Welsh Fire vs Southern Brave at Cardifff (Sophia Gardens) at 15h00 on 12 August
Played before a record number of spectators at Sophia Gardens for watching Womens’ The Hundred, the match could turn out to be a ‘dress-rehearsal’ between the two most likely teams to qualify for the finals. The match reached its climax when 4 ‘byes’ were conceded and two ‘leg-byes’ came from the last two balls. Receiving POTM Meerkat Match Hero cap and medal from Robert Croft, Georgia Adams 40(24) was pleased to have ‘turned-up with her bat,’ leaving ‘Brave’ with a fair chance to score 9 runs from the last set-of-five balls. Earlier, Georgia Adams was ‘Brave’’s best bowler – taking 2 wickets from 22 balls. Introduced by Ebony Rainford-Brent MBE with Robert Croft MBE & Mark Butcher (former England players); and Dinesh Karthik (ex India.) Full match played with highlights courtesy of Sky Sports (please see below.) Weather at Cardiff was overcast, with damp outfield starting 30 minutes late. Play started with light drizzle, with ball-towelling and improving conditions.
WF-W skipper Tammy Beaumont [*Brave keeper Rhianna Southby] *Internationals Shabnim Ismail (Rep. South Africa), Laura Harris (Australia Women’s Big Bash League), without (injured) Hayley Matthews. *England’s Tammy Beaumont, Sophia Dunkley & Freya Davies; with Scotland’s Sarah Bryce. *Play started at 15h00, with light drizzle. *Hit well, but with ‘insufficient contact,’ Tammy Beaumont 10(9) was ‘unmistakably’ caught at ‘deep-mid-wicket’ by Danni Wyatt from Georgia Adams. *After 25 balls ‘Power-play,’ ‘Fire’ were 47/1. *Sophia Dunkley survived a ‘mix-up’ from the 49th ball. *By mid-way (50 balls) ‘Fire’ were 75/1. *’Strategic-time-out’ was called after 55 balls (83/1) with Brave needing to ‘rescue momentum.’ *Cursed next ball by commentators for batting ‘with her stumps exposed,’ Sophia Dunkley 50(33) with 5 ‘fours’ & 1 ‘six,’ was bowled ‘off-stump’ by Chloe Tryon; having ‘changed her mind’ on ‘drift.’ *Sent-in to ‘muscle the ball,’ Laura Harris 19(8) ‘quick-fired’ three ‘fours’ & 1 ’six’ until playing a slower ball, ‘too early’ and was bowled by Anya Shrubsole (clocked at 62mph.) *Georgia Elwiss 13(13) ‘chipped’ straight-overhead, caught at ‘long-on’ by Maia Bouchier, from Georgia Adams (2/22) *Ella McCaughan 2(2) was ‘run out’ by Maia Bouchier’s accurate throw to Lauren Bell at the non-stiker’s end, from the last ball *Sarah Bryce 44*not out (36) scored 4 ‘fours.’ *Best ‘Fire’ batter was Sophia Dunkley who made ‘fifty.’ *Best ‘Brave’ bowler was Georgia Adams (2/22.)
SB-W *Skipper/coach Anya Shrubsole with unchanged side. *[Lizelle Lee keeping wicket for Fire] *Internationals Smriti Mandhana (India), Maitlan Brown (Australia WBBL) & Chloe Tryon (Rep. South Africa.) *England’s Danni Wyatt, Maia Bouchier & Freya Kemp. *Commentators curse struck when Danni Wyatt ‘who’d had a good season so far’ went for a 2nd ball duck, caught by Laura Harris from Shabnim Ismail’s 5th ball. *After 25 balls ‘Power-play,’ ‘Brave’ were 43/1 (vs 47/1,) needing another 102 runs to win. *By mid-way (50 balls) ‘Brave were 77/1 (vs 75/1.) *’Without foot movement, Smriti Mandhana 41(30) mis-timed to ’deep-extra-cover,’ caught by Shabnim Ismail from Freya Davies (64-66mph.) *Having earlier hit Freya Davies for ‘six,’ and Claire Nicholas for 2 ‘sixes,’ Maia Bouchier 42(26) was caught at ‘long-off’ by Freya Davies from Georgia Elwiss’ full-length ball. *Freya Kemp 0(1) went ‘leg-before’ for a ‘golden duck’ from Georgia Elwiss half-volley; *(noted as misreported elsewhere as ‘caught’ with catcher unstated) *Surviving Georgia Elwiss’ ‘hat-trick’ ball, Chloe Tryon 7(9) was bowled by Shabnim Ismail *(noted as mis-reported elsewhere as mis-timed to ‘Sophia Dunkley’ at ‘deep-mid-wicket’) *Georgia Adams 40(24) was ‘Sophia Dunkley’ at ‘deep-mid-wicket’ from Freya Davies *Next ball, Kalea Moore 0(1) was ‘run-out’ by at the ‘non-striker’s-end’ Freya Davies’ direct-hit for a ‘golden duck.’ *Rhianna Southby *0(0) was ‘run out’ by Sophia Dunkley’s throw from ‘deep-mid-wicket’ from the 98th ball (that was bowled to Maitlan Brown. *Two ‘leg-byes’ came from the last two balls, the first taken by Maitlan Brown to level the scores; and the second ‘leg-bye’ taken by Anya Shrubsole to win the match. *Maitlan Brown 5*not out(6); Anya Shrubsole 0*not out(1) *Best ‘Brave’ batter was Maia Bouchier 42(26.) *Best ‘Fire’ bowler was Shabnim Ismail 2/19.
Match summary Sophia Dunkley’s ‘fifty and Sarah Bryce’s 44*not out, made certain that ‘Fire’ posted a defendable score, with comparative scores level-pegging for most of the match. Georgia Adams 40(24) was ‘Brave’s’ 3rd batter to hit the 40-run mark. Earlier, Georgia Adams was also ‘Brave’’s best bowler – taking 2 wickets from 22 balls, awarding her POTM Meerkat Match Hero cap and medal. As mentioned above, the match reached its climax when 4 ‘byes’ were conceded by distraught keeper Sarah Bryce; followed by two ‘leg-byes’ from the last two balls. Penultimate ball enabled Maitlan Brown to level the scores. Second ‘leg-bye’ enabled Anya Shrubsole to win the match. Half-way through this year’s competition, a ‘top three trio’ have lost only one game each, already looking to book their places in the finals: ‘Brave,’ ‘Superchargers’ and ‘Fire.’
Match result: Southern Brave Women 145/8 (target 145) beat Welsh Fire Women: 144/5 by 2 wickets
*Fire’s batting: 144/5 (from 100 balls @1.4 runs-per-ball); Sophia Dunkley 50(33), Sarah Bryce 44*not out (36), Laura Harris 19(8), Georgia Elwiss 13(13), Tammy Beaumont 10(9); *Brave’s bowling: Georgia Adams 2/22, Anya Shrubsole 1/22, Chloe Tryon 1/31; *Fow: 1/19, 2-92, 3-114, 4-138, 5-144.
*Brave’s batting: 145/8 (from 100 balls @1.4 runs-per-ball); Maia Bouchier 42(26), Smriti Mandhana 41(30), Georgia Adams 40 (24) *Fire’s bowling: Shabnim Ismail 2/19, Georgia Elwiss 2/25, Freya Davies 2/29; *Fow 1/11, 2-78, 3-92, 4-92, 5-116, 6-136, 7-136, 8-143.
*Scorecard courtesy of BBC Sport @URL https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/scorecard/ECKE1000733
*Match highlights available from Sky Sports @URLhttps://www.skysports.com/watch/video/sports/12939040/welsh-fire-v-southern-brave
