The Analysis: Welsh Fire Women v London Spirit Women

ELIZABETH BOTCHERBY: London Spirit required something of a mathematical miracle to qualify for Friday’s Eliminator but captain Heather Knight may come rue her choice of opening batters

Captaincy has occupied more than its fair share of column inches over the past week or so, kickstarted by the contrasting fortunes of Joe Root and Virat Kohli on day five of the second England-India Test at Lord’s.

At the end of the final round of men’s group matches in The Hundred, Eoin Morgan might also find himself at the centre of a leadership discussion. Imagine if London Spirit, led by England’s white-ball captain, collect the wooden spoon.

However, for now, it’s Morgan’s London Spirit counterpart, Heather Knight, who is the spotlight after her side fell agonisingly short of qualifying for Friday’s eliminator match despite beating Welsh Fire at Sophia Gardens.

Knight’s side headed into the match requiring a minor, mathematical miracle to finish in the top three. Lying in seventh position with three wins and four defeats but just two points behind third-placed Birmingham Phoenix, Spirit needed either a winning margin in excess of 76 runs if batting first, or a successful chase inside 41 balls.

The England captain won the toss and elected to bowl, believing her side would be in a better position to steal a quick victory if they had a target in sight while also praying Welsh Fire suffered a collapse similar to the one seen in Cardiff against Trent Rockets just under a fortnight ago.

Initially her decision appeared to have backfired, with Bryony Smith and then Georgia Redmayne smashing seven powerplay boundaries to propel Welsh Fire to 35 for 1 after 25 balls. However, the middle 50 deliveries were characterised by tight bowling and spirited fielding, most notably balls 35 to 50 which saw the home side lose four wickets for just five runs. Every bowler played their part - Deepti Sharma was tidy as ever, finishing with figures of 2 for 14; Dani Gibson (2 for 10) was miserly; Charlie Dean, Freya Davies and Sophie Munro bowled with maturity. Every player fielded for all they were worth, cutting off twos and hunting in packs on the boundary.

But it was Knight, herself, who was the biggest surprise. She brought herself on to bowl the first set after the powerplay, a decision questioned by the commentator, who considered the allrounder capable of bowling a poor delivery every three or four balls. Her first five balls were indeed expensive in the context of Welsh Fire’s poor batting, conceding seven runs. The next 15 yielded two wickets – Piepa Cleary and Redmayne – and just 10 runs, and they were all bowled during that 50-ball assault.

The final 25 balls were a tad disappointing, with a dropped catch from Munro, four leg byes conceded by 'keeper Tammy Beaumont, a missed stumping by the same culprit and a couple of mis-fields. But, after restricting the Welsh outfit to 95 for 9, London Spirit had added a couple of feet onto their lifeline.

However, while her decisions in the field, both her bowling changes and her field placement, were on point, Knight will be ruing one fatal batting decision: retaining Chloe Tryon as an opener.

The South African is an explosive batter, with a T20I strike rate of 139.66, but has struggled to capture the same form in The Hundred, scoring 37 runs in six appearances before this match. In her place, other players have shone, with Gibson, admittedly not a natural opener, possessing a strike rate in excess of 160; Sharma expertly steering Spirit to victory over Manchester Originals two games prior; and West Indies international Deandra Dottin no slouch when in comes to clearing the boundary. And then there’s Knight herself, her side’s runaway leading run-scorer (176) heading into this match, a player with a 50+ knock in every outing for Western Storm since the easing of lockdown last summer, and a familiar face for incumbent opener Beaumont.

In the words of @ejrainfordbrent, this match is getting spicy! 😲🌶️ #TheHundred pic.twitter.com/cdOpVttUuQ

— The Hundred (@thehundred) August 18, 2021

Instead, she opted to stick with Tryon. And what a costly decision it proved to be.

Tryon and Beaumont’s opening partnership ate up 12 of Spirit’s 41-ball allowance and returned just 12 runs before the out of form batter was removed for four by Hayley Matthews (caught Nicole Harvey). Knight walked out and found the boundary with her first ball – it would be one of seven fours struck by Spirit’s captain off just 19 deliveries.

Dottin, arriving in the middle with 18 balls used up, smashed 12 runs off six balls, her intent obvious despite the brevity of her stay. And Gibson, well, she matched Knight pound for pound - 19 balls, 34 runs, seven fours and a strike rate of 178.94 – and dispatched three consecutive deliveries from Georgia Hennessy over the boundary rope.

Together, Knight and Gibson shared a 60-run partnership off 33 balls to steer London Spirit to victory with 42 deliveries remaining. A strong finish to the tournament for Spirit, who end their maiden Hundred campaign in fourth position, and a real statement of intent for the 2022 edition.

However, one thought will probably occupy Knight’s mind on Friday as she settles down to watch Birmingham Phoenix take on Oval Invincibles in the Eliminator: what if I’d changed my batting order? It’s true, London Spirit required some spectacular boundary hitting to overhaul Phoenix’s net run rate. But after masterminding a commanding performance in the field which tilted the odds marginally in her side's favour, Knight is guilty of leaving her best weapons on the bench when a top-three finish remained within her grasp.