Northamptonshire Steelbacks vs Middlesex (match 10, league two -‘stand-alone’ fixture) at ‘cinch’ County Ground Northampton (Wantage Road) on 31 May 2026
An entertaining match dominated by in-form batter Saskia Horley – pictured [62*not out(from 41)balls ] who banked a century partnership with Finty Trussler 54(41); with both batters scoring ‘fifty.’ Separately, Finty Trussler holds the female ‘league-two’ competition’s highest score at time-of-writing [90 from Middx women vs Gloucs women on June 22, 2025.] Astonishingly, the match didn’t start well for Middx women who conceded 58 runs during Steelbacks womens’ power-play. By mid-way, Steelbacks looked set for a comfortable win when Middx women lagged by thirty-three runs. The match reached its climax during the final over, when Saskia Horley scored three ‘fours’ from her last three balls to see Middx women home. Weather: cloudy but as elsewhere ‘fairly dry,’ 17C.
Steelbacks women wearing plain pink shirts over dark blue joggers with dark blue pads; *skipper Anisha Patel [Pippa Sproul keeping wicket for Middx] *t20 debutante Liz Russell (Warwicks loan); *After 6 overs ‘power-play’ 58/0 (vs 32/1);*Gemma Marriott was ‘run-out’by Gaia Gole’s throw to Issy Routledge receiving at the non-striker’s-end; *89/1 by ‘mid-way’ (after 10 overs); *Amelia Kemp was bowled by Saskia Horley ; *Mabel Reid was bowled by Anaya Patel; *Ava Clive went ‘leg-before’ to Issy Routledge; *Beth Ascott was bowled by Anaya Patel; *Alicia Presland went ‘leg-before’ to Issy Routledge; Steelbacks women batting: Mabel Reid 53(37); Gemma Marriott 28(21) Beth Ascott 21(21) Alicia Presland 17(15) Amelia Kemp 10(11); Middlesex women bowling: Issy Routledge 2/21(4); Anaya Patel 2/29(4); Saskia Horley 1/22(4);
Middlesex women wearing two-tone vertical striped pink shirts with black trim over black joggers; *skipper Saskia Horley (Scots international and Australia’s Womens Big-Bash League WBBL); *[Chloe Hill keeping wicket for Steelbacks women]; *t20 debutante Layla Judge; *without Artemis Downer; *Abbie Whybrow went ‘leg-before’ ‘middle-and-off’ to Ella V Phillips; *After 6 overs ‘power-play’ 32/1 (vs 58/0); *Mis-timing a ‘slog’, left-handed batter Scarlett Hughes was caught at ‘cover’ by Anisha Patel, from Liz Russell; *56/2 (vs 89/1) by ‘mid-way’ (after 10 overs); *Scoring ‘fifty,’ Finty Trussler was caught low-down at ‘backward point’ by Ella V Phillips, from Gemma Marriott; Middlesex women batting: Saskia Horley 62*not out(41); Finty Trussler 54(41); Scarlett Hughes 15(18); Issy Routledge 11*not out(7); Steelbacks women bowling: Gemma Marriott 1/17(2); Liz Russell 1/28(3); Ella V Phillips 1/30(4);
Match result: Middlesex (women) 153/3 (@7.6 runs-per-over from 20 overs/target 150 from 20 ov.) beat Northamptonshire Steelbacks (women) 149/6 (@7.4 r-p-o; from 20ov.) by seven wickets
*Scorecard with video highlights, courtesy of ECB via nv play @url: https://live.nvplay.com/ecb/?tab=m_scorecard#ce0e985c4-4fca-44be-8960-46856a59f3b0_me5e80000-9b94-4272-ef18-08de2c26e56c
*Upcoming League two fixtures 20ov (2026) @url: http://4theloveofsport.co.uk/2025/12/17/vitality-blast-league-two-fixtures-for-season-2026-4-of-4/
*Upcoming League two fixtures 50ov (2026) @url: http://4theloveofsport.co.uk/2026/04/25/metro-bank-one-day-cup-womens-tournament-for-50-overs-league-two-may-update-2026/
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