Tom Curran and Jimmy Neesham’s unbroken stand of 127 helped the Oval Invincibles fight back from a poor start to claim their first men’s Hundred title with a 14-run victory over the Manchester Originals.

The Invincibles were in trouble after being reduced to 34 for five with England stars Jason Roy and Sam Curran out for ducks.

However, Neesham and Tom Curran rallied as they combined to add 127 off 65  balls and set a challenging total of 161 for five.

The Originals made an indifferent start as Phil Salt was caught by Sam Curran off brother Tom and Manchester scored just 14 runs as a further three wickets fell, with Jos Buttler, Wayne Madsen and Laurie Evans all dismissed.

Max Holden tried to keep their hopes alive with a spirited 37 before falling to Sam Curran as the Invincibles ensured Manchester fell to a second successive final defeat.

 The Guyana Amazon Warriors continued their unbeaten start to the 2023 Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) with a 34-run win over the Jamaica Tallawahs at Warner Park on Sunday.

 Despite a tricky start with the bat the Amazon Warriors posted an imposing total of 210-7 with fifties for Shimron Hetmyer and Keemo Paul. In reply, the Tallawahs top order succumbed to the bowling of Romario Shepherd with five wickets falling inside the first seven overs.

 A brilliant partnership between Imad Wasim and Fabian Allen saw the Tallawahs recover from 36-5 to 133-6 but the damage caused by those early wickets could not be repaired.

 The Jamaica Tallawahs started brilliantly with the ball, claiming two wickets inside the first over. The first man to go was Hazratullah Zazai who made a two-ball duck on his CPL debut when he cut a ball from Chris Green to Imad Wasim at point. When Saim Ayub edged a ball from Mohammad Amir through to the keeper the score was 7-2 and the Amazon Warriors were in danger of losing the game inside the PowerPlay.

Azam Khan hit a huge six but was dismissed for just seven when he was brilliantly caught by Salman Irshad who claimed a diving effort on the third-man boundary, but from there it was all about the Warriors batting.

Shai Hope made an attractive 25 and shared a 50-run stand with Shimron Hetmyer, but the fireworks really started with Keemo Paul walked to the crease. Hetmyer and Paul put on 99-run stand from just 47 balls with both men passing 50. Paul was dismissed for a career best 57 while Hetmyer made a blistering 60.

 It was left to Romario Shepherd and Dwaine Pretorius to take the Warriors past 200 as they set a target of 211.

It was always going to be a stiff ask but when Romario Shepherd bowled a double wicket maiden it made things very hard for the Tallawahs. Shepherd would go on to finish with figures of 3-7 from his three overs.

 The stand between Allen and Imad was full of attacking shots but with the required rate getting unmanageble there was too much left for them to do. When Imad was dismissed for 63 by Imran Tahir the required rate was up to 20 runs an over.

 Allen fell for 47 and with him any slim hopes of a Tallawahs win departed as the Jamaican side finished on 176 all out.

 Scores: Guyana Amazon Warriors 210/7 (Hetmyer 60, Paul 57; Amir 3-33, Green 2-28) beat Jamaica Tallawahs 176 all out (Imad Wasim 63, Allen 47; Shepherd 3-7, J Sinclair 2-17) by 34 runs

Danni Wyatt finished as leading runscorer in the Women’s Hundred as Southern Brave made it third time lucky with a 34-run win over Northern Superchargers to give Anya Shrubsole a fairytale send-off in the final at Lord’s.

Wyatt’s scintillating 59 from 38 balls meant she overhauled fellow England star Tammy Beaumont at the top of the standings with 295 runs in total.

Freya Kemp’s 31 and Georgia Adams’ 27 lent support as the Brave piled up 139 for six on a dry pitch, despite three for 21 for England seamer Kate Cross.

Jemimah Rodrigues, starved of strike for long periods, made 24 in the chase, but Kalea Moore returned three for 15 and Lauren Bell three for 21, while there were a trio of stumpings for Rhianna Southby as Superchargers were bowled out for 105.

It meant the Brave, bridesmaids in the first two finals, finally got their hands on the trophy, a fitting end to a glittering career for retiring skipper Shrubsole, who took the match-clinching wicket in England’s World Cup winning triumph against India at the home of cricket six years ago.

Much of the Brave’s success on the run to the final had been built on the triumvirate of Smriti Mandhana, Wyatt and Maia Bouchier, but after being put in, two were gone in the blink of an eye.

Mandhana dismissed the first ball of the match to the point boundary only to slice the next from Grace Ballinger to fly-slip, while Bouchier played too soon at one from Cross to leave the Brave eight for two.

However, Wyatt produced a gem of an innings as the England batter played shots all around the wicket, sweeping effectively and hitting inside out over the off-side in racing to 50 from 35 balls with nine fours. A glorious straight six followed as she and Adams added 84 in 63 balls.

A mix-up meant Cross’ underarm throw ended Wyatt’s knock prematurely and Adams, dropped earlier by Georgia Wareham, holed out to the same fielder for 27.

An extraordinary cameo from Kemp, including swinging the bat out of her hands, lifted the Brave above par before she and Chloe Tryon both fell in Cross’ excellent final set.

Marie Kelly was given out lbw to the first ball of the chase from Bell, only to be reprieved on review, but undeterred the England speedster bowled her off the pads with the second.

Phoebe Litchfield took up the chase with two dismissive early fours in a bid to overhaul Wyatt once more as leading runscorer.

She would though only get to 13 before swinging another Bell delivery to a catcher in the deep.

Rodrigues picked up five from a misdirected Tryon throw at the stumps, but only 28 came from the powerplay.

Wicketkeeper Southby then took centre-stage with two brilliant pieces of glovework to stump first Hollie Armitage and then England newbie Bess Heath, the latter having previously hit Bell over the ropes for six.

Shrubsole joined in the fun with a farewell wicket of Alice Davidson-Richards and once Rodrigues holed out in the increasingly desperate pursuit of boundaries, Brave were all but home.

The Barbados Royals defeated the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots in their 2023 Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) match at Warner Park, St Kitts.

The Royals won the toss and opted to field first and despite seemingly having the Patriots innings under their control, the home side rallied with late order batting to set a mammoth total of 197-7. In reply, the Royals saw Rahkeem Cornwall and Kyle Mayers lay the foundation in the PowerPlay before Captain Rovman Powell saw his side home with the fastest 50 in the Republic Bank CPL this season.

His destructive innings saw the Royals complete the second highest run chase in Republic Bank CPL history.

The Patriots got their innings off to a lightning start led by Andre Fletcher’s sparkling stroke play, the Spiceman’s (Andre Fletcher) 360 cricket allowing the Patriots to reach 56 at the end of the PowerPlay but they lost two wickets in the process.

Rahkeem Cornwall induced a mis-timed stroke from Evin Lewis, the opener sweeping only as far as Kyle Mayers for 8 before Joshua Da Silva was run out for five chasing a quick second run.

Outside of the PowerPlay, the Patriots run scoring slowed significantly, Andre Fletcher and Sherfane Rutherford only putting on 39 runs from 34 balls before Nyeem Young dismissed Rutherford caught and bowled for 28.

Fletcher followed shortly afterwards having just got to his 50, Qais Ahmad trapping him lbw. That was only the beginning of Ahmad’s work as he cleaned up Jyd Goolie to leave the Patriots teetering at 111-5.

Powerful late order hitting from Corbin Bosch (38) and Dominic Drakes (20) ensured the Patriots ended with momentum on their side, with a stiff target of 198 for the Royals to chase.

If the Royals were going to chase the total they would need a fast start and they got that and then some with Rahkeem Cornwall smashing 38 from 15 balls to give the reply the impetus it needed.

Having reached 74 at the end of the PowerPlay the Royals were well ahead of the game but Kyle Mayers fell shortly after that to open the door for the Patriots.

The Patriots couldn’t apply further wicket taking pressure but even so with the Royals poised at 150-3 with five overs to go, the match seemed set for a tight finish.

However, captain Rovman Powell saw his side home with a destructive 67 from 29 balls to guide the Royals home with nine balls to spare.

Scores: Barbados Royals 200-4 (Powell 67*, Cornwall 38; Drakes 2-37, Bosch 1-28) beat St Kitts & Nevis Patriots 197-6 (Fletcher 51, Bosch 38*; Ahmad 2-16, Young 2-54) by 6 wickets

Saint Lucia Kings earned their second win of the 2023 Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) with a 54 run victory over Trinbago Knight Riders. 

The Knight Riders won the toss and chose to field first, but Saint Lucia Kings, powered by the batting of Faf du Plessis and Sikandar Raza, scored a substantial 167/5 after 20 overs. 

Trinbago Knight Riders began their chase scoring runs rapidly, but the spin bowling of Khary Pierre, Roston Chase and Sikandar Raza was ultimately their undoing as they lost frequent wickets and were bowled out for 113, falling 54 runs short of the target.   

Openers Faf du Plessis and Johnson Charles would put on an 85 run partnership to provide a platform for the Saint Lucia Kings, du Plessis reaching his half century from just 33 balls before losing his wicket to an Andre Russell delivery. 

Trinbago Knight Riders would then frustrate Saint Lucia Kings as their variation of bowlers kept the runs down, before Sikandar Raza led a counter-attack, scoring four boundaries before departing for 32. Dwayne Bravo and Ali Khan would bowl superbly at the end of the innings, combining to concede just 11 runs and taking three wickets across the final two overs, as the Saint Lucia Kings set a target of 168 to win.  

There were early set backs for the Knight Riders, as they lost the experienced wickets of Martin Guptill, Chadwick Walton and Nicholas Pooran in the powerplay. Captain Kieron Pollard would provide a destructive cameo as he scored 34 off 15 balls and ensured they stayed ahead of the run rate, but wickets continued to fall, leaving the Knight Riders 86-6 after ten overs. Saint Lucia Kings continued to utilise spin effectively; Khary Pierre was the pick of the bowlers, taking four wickets for 20 runs as the Knight Riders were dismissed for 113.  

Trinbago Knight Riders will look to rebound in tomorrow evening’s match as they face off against St Kitts and Nevis Patriots. 

The California Knights secured a 24-run win over the New Jersey Triton’s in a rain-shortened five-over match in the US Masters T10 in Lauderhill on Friday.

Former West Indies all-rounder Ashley Nurse hit a rapid 10-ball 24 to help the California Knights post 76-1 off their five overs batting first.

Irfan Pathan hit a top score of 31 off just 13 balls against 1-10 from Liam Plunkett.

Ben Laughlin then took 2-7 in his over to help restrict the Triton’s to 52-3 off their five overs.

Another former West Indies all-rounder, Chris Barnwell, hit 29 off 15 balls.

Guyana Amazon Warriors got their first win of the 2023 Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) with a comfortable 65-run victory against the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots on Thursday. 

The Patriots won the toss and opted to field first, but the decision backfired, as the Amazon Warriors made light of losing wickets at regular intervals, to post an exceptional 197 for 7. 

In reply, the Patriots struggled to get close to the Warriors total, being bundled over for 132 in 16.5 overs.

Evin Lewis played a quick-fire captain’s knock, but once he fell, no one else in the Patriots order was able to have a similar effect on the game.

The Amazon Warriors innings suffered an early blow when Sheldon Cottrell removed Chandrapaul Hemraj in the first over for a duck.

Though the Patriots lost two further wickets in the PowerPlay –Saim Ayub falling to Dominic Drakes and Azam Khan to Oshane Thomas –they kept the run-rate brisk, and were well positioned at 59 for 3, at the end of the initial six overs.

Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer maintained and, by extension, built on that momentum taking the score to 101 for 3 at the halfway stage of the innings. Hope led the way, as he raced to a half-century from a mere 26 balls.

However, the partnership was eventually broken by wrist spinner Izharulhaq Naveed, who bowled the destructive Hope for 54. That wicket was quickly followed up by the dismissal of Hetmyer for 26, as the left-hander holed out to the fielder on the deep point boundary.

Those wickets briefly took the momentum out of the innings, before Keemo Paul and Romario Shepherd not only steadied the ship, but added quick runs at the backend to help the Warriors to their imposing target.

The Patriots reply never really got going as scoreboard pressure told. 

Andre Fletcher and Joshua Da Silva fell inside the PowerPlay to leave the Patriots 37 for 2 at the end of six overs.

Lewis played a fine counter-attacking innings of 48 from 24 balls to bring the required run-rate down to something more manageable, but whatever hope they had of achieving the winning target, was short lived. 

Lewis and Sherfane Rutherford fell six balls apart to leave the Patriots at 88 for 4 after 10 overs.

As if things couldn’t get any worse, the remaining batsmen failed to put together any useful partnerships, as they came and went in quick succession.

Gudakesh Motie proved too hard to handle and, as such, finished with career best figures in a spell that included the wicket of Ambati Rayudu. 

The left-arm spinner ended with four wickets for 28, almost single-handedly gifting Amazon Warriors an opening victory, which would not only boost their confidence, but also set them up nicely for the remainder of the campaign.

Scores: Guyana Amazon Warriors 197-7 (Hope 54, Ayub 31; Thomas 3-38, Drakes 2-43) beat St Kitts & Nevis Patriots 132 (Lewis 48, Rayudu 32; Motie 4-29, Tahir 2-35) by 65 runs

The Patriots will look to bounce back when they host the Barbados Royals on Saturday.

The Atlanta Riders put on a splendid performance on Wednesday, as they swatted away the challenge of the New Jersey Triton’s by 48 runs. The Triton’s did not have a good day with the bat and were bowled out for 53, losing the contest with an over to spare. Hamilton Masakadza was the Player of the Match. 

Batting first, the Atlanta Riders lost their captain Robin Uthappa off the first ball for a duck, after which Lendl Simmons (5) and Dwayne Smith (7) followed suit. At 3/19 in the fourth over, the Riders were in a spot of bother.

Hamilton Masakadza and Hammad Azam were in the middle after that, and steadied the ship for the Riders. The duo put on a 72-run stand for the Riders, with the Zimbabwean narrowly missing out on a half-century.

Azam, who smashed a flurry of sixers during his knock, finished with an unbeaten 38 to his name, as the Riders posted 101/5 in their quota of 10 overs.

In response, the New Jersey Triton’s lost both the openers in the first over, as Gautam Gambhir (0) and Naman Ojha (1) were knocked over by Kamrul Islam. In the second over, Harmeet Singh dismissed Jesse Ryder, and then packed off Cameron Delport for 1, as the first two overs produced 4 wickets for the Riders.

Yusuf Pathan and Chris Barnwell tried to steady the ship after that, but the latter was the fifth wicket to fall in the fifth over, with the score at 33/5. By the end of the fifth over, the Triton’s lost Yusuf for 18, and were 6 down, putting the Riders in the driving seat.

After that, the Triton’s continued to find it difficult as the likes of Peter Trego (9), Liam Plunkett (3), Bipul Sharma (4) and RP Singh (0), all fell quite quickly, allowing the Atlanta Riders to register a big win.

Brief Scores:

Atlanta Riders – 101/5 (Hamilton Masakadza – 43, Hammad Azam – 38*; Peter Trego – 2/29, Bipul Sharma – 1/8) won by 48 runs against New Jersey Triton’s – 53 (Yusuf Pathan – 18, Chris Barnwell – 11; Elias Sunny – 2/4, Harmeet Singh – 2/9)

The California Knights moved to third place on the points table after defeating New York Warriors by 15 runs in the US Masters T10 League at the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground, Lauderhill, Florida on Wednesday. The California Knights put up 106/5 in their 10 overs before restricting the Warriors to 91/3.

Kamran Akmal got the Warriors off to a great start as he smashed two boundaries in the first two overs. However, he fell to Devendra Bishoo for 12 runs off 9 balls in the third over. Tillakaratne Dilshan kept the Warriors' hopes alive with a flurry of boundaries, but he was run out for 43 runs off 27 balls in the ninth over. 

Irfan Pathan bowled a fantastic final over to close out the match for the California Knights. He conceded just 5 runs in the last over of the match.

Earlier in the day, California Knights won the toss and chose to bat first. Aaron Finch got their innings going through a string of boundaries, however, he was dismissed by Abdur Rehman for 24 runs off 12 balls in the third over. Thereafter, the Knights kept losing wickets at regular intervals, however, they continued to bat at a decent strike rate. 

Ashley Nurse struck a couple of sixes in the last two overs and helped the Knights reach 106/5 in their 10 overs.

Jamaica Tallawahs continued their unbeaten start to the 2023 Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) with an eight-wicket win over St Kitts and Nevis Patriots on Wednesday night.

The Jamaican franchise won the toss and chose to field first, with a superb four wicket haul from Salman Irshad helping them restrict the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots to 156-9 after 20 overs. The Tallawahs managed to chase down the target in 16.3 overs, captain Brandon King producing a magnificent innings of 67 to continue the defending champions great start to the season.

The Patriots had got off to a promising early start, Andre Fletcher and Evin Lewis combining to push the score to 20-0 after two overs. Yet the fourth over would change the whole complexion of the tie as Irshad took three wickets, including that of Fletcher and Ambati Rayudu, to leave the Patriots reeling at 37-4.

West Indies international Joshua Da Silva steadily rebuilt the innings with his score of 36, before a late burst from Dominic Drakes saw the Patriots reach 156-9 at the end of their innings.

Jamaica Tallawah openers Brandon King and Kirk McKenzie combined to score seven boundaries and take the side to 34-0 after three overs of their chase. King would go on to bring up his half century off just 22 balls, before losing his wicket on 67 to a Dominic Drakes delivery.

 Shamarh Brooks, who scored an unbeaten 38, would continue to accelerate the score before Amir Jangoo would take his side across the finish line with a six.

St Kitts and Nevis Patriots will look to rebound in tomorrow evening’s match as they face off against Guyana Amazon Warriors.

Scores: Jamaica Tallawahs 157-2 (King 67, Brooks 38; Thomas 1-25, Drakes 1-28) beat St Kitts & Nevis Patriots 156-9 (Da Silva 36, Drakes 29; Irshad 4-27, Amir 3-20) by 8 wickets.

Former West Indies Women's cricket sensation Deandra Dottin has issued a passionate call to Cricket West Indies, urging the board to prioritize player respect and resources. Dottin, known for her explosive performances on the field, has warned that neglecting these crucial aspects could have dire consequences for the future of cricket in the Caribbean.

In a candid conversation on the Ladies Who Switch podcast, Dottin opened up about her thoughts on her retirement from international cricket and the issues she encountered within the cricket establishment. She expressed concern over the lack of attention given to players' needs, both in terms of resources and respect. Dottin stressed that without proper support and a conducive environment, players cannot perform at their best:

"To be honest, there's been a lot going on in the camp and so much I've been through, so many things that needed to be sorted out, and the players not getting the respect and basically the attention because there are things that needed to be done in order for players to actually perform to the best of their ability," she said.

Dottin, who announced her retirement from international cricket a year ago, cited issues with the team environment as a factor in her decision. Her illustrious career spanned 14 years, featuring remarkable achievements like the 2016 T20 World Cup title and the first century in Women's T20 Internationals.

Presently, Dottin is part of a growing trend among cricketers, both male and female, who are opting to focus on franchise tournaments worldwide. She is associated with teams such as Manchester Originals, Adelaide Strikers, Trinbago Knight Riders, and Barmy Army.

In her opinion, the structures of these leagues offer better support than what was available in the West Indies setup.

"This is basically me right now, playing in franchise... Every day is learning a learning curve for me. I'm not too old to learn," she said.

Dottin emphasized the importance of the West Indies Cricket Board learning from the systems in Australia and England, which prioritize player development and progression. She also highlighted the need for consistent support throughout a player's journey.

"You will see a player come into West Indies Cricket and then you actually see they disappear... it's basically like you're getting what you want out of me and then you just throw me aside," she declared.

While the West Indies Women's cricket team has seen successes in recent years, including a T20 World Cup victory, Dottin believes there's room for improvement. She pointed out the significance of the Women's Premier League (WIPL) as a financially attractive alternative, but she emphasized that respect, care, and the right structure for players are paramount.

The New Jersey Triton's picked up their second win of the US Masters T10 League after defeating California Knights by six wickets at the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground, Lauderhill, Florida on Monday. The Triton's restricted the Knights to 116/3 before chasing down their target with two balls to spare.

Naman Ojha struck a four and a six off Ashley Nurse's bowling in the fourth over and took the New Jersey side's score to 42/0, but he fell to Sulieman Benn for 25 runs off 11 balls in the next over. The Triton's lost a couple of wickets in quick succession thereafter, but Yusuf Pathan put his team in the driver's seat after smashing Krishmar Santokie for four sixes and a boundary.

Pathan fell to Peter Siddle for 35 runs off 11 balls in the ninth over, but Peter Trego's maximum off Benn's bowling ensured that the Triton's walked off the field as winners of the match.

Earlier in the day, the New Jersey Triton's won the toss and put the California Knights into bat. The Knights' opening batter Jacques Kallis fell early in the innings to Chris Barnwell, but Aaron Finch and Milind Kumar kept the momentum on their team's side through fantastic ball striking. Finch smashed a four and a six off Bipul Sharma's bowling in the sixth over to take Knights' score to 46/1 in six overs.

Thereafter, he struck five straight sixes off Liam Plunkett's bowling in the next over as the Knights reached 62/1. The Australian upped the ante even more when he sent the ball over the rope five times off Barnwell's bowling in the ninth over. However, Peter Trego conceded just three runs in the last over and restricted the California Knights to 116/3 in their 10 overs.

Brief Scores: New Jersey Triton's 117/4 (Yusuf Pathan 35, Naman Ojha 25, Peter Siddle 1/14) beat California Knights 116/3 (Aaron Finch 75*, Milind Kumar 27, Peter Trego 1/11) by 6 wickets.

Former West Indies batsmen Lendl Simmons and Dwayne Smith, both produced much-needed cameos but their efforts were in vain, as Atlanta Riders suffered a seven-wicket loss to New York Warriors in the US Masters T10 competition on Monday.

Smith led the way with a 24-ball 36, while Simmons contributed 21 off 11 balls, which assisted Riders to 97 for four off their allotment, at the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium.

Simmons, 38, put on 29 for the first wicket with captain Robin Uthappa (24), and added another 28 in a second-wicket partnership Smith, who had four boundaries in his knock.

Former Pakistan seamer Sohail Khan was the chief destroyer for the Warriors, as he claimed three for 21, with former West Indies seamer Jerome Taylor taking the other wicket.

Meanwhile, Kamran Akmal struck a brisk 34 off 11 balls, including three fours and three sixes, in a 63-run opening stand with Tillakaratne Dilshan, who struck 28 from 14 balls.

Though former Bangladesh left-arm spinner Elias Sunny slowed their progress, snaring two of the three wickets that fell in quick succession, former West Indies all-rounder Jonathan Carter and Shahid Afridi took the game away from the Riders, with an unbroken 40-run stand for the fourth wicket.

Carter struck one boundary and a maximum in his 17, while Afridi was unbeaten on 22.

Sunny ended with two wickets for 11 runs.

Another former West Indies player Chris Barnwell struck an unbeaten 28 off a mere 10 deliveries to lead New Jersey Tritons to victory over the Warriors on Sunday.

Barnwell’s knock, which included four sixes saw the Tritons chased down 85 in a contest reduced to five overs per side due to rain.

Alex Hartley, part of the England side that won the 2017 Women’s World Cup on home soil, has announced she will end her playing career at the conclusion of The Hundred.

Hartley took 10 wickets in eight matches during England’s seminal triumph, including two for 58 in the final against India, the undoubted highlight of an international career spanning 28 ODIs and four T20s.

The slow left-armer has not featured for England since 2019 while she went on a brief hiatus in May after admitting she had been “struggling mentally”, having fallen out of love with the game.

She made her comeback earlier this month for Welsh Fire, who have guaranteed progress to at least the eliminator at the Kia Oval on Saturday and could even go directly into Sunday’s final at Lord’s.

Whatever the outcome for the Fire in the knockout stages, Hartley, a popular broadcaster with the BBC’s Test Match Special, will retire from cricket this weekend.

“I’m hanging the boots up. I am officially retiring from cricket,” the 29-year-old said on her BBC ‘No Balls’ podcast. “I can’t believe it, I feel so good.

“I have been thinking about it for ages and ages. I’m going to really miss it, I’m going to be really sad but it’s so right. I’ve loved it, I’ve hated it but I am really proud of what I’ve achieved.

“It’s everything that I’ve ever wanted to do. I’m gutted I didn’t play Test cricket but I’m one of those where if you’re not good enough then you’re not good enough.”

Hartley made her England debut in 2016 but estimated she has devoted 17 years to her playing career, and is now looking forward to having more free time, even if she will still work in the game.

“At the minute, it’s work, cricket, work, cricket. I don’t ever have any days off,” Hartley added. “I haven’t seen my school friends for about a year because I never have time.”

Hartley, who has represented North West Thunder on the domestic circuit since 2020, has taken two wickets in three matches for the Cardiff-based Fire, who are currently second in the table.

They will finish top – and thereby go straight into the Lord’s showpiece – if they beat Northern Superchargers on Tuesday and Southern Brave lose to Manchester Originals on Wednesday.

Gus Atkinson endured multiple false starts to his career but battling back on each occasion has given him extra satisfaction in the wake of his World Cup selection.

Atkinson was dealing with persistent injury setbacks when two members of his age-group at Surrey – Sam Curran and Ollie Pope – were appearing for England and others were making waves on the domestic scene.

Recurring stress fractures in his back in 2017, 2018 and 2019 would have tested the resolve of anyone but Atkinson was able to contextualise an injury that is an occupational hazard for fast bowlers.

He has hardly looked back since his first-team debut in 2020 and his 90mph-plus speeds for Surrey and Oval Invincibles in The Hundred have seen him fast-tracked into England’s preliminary World Cup squad.

The uncapped paceman told the PA news agency: “I never really felt like I was not going to make it.

“I know these things happen with young bowlers and there’s plenty of bowlers who have been through similar stuff so I just knew with my age, stress fractures happen. Each year I just came back stronger.

“I look back and it was a tough time but because I hadn’t experienced playing any professional cricket while I had those injuries, it wasn’t as bad as it could have been.

“It was just a delay to my career. Those were pretty important years for me, to be honest. It was tough but to be here now, looking forward to a World Cup, it makes it seem ages ago.”

Atkinson admitted the coronavirus pandemic three years ago which shut down most sports or, in cricket’s case, led to a drastically reduced summer schedule was beneficial for his recovery and development.

He said: “Covid, to be honest, actually helped with my back because we didn’t have a full summer of cricket, I had a bit of extra time just to relax. I could push through without the risk of injury.”

A slick, repeatable action is at odds with how fast Atkinson can bowl – he has clocked 95mph in The Hundred – but he is not just a one-trick pony as he possesses a devilish bouncer and several changes of pace.

He has inevitably been likened to Jofra Archer, whose ongoing elbow trouble has effectively hastened Atkinson’s promotion into the England set-up for a white-ball series against New Zealand, starting next week, and the defence of their 50-over World Cup crown in India in October and November.

Atkinson himself shied away from the parallels, saying: “I think that’s really the only comparison – we both have good pace and can make it look quite easy. But I don’t like to get too caught up with that.

“I think I’ve got quite a natural whippy action, a bit of hyper-extension and quite a strong wrist. I’ve improved the momentum in my run-up as well.

“There are a few different factors (in where his pace comes from) but I’d say it’s quite natural to me.”

Atkinson is the joint-leading wicket-taker this year for the Invincibles, with his 10 dismissals in five matches helping them top the men’s group stage, bypassing the eliminator to go directly into Sunday’s final at Lord’s.

The 25-year-old is then likely to make his T20 and ODI bows within the next month before heading to the pressure cooker of a World Cup, where England begin their campaign against the Black Caps on October 5.

It remains to be seen how England deploy their latest pace weapon but with nine group stage fixtures in 38 days in the subcontinent, they will be wary of overextending their other express quick Mark Wood.

Atkinson, who has never been to India before, insisted he has not allowed himself to get carried away, adding: “I’m just trying to focus on The Hundred.

“I’m trying not to look too far ahead. When this is over, I’ll start thinking about the T20s and ODIs. It’s come into my head but I’m not trying to think about it too much.”