Birmingham Phoenix prevailed in the battle to avoid the wooden spoon as Ellyse Perry‘s composed half-century condemned MI London to a sixth defeat of a chastening campaign.

Both teams had managed a solitary victory heading into this fixture but a fifth-wicket stand of 66 between Perry (62* from 39) and Pakistan skipper Fatima Sana (36 from 32) ensured Phoenix ended a three-match losing streak to end their campaign with a consolation win and finish seventh in the table.

Set a modest target of 122, the hosts were wobbling at 48 for 4 after Jemima Spence and Davina Perrin fell in the powerplay and England duo Alice Capsey and Emma Lamb were dismissed cheaply, with Kirstie Gordon (2-20) making early inroads with her left-arm spin.

But Perry found a willing partner in Sana, who eventually fell to Nicola Carey when just seven runs were required, and the Aussie superstar secured the win with six balls to spare.

The hosts chose to chase after winning the toss and made an early breakthrough when Lauren Filer pinned Kira Chathli lbw but Hayley Matthews (21 off 14), searching for form, gave the innings some impetus with four boundaries.

The Bajan’s resurgence was short-lived though, falling to a spectacular catch by Perrin off Sana, and Melie Kerr was dismissed first ball by Phoebe Brett when she spooned to Perry at mid-off.

Alice Monaghan was cleaned up by a peach of an off-cutter from Eva Gray as MI London slipped to 47 for 4 and Hollie Armitage and Chinelle Henry began a rebuilding job, putting on 56 for the fifth wicket before Henry (42 off 33) holed out to Perry off Alana King.

Armitage (31 off 31) and Carey dispatched King for boundaries as the visitors tried to up the ante at the death but their total of 120 for 6 looked well below-par after Armitage fell to Gray (2 for 29) from the final ball of the innings and MI London were ultimately left to lament an underwhelming campaign.

Perry, the Meerkat Match Hero, said: “It’s nice to finish on a high. I thought we bowled especially well today. I can’t fault our effort the whole way through this tournament, we’ve given it absolutely everything we can, it just hasn’t come off for the most part.

“Today to finish well, at home, with a really great atmosphere here as usual, was lovely.”