The Haves and the Have-Nots

Sport is all about the contest.

Professional sport is all about making the contest entertaining and absorbing to watch, so that people are willing to pay to be entertained.

Last night's game between England and the West Indies was neither entertaining nor absorbing, and indeed it was no contest whatsoever. As I got back on my train home from Hove I heard one man who had been at the game say to his friend "It was a good win, but it would have been nice if the West Indies had shown up".

Will I be making the trek to any more of the West Indies' games in this series? The answer is "No". That is not through lack of effort. I have already watched nine live games of county cricket this season having driven hundreds of miles to Taunton, Southport and Beckenham amongst other places. The vital factor is that each of those games has been more entertaining than last night's international.

The reason is that the West Indies only have one class cricketer in their midst - Hayley Matthews. She cannot do it all on her own, although she tried in the first game of the series. I am afraid to say that very few of the others in the Windies team, if any, would even make it into any of the Tier One county teams that I have watched this year. 

This is not the fault of the players, or indeed of Cricket West Indies. It is a fault of the structure of women's cricket (and indeed cricket in general it seems), whereby the strong are getting stronger and more powerful and richer, and the weak are becoming weaker, poorer and more irrelevant. The powerful are India, Australia and England. The weak are all the rest. 

It is no surprise that it is those three countries that have the only three stand-alone short form tournaments where players can make substantial amounts of money. And the majority of the players that make those substantial amounts, and play in the majority of the games, are from those same three countries. It is a never-ending and vicious circle. 

Somehow the powers that be have to redress the balance. More resources need to be channelled to the West Indies, South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the rest. If not then we can look forward to more games like last night at Hove, and the chances of making women's cricket a self-sustaining sport, that the public are willing to pay a realistic amount of money to watch, are practically zero. 

Martin Davies
24/V/2025

Round Up of the first half of the Metro Bank One Day Cup after 8 Rounds

The Women's Metro Bank One Day Cup - effectively the Women's County Championship, as there is no multi-day women’s cricket - takes a brief respite from 20th May, after eight rounds of games, to accommodate the T20 Blast fixtures. There is then a brief resumption for two rounds at the end of July, before the competition comes to a climax in September with the final four rounds, the semi-finals, and the Final. Blessed by great weather throughout April and May, no games have been lost and the majority of the England contracted players have played, when not ruled out by injury. It has been a great start to the tournament, with plenty of tight games (including two ties) and some great individual performances. There have already been 14 hundreds (a record number in 50 over domestic women’s cricket) and four five-fors.

This is how the table currently looks

Perhaps the biggest surprise has been the underperformance of Surrey. With a team stacked full of England-capped batters (Wyatt-Hodge, Smith, Capsey, Dunkley, Scholfield and Davidson-Richards) you would have expected them to have blown away their opposition through sheer weight of runs, particularly playing their home games at Beckenham - a true batter's paradise. In fact they have played four 50 over games there and won only won. They did also tie against The Blaze, with each team putting 346/9 on the board. They have scored plenty of runs, but defending decent-looking scores has been their big issue. 

At the top of the table a young Hampshire side have probably exceeded even their own expectations losing just one game to The Blaze, after tieing their first against Warwickshire. Their strength has been in their consistent bowling attack, bowling four teams out for less than 209, with leading wicket-taker left arm spinner Linsey Smith to the fore. Batting-wise young Ella McCaughan hit a magnificent 133* at Southport to beat Lancashire and has two other 50s under her belt. Maia Bouchier also has three 50s to her name, but has not gone on to the big score that both she and England probably wanted. Overseas import, Australian Charli Knott, has also scored three fifties and taken eight wickets.

Tight on Hampshire's heels are Lancashire, who have finally got the results people have expected of them in past seasons, and the majority of their wins have been without the injured Sophie Ecclestone in their ranks. Their success has been based around the consistent opening partnership of Emma Lamb and Eve Jones. Together they have had three opening stands of over 100 and two more of over 50. They are both right up there as leading run scorers this season, and Lamb, who has also taken wickets with her off-spin, has earned a recall to the England squad for the West Indies series.

The Blaze (Notts to you and me) overcame Somerset, right behind them in the league, in the last game of this bloc of fixtures to keep up their challenge. They were many people's pre-season favourites. They have lost both their encounters with Lancashire, but have won the rest of their games. The Blaze have had some good team performances led by stand-in skipper Kathryn Bryce, performing with both bat and ball; two hundreds from Tammy Beaumont; and Georgia Elwiss chipping in with useful runs when they have been needed most.

As for Somerset they have been led from the front by skipper Sophie Luff, who has hit a century and three scores over 50. Aussie Amanda Jade Wellington has also frequently shown her worth, both with the ball, and as a closer with the bat. She has hit 178 runs at a superb strike rate of over 145. Perhaps inexperience has let one or two games slip from their grasp particularly down at Taunton.

At the other end of the table Durham got their season off to a perfect start with a crunching nine wicket win over Essex, during which Phoebe Turner took 4-33. With 17 wickets she is currently the league’s top wicket-taker. In the return fixture the result was equally emphatic with a six wicket win. But that, and a tight victory over Warwickshire, are their only wins. Perhaps it is no surprise that both of those defeated teams are the others propping up the table. Runs have proved hard to come by for Durham with a lot depending on Suzie Bates, Hollie Armitage and Mady Villiers at the top of the order. 

Almost the opposite is true of Warwickshire whose blushes have been saved by their lower middle order in several of their games. Emily Arlott, Charis Pavely and Georgia Davis have all scored over 50 batting at 7 and below. In fact Arlott went on to post 130 against Essex. Arlott has also been consistently in the wickets, which has resulted in her too getting a call-up to the latest England squad, as new England Head Coach Charlotte Edwards is true to her word that form matters.

And firmly rooted to the bottom of the table are last year's 50 over champions Essex (when they were called Sunrisers). They have managed just the one win, over Lancashire. Grace Scrivens scored back-to-back hundreds against The Blaze and Hampshire, but both were in a losing cause. They have got into winning positions in a few games, but have failed to get over the line. Their season looks done with just six games to come.

With the England internationals presumably available and encouraged to play again in all the remaining matches in the competition, you would expect Surrey to perform better in the second half of the season and join Hampshire, Lancashire and The Blaze in the semi-finals come September.

 

Martin Davies
20/V/25

Hampshire steal another win in Taunton

When Maia Bouchier caressed the first of her seven boundaries to the fence in the second over of this important clash between top of the table Hampshire and unfancied high-fliers Somerset, it looked like this was going to be another run-fest at Taunton....nothing could have been further from the truth.

A tempered start by Hampshire, who chose to bat on a used wicket, became a workmanlike first 25 overs - 107/2, and then a grinding first 40 overs - 164/4, and a disappointing end - 213 all out off the last ball of their innings. 

Bouchier flattered to deceive with a relatively fluent 39 off 43, but beyond her it was a hard slog. Charli Knott worked the hardest at the coalface and came away with 64 off 102 balls, and for a while she and Rhianna Southy (46 off 65 balls) seemed to be setting some kind of platform for Hampshire to go on and make 250+, but having been 151/3, albeit in 36 overs, Hampshire contrived to lose their next seven wickets for just 62 runs. 

True Somerset bowled accurately and fielded pretty well, giving away just 6 extras in the Hampshire innings, effecting two run outs and taking their catches, albeit with a bit of luck for Sophie Luff as she clung on to a rebound off a skied Knott drive at mid-on with the use of her right thigh. But Hampshire will have been disappointed with only 213 runs on the board.

Somerset needed a positive reply and for two overs they looked to have made just that - 13/0. But some accurate bowling from Freya Davies, who picked up the early wicket of Emma Corney, and then left-arm spinning duo Linsey Smith and Bex Tyson, put the brakes on, which lead to Knight pushing a ball to Bouchier at short cover and running. At the other end Sophie Luff gave it some consideration and then quite rightly rejected the opportunity to get run out herself. Bouchier's direct hit left Knight floundering well short of her crease.

Just 9 runs came from the next 17 balls before Fran Wilson spooned a catch to Bouchier at short extra cover; 18 balls and just 3 runs later Charlie Dean swept Tyson into deep square legs' hands. Somerset were 63/4 in the 19th over. Somerset skipper Sophie Luff watched on with exasperation and horror as the procession continued at the other end and her team were reduced to 109/8, after a brief interlude for rain which apparently reduced the innings to 49 overs, but kept the DLS target exactly as it had been before - 214 to win.

It all looked pretty academic until number 10, Ellie Anderson, found her own bottom-handed way of keeping her skipper company for more than five minutes. For the next 13 overs Anderson shovelled and drove, and Luff used her feet and occasionally took to the air, to get Somerset to 178/8, a stand of 69, which meant that Somerset needed 36 runs to win from 28 balls. But with an improbable victory in sight Anderson pulled a decent length ball from Tyson straight to Bouchier at midwicket. There was no great celebration from Hampshire, just an audible team sigh of relief. In the next over Georgia Adams brought Luff's valiant solo effort of 74 to a conclusion, as she sneaked a ball under her bat, as she once again danced down to hit the ball through wide mid-on, but this time missed. Somerset were all out for 182 to lose by 31 runs. A comfortable victory for Hampshire on paper, but a lot closer than Hampshire will have liked.

But this is just the type of game that the girls need to be involved in to learn the ups and downs of a 50 over game of cricket, and how to handle pressure both with the bat and the ball, and in the field. It wasn't a classic, but it was a good game of cricket.

Martin Davies
13/V/25

Metro Bank One Day Cup - Round Six

Durham v Warwickshire
Warwickshire 243/9 v Durham 244/7 (46.3 ovs)
Warwickshire, who elected to bat, never really got their innings going as they lost five wickets within the first 22 overs, with a brief cameo from Davina Perrin (32) ended by a fine return catch from Mady Villiers (2/35). When Katie George (42) and then Emily Arlott (29) departed Warwickshire looked in trouble at 152/7, but as in previous games their tail wagged with some purpose. Charis Pavely (57) and Issy Wong (32) added 83 for the 8th wicket before both succumbing in the final over of the innings, which left Warwickshire with a mediocre 243/9 on the board. Durham seamer Sophie Turner claimed 3/58.
After losing Emma Marlow early, Suzie Bates (72) and Hollie Armitage (46) powered on untroubled, until Armitage slapped a short wide delivery to cover point and then Bates was brilliantly stumped down the legside by Abbey Freeborn. Mady Villiers (65*) lost a succession of partners as the game seemed to be slipping away from Durham. Overs were not the issue, but wickets were. But finally she found an ally in Grace Thompson to help her get Durham over the line for their second win, with plenty of overs to spare and three wickets still in hand.
Highlights - Durham v Warks

Hampshire v Essex
Hampshire 273/5 v Essex 256/8 
Hampshire looked set for a massive total as the ball found its way from the bat to the boundary without too much effort within the first few balls, but Kate Coppack (2/44) removed Maia Bouchier and Charli Knott and the run rate declined as Hampshire rebuilt. Ella McCaughan's good form with the bat continued with a controlled 44, until she misjudged a sweep against Abtaha Maqsood and was adjudged lbw. Keeper Rhianna Southby (61) joined her skipper Georgia Adams (110*) at the crease for a vital 4th wicket partnership of 114 in a little over 23 overs to take Hampshire past 200. With cameos from Abi Norgrove and Nancy Harman Hampshire added 52 from the last 6 overs, as Adams also went to her century off 125 balls. 
In reply Essex made an equally bright start with Lissy Macleod (25) finding the boundary with some ease, but Linsey Smith (4/33) spun one past her tentative push to claim the first wicket. Concussion substitute (for Cordelia Griffith) Jo Gardner came in at three, but struggled to time the ball, and Essex's run rate plunged, with some tight bowling from left-arm spinners Smith and Bex Tyson, and off-spinner Knott. At the halfway stage Essex were only 108/1 with Grace Scrivens 53* (off 71 balls) at the time. Shortly after the drinks' break Smith accounted for Gardner, and with Jodie Grewcock (33) at the crease Essex picked up the pace. At the 40 over mark they were ahead of where Hampshire had been in their innings and needed 74 off the last 10 overs with 7 wickets in hand, but within 15 balls the game was gone as Tyson removed Gray, and Smith accounted for Scrivens, to a rash attempted reverse sweep, and Amara Carr, to a smart stumping by Southby. Essex ended an agonising 17 runs short and Hampshire moved to the top of the league with a fourth win.
Highlights - Hampshire v Essex

Lancashire v The Blaze
The Blaze 222 ao (48.2 ovs) v 226/6 (47.2 ovs)
The Blaze showed how much they will miss England players Tammy Beaumont, who could not repeat her previous heroics with the bat, and Amy Jones (52), next week, as Jones was the only batter in the top 6 to make a significant score. When she departed in the 33rd over The Blaze were on 141/6 and struggling, but Ella Claridge (63) martialled the tail through to 222 before she was the last out in the 49th over. It looked under par, but it at least gave The Blaze something to bowl at, with skipper Kirstie Gordon back in their bowling attack. Grace Potts finished with figures of 4/37.
But Lancs' opening pair of Eve Jones (33) and Emma Lamb (74) are brimming with confidence and found their way to 88 in just 14 overs before Jones gave Gordon (3/33) her first wicket. Sarah Glenn quickly accounted for Katie Mack, and Gordon removed both Seren Smale and Fi Morris in quick succession, to leave Lancs slightly on the back foot at 111/4. When Emma Lamb tickled Kathryn Bryce to the keeper down the legside Lancs may have wondered if this game was going to get away from them, but with plenty of time Ellie Threlkeld (35*) and Kate Cross (38*) calmly added an unbroken 71 for the 7th wicket to take Lancashire to victory in the 48th over, ending The Blaze's winning streak of four games. 
Highlights - Lancs v The Blaze 

Somerset v Surrey
Surrey 306/7 (44 ovs) v Somerset 215 ao (40.5 ovs)
High-flying Somerset had their tail feathers trimmed by a rampant Surrey batting attack lead by Bryony Smith (110) and Sophia Dunkley (79), as they racked up 306/7 in a game reduced to 44 overs after rain intervened for 40 minutes midway through the Surrey innings. The only Somerset bowlers to escape the onslaught were Amanda Jade Wellington (4/47) and Charlie Dean (2/56) in their full compliment of 9 overs. 
In truth Somerset never really looked like getting the adjusted DLS revised target of 317, and when Heather Knight was run out at the bowler's end as Alice Monaghan deflected a head high drive from Fran Wilson back onto the bowler's stumps, you could see the Somerset shoulders sag slightly more. Wellington (36) and Chloe Skelton (25) offered some late belligerent hitting, but the Somerset score only just crept into the 200s before Alexa Stonehouse issued the coup de grace in the 41st over. She, along with Alice Monaghan and Dani Gregory, each took a couple of wickets. 
Highlights - Somerset v Surrey

Metro Bank One Day Cup Table after six rounds

Martin Davies
12/V/25

Metro Bank One Day Cup - Round Five

 The Blaze v Essex
Essex 231/9 v The Blaze 235/5 (40.5 ovs)
Essex managed to post 231/9 thanks mainly to opener Grace Scrivens' unbeaten 120, with only Jodie Grewcock (28), Amara Carr (34) and Kate Coppack (19) keeping her company at the crease for any significant length of time. Chief beneficiaries of a rather lacklustre batting performance by Essex on a good Loughborough wicket were Orla Prendergast (3/32) and Sarah Glenn (3/36). 
As The Blaze openers Amy Jones (41) and Tammy Beaumont (116*) shot out of the traps the paucity of runs scored became ever more apparent. They added 92 for the first wicket within 17 overs before Jones mistimed a pull to mid-on, but Beaumont and Kathryn Bryce (47) then added a further 104 runs to take The Blaze to within 38 runs of victory, with 21 balls to try and snatch an additional bonus point. Eighteen runs off the 39th over seemed to have put the bonus point in the bag, but Sarah Bryce and Georgie Boyce both perished in the chase and as the 40th over concluded they were still 4 runs shy of their target. 
It was however fitting that Tammy Beaumont smashed Eva Gray through extra cover in the next over to win the game. It was her second unbeaten century in three days. The Blaze will miss her when she reports for England duties next week.
Highlights - The Blaze v Essex 

Hampshire v Durham
Durham 190/8 v Hampshire 193/3 (36.5 ovs)
Durham's batting never really got out of first gear having been 43/2 at the end of the powerplay with Lauren Bell (2/38) picking up both wickets. With the parsimonious Linsey Smith (1/25) snaffling Mady Villiers (22) with a trademark caught and bowled, and the equally miserly young Bex Tyson (1/29) getting Hollie Armitage (25) straight after the half-time drinks' interval, the visitors had limped to 87/4. Middle order contributions from Phoebe Turner (38) and Bess Heath (31) saw Durham through to 190/8, but on a flat wicket and expansive outfield it looked well below par.
The loss of McCaughan in the 9th over merely gave Charli Knott (58) the opportunity to settle, and with Maia Bouchier (53) they steered Hampshire effortlessly to 136/1 after 25 overs. The win looked inevitable, but the question was could they get it within the next 15 overs. When Bouchier and Knott both fell after reaching their 50s, Hampshire might have wobbled but Georgia Adams (25*) and the lusty-hitting Rhianna Southby (22*) saw Hampshire pass the Durham total in the 37th over.
Highlights - Hampshire v Durham 

Lancashire v Surrey
Surrey 296/8 v Lancashire 299/5 (48 ovs)
For the third time in five games Surrey failed to defend what looked like a decent score on the board, as Lancashire this time chased down nearly 300 with relative ease. The fact that Lancashire had lost to Hampshire on the same ground just four days ago trying to defend 292 meant they knew they were still very much in the game at halftime.
Surrey probably felt they had done well to get to 296 after having been 50/3 just after the powerplay ended with Smith, Capsey and Wyatt-Hodge all out cheaply, Kate Cross (3/55) taking two of the wickets. Paige Scholfield's (87) and Alice Davidson-Richards' (100) 143 run partnership set Surrey up to post a total well in excess of 300, but the last 17 overs only produced 103 runs, rather than the 153 needed. 
In response Lancs were 133/3 at the halfway stage, still needing another 164 from the next 25 overs, plus they had already lost Emma Lamb and Eve Jones (52), who have been prolific scorers this season so far. Under pressure Lancs' middle order finally came to the party with Katie Mack (84) and Fi Morris (90*) taking the score past 200 and then Morris and Ellie Threlkeld (25) combining to bring Lancs home with 12 balls to spare with an unbroken partnership of 85.
None of the eight bowlers used by skipper Bryony Smith will have enjoyed their afternoon out. 
Highlights - Lancashire v Surrey 

Warwickshire v Somerset 
Somerset 297/6 v Warwickshire 249 ao (48.5 ovs)
Somerset built themselves a decent total based around an initial 70 from Heather Knight, and followed by 111* from Sophie Luff, as the Warwickshire bowlers toiled away on a good Edgbaston wicket with a short boundary on one side. Four wickets in the last 17 balls of the Somerset innings for Emily Arlott meant she finished with 4/65 as Somerset set Warwickshire 298 to win.
At 143/2 at the halfway stage Warwickshire looked on course to challenge Somerset's total with Sterre Kalis (60 off 49) having laid the platform, but Warwickshire contrived to lose six wickets for just 26 runs to go from 153/2 to 179/8, and the game was lost. A battling 50 from skipper Georgia Davis coming in at 10 showed what might have been, as she and Issy Wong (24) added 70 for the 9th wicket, but as they ran out of overs they also ran out of wickets, ending 48 runs short.
Highlights - Warwickshire v Somerset

Metr0 Bank One Day Cup Table after five rounds

Martin Davies
7/V/25

Metro Bank One Day Cup - Round Four

Durham v Somerset
Durham 216 all out (revised target of 213)v Somerset 215/6 (37.3 ovs of 39 ovs) 

After a delayed start at a chilly and wet Chester-le-Street Durham lost Suzie Bates, playing on to a wide ball, in the four minutes of play that were possible before the teams left the field for another hour, that reduced the match to 39 overs per side.
When they returned they fared little better as their top order batting subsided to 49/4 with only Hollie Armitage (89) showing much resilience. Ellie Anderson (3/49) accounting for three of the four to fall. Armitage finally found some more reliable partners in Leah Dobson (21) and Phoebe Turner (35), before she was deceived by Amanda Jade Wellington. Turner then combined with Katherine Fraser (30) to take Durham's score past 200, but as the overs ran out Durham lost their last four wickets for just 13 runs, with Chloe Skelton (3/16) taking the last three in five balls to set Somerset just 216 to chase.
Without Heather Knight Somerset looked light on experienced batting, and when they lost their first couple of wickets with just 21 on the board their chances of winning looked bleak, but Rebecca Odgers (60) and the experienced Fran Wilson (68) kept the scoreboard ticking over and added 72 in 15 overs before Odgers was lbw to Katie Levick (2/33) missing a sweep. Much rested on Wilson and when she was out in the 32nd over Somerset still needed 38 off the last 46 balls. That equation became 27 off 24 balls, but Somerset's Antipodean finisher extraordinaire, Wellington (31*), hit Katherine Fraser for three consecutive 4s at the start of the 38th over to win the game by 4 wickets and take Somerset to second in the table.
Highlights - Durham v Somerset

Essex v Lancashire
Lancashire 230/8 v Essex 231/5 (47.2 ovs)
Lancashire's in-form openers Eve Jones (57) and Emma Lamb (43) got them off to another flying start with another opening stand in excess of 100 in less than 20 overs. But when leg-spinner Abtaha Maqsood (3/42) removed Jones, and Kate Coppack (2/39) accounted for Lamb, scoring runs suddenly looked more difficult for Lancashire. Of the rest of the batters only Katie Mack (39) got past 17 and that was off 59 balls. Lancashire finished on a below-par 230/8 with Jodie Grewcock (2/36) bowling a tight ten over spell.
Winless Essex's reply was assured and confident. An opening stand of 77 was broken only when Grace Scrivens (32) missed an unnecessary reverse sweep, and when Lissy Macleod (45) followed 2 overs later Essex's nerves may have started to jangle, but Grewcock (73*) capped a fine all-round day as she calmly combined with first Cordelia Griffith (24) and then Flo Miller (41) to take Essex's first points of the season with 16 balls and five wickets in hand.
Highlights - Essex v Lancs

Surrey v Warwickshire
Surrey 313/7 v Warwickshire 314/7 (46.3 ovs)
The flat track at Beckenham once again produced a mountain of runs with Surrey losing out despite posting 313/7 in the first innings.
All of the top six Surrey batters got into double figures with Bryony Smith reaching 78 before holing out and Sophia Dunkley (102*) reaching her hundred off the penultimate ball of the Surrey innings. Emily Arlott (2/51) and Issy Wong (2/59) claimed a couple of wickets each.
Warwickshire rattled along at 7 an over in the powerplay, but lost three wickets in the process, as their batters tried to be positive, but failed to keep the ball on the ground. But from 59/3 Davina Perrin (69) and Nat Wraith (54) took Warwickshire to 173/3 before the halfway stage in their innings. When both fell within a few balls the wheels could easily have come off the chase but Bethan Ellis (63*) found willing and able partners in Emily Arlott (26) and Charis Pavely (30) to take the score past 300 and she justifiable finished the run chase with plenty up her sleeve to inflict a third defeat on Surrey and keep Warwickshire in the top three in the league.
Highlights - Surrey v Warwickshire

The Blaze v Hampshire
Hampshire 189/7 v The Blaze 192/3 (36.5 ovs)
With the exception of Ella McCaughan (57) Hampshire's top order had a forgettable day out at a windy and nippy Trent Bridge, in front of a good crowd, enjoying not only the cricket, but the Street Food Fair on the outer concourse. Maia Bouchier smashed a wide half-volley from Grace Ballinger onto her stumps and Charli Knott and Rhianna Southby committed the cardinal sin of trying to cut Sarah Glenn (3/36) off their stumps only to miss and be bowled. When McCaughan spooned a wide loopy leg-spinner from Josie Groves into the hands of cover point Hampshire were 101/5. Abi Norgrove (17) and Nancy Harman (19) flattered to deceive and only a highest team partnership of 46 between Freya Davies (25*) and Poppy Tulloch (18*) prevented Hampshire posting less than 150. 
A chase of 190 looked a formality, but opening bowlers Davies (1/38) and Lauren Bell (2/36) kept Hampshire in the game as The Blaze managed only 31/2 in the powerplay, and when Bell got Sarah Bryce in the 12th over, Hampshire dared to dream.
But the fluent Tammy Beaumont (112*) and the obdurate ex-Viper Georgia Elwiss (58*) combined to take the game away from Hampshire with an unbroken stand of 159, and take themselves to the top of the league with a thoroughly-deserved bonus point win. 

Highlights - The Blaze v Hampshire

Metro Bank One Day Cup Table after Four Rounds

Martin Davies
5/V/25

Metro Bank One Day Cup - Round Three

The Blaze v Warwickshire
The Blaze 252/9 v Warwickshire 211 ao (42.3 ovs)
Having been put into bat The Blaze could not have got off to a worse start, losing Amy Jones for a duck lbw to Wong and next ball Kathryn Bryce needlessly run out, but Tammy Beaumont (38) and Sarah Bryce (52) not only steadied the ship, but put it on course for a decent total, as they rattled along at over 6 an over, and it took a good diving catch from Abbey Freeborn behind the stumps to remove Beaumont. But that stand of 74 turned out to be the best The Blaze could manage as their batters got in, only to get out. Emily Arlott was the main wicket-taker with 3/39 as The Blaze ended with an under par 252/9.
Warwickshire adopted a cautious approach to their reply....very cautious. After 10 overs Sterre Kalis (27 off 57) and Freeborn (40 off 60) had taken the score to 28/0, with just 15 scoring shots in the opening 60 balls. Kalis' demise in the 8th over introduced Davina Perrin, who scored a run-a-ball 53, and she and Freeborn took Warwickshire to 123/1 in the 27th over. But within 7 overs Warwickshire found themselves on the back foot at 157/5. A swashbuckling stand of 36 between Nat Wraith (34) and Charis Pavely (25) took them to 203/6 with 11 overs to get the 50 runs they needed. The win was on, but Blaze skipper Kathryn Bryce (5/38) having missed out with the bat, was not going to miss out with the ball. She blew away the Warwickshire tail as they fell to 211 all out (with Chloe Brewer not batting). 
Highlights - The Blaze v Warks

Lancashire v Hampshire
Lancashire 292/6 v Hampshire 295/2 (47 ovs)
After looking at the wicket and, quite rightly, assessing it as a complete road, Hampshire decided to insert Lancashire so they could set a target and Hampshire could attempt to chase it.
Lancashire openers, Eve Jones (107) and Emma Lamb (86) have been in fine form and presented with the opportunity to bat on this Southport wicket they grabbed it with both hands. With a short boundary on one side and straight, and a lightning fast outfield there was no room for error for the bowlers. With Bell resting, 19 year old opening bowler debutant Daisy Gibb was thrown in at the deep end, and she proved her worth with a tight opening spell. After 10 overs Lancashire had made their way to a steady 49/0. They continued to make serene progress as the deckchaired crowd lapped up the boundaries and the glorious West Lancs' sunshine.
At the midway point Lancs were 132/0 and the first chance did not come until the 31st over when Bouchier put down Jones off Smith on the deep midwicket boundary. Jones was on 78 at the time. But in the next over it was her partner who departed to a smart stumping (one of three) by Rhianna Southby off a floated legbreak from Nancy Harman. The opening pair had added 185. With a brisk 35 off 28 balls from Katie Mack, the stage was set for a score well in excess of 300. But the last 11 overs produced only 62 runs for Lancs as Charli Knott (2/42) and Georgia Adams (2/52) kept tight lines and Jones struggled through the nervous 90s. She eventually departed in the 48th over, but without the explosive finish Lancashire needed. 
In response Hampshire needed a good first 25 overs, and they got it through Ella McCaughan (133*) and Maia Bouchier (77). The pair put on 137 for the first wicket in just under 25 overs, with Bouchier the main aggressor. Both struck the ball sweetly as the Hampshire innings mirrored the Lancashire one. After 40 overs Hampshire were 247/1 (just 9 ahead of where Lancs had been at the same stage) and just beginning to press the accelerator. McCaughan had got to her maiden hundred off 113 balls four overs earlier and she and Knott (47) effectively put the game to bed as they helped themselves to 74 runs in a 50 ball spell before Knott was expertly stumped down the legside by Ellie Threlkeld. But it was too little too late as Hampshire rushed to victory with 12 runs in the 47th over, and 22 year old McCaughan carrying her bat for a very mature 133*.
Little did they know at the time, but Hampshire would find themselves as the only unbeaten team in the league and top of the table as they took the long bus journey back to Southampton. 
Highlights - Lancs v Hants 

Surrey v Durham
Surrey 348/6 v Durham 244 (45.1 ovs)
Surrey's star-studded batting line-up finally found their feet this season as they used the flat and fast Beckenham pitch to their best advantage racking up 348/6 against newcomers Durham. A third wicket stand of 155 between Alice Capsey (79) and Sophia Dunkley (92) set up Surrey, who added a swift 107 runs in the last 10 overs of their innings with cameos from Alice Monaghan (32 off 25), Alice Davidson-Richards (40 off 23) and Paige Scholfield (21 off 10). 
In reality Durham's chances of winning had gone in the first 16 overs of their reply, with Marlow, Armitage, Bates, Heath and Villiers all back in the dug out with just 87 runs on the board. A fine partnership of 93 between Leah Dobson (53) and Katherine Fraser (43) added some respectability to the Durham scoreline, but they were always fighting a losing battle with no wickets to play with. Inevitably as they tried to up the run rate more wickets tumbled and they finished 104 runs behind on 244 when Abi Glen cut Ryana Macdonald-Gay to cover point for her third wicket (3/38). Spinners Smith, Moore and Gregory had all picked up two apiece. 
The win was Surrey's first in Tier 1, which they will look to repeat back on the same ground on Sunday against Warwickshire. 
Highlights - Surrey v Durham

Somerset v Essex
Essex 184 ao (42.5 ovs) v Somerset 185/5 (35.5 ovs)
Essex once again failed to reach 200 with the bat and crashed to their third defeat in three games as Somerset bounded past their 184 all out in under 36 overs.
Within 12 balls Essex were three down - Jo Gardner, Cordelia Griffith and Jodie Grewcock all out for ducks. Skipper Grace Scrivens (27) and Flo Miller (19) set about shoring up the innings, but having taken the score to 50 they both fell leaving Essex with their backs against the wall, having lost half their side. 
Rather than going for the jugular Somerset took their foot off the gas a little, and allowed the Essex middle and lower order, ably lead by Amara Carr (67), to gradually accumulate runs and their final total of 184 at least gave them something to bowl at. Destroyer-in-chief for Somerset was Heather Knight who took 3/7 to wrap up the Essex innings.
Essex needed a similar start with the ball to their West Country rivals, but despite taking wickets every 30/40 runs they could not put any real pressure on the Somerset chase. Charlie Dean and Heather Knight both made 45, with the former not out, as all the Somerset batters got into double figures with the exception of Alex Griffiths who was 8* when she hit the winning runs taking Somerset to a 5 point win and fourth in the league equal on points with the two teams above them.
Highlights - Somerset v Essex 

Metro Bank One Day Cup Table after Three Rounds

Martin Davies
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