Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Captain Lauren Winfield-Hill top-scored with 60 at The Kia Oval today.
Yorkshire were hurt by a damaging late flurry of wickets batting first as they slipped to an enthralling rain-affected three-wicket DLS Metro Bank One-Day Cup defeat against Surrey at The Kia Oval today.
A game reduced to 44 overs aside following a 75-minute break for rain from 12.05pm onwards, Yorkshire – inserted – started well thanks largely to an eye-catching half-century for captain Lauren Winfield-Hill.
When she fell, however, controversially caught behind pulling against Australian seamer Maitlin Brown for 60 off 70 balls, the White Rose fell from 131-2 to 185 all out.
Surrey’s target was adjusted to 193 following the rain and the reduction of overs, and England fringe batter Paige Scholfield raced away at the top of the order for 89 off 42 balls, including 17 fours and two sixes.
But then they encountered problems with the bat, slipping from 119-1 to 174-7 as Maddie Ward struck three times with her spin. The calming presence of Alice Davidson-Richards then saw her side over the line with 35 not out. The win was secured in the 24th over.
Yorkshire have now lost two on the bounce to start this competition. But, like against Somerset at Taunton on Saturday, they showed they have the capability to compete with Tier 1 counties.
Now, the next challenge is doing it for longer in matches.
Surrey, meanwhile, have won two from two.
Let us get the controversy out of the way first, because it proved a pivotal moment with Yorkshire going well.
Surrey actually started their chase on 5-0 having been awarded five penalty runs as a result of Winfield-Hill’s reaction to her dismissal.
That came after she had been caught behind pulling against Brown, leaving Yorkshire at 131-3 in the 27th over. Brown then had Sterre Kalis caught behind two balls later for 38 with a further run added to the total.
Unfortunately, it was pretty clear that Winfield-Hill shouldn’t have been given out.
Aiming a pull at a short-pitched delivery, the ball glanced through to wicketkeeper Kira Chathli off her neck and potentially the grill of her helmet.
She couldn’t believe the decision made by umpire Hassan Adnan.
Shortly afterwards, discussions between umpires Adnan and James Tredwell took place with Surrey skipper Chathli and batters Kalis and Maddie Ward, the latter who had just walked to the crease. That was when the five penalty runs were added onto the start of the Surrey innings.
Winfield-Hill was subjected to a full concussion check in the Yorkshire dressing room.
Unfortunately, the visitors lost all of their momentum, with their last five wickets later falling for the addition of nine runs, including their last four for no runs in eight balls.
Winfield-Hill had played beautifully off front and back foot, hitting eight fours in her innings. She shared 74 for the third wicket with Kalis, who also looked in good order following the early departures of on-loan opener Georgie Boyce and overseas Aussie Jess Jonassen.
Boyce played on in between her legs as she attempted to pull the left-arm spin of Tilly Corteen-Coleman, who finished with 3-27 from 7.1 overs. Jonassen was caught behind off the off-spin of Kalea Moore, whose 3-22 from eight overs of off-spin were the pick of the Surrey figures.
Whether the drama of the Winfield-Hill dismissal impacted on Kalis’s concentration, we’ll never know. It would be no surprise if it did.
Ward and Ami Campbell were then unable to convert starts of 20 and 18 respectively as wickets fell in a hurry.
Ami Campbell miscued the seam of Priyanaz Chatterji to cover before Ward and Erin Thomas were caught at mid-wicket and deep mid-wicket off Corteen-Coleman’s spin and Alice Davidson-Richards’ seam.
Thomas was the first of the last four wickets to fall without addition, Beth Langston, Claudie Cooper and Rachel Slater all following quickly.
From then on, the result was in little doubt, despite left-armer swing bowler Slater getting opener Bryony Smith caught at mid-on 14 balls into the chase with the score on 27.
Unfortunately, Scholfield tore into Yorkshire’s attack.
She hit two sixes in an over off Cooper’s off-spin, one pulled over long-on and the other drilled over long-off.
By the time she reached her fifty off 25 balls, Surrey were 74-1 in the eighth over.
Scholfield continued on and was eyeing the fastest ever List A century in England (59 balls).
Thankfully, though, she felt short, with Ward’s spin (3-38 from five overs) trapping her lbw on the sweep before Chathli was caught behind next ball, leaving Surrey at 139-4 in the 15th over.
Further success came quickly as she bowled a sweeping Jemima Spence with 153 on the board at the end of the 17th over.
Langston then bowled Brown in the next – 154-6 – and all of a sudden it was game on again.
The same bowler struck again when Moore miscued to Jonassen at backward point, leaving the score at 174-7 in the 22nd over.
But Davidson-Richards saw Surrey home with more than 20 overs remaining, driving Langston for back-to-back boundaries.
Yorkshire are back in action on Saturday when they welcome The Blaze to Headingley for their first home game of 2026.
