Sussex Sharks (women) vs Northamptonshire Steelbacks (women) (match 32 – ‘double-header’ fixture) at Hove: The 1st Central County Ground, Brighton & Hove on 3 July 2026
Sharks women’s second competition win, albeit with neither side ‘able to make it’ to finals day with insufficient points at group-stage. Batting first, Steelbacks women lost three early wickets to ‘stumpings’ by Mollie Adams. Vital eighth-wicket partnership between top-scorer Lenny Sims [41 runs(from 27 balls)] and Clara Thakar banked 51 runs toward a ‘half-decent’ score. Sharks womens’ best bowler was Darcey Clarke who took a 3-fer (taking 3 wickets/conceding 12 runs.) Turning to Sharks womens’ run-chase, their innings became a carbon-copy of their first win (match 23 vs Gloucs on June 14.) Sharks womens’ top-scorer Izzy Collis [43 runs(from 39 balls) played anchor-role, staging four substantive partnerships. ‘Nail-biting’ finish when the match could have gone either way. Bella Johnson 31*not out(22) successfully chased-down the winning runs. Sharks women were gifted their second competition win when ‘wide’ was also signalled from Phoebe Wilkinson’s ‘single’ that drew scores level. Weather: clear blue sky, 26C.
Steelbacks women wearing plain pink shirts over dark blue joggers with dark blue pads; *skipper Gemma Marriott *[Mollie Adams keeping wicket for Sharks women]; *with Mabel Reid & Clara Thakar (Essex Academy) & Amelia Kemp (Yorks academy); *Gemma Marriott was caught at ‘mid-wicket’ by Darcey Clarke, from Bella Johnson; *Taking a huge swing, May Drinkell was stumped by keeper Mollie Adams, from Bella Johnson; *After 6 overs ‘power-play’ 36/2; *Over-stepping, Amelia Kemp was stumped by Mollie Adams, from Ava Lee; *Score 56/3 by ‘mid-way’ (after 10 overs); *Carbon-copy dismissal when Ava Clive was stumped by Mollie Adams, from Eve O’Neill; *Alicia Presland was bowled ‘top-of-middle’ with bails sent flying by Darcey Clarke; *Chloe Hill was caught aerial at ‘mid-on’ by Chiara Green, from Darcey Clarke; *Ella V Phillips was caught aerial at ‘cover’ by Izzy Collis, from Darcey Clarke; *Lenny Sims was caught at ‘deep mid-wicket’ by Bella Johnson, from Kali-Ann Docherty; Steelbacks women batting: Lenny Sims 41(27); Ava Clive 35(24); Amelia Kemp 13(18); Clara Thaker 13*not out(11); Chloe Hill 11(12); Sharks women bowling: Darcey Clarke 3/12(3); Bella Johnson 2/22(4); Ava Lee 1/21(4); Eve O’Neill 1/22(3); Kali-Ann Docherty 1/26(3);
Sharks women wearing sea-blue over black with white numbers *skipper Chaira Green [Chloe Hill keeping wicket for Steelbacks women]; *with Mollie Adams & Shristi Patil (Hants loans – also England Women U19 Tri-Series Squad 2026); *also with Ava Lee (Hants loan); *Mollie Adams ’top-edged’ a ‘pull’ shot, caught at ‘mid-on’ by Clara Thakar, from seamer Bethan Robinson; *After 6 overs ‘power-play’ 34/1(vs.36/2); *Score 66/1(vs.56/3) by ‘mid-way’ (after 10 overs); *Mis-timing a ‘cut,’ Shristi Patil was caught by keeper Chloe Hill from Clara Thaker; *Mistiming a ‘drive,’ Chiara Green was stumped by keeper Chloe Hill, from Ella Phillips; *Mistiming a ‘scoop,’ Izzy Collis was caught at ‘short-fine’ by Bethan Robinson, from Gemma Marriott; Sharks women batting: Izzy Collis 43(39); Bella Johnson 31*not out(22); Mollie Adams 18(13); Shristi Patil 18(24);Steelbacks women bowling: Gemma Marriott 1/9(1.3); Ella V Phillips 1/16(4); Clara Thakar 1/22(3); Bethan Robinson 1/27(4);
*Match result: Sussex Sharks (women) 133/4 (@6.8 runs-per-over/target 133 from 19.3/20 ov) beat Northamptonshire Steelbacks (women) 132/8 (@6.6 runs-per-over from 20 ov) by six wickets with 3 balls remaining
*Scorecard without video, courtesy of ECB via nv play @url: https://live.nvplay.com/ecb/?tab=m_scorecard#me5e80000-9b94-4272-e5c0-08de2c26e737
*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/
*Footnote: actual match photo
