1:43pm Phew. What a finish. And what an innings by Perry. But there is more Hundred action to dive into still today. There is a game in the women's comp, and one in the men's comp starting in less than an hour. We would love for you to tune in to both of those. Until next time, from Sudeep, Thilak and myself (Shashwat), it is goodbye!
Ellyse Perry, Player of the Match: Lovely to win at home, amazing atmosphere. Beautiful morning to play cricket. We did well to restrict them - all the girls chipped in. Just timed it in the end and nice to get over the line. The results have not been there for us. But we have gelled well. Have been good patches but had not put together a complete game. There has been a lot of tight games and teams chasing…slow down at the back end. Partnerships are crucial. Had the opportunity to take it deep, and we got there in the end. Credit to them (Fire) - they did really well to peg it back. Great contest. (Final few balls) Felt like I had faced enough balls to have a feel of the pitch. Was just two hits in the end. The game was always on a knife-edge. There has been so much change in this competition. We have only three members from last season. Really love the way we have gone about it. Effort is there, so you just have to wait until it all comes together, and today is a nice start for us.
1:36pm Magnificent. Just magnificent. How often has Perry done this? And how often can she still keep doing this? The Phoenix brought this a lot closer than they would have liked. When 25 were needed off 20, they were cruising, with Capsey, on a half-century herself, and Perry looking solid. But then Capsey fell and Dercksen scratched around, meaning the onus shifted solely onto Perry. And she responded like only she can.
The Fire will feel they did well to stretch out this game, having been put under pressure through the middle. But they might leave this contest feeling they could have sewn it up too, having brought the equation down to 12 off 5. A first win for the Phoenix nevertheless, and the Welsh Fire still await their second W of the season.
Abdul Wali : "When I opened cricinfo and saw that 10 runs needed in 3 balls and Ellyse Perry is on strike i said to my self that she will score it easily"
4 off 2
