Sophia Dunkley’s 69 not out from 47 balls took Welsh Fire to victory over Manchester Originals in The Hundred as the visitors recovered from a wobble to triumph by seven wickets at Emirates Old Trafford.
Dunkley and Tammy Beaumont (31 off 29) put on 65 from 55 balls for Fire’s first wicket as they chased 114 for victory but the away side stuttered once Beaumont was out as three wickets fell for eight runs, including Hayley Matthew lbw to Sophie Ecclestone for one.
The requirement was 31 from the final 16 balls but Dunkley then hit the next delivery, bowled by Kim Garth for six, before crunching a four and six off Kathryn Bryce and two fours off Ecclestone to help Fire home with four balls to spare.
Jess Jonassen (9no off 7) cracked the winning boundary off Fi Morris, backing up her 3-17 from 20 balls earlier in the game as Originals were limited to 113-7.
Laura Wolvaardt (37 off 27 balls) led Originals to 58-0 from 47 balls but the home side then lost three wickets for four runs, which triggered a larger collapse of 6-28 as Fire fought back.
Australian left-arm spinner Jonassen trapped Wolvaardt lbw to earn Fire their first wicket, with Beth Mooney (19 of 24) and Emma Lamb (1) then dismissed by Georgia Davis in the space of three balls.
Originals’ middle order failed to impress – Kathryn Bryce (6) was caught by her sister Sarah Bryce off the bowling of Jonassen – and it was left to Ecclestone (27no off 15) to take the hosts into three figures, with the England star hitting successive sixes off Matthews.
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Welsh Fire wicketkeeper Sarah Bryce caught her sister Kathryn in the game against Manchester Originals
What’s next?
The Hundred continues on Friday as Northern Superchargers take on Trent Rockets at Headingley
The women’s match (2.30pm on air, 3pm first ball) is live on Sky Sports Mix and via free live stream on skysports.com, the Sky Sports app and on the Sky Sports Cricket YouTube channel.
The men’s match, which will be the first in charge for Superchargers head coach Andrew Flintoff, is live on Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Main Event from 6.30pm with the first ball at 6.35pm.
Sky Sports will show all 68 games in The Hundred live this summer, while you can also watch selected matches via free streams on Sky Sports’ digital platforms and Sky Sports Cricket YouTube channel.