Central Sparks vs Southern Vipers Worcester, New Road on 16 June 2024 at 10h30
‘Nothing to lose’ with both teams qualified for finals day (Sparks qualified 3rd; Vipers 4th); and Vipers ‘beefed-up’ by their full complement of England players. Remarkably, Sparks put in a match-winning performance, not only from their bowlers, four of whom took two Vipers wickets each; but also from their batters who collectively struck double-the-number of scoring shots than their opponents [11 ‘fours’ (versus 6) and 3 ’sixes’ (vs 1).] Also, it was undeniable that Sparks’ pair of England u-19s players featured prominently throughout the match, whereas Vipers’ u-19’s (Mary Taylor & Ava Lee) were nowhere to be seen.
Firstly, Charis Pavely (often gaffed by commentators as ‘Katie George’ as from a distance they ‘look similar’) claimed the ‘prized’ wicket of England’s Maia Bouchier, whom she caught-and-bowled during Vipers’ power-play. Next over, England u-19 counterpart Davina Perrin ‘ran-out’ Vipers’ skipper Adams, with both batters left stranded at the striker’s end, from stand-in Sparks’ skipper’s bowling.
Beyond mid-way, Charis Pavely bagged another ‘prized’ wicket by catching England’s Charlie Dean. Separately Davina Perrin helped herself to 11 runs from England’s Lauren Bell’s first over and chalked-up joint-top-score [26 runs (from 17 balls)] albeit at a faster-strike rate than England’s Amy Jones. Finally, Charis Pavely played sensibly to keep Courtney Webb on strike to score Sparks’ winning runs. Interviewed post-match, the double-defending champions’ head coach expressed her disappointment to Kev James that Vipers failed to score 100, were bowled out with two overs to spare, and beaten by Sparks batters by such by a wide margin. Commentators were Clare B Jenkins (Women’s cricket commentator & ex-Somerset & Derbys Women) with Kevan ‘Kev’ James (BBC Sport.) Special guests Dr Raf Nicholson & Syd Egan: both CRICKETHer social-media ‘podcast.’ Weather was mostly sunny 15-20C.
*Vipers’ innings: skipper Georgia Adams & Linsey Smith (England ‘A’) with Maia Bouchier, Freya Davies, Charlie Dean, Freya Kemp & Danni Wyatt (England); Georgia Elwiss (ex England); *Also with Charli Knott (Australia Big-bash); [*Amy Jones keeping wicket for Sparks]; *Danni Wyatt was caught at ‘cover’ by Ami Campbell (misreported as ‘Potts’ by non-UK sources), from Grace Potts’ bowling; *’In-form’ Charli Knott took a ‘huge heave,’ missed a slog leg-side, and was bowled by Katie George; *Cursed by commentators for previously collecting two ducks but scoring the only ‘six,’ *Maia Bouchier was caught-and-bowled by Charis Pavely, coming over-the-wicket; *After 6 overs power-play, 46/3; *Next over, Georgia Adams was ‘run-out’ by Davina Perrin, from misunderstanding over a ‘leg-bye,’ with both batters found to be standing at the striker’s end; *Seven balls later Freya Kemp was caught by Ria Fackrell who took a ‘decent’ boundary catch, from Bethan Ellis; *By mid-way 63/5; *Next over Charlie Dean was caught by Charis Pavely (gaffed as Katie George), from Ria Fackrell, *Georgia Elwiss was caught at ‘mid-wicket’ by Abbey Freeborn, also from Ria Fackrell; *Linsey Smith went ‘leg-before’ to Bethan Ellis; Freya Davies was caught by Courtney Webb from Grace Potts; *Finally, Rhianna Southby was caught at ‘deep-square-leg’ by Ami Campbell, from Katie George; *Vipers all-out’ with 13 balls remaining; *Vipers’ batting: Only 3 batters made double-figures: Rhianna Southby 19(20), Maia Bouchier 14(13), Georgia Elwiss 12(14); *Sparks’ bowling: Bethan Ellis 2/11, Ria Fackrell 2/13, Grace Potts 2/13, Katie George 2/18, Charis Pavely 1/23;
*Sparks’ innings: *stand-in skipper Georgia Davis, England ‘A’ (Eve Jones, recovering from concussion); *With Amy Jones (England) Grace Potts (England A); *Courtney Webb (Australia Big bash); Charis Pavely & Davina Perrin (England u-19s) *Also with Ami Campbell, Abbey Freeborn & Katie George; *Emily ‘Em’ Arlott & Hannah Baker rested; [*Rhianna Southby keeping wicket for Vipers]; *Left-handed Ami Campbell was caught aerial at ‘mid-off,’ by Maia Bouchier from Freya Davies’ 5th delivery; *Abbey Freeborn was ‘run out’ by Lauren Bell; *Davina Perrin was bowled by Charlie Dean; *After 6 overs power-play, 44/3 (vs46/3); *Missing ‘slog-sweep,’ Katie George went ‘leg-before’ to Linsey Smith; *By mid-way level-pegging 63/4 (vs 63/5); *Match-winning partnership between Amy Jones and Courtney Webb added 31 runs. *One more wicket fell beyond mid-way when Amy Jones was caught at ‘long-on’ by Charli Knott from Linsey Smith; *With scores level, Courtney Webb hit the winning ‘single.’ *Sparks’ batting: Davina Perrin 26(17), Amy Jones 26(29), Courtney Webb 21*not out(16), Ami Campbell 12(10); *Vipers’ bowling: Linsey Smith 2/13, Charlie Dean 1/20, Freya Davies 1/25;
*Match result: Central Sparks 99/5 (6.6 runs-per-over from 14.5/20 overs, target 99 from 20/20 ov.) 4 points, beat Southern Vipers 98/5 (5.4 rpo from 17.5/20 ov.) by five wickets with 31 balls remaining
*Scorecard courtesy of ECB @url https://www.ecb.co.uk/charlotte-edwards-cup/match-centre/104402#scorecard AppleMac users may need to scroll down on left margin to select a match
*Video highlights (41) courtesy of Southern Vipers & NV Play @url https://live.nvplay.com/ecb/#v51d7255c-2a40-41eb-b179-f06373307762
*Edited highlights courtesy of Southern Vipers (via NV Play) on YouTube<08m24> @url https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DN4IPmdlmv4
*Full match free-to-air courtesy of Southern Vipers (via NV Play) on YouTube<02h41m06s> @url https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KAouUDoKVQ&t=1s
*Finals day at Derby @url https://derbyshireccc.ticketco.events/uk/en/e/charlotte_edwards_cup_finals_day
