Lauren Winfield-Hill-led Oval Invincibles were up against Birmingham Phoenix, led by skipper Ellyse Perry at Edgbaston, Birmingham, in the 10th match of The Women’s Hundred 2025. Birmingham were riding high on confidence with back-to-back victories to kick-start their campaign in the 5th edition of the competition on a high.
Oval Invincibles’ comes out all guns blazing to post their highest-ever total
Skipper Lauren Winfield-Hill won the toss and opted to bat first. The Invincibles’ openers, Meg Lanning and Lauren Winfield-Hill, came out with some serious intent, stitching a brisk 76-run opening partnership. Hannah Baker broke the stand by sending an ominous Meg Lanning (36 off 19 balls) back to the pavilion, around the halfway mark, to provide the first breakthrough for Birmingham Phoenix.
The batters who came in continued the momentum of the innings, and the scoreboard kept ticking at a brisk rate. However, a quick-fire 57-run partnership for the 4th wicket between Paige Scholfield and Alice Capsey provided a blockbuster finish, which helped Invincibles post their highest-ever total in the Women’s Hundred, 174/5, in their quota of 100 deliveries.
Alice Capsey (52 off 29 balls), Paige Scholfield (25* off 16 balls), and skipper Lauren Winfield-Hill (33 off 27 balls) were the top performers with the bat for Oval Invincibles. Hannah Baker (20-9-24-2), Emily Arlott (15-6-25-2), and Megan Schutt (20-9-34-1) were the top performers with the ball for Birmingham Phoenix.
Ellyse Perry and Ailsa Lister’s cameo in vain as Invincibles secure their first win
Chasing a mountainous total of 175, the Phoenix openers Emma Lamb and Georgia Voll got their side off to a cautious start with a 25-run opening partnership. The experienced Marizanne Kapp picked up the crucial breakthrough of Georgia Voll, providing the first breakthrough for Oval Invincibles. Marie Kelly soon followed her back to the pavilion to provide the 2nd breakthrough for Oval.
Skipper Ellyse Perry joined Emma Lamb at the crease, and the skipper counter-attacked the Invincibles bowlers en route to her inspiring innings (29 off 16 balls) under immense pressure. The pair went on to stitch a much-needed 49-run partnership for the 3rd wicket to bring some sort of momentum in the innings for Birmingham. Amanda-Jade Wellington gave a massive jolt to Birmingham’s hopes by dismissing their skipper, Ellyse Perry, just over the halfway mark in the run chase.
Another impressive 55-run partnership for the 5th wicket between wicket-keeper batter Amy Jones and Ailsa Lister revived the hopes of a spirited comeback. However, the departure of Amy Jones (21 off 21 balls) proved to be the decisive blow as Birmingham were eventually restricted to 152/6 in their quota of 100 deliveries, as a result, falling 22 runs short of the target. Ailsa Lister (33* off 18 balls) and Sterre Kalis (8* off 2 balls) showed some serious intent with the bat for Birmingham Phoenix.
Amanda-Jade Wellington (20-9-27-2), Marizanne Kapp (20-6-22-1), and Ryana MacDonald-Gay (20-8-23-1) were impressive with the ball for Oval Invincibles.
Alice Capsey was awarded the Player of the Match for her impactful innings (52 off 29 balls) with the bat for her side. Oval Invincibles secured their first win of the season.
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