This was a thoroughly eventful day in women’s cricket.
First the unwelcome news that both the uncapped players brought into the England squad, Charlie Dean and Maia Bouchier, are possible Covid-19 contacts, so will not be able to make their debuts until the second T20 against the White Ferns at the earliest.
But as one door closes, so another opens; Emma Lamb (pictured above) is called up, many would claim belatedly. And one replaces two, because she is at least two players in one with her useful off-spin.
The ECB was then criticised by members of the public for overreacting. ‘They have been vaxxed, let them play’, was the gist of the argument. Instead, let’s trust the ECB that it knows best.
The CE Cup nears its end
In the CE Cup games there were close finishes and tension aplenty. England call-ups challenged the hub squads to show what they were made of without the cushion of their stars. We could see how far head coaches had given their less experienced players the chance to show their worth.
The tensest game of the tournament took place at Wantage Road. Cordelia Griffith struck a magnificent 63 (three sixes) to see Sunrisers close to the winning post, but Kate Cross and Hannah Jones kept admirably cool in the final two overs to deny the hosts a second victory.
Cross took a wicket and conceded only four runs; Jones also took a wicket to leave Jo Gardner needing two off the final ball. She managed 50% of her target, so that edge-of-seat rarity, a tie, was the verdict.
In the crucial battle for top spot in Group A Stars proved far stronger than Vipers at the Ageas Bowl. Don’t tell Tash Farrant, but Bryony Smith led her troops to the manner born; just a few pointing fingers, a powerful display with the bat at the start and a mostly sensible choice in her bowling options.
She and Aylish Cranstone went on the attack at once, hitting ten fours. By the time Cranstone was dismissed at the start of the fourth over, 32 runs were up; both Charlotte Taylor and Tara Norris took a pounding.
Before Kira Chathli came in for the last ball – she didn’t face it – every Star batter had registered a strike-rate between 103 and 168. Smith led the way with a powerful 42. Vipers dismissed Alice Capsey (61) only by running her out and leaving her in some pain on the floor in mid-pitch after a misunderstanding. She got annoyed with some imperfect shots early on, but still proved her quality. Phoebe Franklin (30) and Alice Davidson-Richards (12*) kept the pace up helping to reach the third largest total so far.
Vipers were soon in trouble; on paper their batting looked more fragile than usual, and so it proved. Capsey failed to take a wicket in her first over so she made up for it with two in her second; Georgia Adams and Tara Norris both out caught. Georgia Elwiss did stay and fight for 42, but couldn’t increase the pace.
The spinners (Smith, Kalea Moore, Dani Gregory and Capsey (2-9) did most of the damage. Vipers subsided to 95-6 in the 15th, but then Ella Chandler and Alice Monaghan showed great promise in adding 48 runs in five overs.
The commentators, Kevan James and Melissa Story (very impressive), wondered why Chandler had not been allowed to bat at the top of the innings (Norris was promoted). She has been scoring heavily at county level with a hundred and fifties. Contrast Stars, some of whose leading performers here fail to date back to the last century.
Lightning nearly achieved an important win, but a typically determined knock of 71 by Eve Jones proved enough for Sparks to win by 4 wickets. For once Lightning’s top five batters all made useful contributions, but none could last longer than Abbey Freeborn’s 32.
In the far north all the batters found life hard except for Sophie Luff, whose 60* saw Storm home with only three balls left. This was another tense struggle to enthral the spectators
It was good to see two less familiar venues used for hub games, both county grounds, Chester-le-Street and Northampton.
All now turns on the final round to be played this coming Bank Holiday Monday. (Fixtures below)
Results:
Lightning 136-8; Central Sparks 139-6
Northern Diamonds 110-9; Western Storm 111-6
SE Stars 167-4; Southern Vipers 147-7
Thunder 124-5; Sunrisers 124-4 TIE
Tables after 5 rounds:
Group A W L Pts
SE Stars 4 1 17
Southern Vipers 3 2 15
Central Sparks 3 2 12
Lightning 0 5 0
Group B W L T Pts
Western Storm 2 2 0 13
Northern Diamonds 3 2 0 12
Thunder 2 2 1 11
Sunrisers 1 3 1 6
Fixtures for the Final Round (30 August)
Central Sparks v SE Stars, Edgbaston Community Ground, Birmingham
Lightning v Southern Vipers, County Ground, Derby
Sunrisers v Western Storm, Fenner’s, Cambridge
Thunder v Northern Diamonds, Chester Boughton Hall CC, Chester
The Birmingham game starts at noon; the other three at 14.30
