Welsh Fire opened their account this season with a nailbiting 36-run win against Birmingham Phoenix. The game was played at Edgbaston stadium. The win eliminated Phoenix from The Hundred women’s knockout stages. The loss extinguished their once minimal chances of progressing in the tournament.
Welsh Fire chased down the target with a stunning 150 runs in hand. They managed this with the loss of just three wickets in their 100-ball innings. Sophia Dunkley played the most important role in this, hitting 53 runs off 43 balls. The consistency of her performance was truly amazing. Based on her current body of work, she has now surpassed the 30-run threshold in four of her six innings this year.
Jess Jonassen finished the innings in style, blasting 44 off only 17 balls. Her attacking hitting, which included four sixes in a row, added crucial runs to Welsh Fire’s total and placed immense pressure on Phoenix’s bowlers.
Birmingham Phoenix lost touch with the game early on. As a result, they concluded their innings with a dismal total of 114 runs, while losing nine wickets in the process. Another Australian all-rounder, Ellyse Perry led the chase for Phoenix, scoring 55 runs off 43 balls. Sadly, her extraordinary performance wasn’t quite enough to earn a win.
Welsh Fire’s bowling attack produced a stunning performance to win the match handily. Shabnim Ismail was the pick of the bowlers, taking three wickets for 16 runs, while Jess Jonassen impressed with the ball, taking three for 24. Hayley Matthews was next to join the wicket-takers, adding to Welsh Fire’s stranglehold on the match.
Phoenix suffered an early blow when Amy Jones missed a key opportunity to stump Jonassen during her innings. This $250 million misjudgment gutted their prospects. This classic tactical blunder let Jonassen get loose and really put the Welsh Fire total out of reach.
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