Southern Brave stay perfect to qualify for knockouts

There were two wickets apiece for Lauren Bell and Sophie Devine as Welsh Fire were restricted to just 111 for 6 before Brave snuck home on the penultimate ball of their innings

ECB Media | 20/08/2025 at 14:48

Cardiff: Welsh Fire 111-6, Southern Brave 112-7 - Southern Brave won by three wickets

Top of the table Southern Brave continued their unbeaten start to this year's Women's Hundred and guaranteed themselves a top-three finish with a nervy penultimate-ball victory over a spirited Welsh Fire.

Needing six runs from the final five, Mady Villiers was run out coming back for two from the first delivery of the set before Georgia Adams was almost brilliantly caught in the deep as she and Rhianna Southby scampered back for two and got the Brave over the line with a ball to spare.

Put into bat, Welsh Fire lost the big wicket of Hayley Matthews early, the West Indian lbw to Sophie Devine for a first-ball duck.

Sophia Dunkley looked to be continuing her form from the Kia Oval on Saturday, starting brightly and hitting four commanding boundaries.

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^{It was an agonising defeat for Welsh Fire (ECB Media)}

The Brave made another important strike when Lauren Bell had Tammy Beaumont (7) brilliantly caught by Maia Boucher at mid-on as the Fire reached 32 for 2 at the end of the powerplay.

The impressive Tilly Corteen-Coleman returned to the attack to see the back of Dunkley (31), the spinner inducing a false cut shot to have the England batter caught behind by Southby.

Georgia Elwiss reached a run-a-ball 36 not out as the Fire closed their innings on 111 for 6. Bell changed her pace and length expertly to finish with figures of 2 for 21.

Bouchier and Danni Wyatt-Hodge played positively and untroubled, taking the score to 32 for 0 after the powerplay and reducing the runs required to just 80.

Fire then struck back to stay in the game. Wyatt-Hodge (18) was caught fantastically by Jess Jonassen at mid-off off Georgia Davis, and Jonassen then came into the attack and removed Bouchier (35) and Laura Wolvaardt (3).

Devine countered with a huge slog-swept six off Davis to relieve some pressure and Freya Kemp then deposited Freya Davies into the stands to take the Brave closer to their target, but Kemp (17) fell soon after, caught by Shabnim Ismail at long-off off Jonassen.

Chloe Tryon then went for a duck as Jonassen finished with exceptional figures of 4 for 10 before Devine (25) skied Matthews to Davies to leave the Brave needing 10 from the last 10 and then six from the final five.