Birmingham Phoenix were unable to come away with the points at Lord’s as a powerful late innings from Marizanne Kapp helped London Spirit to a 32-run victory.
Phoenix had put themselves in a promising position for much of the Spirit innings, with Alana King leading an impressive bowling effort before Kapp’s late acceleration transformed the contest.
Kapp then made an impact with the ball, removing Jemimah Spence in her opening spell and conceding just 10 runs from her first 15 deliveries as Phoenix looked to build momentum in their pursuit of 141.
Emma Lamb continued her encouraging form since coming into the side midway through the tournament, making a 26-ball 36, but Phoenix struggled to establish the partnerships required to keep pace with the chase.
Spirit skipper Charlie Dean proved particularly effective, removing Davina Perrin and Ellyse Perry while conceding just nine from her opening 10 balls. Perry’s dismissal required an excellent catch from Katie George on the mid-wicket boundary, before Dean added the wicket of Tammy Beaumont with Phoenix requiring 62 from the final 23 deliveries.
Earlier, Phoenix had done an excellent job of restricting Spirit for much of their innings. Grace Harris departed early and, although Amy Jones made a fluent 39 from 30 balls, Phoenix’s bowlers kept the scoring under control.
Australian leg-spinner King was the pick of the attack, returning impressive figures of 2-18 as Spirit reached 75-3 after 68 balls.
Kapp, however, changed the complexion of the innings in the closing stages. After initially playing patiently, the South African all-rounder accelerated dramatically, clearing the ropes six times – including four successive sixes off Alice Capsey.
Her compatriot Nadine de Klerk also found the boundary late on, hitting Lauren Filer for six as Spirit collected 37 from the final 10 balls to reach 140-4.
That late surge ultimately left Phoenix with too much to do. Lamb provided the main resistance with her 36, but regular wickets prevented the visitors from putting together the sustained charge they needed as Spirit completed a 32-run victory.
Phoenix now turn their attention to Wednesday and their final match of the competition.
.png?clxf=t_general_medium)
