NW Thunder vs SE Stars at Manchester (Emirates Old Trafford) on 22 April 2023
Equalling the highest competition score (334), Stars’ debutante Paige Scholfield (pictured) struck 111* not out. Together with Alice Davidson-Richards (73) who played anchor role, the pair mounted a match-winning partnership of 143-runs. Despite both sides peppering ‘dot’ balls (156 Thunder vs 144 Stars) Thunder couldn’t match the ferocity of Stars’ batters. For Thunder, top-scorer Deandre Dottin (‘fifty’) and Naomi Dattani showed spirited resistance. Commentators Michael McCann with Alison Byrne (ex Lancs women); with guest Sachi Pai (Thunder) remained optimistic until Ryana Macdonald-Gay took two and England’s Freya Davies took three of Thunder’s remaining wickets. Old Trafford was described by commentators as a ‘flat pitch.’ Weather was overcast, chilly, grey except for ’two patches of blue sky.’ Broadcast free-to-air for ECB by NV Play on ‘YouTube’ – please see below.
Stars innings *Wasp kit. *Skipper Bryony Smith. *Cautious Power-play (39/0) during which there were 40/60 ‘dot’ balls. *By mid-way, Stars were 119/2, losing both openers. *Firstly Ryana Macdonald-Gay 19(32) to (ex) West Indies star Deandre Dottin’s (1/58) 6th ball. *Secondly Kira Chathli 48(83) was caught on the boundary by skipper Cross, two short of ‘fifty,’ from Alex Hartley’s (1/22) spin. *Debutante bowler Liv Thomas (1/28) took her first wicket when skipper Smith 35(31) was caught by Fi Morris. *Thereafter, Alice Davidson-Richards 73(91) (wearing her trademark ‘AD-R’ shirt for batting) and Paige Scholfield on debut from Vipers: together mounted a match-winning partnership of 143-runs. *Liv Thomas’ debut turned from ‘good’ to ‘great,’ catching AD-R from Tara Norris. *Finally, Paige Scholfield 111(90) not out, lofted international pace bowlers Deandre Dottin, Kate Cross and Tara Norris each for ‘six,’ from the last three overs.
Thunder Innings *Red kit. Skipper Ellie Threlkeld – having earlier kept wicket as usual, without wearing pads. *Debutantes: Naomi Dattani (from Sunrisers) Fi Morris (from Storm) Tara Norris (US International, from Vipers) and Olivia ‘Liv’ Thomas. *After 10 overs Power-play, Thunder were 27/1 (vs39/0) *England’s Emma Lamb 6(13) was caught behind by Kira Chathli from Phoebe Franklin. *Fellow opener Naomi Dattani 33(62) nudged Thunder back into contention partnering Fi Morris 18(25) and skipper Threlkeld 14(23) *By mid-way, Thunder were 108/4 (vs 119/2) *Batting lower down (at No.5) Deandre Dottin 51(42) top-scored with her first ‘fifty’ for Thunder, making-up for batters failing to reach double-figures. *Commentators curse struck when Danni Collins 15(36) was caught by skipper Smith and skipper Cross (0) went for a second ball duck, snicking an edge to Kira Chathli. *Both wickets fell during the same over from Ryana Macdonald-Gay (2/40) *England’s Freya Davies (3/27) returned to skittle three tail-enders, to win the match for Stars, with eight overs to spare.
Match Summary
Equalling the highest competition score, Stars debutante Paige Scholfield struck 111* not out, with 11 ‘fours’ and scored 5 of Stars’ 10 ‘sixes’; lofting Thunders’ international pace bowlers Deandre Dottin, Kate Cross and Tara Norris each for ‘six,’ from Stars’ last three overs. Together with Alice Davidson-Richards (73) who played anchor role, the pair mounted a match-winning partnership of 143-runs. For Thunder, Deandre Dottin was top-scorer with ‘fifty.’ On 143/5 and with hard-hitting Deandre Dottin back in the dug-out, tail-enders were faced by an insurmountable task to score more than 10-runs-per-over. Thunder’s five remaining wickets fell within 8 overs, handing victory to Stars by a wide margin.
Result: South-East Stars Women 334/5 beat North-West Thunder Women 203, by 131 runs and with 48 balls remaining
Stars batting: 334/5 (50overs @6.68 runs-per-over),
Paige Scholfield 111(90), Alice Davidson-Richards 73(58), Kira Chathli 48(83), Bryony Smith 35(31), Ryana Macdonald-Gay 19(32), Emma Jones 18(9);
Thunder bowling: Alex Hartley 1/22, Olivia ‘Liv’ Thomas 1/28, Deandre Dottin 1/58, Tara Norris 1/66.
Fow 1-52, 2-101, 3-130, 4-273, 5-332.
Thunder batting: 203/10 (42/50overs@4.83 runs-per-over) target 335 from 50 overs,
Deandre Dottin 51(42), Naomi Dattani 33(62), Liberty ‘Libby’ Heap 23(17), Tara Norris 18*(13), Fi Morris 18(25), Danni Collins 15(36), Eleanor ‘Ellie’ Threlkeld 14(23);
Stars bowling: Freya Davies 3/27, Danni Gregory 2/36, Ryana Macdonald-Gay 2/40, Paige Scholfield 1/10, Phoebe Franklin 1/23, Alice Davidson-Richards 1/30.
Fow 1-6, 2-37, 3-68, 4-105, 5-143, 6-159, 7-159, 8-171, 9-184, 10-203.
Scorecard with video highlights, courtesy of ECB via NV-Play on YouTube at URL: https://live.nvplay.com/ecb/#m8ea2e9f0-d064-4c0b-83af-ee697b4f9829_~scorecard
Match with commentary (starting from 08m30s/07h09m24s) courtesy of LancsTV on YouTube at URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvgIpt9kPNc
Stars awarded 5 points. After one round, Stars top the table jointly with Sunrisers and The Blaze. Latest English Cricket Board tables at URL: https://www.ecb.co.uk/matches/rachael-heyhoe-flint/tables
