Ellyse Perry scored 68 off 46 balls to carry Birmingham Phoenix to their first victory of the 2026 Hundred women's season, a seven-wicket win over Welsh Fire with one ball to spare at Birmingham on 1 August 2026 (ESPNcricinfo).

The Phoenix captain's innings — just under seven runs per every five balls faced, in a format where each side gets a hundred deliveries — anchored a chase that came down to the penultimate ball. The win, Phoenix's first of the new campaign, arrived in the competition's 15th match (BBC Sport).

For Perry, it was a commanding follow-up to an unbeaten 39 against Trent Rockets earlier in the season, confirming her role as the side's batting spine. Phoenix had managed only 64 in that Rockets fixture, falling to an eight-wicket defeat — a score that underlined how much they needed their skipper to fire.

Welsh Fire arrived in Birmingham with mixed form. They had posted 177/4 against Trent Rockets in one of their 2026 outings but also suffered an eight-wicket loss to the same opponents, who overhauled a target of 130 with ease. The Fire's inconsistency has been a running theme: last season they beat Phoenix twice, once by 36 runs and once by eight wickets, on their way to recording their own first win of the 2025 campaign (BBC Sport). This result flips that script.

The Hundred, now in its sixth year, is the England and Wales Cricket Board's 100-ball-per-side franchise tournament. Each delivery is counted as a single ball rather than a traditional six-ball over, and sides bat in sets of five — a tweak designed to speed up the rhythm for broadcast audiences. Eight city-based teams compete across the men's and women's competitions, with matches played through August.

Phoenix are one of only three sides — alongside Trent Rockets and Welsh Fire — not to rebrand their badge or shirt colours ahead of the 2026 season (BBC Sport). The familiar look now has a result to match. For Perry, a two-sport international who has represented Australia in both cricket and football, the performance was a reminder of why she remains one of the most reliable finishers in the women's game.