Baker, Tongue and Buttler seal victory for Originals

Originals are right back in the shake-up of the Hundred men's competition after an ultimately emphatic victory against in-form Northern Superchargers.

Jos Buttler's rich vein of form continued, registering his seventh fifty in the history of tournament to go top of this year's run-scorers chart.

He was ably supported by the classy New Zealander Rachin Ravindra, playing his first match for this year's edition and striking 31 from just 14 balls, and then Heinrich Klaasen, who roared back into nick with a savage 25-ball 50.

Only Matthew Potts offered much counter-thrust, picking up two wickets; but even he was helpless to halt the carnage at the death as Buttler and Klaasen combined for 27 runs from the final 11 balls. In all the Superchargers gave up nine sixes.

Much then hinged on the Superchargers getting off to a flyer. Zak Crawley clattered two cover drives from the first set bowled by Sonny Baker, and then smashed a six off his England team-mate Josh Tongue. But a sharp catch at backward point from Matty Hurst saw Crawley depart for a nine-ball 16, and thereafter their chase flatlined.

The key moment was the dismissal of Harry Brook, who top-edged an attempted sweep for 11 to give Ravindra his first wicket of this year's competition.

Originals have an enviably varied attack, with Tongue, Scott Currie and the effervescent Baker - last week called into England's white-ball squads - providing the cutting edge and the Afghan mystery spinner Noor Ahmad offering the sparkle.

Tongue and Baker shared three wickets apiece - Baker taking a hat-trick after bowling Dawid Malan for 19 off the 50th ball before returning to claim the final two dismissals, Tom Lawes caught by Lewis Gregory at deep midwicket and yorking Jacob Duffy next ball to wrap up victory.

Tongue is now top of the wicket-takers' list with nine, one ahead of his teammate Currie - while Ahmad was irresistible, taking two wickets and conceding less than a run a ball. Ravindra, with his left-arm spin, offered further control in the middle sets.

For the Superchargers it was an afternoon to forget. Only David Miller, with 38, managed to make it past 19. They nonetheless remain in the mix, in a three-way tie at the top, ahead of a crucial week in this intriguing tournament.

Meerkat Match Hero Buttler said: "It was hard work but I tried not to get frustrated. We built some partnerships and having guys set was crucial. We've played a couple of games here, and seen how the wicket can be. We tried to keep it simple and not to put pressure on our bowlers.

"There's nice variety in our attack, Josh and Sonny complement each other, and adding someone like Noor is a trump card. To put together a performance like that with bat and ball is very exciting."

Phil Salt, Originals skipper, was thrilled with the performance. "It's been a chasing competition so far, so we're really pleased with what the top order did today, batting first. Bowling-wise we've been pretty strong, with Sonny [Baker] and Scottie [Currie] and the rest doing really well.

"Sonny's brilliant as always, mad as a box of frogs. You just wind him up and let him go! In the last couple of weeks, he's executed more often than not. It's now about picking up momentum."