Alice Capsey downs Phoenix for Invincibles' first win of the campaign
England allrounder hits 52 as Invincibles belt third-highest total in women's Hundred history
ECB Media
12-Aug-2025 • 7 hrs ago
Alice Capsey reverses during her half-century • ECB via Getty Images
Oval Invincibles 174 for 5 (Capsey 52, Baker 2-25) beat Birmingham Phoenix 152 for 6 (Lister 33, Wellington 2-27) by 22 runs
Oval Invincibles put their indifferent form behind them at Edgbaston as they racked up the third-highest score in the short history of the women's Hundred to beat Birmingham Phoenix by a comfortable 22 runs.
The Invincibles' 174 for 5 was also the second-highest total this season - men or women - behind the 176 for 5 they themselves conceded to London Spirit on the opening day.
"It's nice to get a win on the board after two close losses," said Alice Capsey, who top-scored with 52 off 29 balls. "The openers were brilliant. One of our reflections after the first two games was that we bat so deep we can take some more calculated risks.
"They took the game on so nicely and it made my job pretty easy - to keep the momentum going and keep putting pressure on. The pitch played better than I thought it would and came on pretty nicely. "Getting over the line was the main thing and now we go back to The Oval; we can take a lot of confidence and we love playing there."
Having elected to bat, the Invincibles set their stall out early, Lauren Winfield-Hill and Meg Lanning breezing to 54 for 0 in the 25-ball Powerplay.
Lanning's dismissal for 36 off 19 merely brought in Capsey, who was barely inconvenienced by the loss of Winfield-Hill and Marizanne Kapp, raising a 28-ball half-century as Paige Scholfield also motored along at the other end.
The two of them treated Aussie legend and Phoenix captain Ellyse Perry with disdain while Hannah Baker avoided the worst of the onslaught, finishing with a creditable 2 for 24 from her 20 balls.
When Phoenix batted, Aussie starlet Georgia Voll, who had conceded 20 from her five balls as a bowler, got off to a flyer but the experience of Kapp and Amanda-Jade Wellington started to tell.
Emma Lamb and Perry gamely attempted to keep up with the spiralling rate but Wellington had her compatriot smartly held by Winfield-Hill behind the stumps for 29 off 16 to effectively put the game beyond Phoenix's reach.
Ailsa Lister and Amy Jones battled hard, the Scottish batter in particular impressing with an unbeaten 18-ball 33 including four fours and a six, but the Phoenix ended up well short and well beaten.