Manchester Super Giants defeated London Spirit by seven runs in The Hundred men’s competition at Lord’s on July 23, 2026, as Liam Livingstone’s explosive 69-run knock and late bowling heroics ultimately fell just short for the hosts.
Tim Seifert’s Explosive Start and the Super Giants’ Innings
Sent in to bat after losing the toss under overcast skies with a temperature of 25°C, humidity at 48%, wind speed at 3.00 mph, and clouds at 98%, Manchester Super Giants weathered a sluggish start before posting a competitive total of 138-9 from their allotted 100 balls.
Captain Aiden Markram struggled initially, scoring just a single run off 10 deliveries before being trapped lbw by Adam Milne at 1-16 (3.3 ov). However, opening partner Tim Seifert energized the innings with 67 runs from 45 balls, getting his career in The Hundred off to an electric start. Seifert anchored the visitors, sharing partnerships of 49 and 40 with Jos Buttler (16) and Heinrich Klaasen (17) respectively, helping steer the side to 105-2 after 67 balls.
What looked like a push toward a much larger total hit a wall when the Super Giants suffered a dramatic collapse, losing seven wickets for just 35 runs as no further batters made it to double figures. Seifert’s wicket was the seventh to fall when he was caught at mid-wicket by David Willey off James Coles, but he had ultimately helped set a winning total of 138-9. Spirit captain Liam Livingstone orchestrated much of that late strangle, bowling 20 of the final 25 deliveries of the innings and claiming 2-14. Despite the late slide, the target was set at 139 for victory in front of a Lord’s crowd of 23,847 who witnessed their first match of The Hundred 2026 men’s competition.
Liam Livingstone’s All-Round Heroics and the Spirit Run Chase
London Spirit faced early trouble in their chase, losing three wickets inside the first 46 balls, including Lhuan-dre Pretorius (falling at 1-14, 2.4 ov), James Rew who was dismissed for a two-ball duck (falling at 2-14, 3.1 ov), and Kiran Carlson (falling at 3-51, 9.1 ov). Livingstone, stepping in at number four, methodically rebuilt the innings alongside the classy South African Dewald Brevis after three wickets had fallen. The pair put on 37 with Kiran Carlson (19) and 68 with Dewald Brevis. Brevis played junior partner, scoring 22 off 23 balls before being caught and bowled by Gus Atkinson, who took 2-15, in the penultimate set at 119-4 (18.2 ov).
Manchester Super Giants STUN London Spirit 💥 | London Spirit v Manchester Super Giants
Livingstone got to work by taking 12 off Noor Ahmad’s final five deliveries, including a signature leg-side sweep for his third six of the innings. Another trademark slog sweep brought up his fifty off 32 balls, and a slapped four through extra cover appeared to swing the game in the Spirit’s favour as the WinViz predictor hovered around the 50-50 mark with 56 wanted from 30 balls. Livingstone ultimately compiled a 40-ball knock of 69 that featured five massive sixes.
With 10 balls left, Spirit needed 21 runs. Atkinson delivered a clutch five deliveries before Leus du Plooy fell at 116 (14.5 ov) and Tom Moores was run out after a poor decision to go for a single at 116 (15.2 ov). With five balls remaining and the Spirit needing 12, Livingstone faced England seamer Sonny Baker, who had conceded 25 runs from his first 15 deliveries. After a single and a scampered two tilted the scales, Livingstone was on strike looking to go big again. It was 23-year-old Baker who came out on top, going full and fast to clatter into Livingstone’s stumps at 130 (19.3 ov), and then having James Coles caught from the final delivery of the match at 131 (19.5 ov) as Josh Tongue fell at 138 (19.5 ov) and Spirit finished on 131-6.
Post-Match Reflections from Lord’s
Named the Meerkat Match Hero despite the losing effort, Livingstone offered an honest assessment of the contest and the pitch conditions in his post-match remarks.
Photo: skysports.com
“We couldn’t get over the line, a little disappointed. It was a good game of cricket. Just a shame we fell short.”
Liam Livingstone, London Spirit captain
Reflecting on the surface, the bowling performance, and the pace of the chase, Livingstone added context to how the match unfolded through the middle and death overs.
“It was one of those pitches where they were probably about par. We just got ourselves too far behind the run rate to catch up at the end. Like I said, a little bit rusty and disappointed. We bowled some really good stuff through the middle and dragged them back towards the end. It’s a pretty decent start and hopefully we can build on this.”
INCREDIBLE close finish at Lord's 😱 | London Spirit v Manchester Super Giants
Liam Livingstone, London Spirit captain
Highlighting his spell where he bowled 20 of the final 25 deliveries, Livingstone noted: It was never the plan (to bowl 20 of the last 25 balls) but it came out nicely so I thought, whatever was working, just stick with it. He further observed that the stats don’t tend to favour chasing here at Lord’s. With the opening fixture at Lord’s in the books on Thursday, July 23, 2026, at 18:30, the competition moves forward with upcoming action, leaving Manchester Super Giants to celebrate a hard-fought opening-night victory on the road.
