Invincibles preserve title defence alive via Kapp’s fireworks
Oval Invincibles 142 for five (Kapp 64*, Winfield-Hill 41) beat Birmingham Phoenix 132 for six (Devine 53, Scholfield 3-30) by 10 runs
Oval Invincibles stored their title defence alive with a powerful 10-run win over Birmingham Phoenix at Edgbaston.
Invincibles overpowered the struggling dwelling aspect after piling up 142 for five due to Marizanne Kapp‘s blistering 64 not out off 40 balls and Lauren Winfield-Hill’s composed 41 off 33 balls.
The Phoenix reply was given an exhilarating launch by Sophie Devine however after she fell to Ryana MacDonald-Gay for 53 off 34 balls, the chase misplaced impetus. Phoenix fell brief on 132 for six and stay rooted to the foot of the desk, nonetheless with out a win from a bitterly disappointing marketing campaign.
Invincibles, in the meantime, are proper again within the combine after victory from a sport they dominated from ball one. Put in, they began solidly with openers Winfield-Hill and Suzie Bates – who will captain for the remainder of the season after Dane van Niekerk’s injury – including 31 in 27 balls, assisted by some untidy fielding.
Their progress was stalled by Katie Levick who broke via with wickets in successive balls on the way in which to taking two wickets for only one run in her first set. Levick turned one previous the charging Bates for Amy Jones to finish a easy stumping earlier than Alice Capsey tried to chop her first ball and nicked it to the wicketkeeper.
That untidy fielding included a reprieve for Winfield-Hill, who was dropped on 9 by Sterre Kalis at backward level off Tess Flintoff, and the opener made Phoenix pay in a stand of 59 in 42 balls with Kapp.
After Winfield-Hill lifted Hannah Baker to lengthy on, Paige Scholfield stored the speed excessive with a nine-ball 17 earlier than Kapp took the entire from first rate to daunting with a ferocious late onslaught. The South African posted a 34-ball half-century as she smashed many of the 26 which got here from the final ten balls.
Phoenix wanted a flying begin and Devine provided it with an exhibition of unpolluted hitting which noticed her aspect race to 50 in simply 26 balls. Her second six took her to a 26-ball half-century together with 40 in fours and sixes.
It was high-quality putting which lifted the house followers’ hopes of a win to maintain their marketing campaign alive however Devine’s subsequent try to land a six, off MacDonald-Gay, discovered solely the calm fingers of Kapp at lengthy leg. Amy Jones quickly chopped MacDonald-Gay to brief third man and Erin Burns’ counter-attack was terminated by a straight ball from Scholfield because the required fee escalated.
When Flintoff charged and missed at Scholfield, 39 had been wanted from 14 balls. It proved far too many as Invincibles closed out a much-needed win.