Northern Superchargers 145 for 6 (Wolvaardt 50, Wellington 3-17) beat Southern Brave 125 for 9 (Dunkley 38) by 20 runs
Southern Brave suffered their first defeat of the Women's Hundred, losing by 20 runs to Northern Superchargers to leave their hopes of direct qualification to Saturday's final in tatters.
Laura Wolvaardt continued her fine run of fine form, scoring 50 off 35 balls as Superchargers posted 145 for 6.
Brave could muster only 125 for 9 in reply to leave them with an anxious wait to see whether Oval Invincibles could leapfrog them by beating Manchester Originals on Wednesday afternoon. Invincibles' commanding win means Brave face Trent Rockets in Friday's eliminator.
Superchargers' margin of victory was not enough to secure their place in the knockout stages: they needed to win by 46 runs to leapfrog third-placed Rockets on net run-rate.
Brave lost both openers Danni Wyatt and Smriti Mandhana without scoring inside the first 10 balls of their reply, before Sophia Dunkley's 38 from 30 balls ended Superchargers' slim hopes of qualification despite victory. Katie Levick and Alice Davidson-Richards took two wickets apiece.
"It's a bittersweet win," Hollie Armitage, Superchargers' captain, said. "We knew going out there with the ball that we needed to restrict them to 99 to get our net run-rate up to where it needed to be to finish third.
"Unfortunately we weren't able to do that. But I'm really pleased with how the girls went about their business today. We went out there and played some really good cricket and have beaten a fantastic side."
After being put into bat in front of a home crowd, Superchargers were again faced with the early loss of Alyssa Healy who rocketed a ball straight into the hands of Dunkley at cover for 17.
Wolvaardt set the tone for her side once more with the bat, forming a solid partnership with Heather Graham worth 45 off 27 balls. By the time Graham fell for a well-played 26 off 19, Superchargers were 98 for 4 with 26 balls still to come.
Wolvaardt's classy innings saw her pass the record for the most runs scored by any woman in the Hundred's short history, having racked up 286 runs across six innings before she was caught superbly on the boundary by Wyatt. The previous record holder, Dane van Niekerk, managed 256 from 10 innings last season.
A cameo from Jenny Gunn with 15 from 7 balls after Wolvaardt's dismissal gave the Superchargers a whiff of qualification, setting the Brave 146 to win. The home side's hopes were boosted by a perfect start in the field, Wyatt falling off the first ball of the innings caught at short fine leg, and her opening partner, the dangerous Mandhana, falling just eight balls later.
As Brave's batting line-up wobbled under pressure, Dunkley stood firm with wickets falling around her. Tahlia McGrath was bowled by the impressive Graham and Maia Bouchier was caught off Davidson-Richards.
By the time Georgia Adams nicked off to a tempting delivery from Levick, Dunkley was the only thing standing in between Superchargers and an unlikely qualification.
Her steady innings of 38 off 30 came to an end when she was caught on the boundary by Graham, effectively taking Brave's hopes of winning the game with her as she walked back to the dugout.
A partnership between Amanda-Jade Wellington - who earlier took three wickets with her legbreaks - and Freya Kemp, worth 41 off just 18 balls, ended Superchargers' hopes of qualification.
But the bowlers could not see Brave home with the bat, and they finished on 125 for 9.
