At Lord’s, Welsh Fire defeated London Spirit for the first time in the tournament this year by finishing with their best-ever chase in the women’s Hundred. With five balls remaining, the visitors overcame Spirit’s 150 for 5, thanks in large part to an unbeaten 78 from 46 balls, the best score of the tournament by a West Indies player Hayley Matthews.
Former Spirit right-armer Freya Davies took 2 for 19, which included crucial wickets of Heather Knight and Meg Lanning. Deepti Sharma and Danni Gibson’s strong late hitting helped the home team reach their target.
After being dropped on the rope at 36, Matthews made the difference in the match by hitting 11 fours and 2 sixes in an innings that decided the outcome.
Tara Norris caught Fire captain Tammy Beaumont leg before wicket with her first ball, forcing her to leave the game early. Then, Sophia Dunkley gave Gibson a little tickle behind her bowling, and Norris held a brilliant catch at backward point to dismiss Sarah Bryce, making Gibson’s day even better.
The game hinged on Matthews, who was consistently hitting the boundaries despite wickets at the other end, with 69 needed from 40 balls. When Matthews was on 36, Eva Gray spilled a difficult chance over the rope, causing some uneasy chuckles from the home fans. This was followed by Jess Jonassen slapping Sophie Munro into the stands.
After Jonassen miscued to Cordelia Griffith in the deep, England legspinner Sarah Glenn stopped some of Fire’s increasing momentum. Matthews scored her half-century off 37 balls. But by then, it was the ‘Matthews Show’ as she hit Sharma for a string of sixes, needing only nine runs to win the match and give the Welsh team their second victory of the tournament.
Spirit had begun the competition by chasing a third consecutive victory, and it was an incredible chase after they had demonstrated their depth at bat. Their three totals thus far fall inside their five greatest scores since the Hundred started, demonstrating their most notable progress in an all-star hitting lineup.
Spirit chose Lanning, a former Australian captain, with selection three in the March draft, and it appears to have been a wise move as she hit 31 off only 20 balls before being bowled by Davies.
Knight had been dismissed by Davies after two balls, caught at cover, but Gibson and Sharma put on 67 in 41 balls after that. In her first game back after the Asia Cup, Gibson set the pace, hitting six boundaries and a six in her 25-ball 41. This allowed India’s premier player, Sharma, to settle in before letting her hair down in the end. Sharma scored 39 off 26 balls to finish undefeated.
London Spirit off the mark as Welsh Fire burned by the Lord’s pitch
