Originals upset Phoenix to keep Hundred hopes alivepublished at 18:23 British Summer Time 28 August 2022
Matthew Henry
BBC Sport cricket writer
Manchester Originals upset Birmingham Phoenix to keep their slim hopes in the women's Hundred alive.
The 18-run win means the Originals, who would have been out with a defeat, jump to fifth, two points behind third-place Phoenix.
After edging their way to 122-6, the Originals won thanks to an excellent start with the ball.
They reduced Phoenix to 22-5, with the top five, including Sophie Devine, Amy Jones and Ellyse Perry, all out for single-figure scores.
A partnership of 46 between Issy Wong and Georgia Elwiss helped Phoenix avoid making the lowest Hundred score, but Wong was stumped for 24 and Elwiss caught in the deep for 32.
Sophie Ecclestone took two wickets in the final five balls and completed a run-out as the hosts were bowled out for 104 on their 100th ball.
The Phoenix will still guarantee their place in the knockout stage if they win their final group game. The Originals must hope other results go their way and then win their final match on Wednesday.
What else happened?
- Emma Lamb and Lizelle Lee put on 53 for the first wicket for the Originals before falling for 30 and 20 respectively.
- There were also contributions from Erin Burns (28) and Ecclestone (20).
- Originals wicketkeeper Ellie Threlkeld took a superb catch standing up to the stumps off seamer Phoebe Graham to dismiss Perry.
- Ecclestone finished with impressive figures of 3-8 from 20 balls, which included the wickets of Phoebe Franklin and Kirstie Gordon in consecutive balls.
What's next?
The Phoenix's finale group match is against London Spirit at Lord's on Tuesday. The Originals' last match is on Wednesday against Oval Invincibles.