Birmingham Phoenix failed to book their place in the Hundred play-offs as they succumbed to an 18-point loss to Manchester Originals, who in turn remain in the hunt for a top-three spot with a game to play.
History of the game
Birmingham would have guaranteed their passage to knockouts with a win in front of their home fans at Edgbaston but, chasing 123 wins, they were short cut, knocked out for 104 on the final ball.
The Phoenix pursuit got off to the worst possible start as the First Order suffered an almighty collapse. England pace thrower Kate Cross (2-14) beat both openers, Eve Jones for a second-ball duck and skipper Sophie Devine for four.
Amy Jones (6) and Australian all-rounder Ellyse Perry (5) also fell cheaply, and when England spinner Sophie Ecclestone (3-8) trapped lbw Sophie Molineux for three, the hosts were in shock at 22- 5 after 34 balls.
Georgia Elwiss (32) and Issy Wong (24) briefly rallied the innings with a stand of 46 points, but Birmingham never really threatened their target as they slid to their inevitable defeat, with the superb Ecclestone crossing line up late.
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Earlier, flyhalf Emma Lamb – who made her England debut and one-day international debut earlier this summer – had the top score with 30 from 21 in the Originals’ tally of 122-6.
Lamb and South African big hitter Lizelle Lee (20 of 16) shared a 53-run partnership on just 35 balls that promised the visitors a better score, but only Erin Burns (28 of 25) and Ecclestone (20 of 14 ) really capitalized on the platform provided.
However, it proved to be more than enough for Manchester to claim their second victory in the women’s competition. They need a third in their last game and a few more results to go their way, to earn a place in the play-off.
What they said…
Hero of the match, Sophie Ecclestone: “A great afternoon. I love contributing to a win.
“We have nothing to lose now, so we went out and wanted to play good cricket. If we succeed, we will succeed.
“We’re a very close unit as a team. We spend so much time together and get along really well, which is something you don’t get in most teams.
“We are all absolutely buzzed and made up.”
Manchester Originals captain, Kate Cross: “We were probably 10-15 under par in the first innings. But it was quite tricky ground actually, so we knew if we played well we would have a good chance to defend it.
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After Manchester Originals’ win over Birmingham Phoenix, winning captain Kate Cross said her side knew if they ‘played well we had a good chance’
“The tournament was really frustrating, because we challenged all the teams, but we found ways to lose.
“And as for Sophie, she proved today why she is number one in the world [in T20 international cricket]. I need more than 20 balls from her – wish I could.”
And after?
Trent Rockets and Welsh Fire are next to meet in The Hundred in a Bank Holiday Monday double-header.
Monday, August 29, 3:00 p.m.
The Fire have finally secured a maiden win in the women’s competition, the fifth time to claim against Northern Superchargers on Friday, as it is the last chance for the men to secure a maiden win on the board in their final group game . The Rockets women will enter the top three with a victory, while the men will confirm their place in the play-offs with one.
Monday, August 29, 6:30 p.m.
The women are the first from 3:30 p.m., the men will follow from 7 p.m. Both games are live on Sky Sports The Hundred and Sky Sports Mix and are also available for free via live streams on skysports.com, the Sky Sports app and the Sky Sports Cricket YouTube channel.
As for the Phoenix and Originals, their final group matches will be at the London Spirit and against the Oval Invincibles on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.
Watch every The Hundred game this summer live on Sky Sports.
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