Match no. 12 of the ongoing 02 edition of the FairBreak Invitational had Sapphires play Falcons at the Kowloon Cricket Club, Hong Kong. The game witnessed, the Sapphires batting first get to a just par total that proved to be a cakewalk for Falcons as they in reply chased down the required emphatically.
1st innings: Sapphires – 131/10 (20.0)
The side had a decent start as openers Katie Mack and Gaby Lewis got going, but with 26 on board, the side lost Katie on 9(8) and just then, Sapphires lost 3 wickets in quick succession, those of Babette de Leede on 0(2), Gaby on 20(19), and Katherine Sciver-Brunt on 0(6) and were 4 down for 31. Erin Burns and Sana Mir accompanied Tash Farrant but not for long as the two departed for 9, and shortly after Farrant too on 15(17) was run out.
With 63 on board and 3 wickets in hand, Kary Chan and Shabnim Ismail shouldered the responsibility of guiding the team to a defendable total and with respective scores of 32(26) and 26(18), did just that as the side finished on 131. Marizanne Kapp with figures of 3/15 (4) led the wickets chart and had Sornnarin Tippoch with a couple and Jahanara Alam, Mariko Hill, and Chamari Athapaththu with a wicket each followed.
2nd innings: Falcons – 133/1 (13.3)
The side in reply had Suzie Bates and Danni Wyatt open the innings, and while Bates got off to a blistering start, Wyatt struggled in the middle and cheaply departed on 4(7) with 47 on board in the final over of the powerplay. Bates then was accompanied by Chamari and with the latter striking well straightaway, Bates took the back seat and watched Chamari strike the ball at over a strike rate of 150.
The pair of Chamari and Bates stitched an unbeaten 86-run stand and powered Falcons to a 9-wicket win finishing on respective scores of 75*(44) 42*(30). Skipper Sana Mir was the only one on the wickets chart with figures of 1/10 (2), and though Katherine and Shabnim finished wicketless, the two registered an economical outing.
Falcons won by 9 Wickets
Sapphires: 131-10 (20)
Kary Chan: 32 (26)
Shabnim Ismail: 26 (18)
Marizanne Kapp: 3-15Falcons: 133-1 (13.3)
Chamari Athapaththu: 75* (44)
Suzie Bates: 42* (30)
Sana Mir: 1-10#CricketTwitter #FairBreak #FBI23 pic.twitter.com/aTtaJhT85g— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) April 11, 2023
Result: Falcons won by 9 wickets
Except for on one occasion, the Sapphires in general, have struggled for both runs and wickets in the tournament and this game too was no different. Credit to the Falcons who’ve got a timely win and remain alive in the tournament with a game still in hand.
