Erin Burns described the Northern Diamonds defeat in today’s Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy clash with the Blaze as “bittersweet”.
The Australian was amongst a number of home players who impressed, claiming 3-40 from 10 overs of off-spin.
Leah Dobson with 54 to fashion a recovery from 82-5 to 188 all out, Abi Glen with 38 and leg-spinner Katie Levick with a superb 1-13 from 10 overs of leg-spin were amongst the others.
Clearly, there were bright spots for a Diamonds side who have now won two and lost two at the start of this competition. But, ultimately, it was disappointment for the experienced all-rounder and her team-mates.
Overseas star Burns said: “You never like losing tight ones, but with not too many runs on the board I think we’ll go away feeling pretty good that we were able to take it pretty deep.
“Unfortunately, we probably missed a few opportunities in the field in the last couple of overs, which cost us.
“It’s a bit bittersweet at the end of the day to not get the choccies, but that’s cricket.”
Asked about the decision to bat first upon winning the toss, Burns said: “It was a bit wet this morning, and talking to Hollie we thought that the ball would be difficult to control early on.
“We thought, having spoken to the coaches who have spent a bit of time here, that the pitch would remain fairly similar. You never know until two teams have batted on it.”
And on the positives today, she said: “Dobbo did a fantastic job for us today. We were in a pretty sticky situation, and to go in there and show the character she did and hold her nerve was amazing.
“Abi Glen has starred a couple of times with the bat already, so really encouraging with how deep we do bat.
“We really pulled it together with the ball today.
“We have been a bit expensive, particularly early, over the last couple of games. But our openers (Woolston and Glen) bowled really well, and we followed it up through the middle.
“Katie Levick has been bowling exceptionally. She’s almost unplayable and really tightens things up.”
The Diamonds are back in action on Saturday when they tackle Central Sparks at Edgbaston. It is the penultimate game of the early-season, six-game block of 50-over matches before the start of the Charlotte Edwards Cup T20 competition.
