Northern Superchargers vs Manchester Originals at Headingley (Leeds) on 13 August (11h00)
Sports pundits couldn’t have foreseen such a close finish between the ‘Roses’ rivals. ‘Superchargers’ narrow win over ‘Originals’ went to-the-wire, as Alice Davidson-Richards ‘AD-R’ (pictured) closed the match down by taking two wickets; and conceded only 5 runs from the last 5 balls. Once England star-batter Emma Lamb was out one run short of ‘fifty,’ ‘Originals’’ tail-enders scored only ‘ones’ and ’twos,’ and ‘run out of balls’ when Fi Morris was caught out from the final ball. ‘Superchargers’ good run-of-form was said to ‘make a big difference’ to their campaign with aspirations to qualify for the upcoming finals. Introduced by Lydia Greenway & Charles Dagnall (ex-England) with Natalie Germanos (Rep. South Africa) & Simon Doull (NZ TV personality.) Match highlights courtesy of Sky Sports (please see below.) Damp conditions, with rain-in-the-air.
NSC-W *Skipper Hollie Armitage. [*Ellie Threlkeld keeping wicket for Originals] *International players Phoebe Litchfield & Georgia Wareham (Australia), Jemimah Rodrigues (India); with England’s Kate Cross, Alice Davidson-Richards; England ‘A’’s Hollie Armitage, Bess Heath & Linsey Smith * U19’s Grace Ballinger. *Missing the ‘form she needed,’ Jemimah Rodrigues 9(14) was caught by Katie George ‘wide of the mid-on boundary’ from Mahika Gaur (1/18) *After 25 balls ‘Power-play,’ ‘Superchargers’ were 33/1 *Mix-up when Marie Kelly 22(11) was sent-back by Phoebe Litchfield and ‘run-out’ by Fi Morris’ throw upon review, Ellie Thelkeld beating Marie Kelly’s late-dive at the striker’s end. *By mid-way (50 balls) ‘Originals’ were 64/2. *A ‘huge’ wicket, when Phoebe Litchfield 39(29) was caught-and-bowled by Sophie Ecclestone (1/17); from the first ball of the skipper’s second set. *Hollie Armitage 17(19) miscued a steepled ‘slog-sweep’ and was caught easily by keeper Ellie Thelkeld from Fi Morris (1/19) *’Doing what she does best’ Bess Heath 20(11) played a useful cameo until caught at ‘backward point’ by Laura Wolvaardt, from Kathryn Bryce (1/24) *Alice Davidson-Richards 11*not out (10) scored 2 ‘fours’ and 3 from the four balls remaining. *Georgia Wareham 12*not out (12) *Best ’Superchargers’’ batter was Phoebe Litchfield 39(29) *Best ‘Originals’’ bowler was Sophie Ecclestone 1/17. *Between innings, former ‘Originals’ skipper Kate Cross explained to Charles Dagnall, how the player’s draft found her selected by ‘Superchargers.’
MO-W *Skipper Sophie Ecclestone [*Bess Heath keeping wicket for Superchargers] *International players Laura Wolvaardt (Rep. South Africa), Amanda-Jade Wellington (Australia ‘A’ & WBBL) & Deandre Dottin (ex-WIndies); with England’s Sophie Ecclestone, England ‘A’s’ Grace Scrivens & Emma Lamb. *Also with Scotland’s Kathryn Bryce. *When play re-started, inclement weather between innings reduced Originals innings by 20 balls with a Duckworth-Lewis-Stern target of 113 runs from 80 balls. *1 bowler 20 balls; 4 bowlers bowling 15 balls (their quota docked by 5 balls each.) *Laura Wolvaardt 5(5) was ‘brilliantly’ ‘run-out’ by Grace Ballinger redirecting Emma Lamb’s return shot underarm, directly hitting the stumps finding Laura Wolvaardt having set-off too soon; and absent from the replay. *4 balls later, Ami Campbell 0(2) went ‘leg before’ for a 2nd-ball ‘duck’ from Lucy Higham (1/5.) *After 25 balls ‘Power-play,’ ‘Originals’ were 27/2 (vs 33/1.) *Upon review, Deandre Dottin 27(21) was caught a whisker inside the ‘mid-wicket’ boundary by Georgia Wareham, saving what otherwise looked like a certain ’six,’ from Alice Davidson-Richards’ bowling. *4 balls later, Katie George 1(2) top-edged to ‘point,’ steepled to Jemimah Rodrigues from Linsey Smith (1/25.) *After 50 balls ‘Originals’ were 57/4 (vs 64/2) needing another 56 runs from 30 balls. *Sophie Ecclestone & Emma Lamb both scored ‘sixes’ before departing 4 balls apart. *Firstly, Sophie Ecclestone 13(9) was caught-and-bowled by Kate Cross (1/17. ) *With 10 runs needed from 5 balls, Emma Lamb 49(36) scooped straight into keeper Bess Heath’s gloves, from Alice Davidson-Richards. *Amanda-Jade Wellington 5*not out(3) halved the run deficit but Fi Morris 1(3) was caught at ‘deep-square-leg’ by Linsey Smith, from the final ball, bagging a 3-fer for ’Superchargers’’ best bowler Alice Davidson-RIchards (3/23.) *Best ‘Originals’’ batter was Emma Lamb 49(36) who was tactically kept away from the striker’s end.
Match summary ‘Superchargers’ put runs on-the-board from 3 batters playing quick-fire innings [Phoebe Litchfield 39(29) Marie Kelly 22(11) & Bess Heath 20(11)] POTM Meerkat Match Hero Alice Davidson-Richards scored 11 runs from the last 4 balls. When play re-started, 20 balls were lost to bad weather, with a Duckworth-Lewis-Stern target was set for ‘Originals’ to score 113 runs from 80 balls. ‘Superchargers’’ bowling quota docked (1 bowler 20 balls; 4 bowlers bowling 15 balls.) Opener Emma Lamb 49(36) batted through the innings but was tactically kept away from the striker’s end until caught behind from the first-ball of Alice Davidson-Richards AD-R’s final set-of-five. Under pressure, ‘Superchargers’ ‘closed down the match’ as ‘Originals’’ tail-enders managed only ‘ones’ and ’twos;’ losing another wicket to AD-R’s final ball. ’Northern Superchargers’ go joint top-of-table on points (8 points each from 4 wins; 1 loss); but 2nd placed on ‘net-run-rate’ to ‘Southern Brave’ after 5 rounds played-to-date.
Match result: Northern Superchargers Women 133/5 (target 113 from 80 balls) beat Manchester Originals Women: 108/7 by 4 runs (DLS method)
*Superchargers batting: 133/5 (from 100 balls @ 1.3 runs-per-ball) Phoebe Litchfield 39(29) Marie Kelly 22(11) Bess Heath 20(11) Hollie Armitage 17(19) Georgia Wareham 12*not out (12) Alice Davidson-Richards 10*not out (10); *Originals bowling: Sophie Ecclestone 1/17, Fi Morris 1/19, Mahika Gaur 1/18, Kathryn Bryce 1/24. Fow 1-27, 2-50, 3-84, 4-98, 5-122.
*Originals batting: 107/7 (target 113 from 80 balls @ 1.3 runs-per-ball) Emma Lamb 49(36), Deandre Dottin 27(21), Sophie Ecclestone 13(9); *Superchargers bowling: Alice Davidson-Richards 3/23, Lucy Higham 1/5, Kate Cross 1/17, Linsey Smith 1/25; *Fow 1-11, 2-16, 3-51, 4-57, 5-100, 6-103, 7-108.
*Scorecard courtesy of BBC Sport @URL https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/scorecard/ECKE1000734
*Match highlights (6m19s) courtesy of Sky Sports @URL https://www.skysports.com/watch/video/sports/cricket/12939321/highlights-northern-superchargers-leave-it-late-against-manchester-originals
