Manchester Originals vs Welsh Fire at Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester on 25 July 2024
Playing on a ‘belter-of-a-pitch’ at Old Trafford,’ Originals posted a ’slightly under-par score’ with no batter scoring ‘fifty.’ Commentators looked forward to some future ‘heavy lifting’ (from middle-order batters said to have made light-scores.) They commended Fire’s bowlers for their ‘fine performance with the ball,’ particularly Jess Jonassen (Australia) who took 3 wickets for 17 runs (3-fer.) For chasing down the target score, there was no hesitation awarding POTM ‘Meerkat match hero’ cap-and-medal to England’s star batter Sophia Dunkley (pictured.) Her ‘power-hitting’ ‘closed the game out,’ to get (Fire) over-the-line. Commentators added that Sophia Dunkley’s ‘fifty’ sent her top of the all-time batter’s leader-board, around ten runs ahead of Danni Wyatt (at time of writing.) Introduced for SKY Sports Cricket by Charles Dagnall (broadcaster & former county player) with Darren Gough MBE (former England international), Simon Doull (NZ broadcaster & NZ international), Lydia Greenway OBE (broadcaster & former England international) & Nasser Hussain OBE (broadcaster & former England international.) Commentators for BBC Sport were Michael Vaughan OBE (former England international), Alexandra ‘Alex’ Hartley (broadcaster & former England international), & Carlos Brathwaite (WIndies international), with guests Lauren Winfield-Hill (Invincibles’ skipper) & Tash Farrant (bowler.) Also speaking on player’s radio-microphones when fielding were Sophia Dunkley (Fire) and Eve Jones (Originals); plus Amy Rees (Welsh Fire Women’s Assistant Coach) interviewed pitch-side.
*Originals’ innings*skipper Sophie Ecclestone with international players Beth Mooney & Kim Garth (Australia); Laura Wolvaardt (mis-spelt elsewhere) & Shabnim Ismail (Rep. South Africa); [Sarah Bryce keeping wicket for Fire] Highest score 122; *After 25 balls power-play 26/0; Approaching mid-way, Laura Wolvaardt went ‘leg-before,’ (off-stump, upon review) to Jess Jonassen; *Midway after 50 balls, 58/1; *With pressure building for a ‘big shot,’ Emma Lamb missed a ‘big swing’ and was stumped by keeper Sarah Bryce, from Georgia Davis; *Falling short of the boundary two balls later, Beth Mooney was caught by Shabnim Ismail, also from Georgia Davis; *Seven balls later Fi Morris went aerial, caught at ‘mid-on’ by Hayley Matthews, from Freya Davies; *Classic dismissal when Eve Jones played ‘across-the-line,’ and was bowled by Hayley Matthews; *Having ‘grown as a player,’ Kathryn Bryce was caught behind by keeper Sarah Bryce (sister), from Jess Jonassen; *Capable of ‘hitting a long ball’, Sophie Ecclestone struck Hayley Matthews for two ‘sixes; and was 27*not out; *Ellie Threlkeld was caught at ‘long-off’ by Hayley Matthew, from Jess Jonassen’s last ball; *Originals batting: Laura Wolvaardt 37(27), Sophie Ecclestone 27*not out (15), Beth Mooney 19(24); *Fire’s bowling: Jess Jonassen 3/17, Georgia Davis 2/23, Freya Davies 1/19, Hayley Matthews 1/23;
*Fire’s innings: *skipper Tammy Beaumont with international players Hayley Matthews (WIndies); Jess Jonassen (Australia); [Ellie Threlkeld keeping wicket for Originals] *After 25 balls power-play 28/0 (vs 26/0); *Strategic time-out on 56/0; *Midway after 50 balls, 59/0 (vs 58/1); *Tammy Beaumont top-edged and was caught at ‘short-third’ by Emma Lamb, from Fi Morris; *Hayley Matthews went ‘leg-before’ (leg-stump, upon review) to Sophie Ecclestone; *Sarah Bryce was stumped by fellow keeper Ellie Threlkeld, ‘coming-down-the-track’ to Fi Morris; *Sophia Dunkley scored a match-winning 69*not out; *Jess Jonassen hit the winning ‘four;’ *Fire’s batting: Sophia Dunkley 69*not out (47), Tammy Beaumont 31(29); *Originals bowling: Fi Morris 2/20, Sophie Ecclestone 1/28;
*Welsh Fire 117/3 (@1.2 runs-per-ball from 96/100 balls) beat Manchester Originals 113/7 (@1.1 r-p-b from 100/100 balls) by seven wickets (with 4 balls remaining)
*Match courtesy of SKY Sports Cricket free-to-air via YouTube [3h30m40s] @url https://www.skysports.com/the-hundred/news/36890/13183328/the-hundred-live-stream-manchester-originals-vs-welsh-fire
*Also available to viewers with viewers with TV licences via BBC i-play for up to 29 days (197 mins) @url https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000y2rp
*Fixtures @url https://www.ecb.co.uk/news/3801564/the-hundred-2024-fixtures
