In a gut-wrenching encounter that took place on the 10th of August in match number 14 of The Hundred between Welsh Fire and Birmingham Phoenix, the game was on a cliffhanger as both teams rivaled it out with utmost passion.
The Phoenix elected to field first as the conditions favored the chasing team. Tammy Beaumont opened the innings alongside Hayley Matthews and the two put together a comprehensive partnership of 72(48). The duo’s time on the crease saw the ball travel to the fence with gutsy glamour as they cruised along, ticking the scoreboard at a healthy run rate.
However, their party was crashed by Hannah Baker as Matthews had to depart to her for 23(23), and in came Dunkley at no.3. She got off to a comfortable start and started yielding out runs with Beaumont until the skipper was finally dismissed for a well made 59(40).
It was then Georgia Elwiss 10(9) who played the supporting role and Dunkley 25(19) played the part of an aggressor to get their side to a competitive total of 137/7 at the end of 100 deliveries. Katie Levick (2/28), Hannah Baker (2/21), Tess Flintoff (1/11), and Emily Arlott (2/33) were among the wicket-takers for The Phoenix.
The Birmingham Phoenix were off to quite some start as Flintoff and Devine opened the innings. Runs came by quick and easy, and they were up and going in this run chase. But the experienced Devine fell to Griffiths on the 31st ball for 29(19) which made way for keeper Amy Jones.
And what followed next for the Phoenix was nothing short of a fairy tale, Flintoff and Jones went about constructing a partnership of 93(67). This phase of the match saw some fierce ball striking which included calculated risks and witty rotation of strike as they were slowly stealing the game away from Welsh Fire.
The game was now down to the wire now with 9 required of the last 5 balls. Shabnim Ismail the bowler conceded 5 runs off the first 2 deliveries, getting the equation down to 4 off 3 balls. And the plot twist is she gets a hattrick as Flintoff, Burns and Wong get out and fail to even add a run handing a 3-run defeat to Welsh Fire.
Watch: Shabnim Ismail’s hat-trick
Relive Hat-Trick moment!
4 needed in last 3 balls and then Shabnim Ismail did this 👇🤩 #CricketTwitter #TheHundred pic.twitter.com/7rMGYrHoYw
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) August 10, 2023
It was death bowling of the highest quality as Ismail became only the second person to pick up a hat trick in the women’s Hundred. The South African superstar was then declared the Player of the Match for her (3/31). The final over by her showcased her ability to stay calm under pressure and execute her plan. The Welsh Fire unit were almost half buried in the game, up until Ismail rolled over her golden arm in the last over and turned things around.
Thriller at Birmingham as Welsh Fire successfully defends 8 Runs in 5 balls, courtesy of Shabnim Ismail's hat-trick. 🔥🤩#CricketTwitter #Hundred2023 pic.twitter.com/3ycxCd12k1
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) August 10, 2023