Jess Jonassen, who made 44 off 17 and picked up 3 wickets, was named Player of the Match © Getty Jess Jonassen (44 off 17; 3 for 24) and Hayley Matthews (34* off 33; 3 for 21) starred with commanding all-round performance as Welsh Fire downed Birmingham Phoenix by a comfortable 36-run margin at Edgbaston to snap their five-match losing streak at last. Sophia Dunkley’s fifty was followed by contrasting contributions from the two allrounders helped visitors post a formidable 150/3 in their 100 balls before restricting Phoenix to just 114 in reply despite skipper Ellyse Perry’s valiant half-century. Dunkley led the brief opening partnership with Tammy Beaumont, who was cleaned up by Schutt for 2 off six deliveries. Dunkley then combined with Matthews for a 71-run stand, raising her half-century en route as she put Fire on the brink of 100-run mark before being bowled by Hannah Baker. The opener fell soon after the milestone, but Matthews was then joined by the explosive Jonassen who rained sixes at Edgbaston. The southpaw took the attack to the opposition and slammed four maximums and three more boundaries in her 17-ball cameo before compatriot Schutt denied her a half-century by six runs. The West Indies captain finished unbeaten on 34 off 33 balls, but it was Jonassen’s knock that took Fire’s score from strong to a challenging 150/3. Phoenix’s chase never gained momentum from the outset. They were set back early by Shabnim Ismail, who removed both Emma Lamb and Marie Kelly for two-ball ducks in her first set to cause early chaos. Perry arrived at the crease for damage control, and that she did with her assured batting. She added 55 runs for the third-wicket stand with Georgia Voll, who found the fence half a dozen times in her brisk knock of 29 in 18 deliveries. Jonassen opened her account to break that stubborn stand and at the other end Matthews cleaned up Amy Jones for a first-ball duck as well. Sterre Kalis made run-a-ball 15 before becoming Jonassen’s second victim and Alisa Lister followed her back into the hut in quick succession, leaving Phoenix six-down for 100 on the board in 82 balls. Perry’s departure soon after – she became Ismail’s third wicket on the day – spelled doom for the chase that had already slipped out of their grasp. Matthews added two more to her tally to keep the home side down to just 114/9 for a convincing win to finally get on the board. For Phoenix, this was a fifth consecutive loss after a winning start to their season, ending their slim chances of qualifying. Brief scores: Welsh Fire 150/3 in 100 balls (Sophia Dunkley 53, Jess Jonassen 44, Hayley Matthews 34*; Megan Schutt 2-11) beat Birmingham Phoenix 114/9 in 100 balls (Ellyse Perry 55, Georgia Voll 29; Shabnim Ismail 3-16, Hayley Matthews 3-21, Jess Jonassen 3-24) by 36 runs
