Welsh Fire cruised to the top of the table in The Hundred with a convincing seven-wicket win against Southern Brave at Sophia Gardens.
Hayley Matthews took 3-16 as the winless Brave were bowled out for just 84, a total the hosts had no problem passing, with a loss of just three wickets.
The Welsh side struck straight away when Freya Davies dismissed Smriti Mandhana with the first ball of the game – the second time Davies has taken a wicket with the first ball of the innings in this year’s competition.
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Georgia Adams took this brilliant catch to dismiss Hayley Matthews
Southern Brave lost wickets at regular intervals throughout, with none of their batters getting to grips with seam or spin, and justifying Fire captain Tammy Beaumont’s decision to field first at the toss.
Georgia Adams top-scored with 17 for the visitors, while Matthews starred with the ball. The West Indian all-rounder was supported by a strong fielding display throughout, with excellent catches from Phoebe Franklin and Beaumont to take the wickets of Maia Bouchier (9) and Danni Wyatt (14) respectively.
The home side paced their reply, despite losing opener Sophia Dunkley for a golden duck, with Beaumont (34) and Sarah Bryce (20no) steadily progressing through the run chase.
When Beaumont was bowled by Lauren Cheatle – who was the pick of the Brave bowlers and finished with 2-8 – it was left to Jess Jonassen (13no) to take Fire to the finish line as they celebrated their fourth win in this year’s edition of The Hundred and topping the table.
Player of the match: Hayley Matthews
“I just tried to pitch it in some really good areas. I think there was a bit in the pitch for me as a spinner, so I tried to keep my lines pretty straight and I managed to get some wickets doing that,” said Matthews.
“There was a bit of turn and bounce in the pitch, so I felt the length was really important and I tried to keep the stumps in play for as long as possible.
“We’ve been playing really well as a team and having everyone contribute. We obviously had a good start, getting the wicket from the first ball and we just went from there.”
What’s next?
The Hundred continues with four matches on Tuesday. Manchester Originals and Oval Invincibles women get the day started at 11.30pm followed by the men at 3pm.
Birmingham Phoenix and Northern Superchargers women play at 3pm followed by the men at 6.30pm, with all four matches live on Sky Sports Cricket.