Litchfield 55 steers Sunrisers to six-wicket win at Headingley
On 9 August 2026 at Headingley in The Hundred women's competition, Sunrisers Leeds beat Welsh Fire by six wickets as Phoebe Litchfield scored 55 off 25 balls in a must-win chase. The victory keeps Sunrisers' knockout hopes alive.
Litchfield is the leading run-scorer in this year's edition of The Hundred with 262 runs in seven innings at 43.66. The win moved Sunrisers to 16 points and into fourth place in the standings, two points behind third-placed Manchester Super Giants, while Welsh Fire were eliminated with one group-stage match remaining.
Litchfield's innings featured six fours and three sixes as she attacked all around the ground—cutting, pulling, driving and ramping—before being caught via a leading edge off Georgia Wareham; at that point Sunrisers required 31 off 48 balls. Her 55 came from 25 deliveries and decisively swung the chase in Sunrisers' favour.
Annabel Sutherland contributed 28 off 18 balls to keep Sunrisers within range, and Dani Gibson and Jess Jonassen completed the run chase with 26 balls to spare. Litchfield was named player of the match and said: "Our team is gaining momentum and things are starting to fall into place," adding: "I've just walked out and tried to keep it simple by watching the ball. Our bowlers set things up and I've had the freedom to play pressure free."
Welsh Fire were limited to 121-8 after disciplined bowling from Sunrisers, with Deepti Sharma the pick of the home attack with 3-13 and Hannah Baker taking 2-15. Freya Kemp produced an unbeaten 72 off 45 balls, striking six fours and three sixes, but benefited from three dropped catches—twice by Sutherland and once by Cassidy McCarthy—and only Kemp and Georgia Voll (16 off 18) made double figures for Fire.
The official match lines read: Welsh Fire 121-8 (100 balls): Kemp 72* (45); Sharma 3-13. Sunrisers Leeds 122-4 (74 balls): Litchfield 55 (25); Smale 2-23.
In the men's competition Sunrisers and Fire remain in contention for the finals and face each other at 14:30 BST; elsewhere London Spirit host Birmingham Phoenix at Lord's with the women's game at 14:30 and the men's at 18:00. Ball-by-ball commentary for all four matches is available on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, BBC Sounds and the BBC Sport website and app, and the Spirit v Phoenix matches will be shown live on BBC Two and via iPlayer with coverage starting at 14:15.
Sunrisers will travel to Old Trafford on Tuesday to play Manchester Super Giants; the victor in that match will progress to the Eliminator.
