Northern Diamonds vs North West Thunder at Chester-le-Street, Co Durham (Seat Unique Riverside) on 20 April (10h30)
Katie Levick (pictured) chalked-up her first 4-fer of the season, that included 2 ‘leg-before’ decisions. Katie Levick’s previous 4-fer (in last year’s contest) included 3 ‘leg-before’ against the same team (13/9/23.) Playing against some of the ‘most experienced’ players in the competition in their Roses derby, Thunder batters lost their wickets at regular intervals, losing five to ‘leg-before’ decisions. By contrast, Diamonds most experenced batters – skipper Hollie Armitage (61*not out) partnered by Lauren Winfield-Hill (69*not out) – together built a winning partnership that added 107 runs for Diamonds’ 2nd wicket. Diamonds bonus point victory sees them sharing joint first-place after the first round; situated between Sparks and Sunrisers once net-run-rate is taken into account. Weather was dry, overcast but chilly 8-10C.
Thunder’s innings *Skipper Ellie Threlkeld *With Seren Smale (England A) Mahika Gaur (England & England A) Katie Mack (Australia Big bash) Tara Norris (US); [*Lauren Winfield-Hill (England 2013-2022 & Australia Big bash) keeping wicket for ‘Diamonds’] *Only two (Seren Smale & Katie Mack) of Thunder’s top 4 batters made it to double figures – before both batters went ‘leg before.’ *Astonishingly two other top order batters received ‘ducks.’ *Disaster struck during the 10th over (on 47/3) when Katie Mack and Fi Morris were both dismissed, placing bowler Abi Glen on a hat-trick. *Beyond Thunder’s power-play Katie Levick’s 4-fer helped to bowl-out Thunder for a relatively low score of 165. *Thunder’s batting *Seren Smale 32 (49), Katie Mack 19(23), Tara Norris 19(35), Naomi Dattani 17(29), Danielle Collins 16(44); Diamonds’ bowling: Diamonds had elected to bowl. Katie Levick 4/38, Abi Glen 2/31, Sophia Turner 1/16, Erin Burns 1/18 & best economy (1.8), Phoebe Turner 1/24, Jess Woolston 1/28;
Diamonds’ innings *Skipper Hollie Armitage (England A) *With Sterre Kalis (NL) & Erin Burns (Australia Big bash) [*Ellie Threlkeld keeping wicket for Thunder] *Diamonds cautious reply and batters restraint was rewarded by gaining 3 wicket’s advantage after 10 overs power-play 35/0 (vs 47/3). *Thereafter, Sterre Kalis was caught at mid-wicket by by Naomi Dattani after mis-hitting a ‘full toss’ from spinner Hannah Jones. *Scoring opportunities added fifty runs during the second set of ten overs:- Diamonds reached 87/1 @20 overs. *By mid-way (25 overs) Diamonds were 108/1 (vs 97/5); requiring just 58 runs to win @2.3 runs-per-over, with nine wickets in-hand. *There followed a century partnership milestone, celebrated between Lauren Winfield-Hill and Hollie Armitage, during which both batters crafted ‘fifties,’ and ‘cruised’ to claim a bonus point for a convincing win.*Diamonds’ batting Lauren Winfield-Hill 69*not out (92), Hollie Armitage 61*not out(71), Sterre Kalis 28(44); Thunder’s bowling: Hannah Jones 1/34; Mahika Gaur with best economy (3.0)
Match result: Northern Diamonds 166/1 (34.3/50 overs; target 166 @4.8 runs-per-over from 50 overs)beat North West Thunder 165 (43.1/50 overs @3.8 rpo) by nine wickets with 93 balls remaining
*Scorecard courtesy of ECB @URL https://www.ecb.co.uk/rachael-heyhoe-flint-trophy/match-centre/104419#scorecard Note: AppleMac users may need to click on left-hand margin to select 2nd match
*Video highlights x55 via right-margin via ECB & Yorkshire Cricket TV (via NV Play) @URL https://yorkshireccc.com/match/northern-diamonds-v-thunder-at-chester-le-street-rachael-heyhoe-flint-trophy-20-apr-2024/
*Match without sound commentary, accessible free-to-air courtesy of Yorkshire Cricket TV via ‘YouTube’ <4h25m22s> @URL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9vdxIe7K9U&t=13s
