The Blaze vs South East Stars at Leicester, (The Uptonsteel County Ground) on 24 April (10h30)
Recently returned from ‘England A’ tour of New Zealand, Ryana MacDonald-Gay (pictured) chalked up a 5-fer and one catch that helped Stars to back-to-back victories against Blaze at fifty overs. Previously (on 10 September 2023) Alice Davidson-Richards scored a century against Blaze, on the same day as she’d been called-up by England to play Sri Lanka. Witnessing Blaze’s batting collapse including 3 ducks, skipper Kirstie Gordon faced a nightmare innings scoring shy of ‘fifty;’ with last-wicket support from bowler-turned-batter Grace Ballinger. Only three Blaze batters made it to double-figures. Stars batters hit their winning target by a comfortable margin before the customary mid-way pause for drinks was reached.
Blaze’s Innings *Skipper Kirstie Gordon, Sophie Munro (England A), Beth Harmer (England u-19s) *With Michaela Kirk & Nadine deKlerk ‘just flown-in’ (from Rep. South Africa) *Daisy Mullan (on 5-match loan from Thunder) *Without Kathryn & Sarah Bryce (Scotland call-up); *Fielded a ‘youthful’ team (explained by injuries & call-up.) [*Chloe Hill keeping wicket for Stars; Kira Chathli recovering] *During the first 5 overs of power-play, Ryana MacDonald-Gay took 3 wickets. *Marie Kelly (golden duck) was bowled from an inside-edge; *Sophie Munro was bowled middle-and-off; & Ella Claridge was bowled middle-stump. *During the 6th over Phoebe Franklin claimed two wickets; *Nadine deKlerk edged to the keeper (0); *Also Sarah Glenn (0) who was caught at 2nd slip by Alice Davidson-Richards. *Blaze lost their 6th wicket during the power-play when Daisy Mullan went ‘leg before’ to Ryana MacDonald-Gay. *After 10 overs power-play Blaze were 27/6; *Ryana MacDonald-Gay completed her 5-fer: after Teresa Graves was clean-bowled. *Ryana MacDonald-Gay also took a catch in the covers to dismiss Beth Harmer, from Alice Davidson-Richards. *Next over by Alice Davidson-Richards sent Cassidy McCarthy’s bails flying. *By mid-way 67/9; *Bowlers-turned-batters Grace Ballinger and Kirstie Gordon mounted a spirited last-wicket partnership; *Finally, Grace Ballinger went ‘leg-before’ to Bryony Smith. *Blaze’s batting 3 ducks & three batters made double figures: Kirstie Gordon 41*not out(86), Grace Ballinger 25(75), Teresa Graves 15(34); *Stars bowling Ryana MacDonald-Gay 5/31 was the only bowler to bowl her full quota (ten overs); *Alice Davidson-Richards 2/22 (7 overs); *Phoebe Franklin 2/27 (9 overs); *Bryony Smith 1/3 (2 overs) with best economy;
*Stars Innings skipper Bryony Smith, with Ryana MacDonald-Gay & Paige Scholfield (England ‘A’) *Also with Sophia Dunkley, Alice-Davidson-Richards & Tash Farrant (England returner) [Ella Claridge keeping wicket for Blaze in Sarah Bryce’s absence] *Stars power-play was without loss, scoring 48/0 (vs 27/6.) *Bryony Smith 34(33) was caught by Sarah Glenn from Nadine deKlerk. *Paige Scholfield 6(8) was bowled middle-and-leg by Kirstie Gordon. *Stars’ batting *As mentioned above, Stars hit their winning target within 25 overs. *Tash Farrant 68*not out(81), Bryony Smith 34(33), Sophia Dunkley 11*not out(20) *Blaze’s bowling Kirstie Gordon 1/29; Nadine deKlerk 1/31;
Match result: South East Stars 127/2 (23.3/50 overs, target 127 @5.4 runs-per-over) beat The Blaze 126 (42/50 overs 3 rpo) by eight wickets with 159 balls remaining
*Scorecard courtesy of ECB @URL https://www.ecb.co.uk/rachael-heyhoe-flint-trophy/match-centre/104426#scorecard & https://www.southeaststars.com/matches/the-blaze-rhft-24th-apr-2024/
*Video highlights <top-right highlights tab>x40 via ECB & courtesy of South East Stars (via NV Play) @URL https://www.southeaststars.com/matches/the-blaze-rhft-24th-apr-2024/
*Video highlights of Stars batting free-to-air courtesy of Trent Bridge TV via ‘YouTube’ <1h06m46s> @URL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zixDKaJNIXc
