (going past Oval Invincibles’ unbeaten 127 from Tom Curran and Jimmy Neesham in the 2023 final) and when Marsh departed caught at deep extra for a 37-ball 76, it was to a standing ovation.

He was replaced by Brook, who started with a couple of measured singles but then showcased his full range of strokes, hitting the fastest fifty in the Hundred – equalling Adam Rossington’s 15-ball effort in 2022 – including a remarkable no-look six.

Sunrisers reached 200 – the eighth time that score has been breached in the history of the tournament and the third this year – off just the 85th ball of the innings. Rickelton looked to be threatening Brook and Davina Perrin’s 41-ball record for a century in the Hundred but had to settle for an unbeaten 94 off 42, the second-highest score in this year’s tournament behind Rachin Ravindra’s 98 not out.

The 21 sixes in the innings was, naturally, a record in the Hundred, as was the team total of 241 for 2, going past the 226 for 4 posted by Oval Invincibles last year, with all four batters scoring at a strike rate of above 200.

When Spirit batted, Reece Topley, in his first game this season, had Jonny Bairstow snicking through to the keeper first ball, then struck again, dismissing Lhuan-dre Pretorius. Liam Livingstone, meanwhile, top-edged three sixes before he fell victim to Nathan Ellis for 34 off 13.

From there, it was a slow but inevitable death with James Coles and James Rew going cheaply and Matt Revis having his almost sound-a-like Dewald Brevis top-edging to Topley for a 21-ball 38. David Willey at No.7 went to a 31-ball fifty but at that stage the equation was an implausible 100 off 25. At the end, Spirit had scored a highly respectable 204 for 6, adding 10 sixes to bring the total to a record 31 and propel Spirit to the competition’s ninth team score of 200-plus (leading to a record 446 match aggregate), but despite Willey’s unbeaten 83 off 46, they were still 37 short.

Rickelton, the Meerkat Match Hero, said: “Both teams batted incredibly well. You realise the wicket is so good you’ve got to get as many as you can. You have to accept the ball is going to be flying but try to stay one step ahead. Five wins is the benchmark, and if you can win your games at home that helps.”

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