England’s Sophia Dunkley inspired Welsh Fire to a seven-wicket victory over Manchester Originals in their opening match of The Hundred women’s competition at Old Trafford.
Batting first, Originals got off to a strong start as South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt (37) and Australia’s Beth Mooney put on a 58-run stand before the former departed.
From there, the hosts collapsed from 58-0 to 86-6, with Mooney (19) the only other player from Originals’ top six to score double figures.
Captain Sophie Ecclestone added some late inspiration, ending on 27 not out to help Originals post a score of 113-7.
Like their opponents, Fire started their chase of 114 with a big stand – this one 65 runs between England duo Dunkley and Tammy Beaumont, ending when the latter holed out for 31.
Fire lost Hayley Matthews and Sarah Bryce cheaply, falling from 65-0 to 73-3 in a 20-ball spell.
Dunkley (69*) was able to rebuild with Australia all-rounder Jess Jonassen (nine not out) and an unbroken 44-run stand helped Fire to victory with four balls to spare.
