Fire pick up first win and eliminate Phoenix

Edgbaston’s Hundred women’s competition

Welsh Fire 150-3 (100 balls): Dunkley 53 (43), Jonassen 44 (17), Schutt 2-11

Phoenix in Birmingham 114-9 (100 balls): Perry 55 (43), Ismail 3-16

36 runs won by Fire.

Phoenix in Birmingham’s slim chances of making it to The Hundred women’s knockout stages were ended by Welsh Fire’s 36-run triumph over Edgbaston, which gave them their first win of the season.

Jess Jonassen, an all-rounder, hit 44 runs with just 17 deliveries, four of them consecutive, to help Fire reach its imposing target of 151 before falling 3-24 with the ball.

Phoenix needed to win their final three games in order to close the 12-point gap to the top three after losing four of their first five, but they were unable to maintain their momentum despite Ellyse Perry scoring half a century.

After six deliveries, Shabnim Ismail, who claimed 3-16 overall, bowled Emma Lamb and caught Marie Kelly lbw, reduced Phoenix to 5-2.

The hosts were briefly held to a 56-run lead by Perry and Georgia Voll, but Welsh Fire’s momentum was sown by Welsh Fire when two wickets in two balls combined, and Phoenix’s inability to establish any other meaningful partnerships prevented them from initiating a serious chase.

In the penultimate set, Perry, who had 55 runs out of 43 balls, was eventually dismissed by Ismail, with Jonassen and Hayley Matthews serving as the other wicket-takers.

To help lay the groundwork for the already-eliminated Fire, Sophia Dunkley and Matthews combined for a 53-run second-wicket stand that included a 71-run second-wicket stand.

This season, Welsh Fire hasn’t had any runs. Prior to this game, top-order batters Matthews and Beaumont had each scored just 65 and 59 runs, while last year’s finalists had only passed 120 once in five innings, twice being dismissed for under 100.

Dunkley, who has now gone 30 in four of her six innings, has been the only bright spot for Fire.

The opener opened up against Perry after seven balls to reach two, dispatching the Phoenix skipper for three boundaries in four deliveries before eventually scoring six of her innings against the Australia all-rounder.

Phoenix should have taken two wickets in two balls after Hannah Baker had bowled her, but Amy Jones missed a crucial opportunity to stump Jonassen for a duck.

Before being caught in the deep by Marie Kelly as she attempted to raise her fifty with another boundary, Jonassen smashed Baker for four consecutive sixes with her side 122-2 before being chased up by her side for her final 10 deliveries.

On Saturday, Northern Superchargers host Oval Invincibles (11:00 and 14:30 BST), and London Spirit takes on Southern Brave (14:30 and 18:00 BST). Both games will feature double-headers.

Every game will have ball-by-ball radio commentary on BBC Sounds.