Birmingham Phoenix Women vs London Spirit Women Match 28 Full Commentary

The players are back onto the field. The Spirit come out with an understandably good mood, followed by the two openers of the Phoenix - Davina Perrin and well, it is Jemima Spence and not Tammy Beaumont. So they too, are flirting with their batting order. Marizanne Kapp has the new ball in her hand and Perrin will face. 141 needed from 100 balls.

... THE RUN CHASE ...

Momentum with Spirit? Not too long ago, MI London defended 122 against the Spirit themselves at this venue. The pitch looks a difficult one to bat on and the Phoenix have a formidable task in front of them. The Powerplay could have a say in the match result.

Love to bowl at Lord's - That's what the Queen says, as she comes up for a chat with Simon Doull. Alana King says she always loves to bowl at Lord's as it always offers a bit of spin. Details that she got the ball in the right areas and feels delighted to have got the execution right. Is quick to call it a decent wicket to bat once you get settled in. Is hopeful that their top order well get the job done. On being asked about what were the right areas to bowl on the pitch, King explains that bowling on a length was an ideal option as hitting down the ground at Lord's is a bit easy. Says bowling down the slope is always nice here. Also adds that bowling from the Media Center End seems to be working well for her. When Simon Doull asks her what is going to be the key while chasing, King shares that Perry just had a talk where she stressed about getting yourselves settled in as it is a tricky wicket especially against the new ball. But says once the ball gets softer, it gets easier to bat on. She references how the London Spirit batters cashed on in the backend. On being asked whether she is getting a promotion in the batting order, King cheekily says that she hopes she is not even required and they just get the job done before that. But agrees that there has been a little bit of a shift in the batting order.

A struggle with the bat - That's what the Spirit found for most of the innings. Amy Jones was looking at ease but the others simply struggled. She fell soon after the Powerplay and after that, the Spirit kind of hit a block. Towards the end, Marizanne Kapp found some runs and some luck, as she was dropped in the 19th set, allowing her to finish unbeaten on a brilliant 57 (28) with 6 sixes. She found a good ally in Nadine De Klerk and that unbeaten 5th wicket stand of 40 (13) could well be the difference between the two sides. Also, the Spirit's batting order invoked three questions - 1. Kapp coming in after Kelly. 2. Dean coming in before De Klerk and Dottin. 3. Dottin not coming out to bat at all. Maybe, they were experimenting. Maybe, it was just a bad decision.

Disciplined bowling performance - Leave aside the last two sets, and it will be fair to say that the Phoenix summed up the conditions pretty well. In the very first set, Fatima Sana was bowling cross seamers, which showed that the unit knew very early, that pace off was the way to go on this pitch. Sana set the tone with the new ball and Filer followed her. Then, Perry threw the ball to Alana King and in her very first set, there was massive spin. Seeing that, Perry decided to use spin primarily as 11 out of the 14 sets post the Powerplay were bowled by spinners. Everyone bowled well, but that gamble to bowl Capsey in the 19th could come back and haunt the Phoenix. Perry herself might have been a better option.

Come over, everyone - That's the message from skipper Ellyse Perry as she gets the Birmingham Phoenix Women into a huddle. The last 10 balls have been nothing short of a shock for the visitors. It started with Perry's gamble to bowl Alice Capsey in the 19th set and the Spirit took all the momentum from that set to finish on a high. But, the match is not done yet, will be the message from the world's greatest allrounder in Women's cricket.

The physio comes running out again, for the concussion check on De Klerk. She looks fine and we are all set to resume and end.

Alice Capsey looks in serious pain here. Seems like she landed awkwardly on her left shoulder. The medics and the physio are out in the middle. Eventually, ALICE CAPSEY IS WALKING OFF THE FIELD. Multiple problems for the Phoenix. A - Capsey's last set goes for 21 runs and B - Looking at Alice, they might not have her available for batting in the run chase. Lauren Filer to finish things off. 0/11 in 15 balls so far.

Oh dear. Insult to injury. The OVERRATE PENALTY has been imposed on the Phoenix. Only four fielders allowed outside the circle for the remaining 6 balls.

Alice Capsey will bowl out. Big gamble. 1/24 in 15 balls so far.

Will we see Nadine De Klerk now at least? Yes. In at number 6, replacing her skipper, Charlie Dean.

Will we see pace return? Not yet. Alana King returns instead. 1/14 in 15 balls so far.

Another dead rubber loading - Okay then, that wraps things up here. Time now for the men to take over at Lord's. And much like their female counterparts, both London Spirit and Birmingham Phoenix have already been knocked out of contention in the men's competition too. And this one is also purely a matter of salvaging some pride. Can Spirit complete the double over Phoenix? Or will the visitors have something to say about it? We will find out soon enough. But let's hope it is not one-sided like this one. The toss is just around the corner, with the first ball scheduled for 5 pm GMT. Join us there. Cheers!

PLAYER OF THE MATCH - The award goes to London Spirit's MARIZANNE KAPP for her breathtaking unbeaten 57 (28) with the bat and later, 1/10 in 15 deliveries with the ball. Stuart Broad is the one interviewing her and he asks Kapp as what makes Lord's so special for her. To this, Kapp smiles (for a change) and says that the atmosphere makes it special for her. Details that she has heard about Lord's as a kid and in the last 2 years, feels blessed to be able to play here. On Broad asking her reactions on being picked by the Spirit, Marizanne actually bursts into peals of laughter as she honestly says that she was very happy when the Spirit called her to play as she always wanted to play at Lord's. Coming to the serious topic, Stuart now asks Kapp's opinion on her team's struggle this season, including on their home ground. To this, MK admits that the team has not been batting that well. Explains that the batters have been slow to adapt to the conditions and this match was the first time in this season that the unit actually put on a decent score.

... The Presentation ...

Kapp, the rescuer - The home side got one thing right in this match. Their batters didn't throw it away cheaply, dialling back the fireworks for safer, risk-free strokes. However, the batting reshuffle from the Spirit was a bit puzzling at first. With hitters like Nadine De Klerk and Dottin still to come, Dean got the promotion instead. Nothing personal against her, but you always want your biggest guns out there doing most of the damage. Spirit still finished with real teeth in that first innings, regardless of their slump early on. With just ten balls to go, this looked well within reach for Phoenix, before 37 runs off the last two sets flipped the momentum on its head. Driving that surge was Kapp, as her classy 57 breathed new life to their innings. De Klerk chipped in with a late flourish of her own too in the end which was precious. For the starters, Jones, earlier on, had built a promising platform up top but couldn't convert that into a big score. With the ball, Alana King stayed miserly as ever, the pick of the bowlers with two wickets, while Sana and Filer did well to keep things tight in the early overs. The likes of Capsey proved to be expensive, which proved costly for the visitors in the end.

Hunted in a pack - It was a complete, all round bowling display from Spirit, start to finish. They trapped the opposition through that tricky new ball phase, then simply kept chipping away with wickets at regular intervals, something Phoenix could never quite manage themselves. In the end, it all came down to preserving wickets first and pushing on afterward, and that was exactly the difference between the two sides on this surface. Charlie Dean starred with a three-for, whereas contributions came raining in from every bowler. Except for Katie George, everyone picked up at least one wicket to cap off a near-perfect day at the office for the hosts.

Never really took off - With a batting lineup stacked full of experience and no shortage of matchwinners, Phoenix still contrived to slip early doors yet again. This was always a surface where the new ball made life awkward, before easing off and turning fairly hospitable for batting once the new ball lost its hardness. And as the old cricketing wisdom goes, never rush to conclusions until both sides have had a go on the same pitch. Spirit went to 24/1 in the Powerplay, while Phoenix managed a sluggish 21/1 in their own. The real blow, though, arrived when Perry fell cheaply, and from there the house simply came crashing down for Phoenix. Perrin had a scratchy stay, and so did Capsey, while Beaumont, demoted down the order, couldn't make much of an impact either. Barring Emma Lamb's 36, nobody really played an innings of substance, and the visitors kept sliding, from 47/2 all the way down to 108/8, never once finding the stability needed to chase this down.

6-0! Pure dominance from the Spirit as they once again rule over the Phoenix, having extended their lead to six wins and zero defeats. It was a day where the home side was under the pump for a major portion at the start, only to find a way to roar back in the second half. Both sides had already been knocked out of contention, but this was by far the most convincing performance by London Spirit Women, while trouble simply refuses to let up for Perry's brigade in a season they would like to forget very quickly. They have managed just one win this year so far.

Alana King had hoped at the innings break that she would not be needed. She has been forced to come out at number 9, replacing Emma Lamb.

Final rites then. Nadine De Klerk will finish things off. 0/15 in 10 balls so far.

Moment of truth for the Phoenix. After 90 balls, they are 97/6. At the same stage, London Spirit Women were 103/4. And then, it all went awry. Charlie Dean will bowl out. 3/12 in 15 balls so far.

Katie George returns. 0/20 in 15 balls so far.