At just 18, Davina Perrin delivered an innings that will be remembered for years to come. On August 30, at The Oval, with her family, friends and coach watching from the stands, the teenager produced a 42-ball century — the second-fastest in the history of The Hundred — to power Northern Superchargers into the women’s final.
Her blistering 43-ball 101, laced with 15 fours and five sixes, set the stage for a record-breaking total of 5-214, comfortably eclipsing the previous women’s benchmark of 3-181 set by Welsh Fire in 2023. Backed by a 105-run opening stand with Alice Davidson-Richards, and late fireworks from Australians Phoebe Litchfield (35 off 19) and Nicola Carey (31* off 12), the Superchargers sealed a 42-run victory over defending champions London Spirit.
It was a high-pressure eliminator, but Perrin, calm and fearless, rose to the occasion. Asked how she felt about performing on such a stage, Perrin responded with refreshing understatement: “I guess I did, yeah.” She added: “Pretty good. Buzzing to be through to the final. We have been a great group, just glad that we got over the line today.”
On waking up as an 18-year-old match-winner even Perrin admitted she couldn’t have pictured what unfolded when she woke up that morning, “Can’t quite say that I did but I had some really good chats with the coaches yesterday. Lisa took me for a bit of a walk, she told me to puff my chest out, take my helmet off, you know that really worked and that was all I planned on doing and thankfully it worked.”
Perrin’s century was the fastest in the women’s Hundred by 10 balls, bettering Tammy Beaumont’s 52-ball hundred in 2023. Only Harry Brook’s 41-ball effort, two years ago, has ever been faster in the competition.
When told she had missed equalling Brook’s record by a single delivery, Perrin’s reaction was vintage. “One ball? Damn,” she laughed. “I’d better hit the gym so I can send those sixes a bit further.”
Reflecting on the knock itself, she described being completely immersed in the moment, “It felt pretty brilliant. It’s not every day you get to find yourself in that state of flow and in the zone. I’m not thinking a lot when I’m in a state of mind like that. I’m typically looking at taking every ball as it comes.”
Her bubbly personality and natural joy for the game seem to be her biggest strengths, “I guess, all I’m telling myself is just enjoy it, soak it all in, you know, um, and take it ball by ball, that’s as much as you can do, stay in the present, stay in the here and now and let it flow.”
There was even a moment of comic misunderstanding, “There was a time when the keeper turned to me and went, ‘Have you thought about your hundred yet?’ and I was like, ‘What, as in the competition?’ Then I was like, ‘Oh no, the hundred.’ That was the first time I glanced up at my score and I thought, ‘Oh, this is going alright actually.’”
Perrin has long spoken about the influence of Caribbean greats, and she doubled down after this innings. “I guess you could say that. I love Vivian’s flair, and I love Brian Lara’s ability to score runs. And that hunger to do so, that’s all I’m thinking about, really.”
Her love for that era of West Indies cricket runs deep, “My dad used to always have the YouTube videos up, and I’d been watching them since I was maybe like six or seven, so yeah, I was just always trying to channel them and they’re, you know, great, all-time greats. I love the Windies, I love that era of cricket, and I love watching it still to this point of time.”
With the final against Southern Brave looming less than 24 hours away, there was little time to dwell on her record-breaking hundred, “Yeah, obviously there’s inspiration to take but it’s a whole new day. I’ve got to back up what I did today. Um, new ground, new team, you know, different conditions. You gotta, you know, almost park this, you know, take it as a token of confidence, as l’m sure the team will, and just adapt and stay in the moment, and, you know, take whatever gets thrown at us tomorrow.”
The Northern Superchargers now head into the final at Lord’s against Southern Brave, who stormed into the summit clash unbeaten with eight wins from eight. For Perrin, her 43-ball 101 was not just a personal milestone but a statement — that an 18-year-old can take centre stage, light up the biggest moments, and carry a team into a final.
(Quotes sourced from Sky Sports)
