South East Stars vs The Blaze on 20 May (14h30) at Beckenham (Kent County Ground)
Making top-score, Blaze’s Georgie Boyce 63*not out (from 38 balls) enjoyed one of the ‘best games of cricket’ (in which) she’d ever played. England’s Tammy Beaumont 43(31) ‘laid the foundation’ for Blaze’s successful run-chase. Match advantage swung between both teams as Blaze slipped behind after four wickets fell in quick succession (Blaze 5/91 vs Stars 5/116.) Thereafter, Blaze lost no more wickets. Georgie Boyce and Nadine deKlerk (Rep. South Africa International) saw Blaze home for their first ever Charlotte Edwards Cup win, by a five-wicket margin. Video highlights from ECB online (NV Play) with match video without commentary, from South East Stars. Post-match interviews with Georgie Boyce (Blaze) & Phoebe Franklin (Stars) conducted by BBC Sport – please see below. Fine cloudy afternoon, with wind-chill from a stiff breeze.
Stars innings *Skipper Bryony Smith.*England’s Sophia Dunkley & Alice Davidson-Richards. Stars innings was built firstly by Sophia Dunkley partnering Bryony Smith (adding 20 for 1st wicket); then with top-scorer Phoebe Franklin (adding 22 for 4th wicket.) *Stars lost three early wickets during the Power-play. *Bryony Smith 18(9) was caught aerial at deep-mid-wicket by Marie Kelly from Kirstie Gordon. *Tash Farrant was trapped ‘leg before’ by Grace Ballinger for a 3rd ball duck. *Paige Scholfield drove Natalie Sciver-Brunt straight to the ‘covers’ and was caught by Sarah Glenn. *After 6 overs, Stars were 48/3. 3 balls later, Sophia Dunkley 20(18) was clean-bowled by Sarah Glenn.*Stars reached 67/4 by mid-way. *Stars second key partnership between Phoebe Franklin and Kira Chathili added 68 for 5th wicket. *Missing a ‘paddle-sweep,’ Kira Chathli 24(27) was bowled by Nadine deKlerk. *After 16.4 overs, Stars were 123/5 with 20 balls remaining.*Top-scorer Phoebe Franklin and Alice Davidson-Richards added 24 for Stars’ 6th wicket until Phoebe Franklin 53(43) was bowled by Natalie Sciver-Brunt. *Partnership between Alice Davidson-Richards and Ryana Macdonald-Gay added 20 runs for Stars 7th wicket. *36 runs came from last three overs, Alice Davidson-Richards power-hitting 24(13) plus 6 extras, until bowled during Nadine deKlerk’s ‘death’ over. *Next ball Kalea Moore 0(1) was bowled through-the-gate for a ‘golden duck,’ her leg stump flattened. *Freya Davies survived Nadine deKlerk’s ‘hat trick’ ball, also the last ball of Stars’ innings. *Nadine deKlerk (3/21) was Blaze’s best bowler (3-fer)
Blaze innings *Skipper Kirstie Gordon *England’s Natalie Sciver-Brunt & Sarah Glenn. *Scotland’s Kathryn Bryce & Sarah Bryce.*International player Nadine deKlerk (Rep.South Africa.) *During the 4th over, Marie Kelly 5(5) was caught by Alice Davidson-Richards at ‘deep midwicket,’ from Paige Scholfield. *After 6 overs Power-play, Blaze were 51/1(vs 48/3) staying a nose ahead by mid-way 83/3 (vs 67/4.) Accoring to post-match interviews, perceived match advantage sung when 4 Blaze wickets fell in quick succession (during the 9-12th overs.) *Natalie Sciver-Brunt 19(17) launched toward deep-mid-wicket, caught by Tash Farrant from Paige Scholfield. *Tammy Beaumont 48(31) was caught short of ‘fifty’ by Bryony Smith at ‘mid-off’ from Ryana Macdonald-Gay (1/22) *Kathryn Bryce was caught behind by keeper Kira Chathli from Alice Davidson-Richards *Sarah Glenn was caught by Alice Davidson-Richards from Phoebe Franklin. *By comparison: Blaze 5/91 (vs Stars 5/116); recovered to 139/5 (vs 123/5) after 16.4overs (100 ball benchmark with 20 balls remaining.) *Thereafter, Georgie Boyce and Nadine deKlerk 16*not out (15) saw Blaze home.
Match summary Stars batters formed useful partnerships (between Sophia Dunkley, Phoebe Franklin and Alice Davidson-Richards.) Phoebe Franklin top-scored with ‘fifty.’ Nadine deKlerk scored a 3-fer (3/21.) Tammy Beaumont ‘laid the foundation’ for Blaze’s successful run-chase. Match advantage swung to Stars as Blaze slipped behind after ‘losing four wickets in the middle’ (5/91 vs 5/116.) Thereafter, top-scorer Georgie Boyce (63*not out) and Nadine deKlerk saw Blaze home for their first ever Charlotte Edwards Cup win. After the match, top batters from each team (Georgie Boyce & Phoebe Franklin) spoke to BBC Sport.
Match result: The Blaze Women 161/5 beat South East Stars Women 160/8 by 5 wickets (with 4 balls remaining)
Stars batting: 160/8 (20/20overs @8 runs-per-over) Phoebe Franklin 53(43), Alice Davidson-Richards 24(13), Kira Chathli 24(27), Sophia Dunkley 20(18), Bryony Smith 18(9); Blaze bowling: Nadine deKlerk 3/21, Natalie Sciver-Brunt 2/46, Sarah Glenn 1/13, Grace Ballinger 1/19, Kirstie Gordon 1/36. Fow 1-20, 2-21, 3-26, 4-48, 5-116, 6-140, 7-160, 8-160.
Blaze batting: 161/5 (19.2/20overs @8.32 r-p-o) Georgie Boyce 63*(38), Tammy Beaumont 48(31), Natalie Sciver-Brunt 19(17), Nadine deKlerk 16*(15); Stars bowling: Paige Scholfield 2/26, Alice Davidson-Richards 1/16, Phoebe Franklin 1/19, Ryana Macdonald-Gay 1/22. Fow 1-30, 2-69, 3-78, 4-85, 5-91.
Scorecard with video highlights, courtesy of ECB via NV Play on YouTube at URL https://live.nvplay.com/ecb/#md036c00d-7756-4d73-b241-67b86461ec81_~bbb
Full video without commentary, starting from 12m54s/02h55m47s courtesy of South East Stars on YouTube at URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYBlNuBnVdY
Post-match interview summaries by BBC Sport with Georgie Boyce (Blaze) & Phoebe Franklin (Stars) at URL: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/65659146
The Blaze awarded 4 points. Latest England and Wales Cricket Board tables at URL: https://www.ecb.co.uk/matches/rachael-heyhoe-flint/tables
