Alice Capsey’s devastating bowling performance propelled Oval Invincibles to a comfortable eight wicket win over the Birmingham Phoenix at the Oval in The Women’s Hundred.
The 18-year-old recorded the best numbers of the Invincibles competition, scoring 3-15 when the home team reigned victorious in cloudy conditions in the capital on Tuesday.
Seeking revenge for last season’s Eliminator defeat, Phoenix has won 107 wins, which the home team did a light job.
Fierce blows from Lauren Winfield-Hill (41), Dane van Niekerk (21) and Capsey (20) then saw the Invincibles return home with 13 balls in reserve.
Phoenix should have been full of confidence after picking up three wins in their first three games, but they looked completely shaken by the Invincibles’ impressive bowling attack.
The dizzying pace of Shabnim Ismail and the sensational rotation of Sophia Smale proved too difficult to manage for Phoenix’s top order on power play, with just 27 points coming from the top 30 serves.
Amy Jones has been in lavish shape for Phoenix so far this season, but she never started, snaking through to age 18 before leaving for Capsey.
Dangerous Australian star Ellyse Perry was also unable to raise the rate and only scored 10 points before falling to Mady Villiers’ favor.
Eve Jones was the batting choice of the Phoenix who scored a run-a-ball 29, but fell to Capsey just two deliveries later.
An Emily Arlott 15 cameo brought Phoenix above the 100 mark, but it still looked like a below average total for the opposing team.