Live: Metro Bank One Day Cup Women’s League 2 – Sussex Sharks v Yorkshire Women

That’s it for the blog today. Kent have beaten Derbyshire by nine wickets at Canterbury, chasing 190, in today’s other fixture.

As Beth Langston put it before we interviewed her at close, next weekend is “double Derby”. We face them on Saturday away at the County Ground in the One-Day and then on Monday in the first round of the County T20 Cup at Harrogate.

Enjoy your weekend. We will be back blogging on Friday, when Yorkshire’s men host Warwickshire in the Rothesay County Championship at Headingley.

A five-point victory is sealed inside 13 overs of the chase. We reel in a target of 78, with Lauren Winfield-Hill finishing 47 not out off 43 balls.

Fabulous stuff from the White Rose as they get themselves up and running for 2025 in some style.

A report and reaction will be on the Yorkshire website throughout the afternoon.

Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix. Captain fantastic Lauren Winfield-Hill contributed with a superb catch behind and runs at Hove today.

Erin Thomas hit wicket bowled Kali-Ann Doherty, 25.

Thomas clips the base of the off-stump with her back foot as it slips when seemingly trying to dab a ball down to third. Rebecca Duckworth in now to complete the job.

Yorkshire, at 68-0 after 11 overs, need only 10 to win now. Winfield-Hill 41 and Erin Thomas 24.

Plain sailing for Yorkshire so far. Lauren Winfield-Hill has 30 and Erin Thomas 20.

Yorkshire 33-0 in the fifth over, with Winfield-Hill 18 and Erin Thomas 14. We need just 45 more to win.

Lauren Winfield-Hill is forced into an early change of bat following a snapped handle.

Hope it’s not her favourite one!

Yorkshire 18-0 after two overs chasing 78. This bat doesn’t look too bad, as she ends the second over with back-to-back boundaries – one square driven and the other cut.

Lauren Winfield-Hill and Erin Thomas are out in the middle as they bid to wrap up what looks a likely victory.

If this target is reeled in inside 40 overs, a bonus point will be achieved. That would be a five-point haul.

Anna Buckle lbw Grace Hall, 7.

And that’s that. Hall traps Buckle in front as she attempts to play around her front pad.

The wickets have been shared around in what was a superb display with the ball. Yorkshire’s catching was also impressive.

Beth Langston 2-8 from five overs, Amelia Love 1-18 from five, Claudie Cooper 2-15 from six, Olivia Thomas 1-15 from five, Maddie Ward 3-5 from five, Grace Hall 1-10 from five and Ria Fackrell 0-4 from two.

78 to win.

Picture by Alex Whitehead/SWPix. Maddie Ward in the wickets at Hove.

Kali-Ann Doherty and Anna Buckle, who have 2 and 7 respectively, have thwarted Yorkshire’s attempts to wrap up this innings. They have moved the score to 77-9 after 33 overs, uniting for 5.1 overs so far.

Eve O’Neill caught Ria Fackrell bowled Maddie Ward, 4.

Yorkshire nearly there. O’Neill pulls a short ball out to deep square-leg, where Fackrell takes the catch.

Three wickets for Ward. Kali-Ann Doherty is Sussex’s last batter, joining Anna Buckle, who is yet to score. 

Grace Hall’s slingy action always catches the eye and has drawn comparisons to that of Sri Lanka men’s great Lasith Malinga.

But it seems she has changed a few things this winter.

At the start of the month, we ran a feature on this website with Yorkshire’s women’s analyst Liam Holgate, who is actually in Pakistan at the moment working with Islamabad United in the men’s Pakistan Super League.

We were talking about statistics and the importance of analysis in the modern game. And this is what he said, using Grace as an example.

“Analysis is massive. You look at some of the tools we’re producing nowadays, whether it’s language models or the deeper algorithms which give us expected values, that’s an unbelievable depth of work.

“Also on a day-to-day basis, the players are much more interested in coming up and finding out about the numbers to their game. A few years ago, it was quite subjective. But now we’re able to say, ‘This session, you’re five percent quicker’.

“Once instance we have at the moment is that Grace Hall is releasing the ball 10 centimetres higher in her action this year than she was last year. That’s a big number, which is great.”

The above photo is of Grace bowling in her Northern Diamonds’ days.

Jazz Westley caught Beth Langston bowled Maddie Ward, 20.

Westley heaves a full toss out to the deep mid-wicket boundary, where Langston takes the catch. Anna Buckle is now alongside Eve O’Neill, who has 3.

Ward now has two wickets, matching the hauls of Langston and Claudie Cooper.

Sussex are 63-7 after 25 overs, with Jazz Westley unbeaten on 20. Drinks.

It’s great to see Grace Hall into the attack for the first time this season. She suffered an ankle injury at the start of March and then, early in this match, went down in the field with a bit of a shoulder problem which required treatment.

Talitha Stanley caught Ami Campbell bowled Maddie Ward, 0.

Ward, bowling off-spin to the left-hander, has her first wicket in her opening over. She’s helped by a sharp, low catch by Campbell at first slip. Stanley looks to steer a full delivery through third. Eve O’Neill is in now alongside Jazz Westley, who has 15.

Daisy Gibb caught Maddie Ward bowled Olivia Thomas, 8.

Yorkshire continue to put the squeeze on the Sharks.

This wicket comes with a touch of fortune. Full toss from Thomas is miscued to mid-on.

Talitha Stanley is in now to join Jazz Westley, who has 13.

Chiara Green lbw Claudie Cooper, 5.

Green is trapped lbw on the back foot as she aims to play to leg.

Cooper’s excellent start to her Yorkshire career continues. Two wickets last week, two more this, including a superb return catch. Daisy Gibb is in now alongside Jazz Westley, who is yet to score.

A real feature of this Yorkshire performance – on what looks to be a good batting pitch – has been their discipline. Only one wide has been bowled. They just haven’t given the Sharks an inch.

Spin from both ends now. Olivia Thomas is into the attack with her leg-spinners.

In the other game in play today, at Canterbury, Derbyshire are 81-2 in the 13th over.

Yorkshire face the Falcons twice next weekend – the first in this competition at Derby on Saturday and then in Round One of the County T20 Cup at Harrogate on Bank Holiday Monday.

Rachel King bowled Amelia Love, 1.

Bowled around her legs by a full swinging delivery which King was aiming to glance to leg.

Yorkshire have made a flying start here. Jazz Westley is in now alongside her captain, Chiara Green, who has 1.

Lucy Western lbw Beth Langston, 6.

Little doubt about that one. A full delivery from Langston raps Western on her back pad right in front, giving umpire Neil Bainton one of the easier decisions he will have this summer.

Rachel King and captain Chiara Green are in now. Langston has two wickets now.

Mollie Adams caught and bowled Claudie Cooper, 11.

That’s a stunner from our new off-spinner. Adams rocks back to try and pull a short ball, does so but only back down the pitch and Cooper tacks a one-handed stunner going to her right.

Excellent start for Beth Langston, who has figures of 1-7 from four overs. Sussex are 23-1 in the eighth over, bowled by Claudie Cooper. The off-spinner has replaced Amelia Love from the Sea End.

The deckchairs are out at the Cromwell Road End of this picturesque seaside venue.

If you haven’t been to Hove, it’s a couple of blocks up from the seafront, with the high street with shops and restaurants in between. It’s one of county cricket’s best venues, undoubtedly.

Sussex are 15-1 after five overs. Mollie Adams has 5 and Lucy Western 4.

There is definite early swing as well.

Phoebe Wilkinson caught behind Lauren Winfield-Hill bowled Beth Langston, 6.

A full out-swinger from Langston entices a drive and Winfield-Hill takes a fine catch diving to her right in front of Ami Campbell at first slip. Lucy Western is in now to join opener Mollie Adams, who has 3. Ideal start for Yorkshire.

Grace Hall has just required some physio’s treatment having dived to save a ball in the ring on the off-side. She’s up and about now, though. Sussex are 9-0 after two overs, the second bowled by Amelia Love.

It’s a lovely morning at Hove, where Beth Langston has the new ball. Mollie Adams and Phoebe Wilkinson opening the batting for the Sharks. It’s 1-0 in the first over.

Rich Pyrah has included both Erin Thomas and Olivia Thomas in his team for today.

Opening batter Erin is one of Yorkshire’s 12 contracted professionals for 2025. Olivia – or Liv – is a middle order batter who bowls leg-spin as well.

Whisper it quietly, but the latter is from across the Pennines. She was Manchester-born and has played senior county and regional cricket for both Lancashire and Thunder in recent seasons. She turns 21 next Saturday. Good luck to her on debut for the White – and the right – Rose.

Elsewhere, Rachel Slater has been rested today having just finished international duty with Scotland at the 50-over World Cup qualifiers in Pakistan. Unfortunately, Scotland missed out on qualification but Rachel had an excellent tournament with six wickets in four matches and a best score of 61 not out.

Picture by Alex Whitehead/SWPix. Erin Thomas walks out to bat at Headingley last Saturday.

Sussex skipper Chiara Green opts to bat first at Hove this morning.

Yorkshire’s team: Lauren Winfield-Hill c&w, Erin Thomas, Rebecca Duckworth, Maddie Ward, Ami Campbell, Olivia Thomas, Beth Langston, Ria Fackrell, Claudie Cooper, Grace Hall, Amelia Love.

This is one of two fixtures today in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup 2. Kent are hosting Derbyshire at the Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence, Canterbury.  

Both of those sides were beaten last weekend, including Kent bowled out for 66 batting first against Middlesex.

There are three fixtures tomorrow. 

Northamptonshire host Gloucestershire at Geddington, Middlesex travel to Newport to face Glamorgan and Leicestershire welcome Worcestershire to Uppingham School.

Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Northamptonshire and Middlesex were last weekend’s winners. 

Good morning. It’s match day two for Yorkshire, who are on the road at The 1st Central County Ground, Hove, where they take on the Sussex Sharks, starting at 10.30am.

Yorkshire suffered defeat in their opening fixture last Saturday against Worcestershire at Headingley, losing by 114 runs as they were bowled out for 114 in pursuit of 229.

Disappointment, of course. But there were plenty of positives with the ball,   in bowling the Pears out for 228.

Academy seamer Amelia Love, 16, claimed four wickets and stood out on her senior debut, while the more experienced pair of Beth Langston added three wickets and Claudie Cooper two respectively.

Yorkshire are facing a Sussex side who were also beaten on the opening day of the summer. 

They were affected by rain in Cardiff, where the weather did abate to allow a 25-over game against Glamorgan, who posted 178-5 and then restricted the Sharks to 125-9.

Leg-spinner Eve O’Neill impressed with 3-14 from her five overs. A big feature of her work was that she wasn’t afraid to toss the ball up. 

She had success courtesy of two catches at cover and mid-off, while she also claimed a wicket with one that scooted through and bowled opener Bea Ellis.

You can read our match preview via the X post below, which also details our 13-player squad. Jess Woolston has been included to carry the drinks today as she continues her recovery from a foot stress fracture.

You will be able to watch today’s fixture live via the live stream. That will be embedded at the top of the page a bit closer to the start time.