Meg Lanning has won the battle of the superstar Australians at Lord's, scoring her first half-century in The Hundred as London Spirit overcame Birmingham Phoenix, despite Ellyse Perry's innings of 65 in reply.
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The 16,641 crowd - the fifth-highest in the history of The Hundred women's competition - were treated to a competitive affair in the sunshine, with momentum shifting this way and that as the big names on both sides took it in turns to stand up and be counted.
Phoenix, off the back of 11 consecutive defeats in The Hundred, looked set to spring a surprise, and perhaps even pull off a memorable upset, but the required run-rate got away from the visitors and three late wickets for Sarah Glenn (4-22) sealed the deal for Heather Knight's side, who have now won two from two this season.
Earlier, Spirit set off like a train. Lanning, Georgia Redmayne and Cordelia Griffith all found the boundary with regularity, with Griffith's consecutive sixes off Em Arlott, one whipped into the Mound Stand with no shortage of flair, a particular highlight.
Off the back of her winning half-century at Utilita Bowl on Wednesday, England captain Knight added to her side's momentum and ultimately Phoenix would have been happy to restrict Spirit to 147 for nine, with a bigger total looking likely earlier in the innings.
The smart money would likely have been on Spirit to defend their total with ease but Perry and New Zealand captain Sophie Devine jangled a few nerves with their partnership of 89, especially when Devine dispatched Glenn for two sixes.
The equation with 20 balls left was 40 runs required for Phoenix, but the boundaries dried up and Glenn's last set of five ensured London Spirit ended day five of The Hundred top of the table.
Australian Associated Press
