London Spirit Women vs Welsh Fire Women Match 31 Full Commentary

We are going to have a delay here. The umpires' comms are down and they are not able to communicate with the third umpire. So we all wait till someone comes in and hands the replacement wireless or whatever it is called. Freya Kemp and Potts have a word with one of the umpires, sharing smiles. This will be frustrating for everyone, especially the batters, but we cannot do anything about it. The best that we can do, if this delay prolongs, is probably start off without technology and use it when the stuff is rectified. Remember, there is another game to be played here, scheduled at 2 pm GMT. Having said that, the camera pans onto the crowd where we see James Coles of the London Spirit signing autographs for the fans. Okay, so we have found an alternative. The old-school walkie talkie is being handed to the umpires and we are finally set for play to resume.

We are back - The players return to the middle for the resumption of the proceedings. Grace Harris and Amy Jones have their willows of mass destruction in their hands. Grace Potts has the new ball in her hand. Harris to face. 139 needed to win in 100 balls.

... THE RUN CHASE ...

Powerplay is the key - Hmmm... a honest admission by Dean in stating that her team adapted a touch late. Will the home side be able to learn from their opposition's mistakes? If they manage to strike early with the new ball, that 139 to win could suddenly seem like 159.

Just took pace off the ball - The skipper of London Spirit Women, CHARLIE DEAN, comes up for a chat with the broadcasters. Dean says that the conditions were a bit spin friendly and taking pace off the ball seemed to be the ideal thing to do. Adds that she tries to hold her length a bit more and take pace off which seems to be working this season. On the total, she says that the opposition got off to a flier and maybe they adjusted to the conditions a bit late. However, they have done well with the ball in the end. Finishes by saying that with the squad they have, they should be pushing for the top places and it's been a disappointing season but hopes that they can come back stronger next season.

Spin to choke - 3 wickets for Grace Harris. 2 for Charlie Dean. In all, the combined bowling analysis of the spinners reads 50 balls, 5 wickets and 46 runs. That's exactly half of what the seamers conceded in the remaining 50 balls. Without a doubt, Dean was brilliant in her captaincy again, rotating her bowlers beautifully and her twin gambles - one to bring Harris to get rid of Kemp early on and then, to give her 10 balls on the trot for the 17th and 18th sets - paid off beautifully for her side. However, having said that, the Powerplay which yielded just a solitary wicket and Katie George going for 30 runs in 10 deliveries with the new ball could be the difference in the end.

Calculated batting - A look at the scorecard indicates that the top 3 batters wasted their opportunities for the Fire. But this pitch does not exactly seem like a batting beauty. It requires a bit of a grafting and once set, only then can a batter play her shots. Georgia Voll got off in a hurry but lost her wicket, while Freya Kemp counterattacked well, not able to continue on. Sarah Bryce tried to play the long vigil but failed and it was eventually skipper Georgia Wareham who analyzed the conditions perfectly. Her 50 came up in just 33 balls but she did not play too many risky shots. In fact, the home side played reasonably well for three-quarters of the innings - but just lost way at the death.

Both sides happy? That's what we feel. Having lost the toss, to get close to 140 on a slowish pitch is a good achievement. But at the same time, conceding just 34 runs and picking up 4 wickets in the last 25 balls is a terrific comeback from the visitors.

Debutant Abi Norgrove walks in next, at number 9, replacing her skipper, Georgia Wareham.

Charlie Dean will finish things off. 1/7 in 15 balls so far. Captain versus captain now.

The final two sets now. Nadine De Klerk will bowl out. 1/16 in 15 balls so far.

Niamh Holland walks in next, at number 8, replacing Em Arlott.

Harris to continue. And why not?

Outside chance of qualification for Fire? No, not for the Women. Their season has ended and they finish on a respectable 5th while London Spirit Women end on 6th for now. We are talking about the Welsh Fire Men, who are going to play next at this same venue, against the London Spirit Men. Like the Women, the Men's team for the Spirit has also been knocked out, but if the Fire win by a big margin, get their net run rate above that of Sunrisers and later, the Phoenix defeat MI London, then you never know, the Fire might actually sneak through! The buildup to that match has already begun, with the first ball scheduled to be bowled at 2 pm GMT. Do hop in to that matchcentre for all the updates. ADIOS! TAKE CARE!

PLAYER OF THE MATCH - Welsh Fire Women's GRACE POTTS has been given the award for her outstanding spell of 3/23 IN 20 BALLS. She finished just a set outside the Powerplay, the destructor-in-chief. Potts says that it feels nice to start well and get the team in a good position. On her secret to her success in the Powerplay, Grace says that she has been able to get some swing at the top and that's helped her. On her preparation for this season, GP says that her role was clearly defined, to bowl predominantly in the Powerplay and that role clarity helped her prepare accordingly. On skipper Georgia Wareham's half century in the first innings, Grace Potts replies that the Fire were losing their way a bit and felt nice to see her captain get some runs towards the end. On being asked to sum up her team's performance this season, Potts calls it mixed. Details that they challenged even the best teams but felt frustrating to not come out with the right result. Personally, she feels that she has taken a lot of confidence for the next season. Ends by thanking the crowd for coming in large numbers.

Skipper leading from the front - Earlier, in the first innings, Welsh Fire Women's skipper Georgia Wareham batted responsibly amidst a late collapse to score a clinical 50 (34) but it was actually the quickfire Powerplay reading 49/1 which actually was the difference between the two sides. Grace Harris' three-fer had the Fire collapsing 4/27 in 20 balls towards the end but the Powerplay heroics meant that the hosts had got a significant cushion.

Never in the chase - The Spirit could never get acclimatized to the conditions. The early dents in the Powerplay left them reeling and they could never recover. Additionally, Charlie Dean's bizarre move to promote Charis Pavely at number 4 and herself at 5, ahead of Nadine De Klerk and Deandra Dottin meant that the latter two had too much to do and could not contribute much.

Potts' Powerplay - The new ball was supposed to be the key in the run chase and Grace Potts set the tone very early. She picked up three wickets in her first 12 deliveries and nipped the chase in the bud pretty early. After that, the others took over and every bowler who bowled, picked up at least a wicket. Only 5 bowlers were utilized and even the entire allocation of 100 balls was not needed.

A clincal bowling display - That's what it was from the home side. They learnt from how the London Spirit Women bowled in their innings and gave nothing to the visitors. There was barely any expensive spell and the Spirit never really looked in the chase.

Hannah Rainey is the last batter in, replacing Deandra Dottin. Heather Graham will finish things off. 1/12 in 15 balls so far.

Review time! If no bat, this looked really close in real time. The Fire have taken a review for LBW against Dottin. Yes, three reds on the Ball Tracker.

Lucy Higham walks in next, at number 10, replacing Seren Smale.

Wareham will continue and bowl out.

Welsh Fire Women call for their STRATEGIC TIMEOUT. This has turned out to be a tough chase for the visitors. But with just 20 balls remaining, they need just a couple of big sets to put the home side under pressure. You never know, 45 needed from 20 could become 20 from 10 and suddenly, it could be game on. Having said that, the Fire will believe that they are a wicket away from sealing the win. Georgia Wareham will bowl now. 0/15 in 10 balls so far.