Close Encounter - Welsh Fire Women Triumphant with a 3-Run Win over Birmingham Phoenix Women
Shabnim Ismail picked up a hat-trick in the last match (Source: Twitter)
Welsh Fire Women edge past Birmingham Phoenix women by 3 runs remaining unbeaten and on top of the table. The Welsh Fire Women started well with Tammy Beaumont scoring a wonderful half century and a couple of starts by Hayley Mathews and Sophia Dunkley. Despite the good start the Birmingham Phoenix Women came back into the game with great spells from Levick, Baker and Arlott and restricted them to a total of 137.
Birmingham Phoenix Women looked like running away with Tess Flintoff and Amy Jones at the crease and were 123-1 after 90 balls with 15 to get from the last 10 but a great spell by Griffiths and Shabnim Ismail’s hattrick won the game for Welsh Fire Women out of nowhere restricting the Birmingham Phoenix Women to 134 and ensuring they fall short by a miniscule margin of 3 runs.
Bat-to-Bat: Comparing Innings – WFW vs BPW
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X-axis: Balls, Y-axis Innings Runs
It is safe to say that this was one of the matches that we couldn’t predict what was going to happen and both teams were in and out of the game. The first 20 both teams had relatively slow starts where the Welsh fire Women were just 5 runs ahead of Birmingham Phoenix Women at 27-0 whereas the Birmingham Phoenix women were 22-0.
The period between 21 to 40 balls also belonged to the Welsh fire Women as they were cruising at 62-0 and the Birmingham Phoenix Women were struggling a bit at 49-1. From 41 to 60 balls the Birmingham Phoenix Women started catching up at 79-1 and were just 4 runs behind Welsh Fire Women who were 83-1. The next 20 balls is where the Birmingham phoenix Women were in the game at a score of 111-1 compared to Welsh fire Women were 109-3.
Despite it being only a 2 run deficit the extra 2 wickets lost by Welsh fire Women puts Birmingham Phoenix Women ahead of the game at this stage. The last 20 balls is where the whole game changed where Welsh Fire Women could only manage 28 runs in the last 20 with the loss of 4 wickets, the Birmingham Phoenix also managed 23 runs and lost 3 wickets due the brilliant spell of Shabnim Ismail at the death that also included a hattrick and took away the game from Birmingham Phoenix Women in a matter of 5-10 balls.
Conclusion
This match delved deeper than expected, ultimately succumbing to poor planning and execution—a critical aspect even in fast-paced formats like this. Birmingham Phoenix Women had a golden opportunity to wrap up the game sooner, firmly controlling its outcome. While Shabnim Ismail's final spell, particularly the last 5 deliveries, showcased exceptional skill, it's crucial not to overlook the fact that Birmingham Phoenix Women's defeat stemmed from a flawed strategy in the final 20 balls.
They should have prioritized accumulating more runs instead of adopting a risky approach, needlessly extending the game and granting Welsh Fire Women a chance to snatch victory under extraordinary circumstances. Credit is undoubtedly due to the Welsh Fire Women, who tenaciously fought their way back into a match that appeared nearly unwinnable.
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