The Analysis: Victory pulled out of the Fire

NICK HOWSON: At the fifth time of asking, Welsh Fire got the job done in the women's Hundred. Ten successive defeats across both teams was ended with a comeback victory over Northern Superchargers

Welsh Fire have got exactly what they've deserved during the women's Hundred. Four straight defeats which you could barely argue with. Bowling plans have been poor and the batting approach not much better.

There can be no doubt that victory over Northern Superchargers was exactly the same. It was a deserved reward for a performance where like any great side, they came good at the sharp end of both innings.

Tammy Beaumont is a World Cup winner and a four-time runner-up. She has 10 England centuries and is a former ICC No.1 batter in one-day internationals. There is nothing left for her to prove or achieve.

But it was etched all over her gleaming smile, and clear during the embraces and celebrations on the outfield, that this means something. The top three are out of reach, and another campaign is down the pan, but they'll leave it with their heads held high.

If the Fire were going down, they were determined to take Northern Superchargers with them. The Headingley-based side are not out for certain, but they're virtually playing for pride now.

At 62 for 3 through 60 deliveries, it looks like things were going in a familiar direction for Fire. Scoring was incredibly tough with the wicket proving slow and the ball skidding on.

And then Annabel Sutherland rolled the dice. She started playing across the line, smashing the ball to the rope twice, before countrywomen Nicola Carey picked up the baton with three switch-hit fours in a row.

^{Claire Nicholas claimed 2 for 17 (Harry Trump/Getty Images)}

Sutherland returned to smash a six up and down the ground before Lauren Filer cleared long off. Sixty-one off 40 deliveries and suddenly we had a game.

Beaumont remarked at the end of she was concerned the crowd would be thin, particularly for the women's game, given the wretched run both sides had been on. But a thrilling end to the innings engaged those starting the bank holiday weekend early and any latecomers who had clocked off.

Any momentum created during the twilight of the batting effort was carried into the chase. Alyssa Healy departed three deliveries in and Bess Heath followed, courtesy of Claire Nicholas who finished with 2 for 17.

Twice a KSL winner with Western Storm, the 35-year-old Nicholas won't be a household name but this was a day in the sun she won't forget in a hurry.

At 44 for 2 after 35 balls, Fire had dominated for more than an hour and had a tight grip on the contest. And then Laura Wolvaardt started doing Laura Wolvaardt things. If the South African goes on to dominate international cricket for the next 10 years (hopefully) as many expect, these kinds of cold-blooded innings may become her trademark.

But the outcome is everything. She and captain Hollie Armitage put on 90 for the third wicket in 81 balls and needed another 22 off 15 to keep themselves fully in top-three contention. 

In the space of 16 deliveries, the Welsh franchise pulled a victory out of the fire. Inspired by Beaumont, who put the onus on creating scoreboard pressure as Superchargers toyed with upping the scoring rate, they prayed on uncertainty.

Carey and Sutherland combined again to dismiss Wolvaardt and Rachael Haynes put her batting tribulations behind her with a smart catch to dismiss Heather Graham. Armitage and Alice Davidson-Richards followed before Sutherland returned. Four wickets and no boundaries from the final four sets decided the contest.

Laura Wolvaardt looked to be driving the Superchargers to victory (Harry Trump/Getty Images)

It has been questioned how much The Hundred can possibly mean after two seasons, how much followers of cricket traditionally used to supporting counties and having seen franchises land on their turf can possibly be engaged. Just a moment watching the celebrations both in the middle and in the stands in Cardiff, as Welsh Fire's XI assembled as a unit, as Welsh flags were unveiled and waved, as Beaumont walked off the field in pride, or as she emotionally addressed the pressure to perform for a devoted fanbase, would tell you how much it means.

"I'm incredibly relieved," she told Sky Sports, who she has been working for during the tournament. "I'm doing commentary again tomorrow and Nick Knight won't tell me we're not winning.

"For me, that was a proper team performance. It wasn't an easy wicket to bat on or to start on, and when Wolvardt and Hollie Armitage were going I thought 'here we go again' but once we got a few dots on them.

"We'd lost games from this situation and it gets very big very quickly in a chase and I was just trying to get that belief from the girls. They were great. 

"Nicola Carey, Annabel Sutherland at the end were as cool as anything at the end. That is why you want your overseas players to stand up at that time.

"It skidded on a lot and stayed low so anything cross bad was really hard to do. How Nicole Carey played those switch-hits I had no idea, I couldn't play a sweep shot. I thought 125 was par I was really happy with that. A couple of early wickets of their big players and just hanging on in the middle. 

"To clinch it at the back end was amazing."

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• Welsh Fire women off the mark as Northern Superchargers' last three hopes are dealt a major blow