Welsh Fireplace cruised to the highest of the desk in The Hundred with a convincing seven-wicket win in opposition to Southern Courageous at Sophia Gardens.
Hayley Matthews took 3-16 because the winless Courageous had been bowled out for simply 84, a complete the hosts had no drawback passing, with a lack of simply three wickets.
The Welsh facet struck right away when Freya Davies dismissed Smriti Mandhana with the primary ball of the sport – the second time Davies has taken a wicket with the primary ball of the innings on this 12 months’s competitors.
Southern Courageous misplaced wickets at common intervals all through, with none of their batters attending to grips with seam or spin, and justifying Fireplace captain Tammy Beaumont’s resolution to subject first on the toss.
Georgia Adams top-scored with 17 for the guests, whereas Matthews starred with the ball. The West Indian all-rounder was supported by a robust fielding show all through, with glorious catches from Phoebe Franklin and Beaumont to take the wickets of Maia Bouchier (9) and Danni Wyatt (14) respectively.
The house facet paced their reply, regardless of dropping opener Sophia Dunkley for a golden duck, with Beaumont (34) and Sarah Bryce (20no) steadily progressing by way of the run chase.
When Beaumont was bowled by Lauren Cheatle – who was the choose of the Courageous bowlers and completed with 2-8 – it was left to Jess Jonassen (13no) to take Fireplace to the end line as they celebrated their fourth win on this 12 months’s version of The Hundred and topping the desk.
Participant 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,” stated 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 have been taking part in very well as a staff and having everybody contribute. We clearly had a great begin, getting the wicket from the primary ball and we simply 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.
