Sophia Dunkley guided Welsh Fire to victory over Manchester Originals at Emirates Old Trafford in The Hundred, navigating a mid-innings wobble to see her side over the line with four balls to spare.
Dunkley’s 69 from just 47 balls formed the backbone of her side’s response to the home side’s total of 113-7, and it required some late acceleration from her to get the job done after Manchester Originals’ spin duo of Sophie Ecclestone and Fi Morris had stemmed the scoring rate and pegged Welsh Fire back.
With 12 runs needed from the final 10 balls, it was Dunkley’s calculated risk-taking against Ecclestone that proved most crucial, slapping her England team-mate for four through the covers and then repeating the dose behind square on the off side with a reverse-sweep.
Captain Ecclestone’s 15-ball 27 – including two customary lusty blows for six – had earlier given her Originals side something to bowl at after an underwhelming effort with the bat.
Her innings was the lone Originals knock of note, excluding the opening pair of Laura Woolvardt and Beth Mooney who started the day in imperious form, racing to a partnership of 58 with Woolvardt in particular playing some shots for the purists.
Dunkley’s half-century continued a trend of England Women’s players standing up to the big occasion in The Hundred, following her teammates Alice Capsey and Heather Knight – off the back of Head Coach Jon Lewis challenging his charges to dominate throughout the competition.
Meerkat Match Hero Sophia Dunkley said: “It definitely got a bit closer than we thought. I didn’t really feel in the innings for the first half of it. It was quite hard to time the ball, so I found it really difficult. But once you got the pace of the wicket it was easier. At the end I had to take some calculated risks and it got a bit close but luckily we got over the line.
“We were really happy with how we bowled and how we controlled the innings. Spin was definitely quite hard through the middle, and pace off the ball, so we knew it was going to be difficult but we were definitely pleased at the half-way point.
“I couldn’t time it too well throughout the middle. I tried to over-hit a little bit. I had to tell myself to keep calm, strike the ball and keep my head still – and managed to get a few away. I moved a little bit better towards the end and we got over the line, which was great.
“We were definitely heartbroken at the end of last year [exiting at The Hundred Elimintator] so we’ve got that grit about us that we want to try and go all the way, and redeem ourselves a little bit. We’re just really looking forward to getting going in the competition.”