122/6 (20.0)
CR : 6.10
121/5 (20.0)
CR : 6.05
Welsh Fire Women won by 4 wickets 🏆
Player of the Match
Heather Graham
2/2335(28)*
19.5
1
Lauren Bell to Heather Graham
WELSH FIRE WIN! Heather Graham finds the gap and gets her team over the line. Length ball at the off stump, slower ball. Graham leans forward and drives it past the left of catching cover. The mid off fielder dives to her left and stops it but by then the batters have completed the run. Southern Brave's winning streak has been broken. Welsh Fire win by 4 wickets!
Heather Graham has done it for Welsh Fire. She finds the gap and finds the single. Sophia Gardens erupts. Welsh Fire have handed Southern Brave their first defeat in this year's competition.
Over 20
Welsh Fire Women 122/6
Niamh Holland12(8)
Heather Graham35(28)
Lauren Bell1-27(20 b)
WF-W won by 4 wickets
10:19 PM IST & 5:49 PM Local Time: A final-ball thriller comes to an end at Sophia Gardens! Welsh Fire hold their nerve in the closing moments to pull off a memorable four-wicket victory. These are massive four points for Welsh Fire as they bring Southern Brave's winning streak to a halt.
Earlier in the day, Southern Brave won the toss and elected to bat first, but their innings got off to a disastrous start as they lost both openers inside the powerplay. The Welsh Fire bowlers kept things tight and applied plenty of pressure, restricting the hosts to 19/2 after the first 25 balls.
Laura Wolvaardt and Jemimah Rodrigues then came together to rebuild the innings with a crucial partnership. The pair added 49 runs for the third wicket and steadied the ship after the early setbacks. Wolvaardt looked set for a half-century but fell agonisingly short, departing for 48. Rodrigues contributed 25, while Sophie Molineux chipped in with 12 and Jodi Grewcock remained unbeaten on 13 to help Southern Brave push past the 120-run mark. The hosts eventually finished with 121/5 from their 100 balls. Grace Potts (2/14) and Heather Graham (2/23) were the standout performers with the ball for Welsh Fire.
In reply, Welsh Fire made a watchful start to the chase. Lauren Bell struggled to find her rhythm with the new ball, but Tilly Corteen-Coleman provided the breakthrough and then struck again in the same set to remove both openers. Those wickets put Southern Brave firmly on top as Welsh Fire slipped to 32/2 at the end of the powerplay.
Corteen-Coleman continued her impressive spell by dismissing Freya Kemp for 9, while Issy Wong soon removed Orla Prendergast for 5. Welsh Fire suddenly found themselves in deep trouble at 49/4, and at the halfway stage they were 57/4, still needing 65 runs from the final 50 balls.
The strategic timeout arrived after the 12th set, but Southern Brave maintained the pressure as Lauren Bell dismissed Georgia Wareham for 16 shortly after play resumed. Despite the setbacks, Heather Graham (35* off 28) refused to let the chase slip away. She anchored the innings superbly, took the game deep and kept Welsh Fire's hopes alive.
With 8 runs required from the final set, Graham and Niamh Holland held their nerve to guide Welsh Fire over the line in a thrilling finish. Niamh Holland played a valuable unbeaten cameo of 12 off 8 balls, while Grace Thompson contributed a handy 16 off 12. Tilly Corteen-Coleman was the pick of the Southern Brave bowlers with excellent figures of 3/27, but it was Welsh Fire who emerged victorious by 4 wickets, bringing Southern Brave's winning streak to an end.
Earlier in the day, Southern Brave won the toss and elected to bat first, but their innings got off to a disastrous start as they lost both openers inside the powerplay. The Welsh Fire bowlers kept things tight and applied plenty of pressure, restricting the hosts to 19/2 after the first 25 balls.
Laura Wolvaardt and Jemimah Rodrigues then came together to rebuild the innings with a crucial partnership. The pair added 49 runs for the third wicket and steadied the ship after the early setbacks. Wolvaardt looked set for a half-century but fell agonisingly short, departing for 48. Rodrigues contributed 25, while Sophie Molineux chipped in with 12 and Jodi Grewcock remained unbeaten on 13 to help Southern Brave push past the 120-run mark. The hosts eventually finished with 121/5 from their 100 balls. Grace Potts (2/14) and Heather Graham (2/23) were the standout performers with the ball for Welsh Fire.
In reply, Welsh Fire made a watchful start to the chase. Lauren Bell struggled to find her rhythm with the new ball, but Tilly Corteen-Coleman provided the breakthrough and then struck again in the same set to remove both openers. Those wickets put Southern Brave firmly on top as Welsh Fire slipped to 32/2 at the end of the powerplay.
Corteen-Coleman continued her impressive spell by dismissing Freya Kemp for 9, while Issy Wong soon removed Orla Prendergast for 5. Welsh Fire suddenly found themselves in deep trouble at 49/4, and at the halfway stage they were 57/4, still needing 65 runs from the final 50 balls.
The strategic timeout arrived after the 12th set, but Southern Brave maintained the pressure as Lauren Bell dismissed Georgia Wareham for 16 shortly after play resumed. Despite the setbacks, Heather Graham (35* off 28) refused to let the chase slip away. She anchored the innings superbly, took the game deep and kept Welsh Fire's hopes alive.
With 8 runs required from the final set, Graham and Niamh Holland held their nerve to guide Welsh Fire over the line in a thrilling finish. Niamh Holland played a valuable unbeaten cameo of 12 off 8 balls, while Grace Thompson contributed a handy 16 off 12. Tilly Corteen-Coleman was the pick of the Southern Brave bowlers with excellent figures of 3/27, but it was Welsh Fire who emerged victorious by 4 wickets, bringing Southern Brave's winning streak to an end.
Hero of the Match: Heather Graham
Heather Graham (Hero of the Match): "[Thoughts on the game?] Yeah, it was a pretty good game. The last couple of games, we finished on the wrong side. To win today, it was pleasing to the group. We had the confidence. To win this type of game in front of the home crowd, it was really special.
[Thoughts on the first-innings total?] We talked about keeping them under 120 during the Time Out. We were on the losing side in the first game. To come out victorious today was really good.
[On Thompson and Holland's knocks] For Thompson, to come in her first ever Hundred game, to come in and smack the ball, it was unbelievable. Also for Niamh to come in and hit the ball and run, it became easy for me.
[What's the key to succeed in such close matches?] I have got enough experience under my belt now. But I'm always nervous. I have played for a lot of years now. I have played in a lot of close games. You rely on that experience."
[Thoughts on the first-innings total?] We talked about keeping them under 120 during the Time Out. We were on the losing side in the first game. To come out victorious today was really good.
[On Thompson and Holland's knocks] For Thompson, to come in her first ever Hundred game, to come in and smack the ball, it was unbelievable. Also for Niamh to come in and hit the ball and run, it became easy for me.
[What's the key to succeed in such close matches?] I have got enough experience under my belt now. But I'm always nervous. I have played for a lot of years now. I have played in a lot of close games. You rely on that experience."
Georgia Wareham (Welsh Fire Women Captain): "[Thoughts on that close finish] I hate watching games that are close like that; I would have much rather been out there. But yeah, we like to make it close, especially against the Brave. It's really nice to be on the right side of this one.
[Confidence levels at the innings break?] I thought we bowled brilliantly. We stuck to our strengths and executed what we spoke about pre-game, which was trying to hit the stumps and keeping it simple. We bowled really well against them in the first game as well.
I don't want to relive it again [Last five balls]! But Niamh was amazing, she came in and just got the job done, and Grace Thompson as well. Coming in for her first game and playing the way she did was awesome.
[On the youngsters] When they're batting with someone like Heather Graham at the other end who's so experienced and has played so much cricket, that really steadies the ship. But we trust their game, too. They just go out there and play their way, and they did that today. Credit to Heather as well; she played an incredible innings to get us across the line.
[How vital these four points are?] Yeah. We feel like we've actually played some really good cricket, but we've probably just lost games in the space of 20 balls. So this is massive for momentum, and hopefully, we can keep rolling from here."
[Confidence levels at the innings break?] I thought we bowled brilliantly. We stuck to our strengths and executed what we spoke about pre-game, which was trying to hit the stumps and keeping it simple. We bowled really well against them in the first game as well.
I don't want to relive it again [Last five balls]! But Niamh was amazing, she came in and just got the job done, and Grace Thompson as well. Coming in for her first game and playing the way she did was awesome.
[On the youngsters] When they're batting with someone like Heather Graham at the other end who's so experienced and has played so much cricket, that really steadies the ship. But we trust their game, too. They just go out there and play their way, and they did that today. Credit to Heather as well; she played an incredible innings to get us across the line.
[How vital these four points are?] Yeah. We feel like we've actually played some really good cricket, but we've probably just lost games in the space of 20 balls. So this is massive for momentum, and hopefully, we can keep rolling from here."
That's all we have for you from Sophia Gardens! Southern Brave's impressive winning streak has finally come to an end with Welsh Fire producing a spirited performance to keep their campaign alive. It was a hard-fought victory for the hosts, who held their nerve in a thrilling finish to claim four valuable points.
The action doesn't stop here, though, as the Men's teams from these two franchises will be in action shortly. Do join us for that. For now, this is Pritam Dey signing off on behalf of my co-commentator Akshay Bhide who, along with scorer/analyst Raju Khariya brought all the updates of this clash. Stay tuned for more cricketing action from around the world. BYE BYE👋
The action doesn't stop here, though, as the Men's teams from these two franchises will be in action shortly. Do join us for that. For now, this is Pritam Dey signing off on behalf of my co-commentator Akshay Bhide who, along with scorer/analyst Raju Khariya brought all the updates of this clash. Stay tuned for more cricketing action from around the world. BYE BYE👋