Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Jess Jonassen hits out against Essex.
Warwickshire Bears v Yorkshire, Women’s Vitality Blast, Sunday 5 July 2026, 11.30am, Edgbaston
Toss: Warwickshire Bears won the toss and elected to bat.
Teams – Yorkshire: Ami Campbell, Erin Thomas, Jess Jonassen, Lauren Winfield-Hill c/w, Sterre Kalis, Sarah Glenn, Alice Clarke, Beth Langston, Hannah Rainey, Jess Woolston, Holly Garton.
Warwickshire Bears: Abbey Freeborn, Katie George, Nat Wraith w, Georgia Redmayne, Em Arlott, Amu Surenkumar, Chloe Brewer, Mary Taylor, Millie Taylor, Georgia Davis c, Hannah Baker.
Match Summary: Yorkshire made it two Vitality Blast wins in three days after defeating Warwickshire Bears by five wickets following a superb century partnership between Jess Jonassen and Lauren Winfield-Hill as the visitors chased down 162 with three balls to spare in an exciting contest.
Half-centuries by opener Abbey Freeborn and Australian overseas batter Georgia Redmayne had propelled Warwickshire Bears to a challenging 161-3 total at Edgbaston after the hosts won the toss.
The pair came together with the game evenly poised at 60-2 in the ninth over and their 72-run partnership inside nine overs changed the momentum of the innings.
Sarah Glenn was the pick of the Yorkshire attack with some tight overs and conceding just 28 runs from four overs that included bowling the 20th over against batters on the attack.
Jonassen and Lauren Winfield-Hill shrugged off the loss of two early wickets with a 106-run stand in 11 overs for the third wicket to put Yorkshire firmly back on track in the run chase.
After Jonassen departed for a brilliant 65 off 40 balls, Winfield-Hill and the middle order combined to steer Yorkshire to victory, the captain out for an excellent 42 just before Alice Clarke (15 not out) and Glenn (21 not out) completed the job in the final over.
Report: Yorkshire made a promising start with leg spinner Holly Garton striking with her first ball having Katie George stumped by Winfield-Hill for two in the fourth over.
The powerful Abbey Freeborn, dropped on two, hit four of the six boundaries struck from the powerplay with Warwickshire reaching 39-1.
Jonassen, who came agonisingly close to bowling Freeborn with her first ball, succeeded with her fourth when Nat Wraith (24 off 21 balls) advanced down the wicket to present Winfield-Hill with a second stumping in the ninth over, to leave the Bears on 60-2.
A couple of tight overs from Sarah Glenn backed up that breakthrough with overseas batter Georgia Redmayne breaking the shackles when hitting just the third boundary since the powerplay at the end of the 11th over.
That began a flurry of scoring by the Bears duo in the second half of the innings, with the excellent Freeborn reaching her fourth half century in this season’s Blast from 40 balls. The fifty-partnership arrived off 33 balls moments later when Redmayne straight drove Garton for four.
Yorkshire urgently needed a breakthrough and that was provided by Jess Woolston who had Freeborn caught behind for 65 at the start of the 18th over to end a 72 run stand off 51 balls with Warwickshire 132-3.
The hosts kept their momentum going with Redmayne and Em Arlott (15 not out) hitting out across the closing overs, Redmayne going to a 35-ball half century in the final over and finishing unbeaten on 52 with Warwickshire finishing on 161-3.
The Yorkshire reply began badly with both openers out in the space of three balls of the second over bowled by Arlott just after Ami Campbell had pulled Mary Taylor high over deep mid-wicket for the game’s first six. Erin Thomas was caught behind after being in two minds about a pull short at a short ball while Campbell drove straight to mid-on for 10.
Jonassen and Winfield-Hill responded positively with some lovely shots, taking 15 off Mary Taylor in the fifth over and taking Yorkshire to 52-2 by the end of the six-over powerplay.
Their fifty-partnership came off 32-balls with Jonassen sweeping Millie Taylor for six as Yorkshire reached halfway well-placed on 92-2.
Jonassen followed that by going to her half century off 32 balls in style with a straight six off spinner Hannah Baker, although she survived a scare when Warwickshire skipper Georgia Davis dropped a reasonably straightforward chance at mid-off when Jonassen was on 54.
The experienced Yorkshire duo reached their century partnership off 63 balls moments before Jonassen was stumped off Millie Taylor for an outstanding 65 with Yorkshire 118-3 needing 44 runs off 42 balls.
Sterre Kalis got a leading edge off Amu Surenkumar to pop up a return catch after making one, but Winfield-Hill and Alice Clarke had reduced the target to 21 off 3 overs before Winfield-Hill reverse-swept Mille Taylor to Redmayne at gully for 42.
Glenn hit Baker for a straight six in the 19th over before Warwickshire were forced to bring in a fielder into the thirty-yard circle after falling foul of the cut-off time.
Glenn took full advantage, sweeping a four and a two to leave three runs required from the final over, and she finished matters by flicking Arlott to the square leg boundary with three balls to spare.
Magic Moment: Getting a wicket with your first ball is always a great start, and Holly Garton did just that, producing a nicely flighted, turning delivery to draw Katie George down the wicket and have her stumped by a distance.
Turning point: The superb 106-run partnership between Jess Jonassen and Lauren Winfield-Hill broke the back of the run chase.
Stat of the Match: After coming together at 14-2, the 32-ball fifty partnership between Jess Jonassen and Lauren Winfield-Hill was outstanding in the circumstances and put Yorkshire firmly back into the game.
What they said – Head coach Rich Pyrah: “It’s been a really positive week. We knew at the start of the season we were being inconsistent and all we’re looking for is improvement. We’ve started to see that with two wins this week. Not just two wins, but two really good performances.
What’s next: Yorkshire are next in action on Friday against Lancashire Thunder at 3pm in the Vitality Blast doubleheader at Emirates Old Trafford alongside the men’s teams who play at 7pm.
