Gloucestershire vs Sussex Sharks (women) (match 33 -league two) double-header fixture, part of the 53rd Cheltenham festival at Cheltenham College Ground (Glos.) on Thursday, 17 July 2025 at 12h00
Convincing win ‘as scoreline suggests’ explained by ‘more polished’ batting, bowling and fielding by Sharks women. Top-scorer Rachel King [48 runs (from 23 balls)] got Sharks ‘off to a flyer,’ when compared to Gloucestershire women batters who suffered a difficult power-play, on 13/2 after their first four overs. They recovered to 30/3, but that was less than half of the visitors power-play score (67/1). In contrast, ‘constant batting contributions’ (including Mollie Adams 34(26)) kept by Sharks women’s run-rate ahead by at least three-runs-per-over at the expense of Gloucesterahire women’s bowling figures. Commentators were Ian Randall (formerly BBC radio Gloucester) with Dan Whiting (@Themiddlestump) who added that it was the first time that Gloucestershire women have played at the College ground. Weather: Sunny, dry, around 24C.
Sharks women wearing pink over black with black chevron *skipper Chiara Green *[Katie Jones keeping wicket for Gloucestershire women] *with Mollie Adams from Vipers Academy; *with Nancy Harman & Ava Lee (short-term Hants loans); *without Mary or Millie Taylor (playing in league one); *Isobel ‘Issy’ Collis, was caught at ‘backward point’ by Meg Ahearne, from Alice Bird; *After 6 overs power-play, 67/1; *Rachel King was caught inside ‘cover’ boundary by Bea Willis, from Katie Dolman; *Nancy Harman was caught at ‘cover’ by Daisy Feast, from Olivia ‘Liv’ Daniels; *By mid-way (10 overs) 106/3; *Chiara Green was caught at ‘extra cover’ by Becca Halliday from Olivia ‘Liv’ Daniels; *With both batters stranded at the striker’s end, Phoebe Wilkinson was ‘run-out’ by Alice Bird’s throw to the striker’s end, re-directed to Liv Daniels at the non-striker’s end, from Bea Willis’s bowling; *Mollie Adams, was bowled, ‘leg-stump’ flattened by Bea Willis; Sharks women batting Rachel King48(23), Mollie Adams34(26), Nancy Harman29(18), Chiara Green21(22), Phoebe Wilkinson18(15), Isobel ‘Issy’ Collis11(9); Gloucestershire women bowling: Olivia ‘Liv’ Daniels 2/23, Alice Bird 1/28, KJ Dolman 1/37, Bea Willis 1/37;
Gloucestershire women wearing yellow tops with yellow shoulder stripes, changed to differentiate between yellow worn by each team; skipper Olivia ‘Liv’ Daniels *[Mollie Adams keeping wicket for Sharks women] *debutantes Rebecca ‘Becca’ Halliday and Katie Jones (Somerset loan), *with two Charlotte Phillips: ‘Charlotte E’ and ‘Charlie R’; *without Caitlin Belcher, Bhoomika Bhat, Emily Geach or Izzy Patel; *Daisy Feast was caught behind by keeper Mollie Adams, from Chiara Green; *Four balls later Prarthana Reddy was caught by Issy Collis, from Chiara Green; *Mis-timing a ‘drive’ Bea Willis was caught behind by keeper Mollie Adams, from Ava Lee; *After 6 overs power-play 30/3 (vs67/1); *Rebecca ‘Becca’ Halliday was bowled from ‘outside-off’ by Talitha ‘Tia’ Stanley; *Katie Jones, was ‘run-out’ by Nancy Harman’s throw from ‘deep-mid-wicket’ to keeper Mollie Adams receiving at the striker’s end; *By mid-way (10 overs) 58/5 (vs106/3); *Melissa Story was bowled from ‘outside-off’ by Talitha ‘Tia’ Stanley; *Olivia ‘Liv’ Daniels was bowled from ‘outside-off’ by Jazz Westley; *Katie Dolman was ‘run-out’ by bowler Jazz Westley’s direct hit to the striker’s end; *Charlotte ‘Charlie’ Phillips was caught at ‘deep mid-wicket’ by Nancy Harman from Talitha ‘Tia’ Stanley; *Alice Bird was ‘run-out’ by Nancy Harman’s throw from ‘deep mid-wicket’ to keeper Mollie Adams receiving at the striker’s end; Gloucestershire women batting: Bea Willis 28(30) Georgina Cant16*not out(17), Meg Ahearne15(26), Prarthana Reddy14(15), Charlotte E Phillips 11*not out(15); Sharks women bowling: Talitha ‘Tia’ Stanley 3/28, Chiara Green 2/23, Ava Lee 1/24, Jazz Westley 1/12;
Match result: Sussex Sharks (women) 187/6 (@9.3 runs-per-over from 20/20 overs) beat Gloucestershire (women) 122/10 (@6.4 runs-per-over, from 19/20 overs/target 188 from 20/20 ov.) by 65 runs
*Scorecard with video highlights, courtesy of ECB via nv play at url: https://live.nvplay.com/ecb/?tab=m_summary#m6c8207aa-e673-46b9-b304-df087038c6e8
*BBC Sport @url: hhttps://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/scorecard/e-225380 SKY Sports @url: https://www.skysports.com/cricket/gloucestershire-women-v-sussex-sharks-women/scorecard/63fd54f8-b468-5dba-8ed5-5e8e4898429d
*Full match free-to-air, courtesy of Gloucestershire Cricket/nv play via YouTube [02h54m29s] @url: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXY2mVkZlyo
*Upcoming League one fixtures @url http://4theloveofsport.co.uk/2025/06/22/vitality-blast-league-one-fixtures-and-results-to-june-2025/
*Upcoming League two fixtures @url http://4theloveofsport.co.uk/2025/07/02/vitality-cup-league-two-fixtures-for-season-2025-2/
