Lanning’s Blistering. It’s not often that Australian bowlers find themselves on the receiving end of a serious beating in the women’s cricket scene, but former captain Meg Lanning knows how to change that. Lanning put on an impressive show as the Oval Invincibles shattered the record for the highest powerplay score in the five-year history of the Hundred Women. She scored a phenomenal 54 runs off just 25 balls, with her first 50 runs coming from only 20 deliveries bowled by a trio of Australian bowlers.
This explosive start helped set the Invincibles up for an impressive total of 5-174 from 100 balls, marking it as the third-highest score in the history of the tournament. In response, Birmingham Phoenix struggled to keep pace from the outset. Although Georgia Voll gave them a glimmer of hope with a quick 22 off 15 balls, she was dismissed with a juggling catch by her fellow Aussie, Amanda Jade-Wellington.
A super shot by Meg Lanning! 🙇#TheHundred pic.twitter.com/IviZeeE7An
— The Hundred (@thehundred) August 12, 2025
Ellyse Perry walked across to turn the corner, with Phoenix on 2-31 needing an intimidating 144 runs on 74 balls. She scored her first two balls for four runs but was undone on the next ball, having scored only 29 of 16, attempting the cut on a ball and getting caught behind. When seemingly everything was going further away from them, Jade-Wellington played an exquisite run-out, dismissing Emma Lamb and leaving Phoenix on 4-83 after 59 balls—virtually sealing the contest.
Jade-Wellington finished superbly on 2-27 from her 20 overs, helping the visitors into a 22-run victory at Edgbaston, and Phoenix finished their innings on 6-152. The Phoenix opened their innings on Tuesday with three Aussie players—Megan Schutt, Perry, and Voll—only to have Lanning and her English partner, Lauren Wingfield-Hill, make them pay.
With the trio of bowlers conceding runs at a rate exceeding 10 per over, each also contributed extras to the tally. Perry experimented with seven different bowlers to curb the run flow, but only spinner Hannah Baker showed effectiveness, taking 2-24 in her 20 deliveries.
Lanning was ultimately caught at deep midwicket after scoring 36 off 19 balls, and Wingfield-Hill followed soon after with a 33 off 27. Lanning’s performance catapulted her ahead of Grace Harris as the top scorer in this year’s Hundred Women.
Alice Capsey was lucky enough to come in once a good platform had been set, and she took full advantage of her chance, blasting 52 runs off 29 balls even though she was dropped on 21. “The openers were excellent,” said Capsey. “One of the things we reflected on afterwards, after the first two matches, was the fact that we bat so deep, we have more scope to take more measured risks. They took the game on so nicely, and it made life very simple for me.”
By the time she was dismissed with only two balls remaining, Jade-Wellington was caught trying for a boundary, but Ash Gardner made her presence known by hitting her first and only ball to the fence. Perry’s bowling figures ended with 0-34 off 20 balls, Schutt at 1-34 from her spell, while Voll’s five-ball effort went for 20 runs. “It was a little bit tough today,” Perry said in an interview with the BBC. “We probably let up a few too many runs in the field, especially during the power play. They batted well, which you have to appreciate. I thought we put up a pretty valiant chase, and it was nice that we hung in there until the end.”
