Joe McConnell
Hayley Matthews continued her impressive overall form as Welsh Fire progressed to The Hundred knockout stage with a nine-wicket win over bottom-placed Southern Brave at the Utilita Bowl.
The West Indies opener took 4-14 off breaks before her unbeaten 35, coupled with Tammy Beaumont’s 59 off 40 balls, helped the visitors reach their target of 104 with 26 deliveries to spare.
Thanks to their superior run-rate, the Fire are now in a strong position to finish top and automatically qualify for the final at Lord’s on Sunday.
Hayley Matthews helped Welsh Fire reach their target of 104 with 26 deliveries to spare
After Beaumont won the toss, Matthews eliminated Danni Wyatt, Maia Bouchier, Naomi Dattani and in-form Kalea Moore to leave the Braves struggling at 47-7.
Chloe Tryon single-handedly saved the innings with an aggressive 55 off 38 balls, adding 52 with Rhianna Southby, as the Braves were all out for 103.
Beaumont and Sophia Dunkley responded with 34 points, until the latter was denied by Lauren Bell.
Beaumont reached his half-century off just 31 balls and added 72 with Matthews to lead his team to a comprehensive victory.
Player of the match: Hayley Matthews
“Obviously the wickets are getting a bit tired, so I’ve managed to get a bit of a catch. I think I’m just trying to hit good areas and get the batsmen to hit where I want them to,” Matthews said.
“I think we’ve been really good (all season). When you look at our lineup, we have a lot of experience and we’ve played really well on that.
“The bowlers did a great job of making sure we didn’t have to chase too high a total. I think it was a complete team performance and that’s where we played really well, everyone contributed and played their part.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Maia Bouchier is caught after a superb defensive play by Phoebe Franklin of the Fire
What will happen now?
The Cento continues on Thursday 15th August with a clash between Birmingham Phoenix AND Manchester Originals.
The women’s match will be available to watch on Vscek Main Event and Vscek Cricket from 2.30pm, the first match at 3pm and the men’s match on Vscek Main Event and Vscek Cricket from 6pm.
Vscek+ has officially launched and will be integrated into Sky TV, the NOW streaming service and the Vscek app, giving Vscek customers access to over 50 percent more live sport this year at no extra cost. Find out more here.
