Oval Invincibles 163 for 2 (Bates 79*, Kapp 36*) beat Manchester Originals 131 for 6 (Lee 64) by 32 runs
Oval Invincibles qualified for the Women’s Hundred final in style, racking up the highest score of this year’s competition as they brushed Manchester Originals aside by 32 runs at Emirates Old Trafford.
Knowing that a victory would guarantee them top spot and an automatic berth to the final, the Invincibles won the toss and chose to bat first, a decision justified by the fluent start provided by the experienced opening pairing of Bates and Lauren Winfield-Hill.
The pair had raced to 62 in just 43 balls when Winfield-Hill was caught by Erin Burns in the deep of Emma Lamb for 25 but New Zealander Bates was undeterred, bringing up an impressive fifty off 33 balls, before Alice Capsey was bowled by Sophie Ecclestone for 18 trying to keep the runs flowing.
That brought Kapp to the crease, returning to the team after missing the last two outings, and she and Bates played powerfully around the ground to elevate their team to an impressive 163 with an unbroken partnership of 67 from just 36 balls.
Bates’ innings of 79 featured nine fours and two sixes, while Kapp’s 36 contained five boundaries, including one maximum.
That total was just short of the overall record team total for the Women’s Hundred – 166 set by Southern Brave last year – but Invincibles will take satisfaction from knowing that their victory, coupled with the Brave’s shock defeat to Northern Superchargers earlier in the day means they will avoid having to play in Friday night’s Eliminator at Brave’s expense.
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Originals had an academic target to chase the runs down in 72 balls for a spot in the play-offs, which seemed unlikely when Emma Lamb was bowled by Smale without scoring. Bates and Kapp then combined again, as Amy Satterthwaite was caught by the former off the latter’s bowling for just two.
Lee’s lone hand was set against the wickets that tumbled around her. Burns was bowled by Smale for five, Sophie Ecclestone was caught by Capsey off Kapp for one, and Daisy Mullan was run out for nine on her Hundred debut.
Lee reached her fifty off 34 balls before finally perishing for 64 off 41, caught on the boundary off Eva Gray, to a warm ovation from the appreciative home crowd.
Ami Campbell restored some pride in Originals’ performance, striking a couple of boundaries in a run-a-ball 23, but it wasn’t enough to save her side from elimination.
Joe Boaden is writing for the ECB’s Hundred Rising Reporter programme
Source: ESPN Crickinfo