Picture by John Clifton/SWPix.com. Ria Fackrell claimed an excellent 4-17 from four overs at Peterborough Town today.
Vital contributions from Maddie Ward and Ria Fackrell helped Yorkshire secure their place in Vitality Blast Finals Day with a five-wicket win over Northamptonshire Steelbacks at Peterborough Town today.
Steelbacks, who lost their captain Gemma Marriott to Rachel Slater in the opening over, had a good powerplay, reaching 59-1.
However, a four-wicket return for Fackrell, who now has 13 wickets in the competition, helped Yorkshire restrict Steelbacks to a total of 150-9.
Yorkshire got their chase off to a good start, with Lauren Winfield-Hill blasting 32 in the powerplay, but Steelbacks’s own off-spinner Ella Phillips reined Yorkshire in with a four-wicket spell.
However, a good partnership between Yorkshire skipper Ward and Rebecca Duckworth provided a platform for Olivia Thomas to seal the win, which secured Rich Pyrah’s side a place in Finals Day at Northampton on July 26 with three games to spare.
Ward top-scored with 34 off 30 balls and Duckworth 21 not out off 22.
Marriott won the toss and elected to bat.
Slater opened the bowling for Yorkshire and got off to a good start when bowling Marriott for a duck in the opening over with one that nipped back and hit off-stump.
Amelia Kemp kickstarted the Steelbacks’ innings as she picked up two boundaries in three Jess Woolston balls, both of which were excellent straight drives.
Mabel Reid then got in on the act as she lofted a Slater delivery through the covers for four.
The home pair guided them to a good powerplay after the early loss of their captain.
But the impressive Kemp was out for 30 when Fackrell struck with her first ball as the Steelbacks’ opener tried to go big and was caught by Woolston on the legside boundary. The Yorkshire bowler had her second just three balls later she bowled Reid for 19.
Fackrell struck again to remove Katherine Speed for three as the Steelbacks batter edged one and Ward made no mistake behind the stumps – 76-4 after 10 overs.
Things got even better for Yorkshire as Claudie Cooper got her first of the day, removing Abby Butcher for a duck as she sliced one straight into the hands of Duckworth.
While wickets were falling around her, Michaela Kirk decided to take on Fackrell, picking up two boundaries from an over to take the Steelbacks past three figures.
Fackrell continued her excellent afternoon as she got the dangerous Kirk for a well-made 35, with Cooper holding on to a catch on the legside boundary.
Then there was a run out three balls later, with a great piece of fielding from Sterre Kalis removing Phillips for one.
Steelbacks’ Alicia Presland showed some resilience with 22, but Slater dismissed her in the final over and she also picked up the wicket of Anisha Patel as the hosts set Yorkshire 151 to win.
Winfield-Hill and Georgie Boyce started the chase well, with Winfield-Hill picking up three boundaries from Reid’s first over, which included a delightful pull for four.
Winfield-Hill, making just her second appearance in this competition due to her loan with Tier 1 side Essex, then picked up the first maximum of the day as she produced a powerful slog sweep off the bowling of Phillips.
However, Phillips struck back, removing the opener for a 16-ball 32, as she edged one to Erica Turner behind the stumps.
Phillips struck again as she got Kalis lbw for one and the Steelbacks bowlers reined the Yorkshire batters in for a brief period.
The pressure then told as Boyce became Phillips’ third victim when she was caught behind for 16.
Ward hit back as she sent a Phillips delivery to the boundary, but Ami Campbell became Phillips’ fourth scalp as she was bowled for two.
Duckworth joined Ward at the crease and they steadied the ship from 84-4 after 10 overs, with the latter pulling a Marriott ball for four.
Duckworth then used her feet well as she picked up two boundaries from a Patel over to ease the pressure and put her side back into a good position.
Ward manipulated the field to take chunks out of the score but she was then dismissed by Patel for her 34.
Despite the wicket, Thomas came to the crease and hit three consecutive fours from Patel’s next over to help Yorkshire wrap up a comfortable five-wicket win with two overs to spare, finishing 16 not out off eight balls.
Yorkshire head coach Rich Pyrah said: “I’ve purposefully not spoken about results this year, but to go and play in a Finals Day is always very special.
“It’s going to be a great education for the girls, going and playing under a bit of added pressure. It’s something we can’t really put into practice.
“I’m very pleased, and we’ve played some good cricket over the last couple of months. It’s nice to get some reward for it.
“Northamptonshire are the best team we’ve come up against in Tier 2, I would say. They have some good players. It was good toss to win. It was a used pitch, and as the game went on it got a little bit slower and turned a bit more.
“They put us under pressure in the powerplay. We probably weren’t at our best with the ball. We gave away far too many extras. But we showed some good character to fight back after the powerplay. From then on, I thought we were in control.
“Chasing 150 was the challenge we’ve need for a while now, and we managed that chase very well.
“Ria’s finding a role within this team now. She got off to bit of a slow start this season, but that’s ok. It was a big move for her to Yorkshire.
“She’s bowled beautifully in the last few weeks. The pace and shape on the ball that she’s getting is deceiving batters. She’s done great, and she probably turned the game for us in the field today.”
