WCC13 Review - Div One - Lottie takes Kent to three wins!

Division One

The first Bank Holiday double-header has brought some great weather, some great performances and the true beginning of an all too brief County Championship campaign (Kent only have five games left to play!).

The weekend saw two more wins for Kent (and two unbeaten centuries for Charlotte Edwards) against Middlesex and Notts, which makes it three wins out of three for them. Sussex also have a 100% record after wins over Warwickshire and Surrey, as do Yorkshire who conquered Surrey and Middlesex. Berkshire are the only other unbeaten team as they too overcame Middlesex in their only game of the weekend.

It looks as though Kent and Sussex are once again the teams to beat this season, with Surrey, Middlesex and Essex struggling for early season form. Warwickshire are also nought from two, but they have played both Kent and Sussex. Their season will improve. Yorkshire and Notts have both made good starts and are likely to remain in the mix as the season progresses. The next Division One games are on Sunday 19th May, before another Bank Holiday double-header at the end of May.

Notts 228/6 v Essex 126 ao - Essex won by 102 runs
Sonia Odedra continued her fine run of form with the bat scoring 89 and Danni Wyatt chipped in with her first 50 for Notts. In reply Essex never really got going with number eight Hannah Courtnell top scoring with 27. Danni Wyatt, Ruth Barron and Lucy Maxwell all picked up two wickets.

Middlesex 209/2 v Kent 210/2 (39.2 ovs) - Kent won by 8 wickets
Middlesex were probably pretty satisfied with 209 based around a 159 ball hundred from Natasha Miles and a run a ball 60 from Aussie import Emma Inglis, but it proved to be far too few as Charlotte Edwards (120*) and Lydia Greenway (58*) took Kent to victory in less than 40 overs.

Yorkshire 169 ao v Surrey 157 ao - Yorkshire won by 12 runs
Yorkshire's score was built around a magnificent 96 from Lauren Winfield. The only other Yorkshire bat to reach double figures was Hollie Armitage (25). Jess Jackson claimed 3/27. In reply Surrey had reached 122/4 before Natalie Sciver fell for 68, when Surrey ran out of steam. Sarah Clarke (22) kept Surrey hopes alive, but she fell lbw to Armitage who mopped up the tail to claim 3/2.

Warwicks 135/9 v Sussex 136/6 (41.2 ovs) - Sussex won by 4 wickets
Warwickshire struggled to post a decent score on a sticky outfield against accurate bowling, with none of their batsmen getting beyond 23. Sarah Taylor limped off after 16 overs with a knee injury, never to return. Holly Colvin claimed 3/16 and Alexia Walker 3/24. Hannah Phelps (36) top-scored for Sussex as they plodded to victory after being 39/3 at one stage.

Yorkshire 194/5 v Essex 125 ao - Yorkshire won by 69 runs
After a duck the previous day Danni Hazell hit a steady 46, with useful contributions from Saliann Briggs (31*) and Jess Watson (30) helping to set a decent target. Essex were soon 8/3 in reply as Laura Spragg (5/11) blew away the top order. Beth MacGregor (32) and Beth Langstone (28) briefly got Essex back in the game, with late order help from Hannah Courtnell (30), but they lost their last four wickets for just five runs to crash to their second defeat of the weekend.

Berkshire 286/2 v Middlesex 247/5 - Berkshire won by 39 runs
It was a run-fest at Uxbridge lead by Berkshire skipper Heather Knight with a magnificent 153 not out. Alice Macleod (68) and Fi Morris (41) also enjoyed the conditions. Cath Dalton (89*) lead the Middlesex reply with help from Natasha Miles (46), but Middlesex could not keep up with the required run-rate of over five an over and fell short with wickets in hand. Sherisa Gumbs claimed 3/49 on a day most bowlers will be happy to forget.

Notts 192/8 v Kent 196/3 - Kent won by 7 wickets
Notts set Kent a target of 193 to win thanks to another fine 84 from Sonia Odedra, but it was never going to be enough with Charlotte Edwards (128*) in imperious form at the moment, hitting her third century in as many innings this year. Charlotte Pape claimed 3/37 as the Kent bowlers kept the Notts batsmen in check.

Surrey 181/6 v Sussex 182/1 (35.5 ovs) - Sussex won by 9 wickets
Surrey owed their reasonable total to Natalie Sciver (96), who fell agoningsly short of a deserved hundred when she pulled a long hop straight to midwicket. She was the only Surrey bat to come to terms with the slow Hove wicket. 10 runs from the opening over of the Sussex innings, all to Georgia Elwiss (105*), set the

Georgia Elwiss celebrates her maiden Sussex century

tone for the Sussex innings, which rattled along nicely against some tired looking bowlers. Elwiss completed her maiden century for Sussex as the home team romped home.

MD
07/V/13