Picture by John Mallett/Leicestershire CCC. Georgie Boyce hits out against Ellie Phillips during the Vitality Blast match between Leicestershire Foxes and Yorkshire at the Uptonsteel County Ground.
Yorkshire’s women survived a scare but successfully defended a target of 143 to beat Leicestershire Foxes by 12 runs at the Uptonsteel County Ground, Grace Road this afternoon, securing their seventh successive win in this season’s Vitality Blast.
The Finals Day bound White Rose were not at their best and were very much in a battle as the Foxes, in the race for qualification themselves, were handily placed in pursuit at 91-3 after 13 overs with opener Francesca Sweet approaching a fifty.
However, leg-spinner Olivia Thomas removed her for 48 off 35 balls and the visitors closed things out from there as they maintained hopes of finishing the group campaign with eight wins from eight.
Leicestershire, in reply to 142-6, were limited to 130-8 from their 20 overs, with Claudie Cooper, Rachel Slater and Thomas all claiming two wickets apiece.
Yorkshire’s total was underpinned by opener Georgie Boyce’s 47 off 38 balls and included Rebecca Duckworth’s 38 off 39. Left-arm swing bowler Emma Thatcher took the new ball and stood out for the Foxes with 3-27 from her four overs.
Coach Rich Pyrah handed a debut to Emerging Players’ Programme seamer Jeanie Lee, a teenager from Emley Clarence Cricket Club. She bowled two overs for 20.
Boyce and Erin Thomas both whipped early boundaries over mid-wicket, but the latter fell in an otherwise strong powerplay, which ended with the White Rose at 48-1.
Thomas was lbw stuck on the crease trying to play an in-swinging delivery from Thatcher through leg on seven. She was perhaps a touch unlucky to be given out, the score on 24.
Picture by John Mallett/Leicestershire CCC. Rebecca Duckworth plays a late cut at the Uptonsteel County Ground this afternoon.
Boyce, however, continued her strong start. She was strong on both sides of the wicket off front foot and back, and wasn’t afraid to go over the top as well.
In partnership with Duckworth, on a good pitch with a fast outfield, they took the score to 73-1 after 10 overs.
Unfortunately, however, Boyce fell short of her fifty when she miscued Holly Whitfield’s seam high to cover, where Ellie Phillips took a smart catch – 85-2 in the 12th.
Duckworth was strong down the ground and through cover against spin, with her on 35 by the time Yorkshire reached 15 overs with 107 on the board.
Duckworth, Ami Campbell and Ria Fackrell then all fell in the bid for acceleration.
Duckworth was bowled by left-armer Thatcher, who also trapped Fackrell lbw. Sandwiched in between, Campbell was well caught by Scarlett Hughes at deep mid-wicket off April Herathge’s leg-spin as the score fell to 128-5 in the 19th.
Captain Maddie Ward also contributed 25 before being trapped lbw off the last ball of the innings from Phillips’ seam.
Yorkshire would have wanted more from the start they made but struggled to break free, and ultimately it cost them.
Picture by Alex Whitehead/SWPix.com. Claudie Cooper was one of three Yorkshire bowlers to strike twice with the ball. She also brilliantly ran Lucy Weston out.
Rachel Slater struck midway through the first over when she bowled Leicestershire captain Becki Brooker for her fifth successive duck in this competition.
And when Claudie Cooper’s off-spin bowled a sweeping Hughes in the next, the Foxes were in bother at 6-2.
Sweet and Lucy Weston steadied the ship for the Foxes, the latter dropped on eight, with Yorkshire just struggling to get a grip of the game with ball and in the field, just as had happened with the bat earlier on.
The Foxes reached the end of the powerplay at 46-2.
Weston – run out – was then the subject of a brilliant piece of fielding from Cooper diving to her left at short third before throwing to keeper Ward, who whipped the bails off with the batter having hesitantly set off for the single before turning back.
At 57-3 in the eighth over, it was game on.
And Sweet’s continued presence was causing them a problem.
Thankfully, however, with 52 to win, she departed to Thomas – well caught by Campbell at deep mid-wicket following a slog sweep.
Picture by John Mallett/Leicestershire CCC. Jeanie Lee bowls on debut for Yorkshire today.
Still, it wasn’t game won.
It felt like it was, though, when Thomas bowled a sweeping wicketkeeper-batter Ellen Watson to leave Leicestershire at 116-5, needing 27 more off 14 balls.
Slater had Flora Davies stumped in a superb penultimate over before having a hand in running out D’nica Roff from long-on in the last, which started with the Foxes needing 21.
That was bowled by Cooper, who bowled Phillips off the penultimate ball.
Slater and Cooper each finished with 2-23 and Thomas 2-22.
Yorkshire round off their group campaign against Worcestershire at New Road on Sunday afternoon (2.30pm).
Yorkshire seamer Rachel Slater said: “Probably in all three departments, we were a little bit off it today.
“With the bat, we let them bowl at us a bit too much and didn’t take the game to them when we had wickets in the tank.
Picture by Simon Wilkinson/SWPix.com. Rachel Slater was on media duties after this afternoon’s win.
“Bowling wise, we missed our lines a bit and bowled too many bad balls.
“Fielding, again, we weren’t at our best. There were a few tough chances put down and a missed run out.
“There’s definitely a lot to improve on for the next few games.
“I don’t think we’re in the headspace that things are always going to go our way. We know we’re playing good players and good teams who will punish us, but maybe just not as much as will happen next year.
“We need to be better, and there’s a lot to improve on. But, regardless of that, we have momentum and we’re winning some tight games.
“We’ve done enough in the tight moments. At the back end there, we bowled really well, got ourselves back in the game and won it fairly comfortably in the end.
“That’s a really good sign, and there were a lot of positives.
“But we know we can’t be at 60 or 70 percent and expect to win this competition.”
