Jordan holds his nerve as Southern Brave claim second successive Hundred win against London Spirit at Lord’s

Jordan – who took 2-32 and also ran out Spirit captain Eoin Morgan with a direct hit from mid-off – defended 11 from the final set of five as the home side fell just short on 141-7 last night, writes BEN KOSKY.

London had looked set to break their duck in the tournament after an explosive opening stand of 68 from 27 balls between Adam Rossington and Josh Inglis.

But Jordan picked up the key wicket of Inglis, one of three catches for Quinton de Kock, as Spirit failed to chase down the visitors’ total of 145-6, built around Alex Davies’ knock of 50.

Having lost the toss, Brave skipper James Vince also lost his wicket cheaply, heaving Hampshire colleague Chris Wood straight to deep midwicket – where another county team-mate, Mason Crane, took the catch.

However, de Kock looked in imperious mood, striking the ball cleanly and carting Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Nabi over the short boundary for maximums in his 27 from 14.

But de Kock perished top-edging Blake Cullen’s first ball into Rossington’s gloves – and Davies should have followed when he went for an untidy hook off the same bowler, only for Wood to spill the chance at long leg.

Instead, Davies settled down and began to accelerate, ramping Amir for one of five fours and reaching his half-century with another boundary off Cullen before he holed out to the final ball of the innings.

Devon Conway provided support with 22 from 18 before offering a return catch to Roelof van der Merwe.

Rossington made rapid inroads on the target, showering the Mound Stand spectators with a fusillade of boundaries as he hammered Colin de Grandhomme’s first set of five for 20 en route to 45 from 21.

Inglis soon joined his partner by tucking into the powerplay bowling with successive fours off Tymal Mills and subjecting Jordan to the same fate as Spirit raced to 50 from only 18 deliveries.

George Garton stemmed the tide with two wickets in as many balls, persuading Rossington to edge a slower one through to de Kock, who then picked up Joe Denly from the next.

Spirit, who remain bottom, suddenly looked prone to a wobble when Jordan’s sharp piece of fielding, diving to run out Morgan, reduced them to 81-3.

De Kock pulled off a superb diving catch to remove Inglis for 55 off 43 and then scythed down the stumps to run out Cullen from the penultimate ball and secure Brave’s narrow triumph.

Davies, a wicketkeeper/batsman with Lancashire, said: ‘Given how hard I found it and the other lads found it starting their innings, I felt someone needed to take responsibility, soak up as many balls as possible and get us to a respectable total.

‘If we get the runs on the board this bowling attack can do the rest for us.

‘We’ve got some of the best players in the world and Quinny (de Kock) is one of them, with the athleticism there and the catch (to dismiss Inglis) just speaks for itself. He can have the gloves all he wants!

‘We didn’t hit our straps in the first two games but with this being a shorter format the margins are even smaller and we’re starting to find our feet.

‘If we can get on a roll, who knows what could happen?’

Spirit skipper Morgan said: ‘If you watch the games that have been played in the tournament so far, every single one has been really tight.

‘You’re never out of the game at all, I think that’s been one of the entertaining factors of hundred-ball cricket.

‘It was a good wicket and for the majority of the chase we did a lot of things really well.

‘The further you go without winning games, the harder it is to break it. We’ve been slow starters and we haven’t had a lot of luck in the tournament so far but I believe we can turn it around.

‘They’re a strong side, Southern Brave. In all the games we’ve played there’s been a really good contest between bat and ball – it’s not been lopsided in any game so far.’