New Zealand opener Tim Seifert has won the men’s Hundred with an innings that turned a tight final at Lord’s into something close to a one-man demolition, hitting 72 from 38 balls to carry the Manchester Super Giants to a five-wicket win over the Trent Rockets on Sunday.
Seifert brought up his fifty from 24 balls, the fastest half century in the history of the men’s competition’s finals, and finished with seven sixes and four fours. He was named player of the match and, when the awards were handed out, player of the tournament as well. It was the first Hundred title won by either of the Manchester sides, men’s or women’s, and the Super Giants earned their place in the final by beating the SunRisers Leeds in Friday’s eliminator.
The final was unusually well stocked with New Zealanders. Seifert and Michael Bracewell were in the Manchester side, while Mitchell Santner and Finn Allen played for the Rockets, and all four had a hand in how the night unfolded.
The Rockets batted first and posted 158 for eight from their 100 balls, a total that looked well above par on a Lord’s surface that had produced a first-innings average of just 141 across the 2026 tournament. Openers Ben Duckett and Allen managed only 33 from the powerplay before settling in, and it took the Super Giants spinner Noor Ahmad to break the game open. He removed both openers inside four deliveries, taking the Rockets from 48 without loss to 52 for two, with Allen out for 15 from 13 balls.
A brisk innings from Aneurin Donald, 38 from 19 balls, pushed the Rockets forward again before three wickets in 11 balls, including a scrambled run out of captain Sam Billings, left them 95 for five. Lewis Gregory struck 32 from 16 and Santner finished 20 not out from 16 to lift the score to a defendable one. Santner was also comfortably the most economical bowler on the ground, conceding just eight runs from his 15 balls as Manchester’s chase threatened to run away late.
Seifert had other ideas. He and opening partner Paul Walter brought up their fifty stand from 26 balls and put on 66 for the first wicket. Along the way Seifert survived one of the more contentious moments of the season. On 33, he skied a ball towards the rope where Allen took a spectacular one-handed diving catch over the boundary, flicking the ball back into play for Calvin Harrison to complete. The third umpire ruled it a six after replays showed Allen’s foot had brushed the boundary cushion in the final step before he leapt.
Walter fell three balls later for 22 from 14, caught on the boundary by Duckett, but Seifert kept going. Captain Jos Buttler made 23 from 14 and Leus du Plooy finished 27 not out from 18 as Manchester closed in. Two late wickets from Mohammad Amir, who took three for 29, removed Heinrich Klaasen for 11 and Bracewell for a two-ball duck in successive deliveries, leaving the Super Giants needing three runs from the last five balls. Two dots followed. Then Liam Dawson swung the next ball over the rope for six to finish the match with two balls to spare and Manchester on 162 for five.
“Mixture of emotions – the excitement and euphoria of winning it, a little bit of relief after the last few balls there – but fantastic effort from everyone to lift the trophy. I think we deserve it,” Buttler told Sky Sports after the match.
Seifert, speaking to the host broadcaster, kept it simple. “Obviously my first time playing this tournament, and it’s been a great time, a good month, that’s for sure,” he said. “I think from the get-go, we’re a well-balanced side, and I think a lot of people chipped in when they needed to as well.”
The numbers behind the tournament award are the more striking part. Seifert scored 394 runs across the competition, second only to Australian Mitchell Marsh’s 416 for the SunRisers Leeds, at an average of 49.25 and a strike rate of 168.37, as RNZ reported. His last five innings read 62 not out, 55, 80 not out, 0 and 72. For a batter whose reputation has always rested on the promise of an innings like Sunday’s rather than the reliable delivery of one, that is a meaningful shift.
The result also denied the Rockets a clean sweep. Their women’s team had beaten the SunRisers Leeds women earlier the same day, and a men’s win would have made them the first club to hold both Hundred titles at once.
For New Zealand Cricket the timing is useful. Seifert is one of four white-ball specialists on casual playing agreements for the 2026-27 period, alongside Allen, Lockie Ferguson and Adam Milne, an arrangement confirmed on 7 July. Those deals keep the players inside the Black Caps high performance system while leaving them free to chase franchise contracts abroad.
Selector Gavin Larsen said at the time that the group was part of selection planning for the white-ball series against India in October and November. “There’s no secret the in-bound India mega-tour is of critical importance to NZC on and off the field,” he said. “The tour features 10 white-ball games over 25 days, followed immediately by a block of six Tests – so we’re well aware we’ll need a deep squad, particularly in the pace-bowling department, to be at our best across the different series.”
Seifert, who was playing in Major League Cricket when the contract was announced, said his motivation had not changed. “My passion and motivation to play for the Black Caps and represent our country remains as strong as ever,” he said.
The 31-year-old is yet to announce where he plays next. On the evidence of a month in England, the offers will not be in short supply.
What did you make of Seifert’s innings, and does form like that make him a certainty for the India series? Leave a comment below and let us know.
This article was written by AI, briefed to report the facts, hopefully without some of the bias people bring to the job 🙂
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