Brave Dominate with Bat and Ball
Southern Brave delivered a stunning all-round display as they handed Oval Invincibles a record-breaking 89-run defeat at the Utilita Bowl. The defending champions extended their unbeaten run to five games, moving to the top of the table in emphatic fashion.
Chasing 162 for victory, Oval Invincibles faltered from the start. Sophie Devine struck early, dismissing Meg Lanning with a brilliant delivery before removing Lauren Winfield-Hill in the same set. Lauren Bell then tightened the grip with two wickets in successive balls, sending Alice Capsey and Paige Scholfield back to the pavilion as the visitors crumbled to 28 for 4.
They never recovered and were bowled out for just 72 in 83 balls. Mady Villiers starred with the ball, finishing with 3 for 17 from her off-spin.
“𝑰𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒚, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒍𝒚, 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒚 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒎𝒆,” 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝑺𝒐𝒑𝒉𝒊𝒆 𝑫𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒆, 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒓𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝑴𝒆𝒆𝒓𝒌𝒂𝒕 𝑴𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝑯𝒆𝒓𝒐 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅.
Bouchier, Wolvaardt Lead the Charge
Earlier, put into bat, Brave set the tone with a 59-run opening partnership between Maia Bouchier and Danni Wyatt-Hodge. Bouchier’s 34 from 23 balls provided early momentum before she was caught in the deep by Paige Scholfield. Wyatt-Hodge added 26 before falling to Phoebe Franklin.
Laura Wolvaardt then kept the scoreboard ticking, smashing 36 from 19 deliveries, including a powerful slog-swept six off Amanda-Jade Wellington. Although Wellington had her revenge immediately, Brave’s innings gained further acceleration through Freya Kemp’s lively 24 off just 11 balls. Despite a run-out mix-up costing Devine her wicket, Kemp’s late fireworks helped set a formidable total of 161 for 6.
Oval Invincibles never looked close to chasing it down, ensuring Southern Brave celebrated another commanding victory and strengthened their hold on the tournament.
“𝑾𝒆’𝒗𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒄𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒆𝒙𝒆𝒄𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎,” 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝑫𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒆. “𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔 𝒖𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅.”
Also Read: Jordan Cox, Sam Curran Power Oval Invincibles to Dominant Win
