After choosing to bowl first in such a crucial game, it was essential the Spirit attack were on it against a powerful Invincibles top order.
They did not disappoint and debutant Kate Coppack could have had a wicket with her first ball when Meg Lanning edged behind, only for wicketkeeper Redmayne to put down a tough chance diving to her right.
Patience was required with a breakthrough not immediately forthcoming but they stuck to their plans with impressive discipline.
Dean and Gray led the way, conceding just seven runs between them in the last 15 balls of the powerplay then, just as the Invincibles openers began to look settled, the skipper removed Lanning.
When another partnership between Alice Capsey and Marizanne Kapp started to threaten, it was Gray’s turn to break it.
The seamer was outstanding. She didn’t bowl a single delivery wide outside off with 75% of her deliveries tight to the stumps and the remaining 25% in the channel outside off.
Pressure built, wickets followed – with Dean’s one-handed stunner the pick of a number of superb catches – and Dean and Gray finished with just two wickets apiece, their exceptional control no doubt helped create others.
By the time they were done, Invincibles had been kept to a total never looked like troubling the Spirit batters.
