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Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy: Latest news, Scores and Updates from today's matches – September 5th 2020

by ECB & Cricket World Saturday 5 September 2020

©Cricket World

All the Latest news, Scores and Updates from today's Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy matches.

Saturday, September 5, 2020

Sunrisers v Western Storm Starts at 10:30

Skipper Sophie Luff’s elegant half century led Western Storm to a crushing 86-run victory over hosts Sunrisers at Chelmsford.

Luff stroked nine 4s in an innings of 85 from 115 balls, sharing stands of 80 – in just 61 deliveries - with Alex Griffiths and 55 with Claire Nicholas as Storm rattled up 265-6, despite 10 excellent overs of off-spin from Alice Macleod (1-34).

Lauren Filer then took wickets with her first two balls of the tournament, before Fi Morris (5-26) claimed a five-wicket haul as Sunrisers mustered 179 in reply, Jo Gardner top-scoring with 54.

Morris (24) and Lauren Parfitt got Storm off to a solid start with an opening stand of 43 after being asked to bat first. But the former fell to Macleod and helped by a mix-up which saw Georgia Hennessy run out, Sunrisers reduced the visitors to 109-4 just beyond halfway.

Instead of grabbing the match by the scruff, Sunrisers’ bowlers lost their discipline as Griffiths and Luff unleashed a flurry of boundaries, producing 58 runs in the next five overs.

Griffiths hit the innings’ only six before being given a life on 29 when skipper Amara Carr and bowler Emily Thorpe left a simple top edge to one another and the chance was lost.

The Welsh-born all-rounder was eventually snared LBW by Sonali Patel (1-31) for 43, made from just 34 balls, before Luff was stumped off Katie Wolfe (1-23). Nevertheless, 265 looked an imposing score and Filer soon made it look a whole lot bigger.

Storm’s medium pacer struck a huge blow when having Carr caught at slip for a golden duck and her next ball splayed MacLeod’s stumps to leave the hosts 2-2. The hat-trick ball proved an anti-climactic wide, one of three in an over of 11 deliveries - too much adrenaline perhaps?

Hard-hitting Cordelia Griffith lost her middle stump playing all round one from Griffiths, before Morris accounted for both Naomi Dattani (27) and Gaya Gole to leave Sunrisers in tatters at 70-5

Gardner smote two big sixes in a gritty half-century, sharing a sixth-wicket of 51 with Grace Scrivens, but she became Morris’ fifth victim to leave Sunrisers still winless in the tournament.

Southern Vipers v South East Stars Starts at 10:30

The Southern Vipers remained on course for the final of the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy when they made it three wins out of three by defeating the South East Stars by 111 runs at Hove.

The Stars, chasing a target of 210, never came to terms with a difficult surface but kept themselves in touch until they suddenly fell away, losing five wickets in seven overs for 11 runs halfway through their 50-over allocation. It was their second defeat in three matches.

They were 61 for two in the 20th over, slightly behind the rate but still very much in the match with wickets in hand, when the game turned with a stunning piece of fielding from Providence Cowdrill.

The dangerous Maxine Blythin, sensing the need for acceleration, drove Charlotte Taylor powerfully but uppishly and was stunned to be caught by a diving one-handed catch by Cowdrill at mid-off.

Then Susie Rowe jumped down the wicket to drive but only succeeded in chipping the ball to mid-off, where Ella McCaughan took a simple catch. In the following over Aylish Cranstone, who had held the innings together with 28, was unluckily run out as non-striker when a drive was deflected onto the stumps by the bowler Tara Norris. Then Tash Farrant and Rhianna Southby were run out in successive overs and the game was up for the Stars.

The Vipers might have expected to score more than their 209 for eight, especially after openers Georgia Adams and McCaughan had set a solid platform with a first-wicket stand of 84 in 21.3 overs.

But, until the end of their innings, they struggled to lift their run-rate above four an over. They lost wickets just as partnerships were beginning to develop and found no-one to play the commanding middle-order innings to accelerate the run-rate, not that it was needed at the end of the day.

In mitigation, they were batting on a used wicket, which appeared to get slower as the day progressed. And the bowling and fielding by the South East Stars was impressive. Captain Farrant led the way, her bustling left-arm seam bowling taking two wickets for 28 runs in ten overs. She was well supported, particularly by Alice Capsey, who is better known as a right-hand bat but who has also been transformed into a useful spinner by the former Hampshire slow left-armer Rajesh Maru.

Adams, the daughter of former Sussex captain and Test batsman Chris Adams, followed her recent 55 against Western Storm with a 69-ball 44, with three fours, while McCaughan, only 17, made 50 from 81 deliveries, though she hinted at a brisker tempo when she struck three fours in the fifth over of the match, bowled by Eva Gray.

After that Maia Bouchier, with 28 off 35, and Charlotte Dean (28 from 44) threatened to play major innings but both got out when well set and the Vipers only got the 200 up in the 49th over.

Southern Vipers opening batsman Ella McCaughan: “I was happy with my innings. I’ve been batting seven, when the England players were in, so it was good to open up and show what I could do. It feels good to have won the first three and to be top of the table. We didn’t expect to win by that margin but we went in hard to get key wickets early on.”

South East Stars captain Tash Farrant: “I won’t blame the wicket. It was a bit on the slow side, but pretty good. We kept losing wickets in clusters. We didn’t bat well enough. We would have taken their score at the beginning of the day. We bowled and fielded brilliantly after starting slightly sloppily.”

Lightning v Northern Diamonds Starts at 10:30

Northern Diamonds 229-8 beat Lightning 226 by two wickets.

Northern Diamonds maintained their 100 per cent record in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy after veteran former England star Jenny Gunn rolled back the years to drag a victory from what had looked like a losing position at the Fischer County Ground, Leicester.

Chasing 227 to win, Diamonds appeared to be heading for defeat when they slipped to 119 for seven in the 30th over, still well short of the required rate and with wickets running out.

But 34-year-old Gunn, who played for Lightning in the Kia Super League in 2018 and 2019, teamed up with another experienced campaigner in Beth Langston to add 81 in 15 overs for the eight wicket before fellow World Cup-winner Langston fell for 37.

That still left 27 required but Gunn stayed on to complete a 72-ball half-century before Phoebe Graham struck the winning boundary with seven balls to spare.

Diamonds had beaten the Loughborough-based side by nine runs on the back of England star Nat Sciver’s century at the Emirates Riverside last Monday but even with Sciver and international teammates Katherine Brunt, Lauren Winfield and Linsey Smith all absent they proved too strong again.

After being made available for the opening two matches in the competition, the England quartet have joined the national squad ahead of the series against the West Indies at Derby later this month. Lightning lost opener Tammy Beaumont and left-arm spinner Kirstie Gordon for the same reason.

Scotland wicketkeeper-batter Sarah Bryce made her third consecutive half-century and there were useful runs from Yorkshire-born Teresa Graves (37) and Abbey Freeborn (34) as Lightning made 226 despite not batting out their full 50 overs.

Having won the toss, Diamonds opted to bowl first but saw the home side begin positively, Bethan Ellis taking well to the responsibility of opening in place of England’s Tammy Beaumont. She and Sarah Bryce put on 51 before they were parted in the 10th over as leg-spinner Katie Levick entered the attack to have Ellis leg before sweeping.

Diamonds had by then suffered a setback when Graham, who had taken the new ball alongside Langston, was ordered out of the attack after four balls of her fourth over, having twice been no-balled for full tosses above head height. Sarah Bryce, on 15, was caught off the second but allowed to continue her innings.

Kathryn Bryce could not keep her sister company long before she was bowled through the gate by former Lightning teammate Gunn but Abbey Freeborn started with a flurry of aggressive hits and set the tone for a partnership with the younger of the Bryces that added 56 for the third wicket before Bryce, having completed her third half-century of the competition, hit a Hollie Armitage full toss straight to deep mid-wicket.

Freeborn chopped on to Armitage’s leg spin and Lucy Higham gave a simple return catch to seamer Alex MacDonald as Diamonds began to made inroads at 139-5 but then an excellent, enterprising partnership between Teresa Graves and Nancy Harman added 58 for the sixth wicket to put Lightning in reach of a competitive score.

Harman fell for 21 when she top-edged an attempted pull off Langston and Graves, dropped on 22, went on to reach 37 before she was leg before sweeping Gunn. Both players had recorded their highest scores in women’s List A cricket. Three of Lightning’s last four batters were making their competition debuts but only Leah Kellogg, run out as the non-striker, was unable to contribute.

Lightning then made an excellent start with the ball, seamer Kathryn Bryce conceding only one scoring stroke in her first three overs before Rachel Hopkins, the Durham batter making her Diamonds debut, was leg before pushing at a ball from Kellogg. Netherlands international was then judged leg before to a Bryce yorker. Diamonds did not pick up a boundary until Ami Campbell, another Durham player making her first appearance, dispatched Bryce for two fours in the ninth over and at 27 for two from 10 overs, the visiting team were well off the pace.

Armitage and Campbell added 55 for the third wicket but when the latter former out to Ellis, running in from the cover boundary, for 30, Diamonds were still well behind the required rate at 62 for three in the 19th over, by which point Lightning were in three figures. The wicket was a first for 20-year-old Northants all-rounder Alicia Presland on debut, having earlier seen Campbell dropped on 18.

Campbell registered the match’s first six when she lofted a Higham full toss over the legside boundary and added a second when she clubbed Harman’s leg-spin over long on, following up with four through midwicket as she tried to up the scoring rate. It was a short-lived effort, however, Ellis safely pouching another catch in the deep as Harman claimed her scalp for 41. At the halfway stage, Diamonds were still 120 short of their target at 107 for five, Higham having found a way through Layla Tipton’s defences in the previous over.

Higham bowled MacDonald and added a third scalp when Grace Ballinger took an easy catch off a Bess Heath miscue, at which point Diamonds still needed 98 more runs to win with only three wickets in hand.

However, Gunn and Langston drew on their years of experience to turn the tables in Diamonds’ favour, rotating the strike superbly and relentlessly finding the gaps in the field. A delighted Harman eventually trapped Langston in front but Graham and Gunn kept their nerve to complete the win.

Central Sparks v Thunder Starts at 10:30

Central Sparks emerged victorious against North West Thunder by 8 wickets, chasing down 167 in 39 overs at New Road thanks to four wickets from Clare Boycott and Eve Jones making 90 to see her side over the line.

The emphatic victory puts Thunder second in the North Group, with Thunder sitting in third place

After losing the toss and bowling, Sparks bowlers had an all round performance, picking up wickets at regular intervals and not letting the visitors run rare get ahead of them. When the batters' turn came, they ensured Thunder didn’t get back into the game, and their positive play in the middle secured the win.

Thunder made a steady start to their first innings, putting on an unbroken opening partnership of 53 from the first 17 overs. However Sparks turned their fortunes around and took three wickets for nine balls. Firstly Anisha Patel trapped Laura Marshall lbw for 25, and Boycott followed by taking 2 wickets in 2 overs. She bowled Jackson for 1, and next over got Boyce edging behind for 27.

After the 3 quick wickets Thunder settled and boundaries began to flow as they upped their intent heading to back stages of the innings, although once again Sparks managed to take wickets at regular intervals to halt the visitors.

An amazing direct hit from skipper, Eve Jones dismissed Ellie Threkeld for 22, after a mix up in the middle between herself and Brown, pushing for a single that wasn’t there.

Another three quick wickets followed for Sparks, for just 3 runs. Thea Brookes came into the attack, making an impact, dismissing Brown for 27, caught behind and trapping Olivia Thomas LBW for 0. Boycott got the third, bowling Heap who went without scoring.

Duckworth and Dyson did put Thunder back into the game in the last 10 overs, bringing their score past 150. Their partnership of 35 was broken by Boycott, getting her fourth wicket, when Dyson was caught for 21, with Thunder posting 166.

Sparks made a positive start to their chase, as openers Gwen Davies and Jones brought up their 50 partnership in the 12th over, as they continued to frustrate in their dominant opening partnership.

Captain, Eve Jones passed her half-century in the 24th over, coming from 82 balls, as the 100 partnership from the openers came in the same over.

The partnership flourished as the innings progressed, reaching 114, but Olivia Thomas found a breakthrough, trapping Davies LBW for 37. Marie Kelly came in and continued her great form alongside Eve, but just on the brink of victory Jnes was run out for 90, Nevertheless, the hosts carried out a comprehensive win in an excellent all-round performance.