Southern Brave Thrash Oval Invincibles to Make it Five Wins from Five
Southern Brave extended their perfect start to the Women’s Hundred with a dominant 89-run win over Oval Invincibles at the Utilita Bowl — the biggest margin of victory in the competition’s history.
Sophie Devine starred once again, earning her third consecutive Meerkat Match Hero award at the venue, as Brave surged to a fifth straight victory to claim the top spot on the table.
Brave Batters Lay a Solid Foundation
After being asked to bat first, Brave openers Maia Bouchier and Danni Wyatt-Hodge laid the groundwork with a fluent 59-run partnership. Bouchier led the charge with a quickfire 34 off 23 balls, before holing out to deep mid-wicket to hand Tash Farrant the breakthrough.
Wyatt-Hodge contributed 26 from 24 before being bowled by a clever slower ball from Phoebe Franklin. South Africa's Laura Wolvaardt kept the tempo high with a stylish 36 from just 19 deliveries, which included a slog-swept six off Amanda-Jade Wellington. The Aussie spinner responded immediately, however, as Meg Lanning took a sharp catch at extra cover to dismiss Wolvaardt next ball.
Despite a mix-up that saw Sophie Devine run out for 19, Freya Kemp finished the innings strongly with an explosive 24 from 11 balls, including two sixes, as Brave posted a commanding 161 for 6.
Devine and Bell Rip Through Invincibles Line-Up
Oval Invincibles’ chase faltered from the outset. Sophie Devine delivered a dream opening set, dismissing captain Meg Lanning with a perfect delivery before removing Lauren Winfield-Hill just three balls later.
Things went from bad to worse when Lauren Bell struck twice in two balls, removing Alice Capsey and Paige Scholfield with short-pitched deliveries that found edges. At 28 for 4, the chase was already in tatters.
Brave continued to tighten the screws, and the Invincibles were eventually bowled out for just 72 in 83 balls. Off-spinner Mady Villiers capped off the innings with figures of 3 for 17, sealing a historic win for the defending champions.
Devine: “Today was exceptional”
Despite being named Match Hero yet again, Devine was quick to highlight the team effort.
“I feel a bit embarrassed because today was a great team performance,” said Devine. “There were so many people who should be standing here instead of me. Today was exceptional from this group and I'm really proud of everyone.”
“We’ve got some tough games coming up, but we’ll celebrate this win. It was a comprehensive result, but we know we’ve still got a big job ahead to finish the competition strongly.”
Match Summary
Southern Brave 161 for 6 (Wolvaardt 36, Bouchier 34, Franklin 2-28)
Oval Invincibles 72 all out (Villiers 3-17, Devine 2-15, Bell 2-11)
Southern Brave won by 89 runs