The Hundred Women’s 2022, Match 20 Review: Sophie Ecclestone stars as Manchester Originals complete a thumping victory over Birmingham Phoenix

Manchester Originals Women beat the Birmingham Phoenix Women in a group stage match of the 2022 Hundred competition played on August 28 (Sunday). England’s Sophie Ecclestone showed an excellent display of batting and bowling as she helped her side to gain two crucial points on the table.

Talking about the match, the Phoenix won the toss and decided to have a bowl first. The Originals opening batters Emma Lamb and Lizelle Lee provided an excellent start with the bat as they both stitched a 50+ runs partnership. However, Phoenix bowlers made a good comeback in the match and scalped four quick wickets.

Batters including Lamb, Lee, Amy Satterthwaite, and Erin Burns got starts with the bat but none of them managed to convert it to a big total. Some late hitting from Ecclestone meant that the Manchester side crosses the 120-run mark in their allotted 100 balls. For the bowling side, Kirstie Gordon, Emily Arlott, and Issy Wong were successful bowlers. 

Chasing 123 to win, Phoenix batters gave a disastrous start to their team

Chasing a small total of 123 runs in their allotted 100 deliveries, the Phoenix top-order meekly surrendered against the Originals bowling line-up. The top five batters including Eve Jones, skipper Sophie Devine, wicketkeeper-batter Amy Jones, Australia’s star all-rounder Ellyse Perry and Sophie Molineux failed to cross the double-digit mark.

A late fightback from Georgia Elwiss (32 off 35 balls) and Issy Wong  (24 off 26 balls) meant that the Phoenix side manage to cross the 100-run mark in their allotted 100 deliveries, but it was too late for them to win the contest as finished on 104/10 after playing their full quota of 100 balls. 

As mentioned above, Ecclestone was the pick of the bowlers as the left-arm spinner scalped a total of three wickets. Apart from Ecclestone, Cross (two wickets), Jones (two wickets), Phoebe Graham (one wicket), and Erin Burns (one wicket) were the wicket-takers for their team as the Manchester Originals completed a resounding victory over the Phoenix side.