Match Preview – Phoenix vs. Invincibles, The Hundred Women’s Competition 2021, Eliminator
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The winner of the Eliminator on Friday at The Oval will face Southern Brave in the finals
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One month after the opening night of the Hundred, The Oval will again host the playoff on Friday between the teams that finished second and third in the group stage and play for the right to Southern Brave in Saturday’s final.
While the Hundred had discussions about its advantages or other advantages of English football, there was widespread agreement that the women’s competition was a clear success: the attendance numbers exceeded expectations, the quality was generally high, the players welcomed the chance to play on larger courts and the local audience has loudly spoken out in favor of their new teams.
It is therefore a fortunate coincidence that Oval Invincibles are involved in the Eliminator. They have had a season of ups and downs struggling with the injuries of two of their three South African overseas players, Marizanne Kapp and Shabnim Ismail, but their world-class bowling attack paved the way for them and their local players set off important moments .Captain Dane van Niekerk has the luxury of being able to share all 100 balls in an inning between international players – 60 between Kapp, Ismail and herself and 40 between England’s Tash Farrant and Mady Villiers – but he also made good use of Alice Capsey’s time off and turned occasionally to Grace Gibbs’ medium pace.
Their line-up didn’t quite click, with Fran Wilson in third place desperately running out of runs, but van Nierkerk has found some agility since shuffling at the opening. They advance to the final after a sobering loss to Southern Brave in which they lost 85 to 116; they can’t afford a hangover.
Their opponent, Birmingham Phoenix, looked dead and buried at halftime of the season after losing four in their first five games, but has stood out thanks to three wins at the spin – including a Tiger defense of 147 in their effective quarter-finals against Northern Superchargers on Tuesday when they pressed the middle order to trigger a breakdown.
In the spotlight
17-year-old Alice Capsey was one of Hundred’s breakout stars and has impressed with both bat and ball for Invincibles. She is her third highest run scorer and second highest wicket taker, hits the ball powerfully over the cover and fires in shallow off breaks with good effect. There has already been talk of whether it is too early to throw her into the English squads and while that can certainly wait, she has another chance to prove herself on the big stage after previously winning the London derby at Lord’s 59 of 40 balls hit in the competition.Amy Jones has yet to score a match-winning score in the Hundred – her highest score is not 42 – but her positive attitude in the middle has been an important part of her success with the racket. She has the second highest hit rate in the competition (160.22) out of Battern with 100+ runs and has improved significantly against spin in the last 18 months since she was moved down the order on the English T20I team.
Team news
Invincibles have been without Kapp and Ismail due to injuries at various stages but are expected to be in full strength on Friday and likely to stick with the team that helped them finish second.
Invincible (probably): 1 Georgia Adams, 2 Dane van Niekerk (Capt), 3 Fran Wilson, 4 Marizanne Kapp, 5 Alice Capsey, 6 Mady Villiers, 7 Jo Gardner, 8 Grace Gibbs, 9 Sarah Bryce (week), 10 Tash Farrant, 11 Shabnim Ismail
Phoenix has the undesirable job of replacing Verma, but Jones has been backing their squad to cover their absence. One of her two Australians is likely to move up at the opening, with Marie Kelly coming in the middle tier. Georgia Elwiss missed her last game with a left thumb injury and Phoenix said Thursday that they “remain hopeful” that she will be fit.
Phoenix (possible): 1 Eve Jones, 2 Katie Mack, 3 Amy Jones (capt / week), 4 Marie Kelly, 5 Erin Burns, 6 Gwenan Davies, 7 Georgia Elwiss / Phoebe Franklin, 8 Emily Arlott, 9 Issy Wong, 10 Kirstie Gordon, 11 Abtaha Maqsood
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Matt Roller is Associate Editor at ESPNcricinfo. @ mroller98
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