How chess, climbing & boxing help The Hundred’s unlikely run-scorer

London Spirit host Southern Brave on Saturday in the women’s Hundred live on BBC iPlayer from 14:30 BST. The men’s match is on BBC Two from 18:00.

Most of the leading run-scorers in this year’s Hundred women’s competition could just as easily be a list of the best batters in the world game.

Nat Sciver-Brunt, Phoebe Litchfield, Grace Harris and Meg Lanning are among them.

Another name, although a county player since the age of 14, is more of an unlikely presence on the list. After all, Kira Chathli was unsold when this year’s draft was done.

The 26-year-old was signed by London Spirit as Heather Knight’s replacement when the former England captain injured her hamstring in May.

Given a role at the top of the order, Chathli has delivered 160 runs at a strike-rate of 144.14 in six matches.

“It’s gone OK so far,” she says, playing down her achievements.

Chathli was still in school when she first played for Surrey.

Though always talented, her career was drifting until it took an upwards turn after signing professional terms with the county last year as part of the new wave of deals for women’s players.

Those who have seen her career first hand say the right-hander is hitting the ball harder than ever.

“Generally, lifting weights in the gym has helped so much,” she says.

“The S&C [strength and conditioning] coaches will laugh at that because I never used to be very keen on doing it, but it really has helped, just getting fitter and stronger and I can trust the timing of my swing rather than trying to over-hit.”

To many people, the ‘lifting weights’ process means bench presses, bicep curls and drinking protein shakes, but these days things are more cricket specific.

Chathli, who co-founded a cricket coaching academy focusing on young girls in 2020, has worked on her grip strength to allow her to hit boundaries more regularly.

“I used to be quite a keen rock-climber,” she says. “Obviously I can’t do that any more but that also really helped me.

“I do play quite fearlessly and that has come from doing activities like rock-climbing – anything that’s got a bit of adrenaline, really.

Having missed most of last year through injury, Chathli began this season with a career-high 95 in the T20 Cup against Hampshire. She also made a match-winning 65 against Warwickshire in the Blast.

With Warwickshire the opponents again in the final, it was Chathli who hit the winning runs in Surrey’s chase.

“I quite like problem-solving,” says Chathli, a chemistry graduate from University College London.

“I used to play chess when I was younger so I enjoy that.

“I’m quite good at reading pitches and the pace of the game.

“I like whacking the ball, but I also really enjoy the tactical side of cricket and getting into a battle with the bowler – what are they trying to do, and what can I do to get the better of them?”

Chathli’s father is Harry Chathli, the public relations and business expert who served as Yorkshire’s chair between October 2023 and May 2024.

Her early introduction to the sport came on family trips to India – her father was born in Mumbai – or when watching him play club cricket.

“It was probably a little bit inevitable,” she says.

In 2016, Chathli made local news headlines when she became the first female player to score a fifty for the men’s teams at Dulwich Cricket Club – a club that has been in existence since 1867.

Her younger brother also scored a fifty in the same match that day, though it later took a turn.

“He smashed the ball straight to extra cover and ran me out,” she laughs. “That’s definitely logged in the memory bank.”

Nine years on, Chathli made her first fifty in The Hundred in Spirit’s win against Birmingham Phoenix earlier this month.

At the other end was Australia superstar and Spirit team-mate Harris, as she was when they took Surrey over the line in that Blast final.

“Grace is funny. She’ll keep it simple and say, ‘If they bowl length, just ramp it; if it’s full, just step back and clear it over the top for six’,” says Chathli.

“It’s nice to know her thought process, but that’s not really my game.

“I’m usually not fussed about milestones, but the fact it was my first [fifty] at the highest level that we have in this country, it’s hard not to be pretty happy.