The Southern Brave got off to a strong start with a comprehensive 6-wicket win over Manchester Originals after a disappointing bottom-of-the-table finish in the previous 4th edition of the tournament. The runners-up of the previous edition of the tournament, Welsh Fire, led by skipper Tammy Beaumont, were up against the Northern Superchargers, led by skipper Hollie Armitage, in the 3rd match of the tournament.
Georgia Wareham and Hollie Armitage’s cameo powers the Superchargers
The Superchargers skipper, Hollie Armitage, won the toss and opted to bat first. Alice Davidson-Richards, alongside their new recruit, Davina Perrin, got their side off to a brisk start, with a 24-run opening stand. Freya Davies broke the stand, by sending Alice Davidson-Richards (14 off 9 balls) back to the pavilion, providing the first breakthrough for the Welsh Fire.
A promising start from Phoebe Litchfield was cut short as she slashed at a delivery outside off-stump by Shabnim Ismail, straight to backward point, where skipper Tammy Beaumont completed a safe catch to provide the 2nd breakthrough for her side. Substantial partnerships of 33 runs for the 3rd wicket between Davina Perrin and Annabel Sutherland, followed by another 27-run partnership for the 4th wicket between skipper Hollie Armitage and Annabel Sutherland, infused the much-needed momentum into the innings.
A 52-run partnership for the 5th wicket between skipper Hollie Armitage and Georgia Wareham provided the finishing touches to the innings, with another crucial 52-run partnership for the 5th wicket between Skipper Hollie Armitage (34* off 27 balls) and Georgia Wareham (29* off 17 balls) provided the finishing touches to the innings as the Northern Superchargers posted a strong total of 141/4 in their quota of 100 deliveries.
Annabel Sutherland (28 off 20 balls) and Davina Perrin (21 off 24 balls) chipped in with crucial contributions with the bat for their side. Hayley Matthews (20-9-18-2), Shabnim Ismail (20-8-23-1), and Freya Davies (15-7-24-1) were the top performers with the ball for Welsh Fire.
Clinical display from the bowlers hands the heaviest defeat for Welsh Fire
Chasing a daunting total of 142, the Welsh Fire batters switched on the panic button and collapsed like a pack of nine pins, credit to the immaculate line and length from the Superchargers bowlers. The Welsh Fire were eventually bundled out for 94 with a couple of balls to spare. The 42-run partnership for the 3rd wicket between skipper Tammy Beaumont (36 off 21 balls) and Georgia Elwiss (13 off 17 balls) was the highest partnership of the run chase.
A remarkable glimpse of resistance was shown by the last wicket pair of Shabnim Ismail and Katie Levick, putting together a gritty 18-run stand for the 10th wicket, unfortunately wasn’t good enough for their side to change the result of the game in their favour, as they suffered a 47-run hammering, which could have been even heavier if not for that partnership. It still stands as the heaviest defeat for Welsh Fire in the Women’s Hundred.
Georgia Wareham (20-11-14-2), Grace Ballinger (18-11-16-2), and Linsey Smith (20-9-28-2) picked up a couple of wickets each, while Kate Cross (20-12-17-1) and Annabel Sutherland (20-10-19-1) were impressive with their consistency and variations for the Northern Superchargers.
Georgia Wareham was awarded the Player of the Match for her impressive all-round impact (29* off 17 balls) with the bat and returned with equally impressive match figures (20-11-14-2) with the ball for her side in the contest.
