Outsmarted her completely with a length ball that turned away viciously outside off, she sprung down the track and missed it completely and that is that, sharp stumping from Winfield-Hill, neat glovework throughout the day Oval Invincibles have won their first game of the season at a canter!
Invincibles vs Phoenix, 1st Match at London, Women's Hundred, Jul 23 2024 - Match Result
Invincibles won by 45 runs
Don't go too far away, as the Men's Hundred Competition is about to get underway in less than an hour. Andrew Miller has kicked off the commentary for the opener between Oval Invincibles and Birmingham Phoenix; it should be a fascinating contest. Follow it here
Match Hero Scholfield: "I'm absolutely buzzing. It's the first time I've opened so I was a bit nervous but I had Lozzy [Lauren Winfield-Hill] there helping me through those first 10 balls and I got a nice feel for the pitch. I haven't done a lot of opening, I usually come in at the end and try and hit as many boundaries as I can in as few balls as possible! But I enjoyed it.
"I feel like there was a bit of tennis ball bounce in the pitch so you had to either move well back or forward, so I trusted my shots and I played them. We bat down to No.11 so I trusted myself and I went for it - and I've always got them in the dug-out if it doesn't go quite as well. Chamari can have it [the opening role when she returns from the Asia Cup], I'm going to do what head coach Jon Batty tells me to do!"
150 proved too overwhelming for Birmingham Phoenix, who fell short by 45 runs and could only muster 105 in the end. They lost wickets at regular intervals and found it hard to clear the ropes. That suicidal run from captain Ellyse Perry was a major turning point. It was an absolutely needless attempt, as she kept running down the wicket after defending the ball to cover and the single was never on. That botch-up allowed the Invincibles to turn the screws further and they continued to take wickets. Invincibles were accurate with their bowling plans, inducing false strokes by not giving away many freebies. The scoreboard pressure kept rising and made life tough for Phoenix.
Invincibles used the new ball better, extracting more swing, setting the tone upfront, and keeping a lid on the score. Eye-catching fifties from Paige Scholfield and Alice Capsey were the highlights of the day, as both batters were exceptional in the tournament opener and made life easier for their bowlers. Amanda-Jade Wellington snapped up three wickets and conceded only 0.45 runs per ball, clearly the pick of the bowlers for the Invincibles. She wasn't afraid to flight the ball and reaped the rewards by extracting plenty of turn, showing her dexterity in no uncertain terms
As for Phoenix, it's just the start of the tournament. They weren't completely outplayed but leaked too many runs with the ball. Let's hope they'll make amends and get back on track after a woeful last season
Over the wicket, floating like a rose petal on middle, shimmies down the track and lifts it towards midwicket
Tossed up on middle, nudged between mid-on and midwicket
Round the wicket, flighted delivery outside off, patted to mid-off
Crunched away past cover for a couple, quick running between the wickets
Cut away past point for a run
Round the wicket, fired fuller and she taps it back to the bowler, non-striker couldn't make her ground and has to go
Hangs back and square drives it to cover, Smales finishes a superb spell
Produces magic with her clever spinning methods, bowls stumps-to-stumps on this occasion, she tried to cut that away but the ball ends up disturbing the furniture
Over the wicket, length ball outside off, waits patiently on the backfoot, allow the ball to come at her and then pulls it away to midwicket
Touch fuller and spinning away from off, forced over extra cover and the single will bring up the 100 on board
Fuller length on middle, plonked out to long-on region, another chance for a run-out, no direct-hit saves her
Long-on, long-off and midwicket all converging and the ball falls in vacant area between them, it was slugged hard down the ground but didn't catch the meaty part, settles for a run
Over the wicket, torments her with the lack of pace, slowed it as much as possible, she is early through the pull and wears it on her front pad
Round the wicket, length ball angling in from outside off, swiped down to mid-off and the fielder hits the bull's eye at non-striker's end, batter made her ground, swift decision from third ump NOT OUT on the big screen
Quicker just outside off, squeezed out to cover and dashes across to the other end
Accepts the half-volley outside off and rifles it down the ground, no chance for long-off to stop that bullet
Quicker and flatter, shortening the length towards middle, swings for the hills but didn't get much power behind it as deep midwicket runs around to keep them down to one
Breaks the shackles with a boundary! Length and outside leg stump, goes back and smears it past fine leg, played with finesse and didn't try to overhit it
AussieBren: "Disagree with those penalty runs. Sure the throw was unnecessary but as if Kapp meant to throw it towards her neck. She immediately apologized and Bates took it in good strides. Overpolicing."
Over the wicket, tossed up fuller on middle, shovelled to short midwicket, innings has come to a grinding halt
2W | ||||
1W | ||||
2W | ||||
Kennington Oval, London | |
Toss | Birmingham Phoenix (Women), elected to field first |
Series | |
Season | 2024 |
Player Of The Match | |
Match days | 23 July 2024 - day (100-ball match) |
Umpires | |
TV Umpire | |
Reserve Umpire | |
Match Referee | |
Points | Oval Invincibles (Women) 2, Birmingham Phoenix (Women) 0 |