Manchester Originals started strong with the bat as Laura Wolvaardt and Beth Mooney propelled the score to 50/1 in just 35 deliveries. However, the momentum slowed after their dismissals, coupled with Evelyn Jones and Emma Lamb’s poor performances with the bat. Despite this, Sophie Ecclestone’s brisk 26 off 15 balls lifted the Originals to a respectable 125/4. In response, the Oval Invincibles began with a flourish, with Chamari Athapaththu and Lauren Winfield-Hill putting together a 48-run opening stand. Following their dismissals and Alice Capsey’s quick exit for just two runs off four balls, Marizanne Kapp and Paige Scholfield stabilized the innings. They advanced the score to 77/3 in 70 deliveries, capitalizing on the Originals’ fielding lapses, particularly a crucial misfield by Fritha Morris.
On the 73rd delivery, Katherine Bryce bowled a short ball to Scholfield, who dragged it from outside off stump, sending it airborne towards the forward square leg. Positioned at deep mid-wicket, Morris ran to her right and attempted to field the ball on the bounce. Misjudging the trajectory, she fumbled, swerved around, and allowed the ball to trickle past her and over the boundary for four. Lying on the grass in dejection, Morris’s misfield became an immediate topic of discussion on Twitter with her gesture being compared with ‘merry go round’ movement.
