Welsh Fire Women vs Manchester Originals Women, The Hundred Women, Today Match Prediction 31 July 2021

wfirew vs manow Match Prediction & Analysis

Welsh Fire played two games, one home, and one away, and lost both. With 0 points, the Welsh Fire stay at the bottom of the points table. With no success as yet, Welsh Fire will be eying on this match as a must-win game. This may result in some changes in the team formation. Either or both Bethan Ellis and Lauren Filer may be given the opportunity in this match. 

Manchester Originals got lucky to gain a point, thanks to the rain because of which their previous match against Northern Superchargers was abandoned. Though, their previous two outings resulted in no success. For Originals, the batters were disappointing, especially in the second game against Birmingham Phoenix, as they crumped to just 93 runs in response to 113. They may promote Sophie Ecclestone and Cordelia Griffith up the order.

TEAMS PREVIEW

Welsh Fire Women Preview

Welsh Fire hasn’t tasted success in this tournament so far, and with 0 points, they are alone at the bottom of the points table. In the first game against Northern Superchargers, the openers Bryony Smith and Hayley Matthews made some quick runs, but they failed to build a solid partnership. They had a few 20 plus partnerships, that’s it. Somehow they managed to score 130 runs in 100, but Jemimah Rodrigues single-handedly snatched the game away from the Fire. Only three bowlers - Smith, Matthews, and Piepa Cleary succeeded to a certain extent, claiming a wicket each. But the other bowlers gave away 1.6 to 2 RPB.

In the second game against Southern Brave, Matthews once again played a good inning at the top, scoring 33 off just 22 balls, that included 6 boundaries. Georgia Hennessy added some useful runs towards the end, but it was a poor batting display overall, as the batters posted only 110 runs on the board, which Southern Brave surpassed easily n 84 balls, giving Welsh Fire 8-wickets defeat. Piepa Cleary and Nicole Harvey got a wicket each, but they were quite expensive. They have some chance against Manchester Originals, but their batters need to take charge and post a few more runs on the board.

Hayley Matthews is undoubtedly their prime player, with 63 runs (with a strike rate of 157.5) and 1 wicket from 2 matches, while Piepa Cleary has 2 wickets from 2 matches. Georgia Redmayne has shown some promising signs with the bat, with 31 runs from 2 matches.

Key Players: Piepa Cleary, Hayley Matthews, Georgia Redmayne

Welsh Fire Women Predicted Playing XI:

Sophie Luff(c), Bryony Smith, Hayley Matthews, Georgia Redmayne, Sarah Taylor (wk), Bethan Ellis, Georgia Hennessy, Piepa Cleary, Alex Griffiths, Katie George, Nicole Harvey

Manchester Originals Women Preview

Manchester Originals finally opened their accounts on Wednesday, albeit due to the rain-affected and abandoned match against the table-toppers Northern Superchargers. They performed well in their first game of the tournament, where they scored 135 runs against Oval Invincibles. The skipper Kate Cross was effective with the ball with her 3 wickets from 18 deliveries. Emma Lamb and Harmanpreet Kaur conceded plenty of runs though. The Originals lost the game with just 2 balls remaining. In the second match against Welsh Fire, Sophie Eccleston (2 wickets for 14) and  Emma Lamb (3 wickets for 16) helped the team to get an achievable target of 114 runs. But, it proved to be too much for their batters. Their batting was poor, especially the top-order and lower-middle order debacle was too much to sustain and win. Harmanpreet Kaur was the lone warrior, as she made 49 runs.

For the Originals, Lizelle Lee and Harmanpreet Kaur are the key performers as far as batting is concerned. Lamb can play a crucial role as an all-rounder. Ecclestone and Kate Cross are their prime bowlers. Sophie Ecclestone has got 64 T20I wickets from 45 games, with an economy of 5.89. She may be promoted up in the order as a pinch-hitter. If this tactic works, it will offload some pressure from Lizelle Lee and Harmanpreet Kaur. Lee has hit a century and scored 1782 T20I runs with an average of 25.09.

Key Players: Lizelle Lee, Emma Lamb, Harmanpreet Kaur

Manchester Originals Women Predicted Playing XI:

Kate Cross (c), Lizelle Lee, Emma Lamb, Georgia Boyce, Harmanpreet Kaur, Mignon du Preez, Sophie Ecclestone, Cordelia Griffith, Eleanor Threlkeld (wk), Laura Jackson, Alex Hartley.

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

On the match day, the maximum and minimum temperatures would be 21°C and 14°C respectively, with a wind speed of 15-24 kmph. Periods of clouds and sunshine with a couple of showers can be expected.

Venue Details

The venue for this match is Sophia Gardens, Cardiff having a capacity of approximately 15000. The Cardiff Wales Stadium, which is part of Sophia Gardens is listed as an international Test cricket venue.

Toss: To Bowl

Sophia Gardens has hosted 8 T20 games so far, from which only twice the teams batting first have won, and 6 times the chasing teams succeeded.  The average first and second innings scores are 142 and 140 respectively. The highest score recorded here is 182 and the highest successful run-chase is 175. Chasing seems a better option on this ground. Hence, it is recommended to bowl first after winning the toss.