Northern Superchargers solidified their place in the top three of The Hundred women’s competition table with another dominant win, this time away at Birmingham Phoenix.
Superchargers drew level on points with second-placed Oval Invincibles, as they bowled out Phoenix for just 54, the lowest-ever score in The Hundred women’s competition. It comes just days after the Superchargers dismissed the Invincibles for 64 at The Kia Oval, the previous lowest total in the competition.
Northern Superchargers won the toss and chose to bat in what was set to be a crucial clash, with just one point separating the sides in the table.
The in-form Phoenix captain Ellyse Perry got the home side off to a flyer, taking a wicket with her third delivery of the opening set, getting her opposite skipper Holly Armitage out first ball.
That brought the dangerous Phoebe Litchfield to the crease, but again Perry was more than good enough with the ball to get her caught behind in her second set. Perry would finish with Phoenix’s leading figures 2-13.
Annabel Sutherland and Alice Davidson-Richards rebuilt the innings, taking the visitors from 25-3 to 68-3 before Emily Arlott dismissed Sutherland with 40 balls left in the innings.
Davidson-Richards remained there stoically till the end, top-scoring for Superchargers and finishing on 49 not out off 42 deliveries.
Davidson-Richards’ knock took the Leeds-based team to 115-5 from their 100 balls, a competitive total on what looked to be a tricky wicket to bat on.
Phoenix struggled from the start in their reply as they fell to 14-4, losing key batters in opener Sterre Kalis, skipper Perry, England wicketkeeper Amy Jones and India international Richa Ghosh with very few runs on the board.
Superchargers were also lively in the field, taking any chances that came their way, with Kate Cross taking perhaps the pick of the catches on the long-off boundary.
Their bowlers shared the wickets around as five of their attack picked up dismissals. Linsey Smith and Georgia Wareham, the pick of the team in purple’s bowlers both with 3-12, Smith taking two wickets in two balls towards the end of the innings.
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Northern Superchargers captain Kate Cross hails her side’s smart performance which saw Birmingham Phoenix bowled out for 54.
Player of the match Alice Davidson-Richards
“It was quite hard to bat on, a low-scoring game, but it was nice to get over the line.
“It was quite tough on a length, a lot of slower balls. Even by the end I didn’t feel like I was actually middling the ball.
“I was just trying to work out how to build an innings, how to find the gaps, where the fours were going to come from and how they were going to miss.”
Invincibles get back to winning ways against the Originals
Oval Invincibles returned to winning ways with a comfortable seven-wicket victory over Manchester Originals in The Hundred at Emirates Old Trafford.
An unbeaten 67-run stand between Paige Scholfield and Marizanne Kapp from 37 balls took charge of the chase after the hosts managed 125 for four. In-form Scholfield crashed 48 from 27 balls after opener Chamari Athapaththu laid the foundation with 33 from 36 balls.
Paige Scholfield kept Oval Invincibles on top as they battled to victory
The Invincibles were equally as impressive in the field, highlighted by a host of sharp catches, with Australian leg-spinner Amanda-Jade Wellington the pick of the bowlers with 2-22.
Both teams were looking to bounce back after disappointing results on Sunday. The Originals lost to rivals Northern Superchargers, while the Invincibles arguably let one slip in their derby draw with London Spirit to mark a rare two-game winless run.
After a slow start, which saw the Originals manage 25 without loss after the powerplay, openers Laura Wolvaardt and Beth Mooney found the rope seven times in 15 balls.
Mooney, the No 2 draft pick, was just getting going when Seren Smale held a sharp chance at short third off Ryana MacDonald-Gay, who snapped up an even better catch at mid-on moments later to remove the competition’s second-highest runscorer Woolvardt.
The Originals started to slow, going 34 balls without a boundary before skipper Sophie Ecclestone added some much-needed late power to finish unbeaten on 26 from 15 balls.
The Invincibles set about proving that was not nearly enough on a good pitch with Sri Lanka star Athapaththu and captain Lauren Winfield-Hill adding 48 for the first wicket.
Alice Monaghan removed Winfield-Hill and Alice Capsey in quick succession and when Athapaththu was lbw to Kathryn Bryce there was work to do at 60-3.
Scholfield ensured any nerves were short-lived though as she found the rope on seven occasions, while Kapp added 19 from 11, to power the Invincibles home with seven balls to spare.
Player of the match: Paige Scholfield
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Following Oval Invincibles’ victory over Manchester Originals, Paige Scholfield says her side learned from their previous losses.
“I really enjoyed it. We’ve had a couple of tough games in a row. You learn more from losing than winning and we went away and studied what was going on and I think we were more disciplined today.
“We just spoke about nudging her [Sophie Ecclestone] around and getting rotation of strike going and then going after the other bowlers.”
What’s next?
The Hundred continues with two matches on Wednesday. Trent Rockets and London Spirit women get the day started at 3pm followed by the men at 6.30pm, with both matches live on Sky Sports Cricket.
