Watch: Shabnim Ismail claimed a stunning hat-trick with the last three balls of the Hundred clash between Welsh Fire and Birmingham Phoenix, turning a tight chase on its head.
Birmingham Phoenix seemed to have the game in the bag when Tess Flintoff hit the second ball of the final set for four to take the target to four needed in three balls. In a flash, it was all over, and Welsh Fire had wrapped up a three-run win.
Welsh Fire had put up a competitive 137-7, with Tammy Beaumont’s half-century the leading hand. But a strong performance from the Birmingham Phoenix looked to have put the result beyond doubt. Sophie Devine smashed 29 to get her side off to a flier, before a half-century from Flintoff and an unbeaten 48 from Amy Jones took Phoenix to within one blow of victory.
Some tight bowling had kept Welsh Fire in the hunt, and with 13 needed from six, they might have been favourites, before a boundary from each batter changed the game again. At this point, Ismail had bowled 17 balls for 31 runs and taken no wickets.
All of a sudden, that changed. Flintoff, the top scorer, was first to go, with a full, straight delivery from the recent South Africa retiree sneaking through the bat-pad gap. Erin Burns lasted just one ball, edging to short third. Issy Wong, expensive earlier in the day, walked in with four needed off the last. She swung, missed, and Ismail hit.
Welsh Fire remain the only unbeaten team in the women’s Hundred in 2023. Birmingham Phoenix remain winless.
Watch the match-winning Shabnim Ismail hat-trick below:
Shabnim Ismail’s hat-trick in all its glory 😍⏯#TheHundred pic.twitter.com/tDTpa2uSMw
— The Hundred (@thehundred) August 10, 2023
