Opener Scholfield sets tone as Oval Invincibles open with big win

Report

Partnership between Paige Scholfield and Alice Capsey underpins convincing win over Phoenix

Paige Scholfield helped get Oval up and running  •  PA Photos/Getty Images

Oval Invincibles 150 for 5 (Scholfield 71, Capsey 52) beat Birmingham Phoenix 105 (Jone 21, Wellington 3-9) by 45 runs

A sparkling 71 from Paige Scholfield took Oval Invincibles to a domineering 45-run victory against Birmingham Phoenix in the first game of the fourth year of the Hundred.

In front of 10,249 fans, the two-time champions Oval Invincibles batted first and the 28-year-old Scholfield – enjoying a new role at the top of the order in the absence of Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu – found admirable company in England’s young superstar Alice Capsey, who herself made 52.

Perhaps in tribute to the opening game’s firework display, the pair put on 90 for the second wicket – sharing 17 boundaries – and looked at times to be threatening a record score in the Hundred women’s competition before a flurry of late wickets pegged back their progress.

Nevertheless, defending 150, the odds were in the home team’s favour at the interval and when Birmingham Phoenix lost three wickets with the score on 32, their fate was effectively secured.

New Zealand captain Sophie Devine and Birmingham local Amy Jones put up an element of resistance for the visitors, but Oval Invincibles’ bowling attack – and in particular Australian legspinner Amanda-Jade Wellington – proved too strong and got the home team off to the perfect start with a 45-run win.

Meerkat Match Hero Scholfield said: “I’m absolutely buzzing. It’s the first time I’ve opened so I was a bit nervous but I had Lozzy [Lauren Winfield-Hill] there helping me through those first 10 balls and I got a nice feel for the pitch. I haven’t done a lot of opening, I usually come in at the end and try and hit as many boundaries as I can in as few balls as possible! But I enjoyed it.

“I feel like there was a bit of tennis ball bounce in the pitch so you had to either move well back or forward, so I trusted my shots and I played them. We bat down to No.11 so I trusted myself and I went for it – and I’ve always got them in the dug-out if it doesn’t go quite as well. Chamari can have it [the opening role when she returns from the Asia Cup], I’m going to do what head coach Jon Batty tells me to do!”