Mady Villiers four-for, London Spirit rumbled for 80 as Invincibles qualify

Oval Invincibles 82 for 1 (Winfield-Hill 44*) beat London Spirit 80 (Kerr 31, Villiers 4-12) by nine wickets

Villers dismissed both opening batters to reduce Spirit to a dismal 4 for 3 after just 11 balls. The innings never recovered as the hosts were bowled out after 97 deliveries, making unpleasant history by posting the second-lowest total in this year’s tournament.

Shabnim Ismail and Eva Gray contributed with two wickets apiece, while Spirit’s highest-scorer was Amelia Kerr, with of 31 off 31.

In turn, Invincibles made light work of the chase and reached their total in just 58 balls, for the loss of Suzie Bates. Top-scorer Lauren Winfield-Hill struck 44 off 28 balls to end Spirit’s lingering chances of a play-off spot.

After electing to field, Villiers wrecked the Spirit top order, taking two wickets in nine balls. Opening batter Danielle Gibson went second ball, trying to take the aerial route, and Beth Mooney, leading run-scorer for her side with 201 in four innings, was caught in the second set by an incredible diving catch by 18-year-old Alice Capsey.

Ismail continued the attack by trapping Sophie Luff lbw. The first boundary for the hosts came after 19 balls and with only eight fours in their entire innings, Spirit’s momentum never picked up.

Kerr and captain Charlie Dean tried to recover with a partnership of 27 off 33. However, Dean stepped out of her crease to Capsey, and Winfield-Hill whipped off the bails for another shock to the system for Spirit. Villiers returned to take two more wickets in four balls, in the form of Naomi Dattani and Grace Scrivens, and with the chokehold unrelenting Spirit’s innings petering out.

In contrast, Winfield-Hill smashed her first delivery, from Megan Schutt, to the deep third boundary. The opening partnership between Winfield-Hill and Bates destroyed Spirit’s bowling – Bates smashed two successive fours and cleared the ropes in three deliveries by Kerr, who conceded 16 runs in her set of 5.

At the end of the powerplay, the visitors had already scored 45 runs without loss, in contrast to Spirit’s miserable 15 for 3.

The partnership continued with both Bates and Winfield-Hill causing havoc, scoring 54 off 37 deliveries until the former top-edged Grace Scrivens straight into Mooney’s gloves.

Capsey provided a firm base as Winfield-Hill continued her ruthless approach, smashing consecutive fours against Dean and scoring a total of seven boundaries in her innings. Winfield-Hill sealed the win for the Invincibles with 42 balls to spare, with Spirit’s faint hopes of securing their place in the play-offs completely evaporated.