England international Alice Capsey completed her debut 52 against Birmingham Phoenix with a well-taken 59 as the Oval Invincibles defeated the Welsh Fire by six wickets in Cardiff.
Capsey hit seven boundaries in her 48-ball knock before being brilliantly caught at long-on by Hayley Matthews off Freya Davies with 27 runs still needed.
The versatile Marizanne Kapp (26*) and Mady Villiers (11*) took the reins to extinguish any hopes of the Welsh Fire, guiding the Invincibles home with 12 balls to spare.
The Invincibles’ chase started far from ideal as they lost Lauren Winfield-Hill on the second ball of the innings, caught by Tammy Beaumont at cover off Shabnim Ismail for a duck.
Paige Schofield (11) and Capsey were undeterred by their early defeat, playing fluently to take the score to 37-1 after 20 balls, the latter being decisively bowled by Ismail off a long drive from Jess Jonassen two runs later.
Capsey survived a disallowed lbw decision on Jonassen’s 43rd over and went on to score a fifty from 42 balls.
Welsh Fire won the toss and elected to bat, losing Beaumont (4) off the eighth ball of the innings, an outswinger from Kapp inducing an edge to wicket-keeper Winfield-Hill.
After 25 balls, Welsh Fire worked hard for 17-1 and soon found themselves at 20-2 when Amanda-Jade Wellington struck first ball to put away the dangerous Matthews (6), brilliantly caught by Kapp running in from the cover line.
Sophia Dunkley made 35 from 26 balls before bowling Wellington to Ryana MacDonald-Gay at long-on and Jonassen, who had taken on Dunkley’s role as aggressor, bowled enterprisingly for 32 not out from 22 balls as Welsh Fire closed their innings on a below-par score of 116-5.
Player of the Match – Alice Capsey
“The pace was really good, so capitalising on that at the top in the powerplay. When it got a bit tougher, they were playing really well with changes and playing a bit slower. Me and Kappy built a partnership and we knew the longer it lasted, the easier it would be for the others coming in at the end.
“I’m feeling really good, but I think the most pleasing thing for me is my calmness. I think last year I was a bit frantic. So it’s good to be back in that space where I can contribute to the team’s victories.”
What is the next?
The Hundred continues on Monday as Manchester Originals face Trent Rockets at Old Trafford.
The women’s match (2.55pm on air, first ball 3pm) will be live on Sky Sports Mix and via a free live stream on skysports.com, the Sky Sports app and the Sky Sports Cricket YouTube channel.
The men’s game kicks off at 6.30pm with build-up starting at 6pm on Sky Sports Mix. There will also be coverage on Sky Sports Cricket from around 6.30pm.
Sky Sports will show all 68 games of The Hundred live, while you can also watch selected matches via free-to-air streams on Sky Sports’ digital platforms and the Sky Sports Cricket YouTube channel.
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