The 31st match of the Hundred will be played between Northern Superchargers and Birmingham Phoenix on August 17 at Headingley in Leeds. It is a must-win game for both teams. The team that wins will qualify for the eliminator that will be played on August 20 at the Kennington Oval in London. So will it be the Superchargers or the Phoenix that will lock horns against the Oval Invincibles in the knock-out match? Tune in to find out…
Squads
Northern Superchargers: Lauren Winfield Hill (c & wk), Jemimah Rodrigues, Laura Wolvaardt, Alice Davidson Richards, Laura Kimmince, Bess Heath, Linsey Smith, Kalea Moore, Phoebe Graham, Elizabeth Russell, Katie Levick, Sterre Kalis, Helen Fenby, Ami Campbell, Hollie Armitage
Birmingham Phoenix: Shafali Verma, Evelyn Jones, Amy Ellen Jones (c & wk), Katie Mack, Erin Burns, Georgia Elwiss, Emily Arlott, Gwenan Davies, Isabelle Wong, Kirstie Gordon, Abtaha Maqsood, Thea Brookes, Marie Kelly, Ria Fackrell, Phoebe Franklin
Players to watch out for
Jemimah Rodrigues (Northern Superchargers): She is the highest run-scorer (as of August 15, 2021) in the tournament with 248 runs from six innings, including the best of 92 not out. She has a stellar strike rate of 154.03. The Superchargers will hope that she continues to score big for them.
Linsey Smith (Northern Superchargers): The slow left arm bowler has been the most effective bowler for the Superchargers. She has accounted for eight wickets in six innings, including the best of 3-14. She has been a tough cookie to crack and the batters have found it difficult to score off her.
Evelyn Jones (Birmingham Phoenix): The opening bat is the highest run-getter for the Phoenix with 169 runs from seven matches, including the best of 52 not out. She has a healthy strike rate of 113.42. She has been instrumental in providing good starts to her team.
Kirstie Gordon (Birmingham Phoenix): She has been the most successful bowler for the Phoenix, having scalped 12 wickets in seven games, including the best of 3-14. The slow left arm bowler has shown a lot of promise with her bowling prowess.
Weather conditions
It is a 3.30pm (local) start at Headingley in Leeds. The weather looks good throughout the course of the match. There is no chance of rain as the weather forecasts show a low chance of precipitation. The average temperature is around 18 degrees Celsius, with a moderate breeze blowing from the west-northwest.
Pitch
This will be the fourth match of the tournament at the venue. In the last three matches, the teams batting first have won once and the team batting first have won twice. The average score here has been 121, average 1st innings score has been 122 and average 2nd innings score has been 120. It is a good cricketing wicket as it offers assistance to both batters and bowlers. It has aided the spinners and speedsters almost equally as the former have scalped 15 wickets and the latter 14 wickets.
Fantasy playing XI
Lauren Winfield-Hill, Jemimah Rodrigues, Evelyn Jones, Shafali Verma, Laura Wolvaardt, Alice Davidson-Richards, Erin Burns, Emily Arlott, Kirstie Gordon, Linsey Smith, Isabelle Wong
Date: August 17, 2021
Time: 8pm IST
Venue: Headingley, Leeds
Live streaming: Fan Code
I am a former cricketer having represented Mumbai University at All India University level. I was a part of MCA probables for the U-19 and U-23 age group. I have been an avid cricket writer for the last five years. Currently I am pursuing my Ph.D from IIT Bombay.