Ismail hat-trick seals thrilling Fire win in final three balls
Welsh Fire 137 for 7 (Beaumont 59) beat Birmingham Phoenix 134 for 4 (Flintoff 55, Jones 48*, Ismail 3-31) by three runs
Shabnim Ismail bowled Welsh Fire to a sensational victory with a hat-trick within the final three balls of the match to safe a three-run Women’s Hundred win over Birmingham Phoenix at Edgbaston.
Ismail’s ice-cool show prevented the house aspect scoring any of the 4 runs they wanted to win from the final three balls, the South Africa worldwide ending with 3 for 31 as Phoenix, chasing 138, ended on 134 for 4 to undergo a heartbreaking defeat.
Tammy Beaumont’s trendy 59 from 40 balls lifted Fire to 137 for 7 however Phoenix seemed accountable for the chase as Tess Flintoff, with 55 off 45, and Amy Jones, who was unbeaten on 48 off 34, including 93 in 67 balls.
But Ismail’s sensible hat-trick leaves the Birmingham aspect with a number of work to do to climb into the qualification race after a staccato first half of the marketing campaign has introduced two defeats and two washouts.
Phoenix selected to bowl however took 48 balls to interrupt by means of as openers Beaumont and Hayley Matthews added 72 earlier than the latter minimize Hannah Baker to level.
Beaumont batted imperiously, dancing down the observe to raise a stunning straight six off Katie Levick on the way in which to a 36-ball half-century. As properly because the six, the captain struck 9 fours however perished in pursuit of a tenth which she lifted Flintoff to deep mid-wicket, the place Erin Burns took a fantastic catch stooping low to her proper.
As Phoenix started to reel within the scoring price, Laura Harris fell lbw, reverse-sweeping Emily Arlott. Sophia Dunkley (25 off 19 balls) stoked the Fire once more with six over mid-wicket off Arlott however Phoenix constructed stress and caught properly within the closing units.
Needing to drag off the sixth-biggest chase in Women’s Hundred historical past, Phoenix have been positively launched by Sophie Devine‘s 29 from 19 balls. Her cost was ended by Alex Griffiths’ first ball, an ideal, inswinging yorker, however Jones was fluent from the second she reached the crease.
Flintoff and Jones took their aspect into the final 20 balls with 27 wanted however boundaries have been few and Griffiths bowled superbly to start out tilting the stress again on the house aspect. It got here all the way down to 9 wanted from the final 5 balls, delivered by Ismail.
A wonderful cover-driven 4 for Flintoff introduced it all the way down to 4 from three, however Ismail bowled the opener subsequent ball, had Burns caught at quick third after which bowled Issy Wong to seal essentially the most memorable of wins.
“I was aiming to go yorker length and just try to bowl dot balls,” Ismail mentioned. “The yorkers didn’t really come out today but it always does damage to take wickets so it worked out well.
“I had been in that place earlier than so it was only a case of staying calm. There have been no nerves from me, as I used to be beforehand in a state of affairs like that. I did not need my nerves to get the higher of me. I needed to keep calm and I even instructed the captain to simply keep calm. I mentioned to her, ‘we will win this recreation, don’t be concerned – I’ve obtained this’.”