Three women’s friendly matches were played on 25 June, as warm-ups for the Rachael Heyhoe Flint trophy (50 overs): minus key players called-up for England duty.
Top scorer of the day was Ami Campbell (pictured) who hit 107 runs (strike rate 100), for Sparks run chase (vs Vipers.) Second and third top scorers were Fran Wilson (89 runs from 61 balls); and Sophie Luff (86 from 73.)
Sparks vs Vipers held at Sir Paul Getty’s Ground, Wormsley *Defending champions Vipers 307/7 (50 overs) beat Central Sparks 268/10 (49.3/50 overs) by 39 runs and 3 balls remaining. *Vipers openers Danni Wyatt (44 runs from 50 balls) and skipper Georgia Adams (76 from 95) together banked 96 runs for Vipers’ first-wicket. *Bagging three ‘sixes’ from Sparks newbie bowler Ellie Anderson, Freya Kemp hit 58* from just 33 balls. *Sparks reply. *Sparks lost their first two wickets during the seventh over, placing Vipers’ seamer Tara Norris on a ’hat trick.’ Vipers used eight bowlers, with only slow-arm bowler Charlotte Taylor (2/41) bowling her full-quota: that included two maidens. Scoring 107 at one-run-per-ball, Ami Campbell (107 from 107) top-scored for Sparks, until caught-and-bowled during the penultimate over by newbie Nancy Harman. See URL: https://live.nvplay.com/ecb/#m51e701c8-f0ba-494c-b8f1-a864caa307b1
Thunder vs SE Stars at Beckenham *South East Stars 230/10 (48.4/50 overs) beat Thunder 127/10 (38/50 overs) by 103 runs. *For Stars, Bryony Smith hit a skipper’s ‘fifty’ (54 runs from 63 balls.) *Keeper Kira Chathli (29 runs from 43 balls) and Phoebe Franklin were promoted up the batting order. *Two Thunder bowlers each took three wickets (Laura Jackson 3/37 and Georgie Boyce 3/34) *Recovering from 116/5, Stars’ posted 200 thanks to lower-order batters making double-figures. *Thunder’s reply. *Both openers went for a combined total of five runs, during a nightmare power play. *Thunder lacked batting firepower to stage any recovery. *On a ’hat trick,’ Stars spinner Danielle Gregory took two wickets during Thunder’s fourteenth over. *Around mid-way, Stars swapped their keepers, as Rhianna Southby took over from Kira Chathli, who remained on the field. *Stars won convincingly, by a wide-margin of over 100 runs, with 12 overs remaining. See URL: https://live.nvplay.com/ecb/#m0e41b725-a6b4-4488-acb9-e257a035c671
T *Western Storm 324/6 (50 overs) beat Lightning 283/9 (DLS target 289 from 42 overs) by 5 runs (Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method.) *Storms’ four top order batters amassed 270 runs. *Fran Wilson (89 runs from 61 balls) and & Sophie Luff (86 from 73) added 122 for Storm’s third wicket. *As might be expected by the title, both innings were affected by inclement weather (for thirty minutes, then thirty minutes play, and another hour for more rain in between.) *Lightning’s reply. *After ten overs’ stop-start power play, Lightning were ahead: 94/0 (vs 46/0) *Lightning’s openers went on to bank 123 runs: Marie Kelly (68 runs from 56 balls); and Sarah Bryce (40 from 40.) *Lightning stayed ahead until the 100 ball benchmark (16.4 overs) 138/2 (vs 75/0); but lost four more wickets by mid-way: 179/6 after 25/50 overs (vs 128/1.) *With a revised target and 8 overs docked for rain, Umpires awarded the match by a whisker to Sophie Luff’s Storm (DLS method.) See URL: https://live.nvplay.com/ecb/#m82af35c7-3d60-4f88-b85e-0f335ba39aab
Acknowledgement: scorecards, statistics and edited highlights, compiled by ‘NV Play’, free-to-view via the Internet, courtesy of ECB.
Footnote: Next Rachael Heyhoe Flint round on 2 July. Updated fixture list can be viewed at URL http://4theloveofsport.co.uk/2022/04/30/rachael-heyhoe-flint-trophy-fixtures-2022/
