Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy | Diamonds, Sparks, Lightning and Vipers register a win in their second match

Northern Diamonds vs Sunrisers –

 Northern Diamonds won the toss and elected to bat first. In form batter, Lauren Winfield-Hill couldn’t provide an ideal start as she got out to Maddy Villers in the second over. 

Since then, Sunrisers’ spin duo – Villers and Scrivens didn’t allow the middle order to settle. Both grabbed 4 wickets each.  The last push of the 9th wicket partnership of 30 odd runs helped Diamonds put 194 on board. 

Sunrisers openers started aggressively in the powerplay. In the 12th over, Kasperek broke the opening partnership. After that Sunrisers batters scored runs at a very slow run rate. Dattani tried to sail the ship but didn’t get any support from the other end as the middle-order collapsed. 

Diamonds bowlers Smith and Marlow took 3 wickets each. Attacking bowling performance restricted the Sunrisers to 188 runs. Diamonds won the nail-biting match by 6 runs.

Brief scores:

Northern Diamonds 194-10 (49.5 overs; Armitage 47, Kasperek 31; Scrivens 4-20 )

Sunrisers 188-10 (45.2 overs; Dattani 41, Griffith 29; Smith 3-34)

Northern Diamonds by 6 runs.

Central Sparks vs Western Storm –

Central Sparks won the toss and elected to bat first. 15-year-old Davina Perrin got an opportunity to open the innings. She gave an explosive start to the Sparks. After losing her wicket, 40 odd runs partnership between Eve Jones and Ami Campbell helped Sparks score runs at a decent rate. 

However, the Western Storm bowlers didn’t allow the middle-order batters to carry the same momentum. Sparks kept losing wickets at frequent intervals and scored 206 runs. Western Storm bowler Lauren Filer was the most economical and picked three wickets. 

Sparks bowlers came gunning at Western Storm, they didn’t allow the openers to settle. In the powerplay, Western Storm lost 3 wickets. Russell took the crucial wicket of Fran Wilson. 

After that spinner, Glenn didn’t allow Western Storm’s middle-order to form partnerships as they lost 3 wickets in the span of 10 runs. However, the 9th wicket partnership of 73 runs was not enough to chase the target as Sparks won the match by 22 runs.

Brief scores:

Central Sparks 206-10 (50 overs; Campbell 50, Jones 44; Filer 3-36 )

Western Storm 184-9 (50 overs; Filer 58*, Smale 32; S Glenn 4-23)

Central Sparks won by 22 runs.

 Lightning vs Thunder –

 Thunder won the toss and elected to bat first. Lightning bowler, Grace Ballinger didn’t allow Thunder openers to establish an opening partnership as she got Boyce out in the very second ball. Despite losing her opening partner, Dottin started playing her natural game. 

However, Ballinger got her out early in the powerplay. A heroic knock of 91 runs from the Thunder skipper Threlkeld brought Thunder out of the tricky situation and helped them put 238 runs on board. A 5-wicket haul by Grace Ballinger allowed the Lightning to restrict the Thunders to a chasable target.

Lightning openers started the chase calmly. Despite losing Harmer in the powerplay, Bryce and Davies kept scoring runs according to the required run rate. When both the set batters got out, Lightning skipper Kathryn Bryce led from the front and was superbly supported from the other end by Munro. 

The duo stitched a partnership of 121 runs. K Bryce’s terrific ton helped the lightning chase the target easily and register their first win of this season.

Brief scores:

Thunder 238-9 (50 overs; Threlkeld 91 , Brown 31 ; Ballinger 5-29 )

Lightning 241-5 (49.1 overs; K Bryce 109*, Munro 50; Jackson 1-34)

Lightning won by 5 wickets.

Southern East Star vs Southern Vipers –

Southern East Stars won the toss and elected to field first. East Stars bowlers got two crucial wickets of Adams and Bouchier in the powerplay. However, Georgia Elwiss showed her experience and stayed solid in the middle. Her ton and partnership of 160 runs with Windsor helped Vipers put a massive total of 306 runs on board. East bowlers Davies and Richards grabbed three wickets each.

Southern East Stars openers capitalised on the powerplay. They scored 60 runs in the powerplay without losing any wickets. In the 11th over, Freya Kemp provided a breakthrough to the Vipers. 

East Stars couldn’t continue the momentum, as Vipers’ bowlers kept taking wickets at frequent intervals and restricted East Stars to 173 runs. Southern Vipers continued their winning streak and won the match by 133 runs.

Brief scores:

Southern Vipers 306-9 (50 overs; Elwiss 115, Windsor 90; Davies 3-37)

Southern East Stars 173-10 (38.4 overs; Richards 42, Smith 39; Schofield 3-29)

Southern Vipers won by 133 runs.