The Women's team has made the home fans happy. Can Birmingham Phoenix's Men's team to do the same today? They will be in action up next. Dan Mousley, Trent Boult and Will Smeed will be among the players to watch out for them. They will be up against an opposition which will have heavyweights like Joe Root, David Willey and Marcu Stoinis in their ranks.
Switch tabs to join the coverage of that match. From this window, it is the troika of Darpan Tikiya, Akshay Bhide and Bishal Mandal signing off. Sayonara!
Emma Lamb (Hero of the Match): "Absolutely. Buzzing that we got over the line. Happy with our performance.
It's my first year at Phoenix and I think the girls are telling me that we havenβt won a game here. Nice to get off to a good start.
I think itβs just about the mentality. Catch everything and attack the ball. We did that today and our energy was great today.
Rest up because we have got one day in between. Try to get fresh for Sunday."
Hero of the Match: Emma Lamb
Most runs in Womenβs Hundred: 1031 β Nat Sciver-Brunt 939 β
Danielle Wyatt-Hodge 871 β Laura
Wolvaardt 852 β
Sophia Dunkley 767 β Tammy
Beaumont
10:06 PM IST, 5:36 PM local time: Birmingham Phoenix Women start their campaign on a winning note! They thump Trent Rockets by 11 runs in their opening fixture.
Three things stood out for the home team today. The first, was Emma Lamb's impressive half-century. Her start was sedate but she did not let it get to her head. The opener ground out for a bit and then, began unfurling some commanding stokes. Her shot selection was wise and ball-striking robust. Her vigorous innings and effervescent cameos from Marie Kelly (23* off 10 balls) and Ailsa Lister (21 off 17 balls) helped the hosts put up a competitive on what was a sluggish wicket.
The second, and perhaps the most laudable aspect of their performance today, was the fielding. We saw some stunning catches throughout the second innings. Lister took three of them β one diving forward to dismiss Scrivens, one running back to get Graham out and one in the deep to send Bryony Smith back. Then, Mary Taylor pulled off a blinder to dismiss Natalie Sciver-Brunt in the final set. The latter's fifty, during which she completed 1,000 runs in this format β becoming the first player, male or female, to get there β was the only saving grace in what was otherwise a stop-start batting effort from the Rockets.
The third things, that might not be talked about as much, was the way their young spinners bowled. Together, Mary Taylor and Hannah Baker bowled 35 balls, gave 40 runs and picked 3 wickets. Those frugal sets tightened the noose in the middle overs, effectively knocking the visitors out of the contest.
Special mention to Alana King (2/30 in 20 balls) and Heather Graham (1/18 in 15 balls) who put in impressive performance with the ball in hand for the Rockets.