With some of the England players back in the ranks for a one-off appearance before the Ireland series (you can guess the usual no-shows*) the battle of the mid-table teams all got a bit jittery, with just a few games to go before the season finale.
The Blaze's comfortable victory over Warwickshire kept them firmly atop of the ODC table and ensured they will be in the final three come September. Despite their defeat Warwickshire remain in third place.
Somerset and Surrey kept themselves in the third place melee with wins over mid-table Durham and struggling Yorkshire respectively.
Defending champions Lancashire kept their hopes of making the Finals alive with their second victory of the season over second-placed Hampshire, but Hampshire still stay in second 10 points ahead of Warwickshire. With a game in hand this chucks Lancashire firmly into the qualification battle.
There are just 5 points separating Warwickshire in third and Lancashire in seventh. Somerset, Surrey and Lancashire all have a game in hand on the others.
The next round of games is on 3rd September with Lancashire v Surrey looking to be the key game of the round.
Here is what happened in Round 14...
Hampshire v Lancashire
Hampshire 223 all out lost to Lancashire 224/6 by 4 wickets
The retiring Kate Cross put Hampshire on the backfoot with three early wickets and from 29/3 Hampshire did well to post 223. Hampshire simply could not string any partnerships together despite a typically belligerent 61 from Freya Kemp and a controlled 70 not out from Abi Norgrove. At one stage under 200 looked very likely, but Norgrove shepherded the tail to a potentially defendable score.
Lancashire made their typically languid start through Jones and Lamb, and Kesteven did little to up the run rate. But with less than five an over required Lancashire were always in control. Emma Lamb (68*) was the rock and Seren Smale (42*) the finisher as Lancs got over the line with 10 balls to spare.
Somerset v Durham
Durham 248/9 lost to Somerset 251/7 by wickets
Durham had opener Emma Marlow (71*) and their lower middle order to thank for making it to a par score on the good Taunton track. At 95/5 they were in strife, but Marlow, Grace Thompson (41) and Aussie Eleanor Larosa (44) bailed them out. Somerset's Ellie Anderson (5/40) mopped up the tail to claim her (and Somerset's) first ever five-for.
The early departure of in-form batters Sophie Luff and Bex Odgers made Durham early favourites to claim an important win, with both these teams in the mid-table kerfuffle, but Niamh Holland (70) and Charlie Dean (76) added 104 for the fifth wicket to break the back of the chase and Dean took her new county to within 12 of victory before she was bowled. It was too late for Durham.
Warwickshire v The Blaze
The Blaze 282/7 beat Warwickshire 212 all out by 70 runs
Despite five wickets for Issy Wong (5/58) Warwickshire amassed 282/7 with their batters looking comfortable at the crease. Ireland's Orla Prendergast (69) top-scored and there was another 50 for Georgia Elwiss (57), as the Warwickshire bowlers proved to be less than threatening.
The early wickets of Austin and Perrin did nothing to suggest that Warwickshire were going to chase down the formidable total, but Charlie George (89) and Kiwi Brooke Halliday (52) raised the Midlanders' hopes with a stand of 125, but with 20 overs to go Warwickshire still needed another 134 runs. As they tried to maintain the required run rate they lost regular wickets until eventually they just ran out of batters, with overs in hand, but still 70 runs short.
Yorkshire v Surrey
Yorkshire 171 all out lost to Surrey 172/8 by 2 wickets
Having bowled Yorkshire out for a paltry 171 in just 33 overs Surrey must have been eyeing a useful bonus point win to help them try and sneak into the third place play-off spot. As it turned out just winning proved to be a challenge.
Apart from Lauren Winfield-Hill's 48 Yorkshire put up little resistance with the bat. Only four other players made it into double figures with Sarah Glenn's 32 responsible for taking them beyond 150.
At 123/4 Surrey looked in control, if slightly uncomfortable, but then when Hannah Rainey (3/41) wiped out the Surrey middle order Surrey found themselves struggling at 148/8. Fortunately Chira Chatli (66*) was still there and got her team over the line in the 41st over for a deep sigh 4 point win.
* NSB (injured), DWH (injured), Mahika Gaur (injured), Lauren Bell (not injured), Amy Jones (not injured), Sophie Ecclestone (not injured), Linsey Smith (not injured)
Martin Davies
27/VIII/2026
No comments:
Post a Comment