Kent (Horses) vs Northamptonshire Steelbacks (match 26, league two -‘double-header’ fixture) at Canterbury, The St Lawrence Ground (Kent) on 28 June 2026
Billed to celebrate Canterbury’s – 174th Cricket Week, this low-scoring thriller went down-to-the-wire and was decided by the final ball. Batting first, Steelbacks women lost three wickets either side of their power-play, scoring 43/6 by mid-way. Seventh wicket partnership between top-scorer Lenny Sims 35(33) and keeper Chloe Hill 21(25) added fifty-three runs, their innings closing short of a half-decent score. Remaining wickets fell during Sydney Gorham’s ‘death’ over. Turning to Horses womens’ reply, a relatively low ‘power-play’ score [29/1 (vs 23/3)] saw level-pegging by mid-way [46/2 (vs 43/6).] Steelbacks womens’ ability to ‘apply the squeeze’ by bowling ‘dot’ balls was demonstrated by Anish Patel and Ella V Phillips conceding only eleven runs apiece, from their four ‘overs’ bowling quota. Match reached its climax when Horses’ tail-ender Zeena Bilal faced ‘sudden death’ from the final match ball, not only transforming her first ball into the winning ‘four;’ but also elevating Horses into third-place. Weather ‘breezy’ following heatwave and light overnight rain ‘25C.’
Steelbacks women wearing plain pink shirts over dark blue joggers with dark blue pads; *skipper Gemma Marriott *[Maddie Blinkhorn-Jones keeping wicket for Horses women]; *debutante t20 Michaela Kirk (Blaze loan); *also with Mabel Reid (Essex Academy); Amelia Kemp (Yorks academy); *Gemma Marriott was caught at ‘mid-wicket’ by Megan Belt, from Amy Gordon; *Amelia Kemp was bowled by Amy Gordon, with middle-stump knocked back; *Sweeping across-the line, Ava Clive was bowled ‘around her legs’ (top-of-middle) by Hollie Young for a seventh-ball ‘duck;’*After 6 overs ‘power-play’ 23/3; *Mabel Reid was bowled through-the-gate by Isabella James; *Next ‘over,’ Alicia Presland was caught-and-bowled by Megan Belt diving across-the-wicket; *Over-stepping three balls later (next over), May Drinkell was ‘stumped’ by Blinkhorn-Jones, from James; *43/6 by ‘mid-way’ (after 10 overs); *Diving Chloe Hill was ‘run-out’ from ‘deep-mid-wicket’ by Sydney Gorham throw to keeper Maddie Blinkhorn-Jones, receiving at the striker’s end; *Lenny Sims was caught at ‘square’ by Megan Belt, from Sydney Gorham; *Two balls later, left-handed batter Liz Russell was bowled ‘top-of-middle’ by Sydney Gorham; *Anisha Patel was ‘run-out’ by Amy Gordon arriving at ‘mid-wicket,’ throwing to keeper Maddie Blinkhorn-Jones, receiving at the striker’s end; Steelbacks women batting: Ilenia ‘Lenny’ Sims 35(33); Chloe Hill 21(25); May Drinkell 19(13); Mabel Reid 11(17); Horses women bowling: Sydney Gorham 2/6(2.4); Amy Gordon 2/20(4); Isabella James 2/20(4); Hollie Young 1/16(4); Megan Belt 1/28(4);
Kent (Horses) women wearing dark-blue shirts with light-blue shoulders and white numbers; *skipper Megan Belt *[Chloe Hill keeping wicket for Steelbacks women]; debutante for t20 Genevieve ‘Gen’ Jeer (England Women U19 Tri-Series Squad 2026); *Mis-timing a ‘slog,’ Coco Streets was caught at ‘mid-wicket’ by Alicia Presland, from Liz Russell; *After 6 overs ‘power-play’ 29/1 (vs 23/3); *Swinging her bat without moving her feet, Maddie Blinkhorn-Jones went ‘leg-before’ to Lenny Sims; *Score 46/2 (vs 43/6) by ‘mid-way’ (after 10 overs); *Amy Gordon ’snicked-an-edge,’ caught keeper Chloe Hill, from Lenny Sims; *Mis-timing a ‘slog,’ Kelly Castle was bowled with her ‘off-stump’ skittled by Mabel Reid; *Playing a significant ‘cameo,’ Elsa Barnfather was caught aerial from a leading-edge by Lenny Sims arriving at ‘point’ from ‘backward-point,’ from Liz Russell; *Genevieve ‘Gen’ Jeer was bowled with her ‘off-stump’ skittled by Liz Russell’s yorker;Horses women batting: Amy Gordon 30(40); Elsa Barnfather 15(9); Kelly Castle 15(29); Hollie Young 10*not out(7); Steelbacks women bowling: Elizabeth ‘Liz’ Russell 3/28(4); Lenny Sims 2/26(4); Mabel Reid 1/23(4);
Match result: Kent (Horses)(women) 105/6(@5.2 runs-per-over /target 105 from 20 ov) beat Northamptonshire Steelbacks (women) 104 ‘All out’ (@5.2 r-p-o; from 19.4/20ov) by four wickets
*Scorecard without video, courtesy of ECB via nv play @url: https://live.nvplay.com/ecb/?tab=m_scorecard#ce0e985c4-4fca-44be-8960-46856a59f3b0_me5e80000-9b94-4272-9955-08de2c26e6a8
*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/
