Kent (Horses) women vs Northamptonshire Steelbacks women – (match 27, league two) – at the County Ground, Beckenham on Saturday 9 August 2025 (10h30)
After losing three power-play wickets to Emily Carpenter’s left-armed seam, Megan Sturge [40 runs (from 65 balls)] partnered by Elsa Barnfather 26(from 50) added 55-runs for the Kent (Horses) womens fourth wicket, before Michaela Kirk caught-out both batters. Tight bowling by Steelbacks women kept remaining Kent (Horses) batters in check. By comparison, Steelbacks women reached 150/5 by mid-way,(vs 89/4) with top-scorer Amelia Kemp 54(63) partnered by Michaela Kirk 47(37) having added 97 for Steelbacks’ second wicket. Thereafter, Steelbacks women look set for a convincing win by a wide margin until two pairs of wickets fell for just 21 runs. Left-arm spinner Olivia ‘Liv’ Barnes took 4/39 for Kent (Horses.) Unexpected heroine May Drinkell held-her-nerve by edging a ‘wide’ to score the winning ‘five’ to see Steelbacks home with twenty overs to spare. Commentators were Kevin Hand (Sports Journalist) with guest Kent player Mollie Davis. Weather: cloud gave way to sunshine, with noticeable fresh breeze 20C.
Kent (Horses) women wearing bright-blue with white shoulder trim over dark blue *stand-in skipper Coco Streets *[Chloe Hill keeping wicket for Steelbacks]; with Megan Sturge (Hants loan); *with Olivia ‘Liv’ Barnes (Somerset ‘rookie’ loan) *without resident skipper Megan Belt or Mollie Davis (on commentary); *Promoted to opener, Ella Darlington went plumb ‘leg-before’ to left-armed seamer Emily Carpenter; *Mis-timing a ‘cut,’ Tilly Callaghan also went ‘leg-before’ to Emily Carpenter; *Amy Gordon was caught from a Botton-edge, by keeper Chloe Hill, from Emily Carpenter ; *After ten overs power-play: 35/3; *Elsa Barnfather was caught aerial at ‘mid-wicket’ by Michaela Kirk, from Lenny Sims’ spin; *By mid-way (25 ov) 89/4; *Coco Streets wafered an edge, caught by Chloe Hill from seamer Gemma Marriott; *Megan Sturge was caught aerial at ‘deep mid-wicket’ by Michaela Kirk, from Anisha Patel’s spin; *Olivia ‘Liv’ Barnes was bowled with her ‘off-stump’ flattened by Ella Phillips’ spin; *Sophie Singer was caught at ‘cover’ by Beth Ascott, from Martha Reid;*Isabella ‘Izzy’ James was caught aerial at ‘deep mid-wicket’ by Beth Ascott from Anisha Patel; *Alice Grant went ‘aerial’ to ‘mid-on’ but was ‘run-out’ by Gemma Marriott’s throw to keeper Chloe Hill – with both batters standing at the non-striker’s end; Kent (Horses) women batting: Megan Sturge40(65), Elsa Barnfather26(50), Sophie Singer21(34), Sydney Gotham16*not out(32), Ella Darlington11(21); Steelbacks women bowling: Emily Carpenter 3/26, Anisha Patel 2/26, Mabel Reid 1/7, Gemma Marriott 1/16, Ella Phillips 1/30, Lenny Sims 1/35;
Northamptonshire Steelbacks women wearing purple with light-blue splash over dark blue with dark helmets; skipper Anisha Patel (50ov.) *[Megan Sturge keeping wicket for Kent (Horses) women]; *with Chloe Hill (formerly of Rapids), *with Michaela Kirk & May Drinkell (standing-in at short notice for team-mate Bella Howarth) *without resident wicket-keeper Poppy Smart; *Chloe Hill was caught at ‘slip’ by Amy Gordon, from Olivia ‘Liv’ Barnes; *After ten overs power-play: 45/1 (vs 35/3); *Setting-off prematurely and unable to get back, Amelia Kemp was ‘run-out’ by Amy Gordon’s throw to keeper Megan Sturge receiving at the striker’s end; *Next ball Michaela Kirk was caught aerial at ‘mid-off’ by Sophie Singer from Olivia ‘Liv’ Barnes; *Gemma Marriott was stumped by keeper Megan Sturge, from Isabella ‘Izzy’ James’ leg-spin; *Beth Ascott was caught at ‘short-extra cover’ by Amy Gordon, from Isabella ‘Izzy’ James; *By mid-way (25 ov) 150/5 (vs 89/4); *Mis-timing aerial, Lenny Sims was caught at ‘mid-wicket’ by Coco Streets, from Olivia ‘Liv’ Barnes; *Playing forward, Mabel Reid was bowled by Olivia ‘Liv’ Barnes for a third-ball ‘duck,’ Steelbacks women batting: Amelia Kemp54(63), Michaela Kirk47(37), Chloe Hill23(28), Gemma Marriott11(10), May Drinkell 6*not out(17); Kent (Horses) women bowling: Olivia ‘Liv’ Barnes 4/39, Isabella ‘Izzy’ James 2/41;
Match result: Northamptonshire Steelbacks 165/7 (@ 5.5 runs-per-over from 29.4/50 overs, target 164 from 50/50ov) beat Kent (Horses) women 163 ‘All out’ (@ 3.3 r-p-o from 48.4/50 ov) by three wickets with 122 balls remaining
*Scorecard with video highlights, courtesy of ECB via nv play at url: https://live.nvplay.com/ecb/?tab=m_summary#m8f9ec806-7ef9-4886-bf5d-e3e355182d81
*BBC Sport @url: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/scorecard/e-225602 & SKY Sports@url: https://www.skysports.com/cricket/kent-women-v-northamptonshire-steelbacks-women/scorecard/8f776195-9c69-5bf2-911c-204b53ae2ac8
*Full match free-to-air, courtesy of Kent CCC (nv play) via YouTube [05h13m30s] @url: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duom2N3nxjs
*Upcoming League one fixtures @url http://4theloveofsport.co.uk/2025/05/22/metro-bank-league-one-fixtures-and-results-up-to-may-2025/
*Upcoming League two fixtures @url http://4theloveofsport.co.uk/2025/05/25/metro-bank-league-two-fixtures-and-results-up-to-may-2025/
Actual match photo
