Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Jess Jonassen celebrates her century against Durham, her second in as many matches.
Yorkshire’s start to life in Tier 1 continued at breakneck pace at Scarborough today as they played out a thrilling tie against northern rivals Durham, with both teams finishing on 290 following centuries from all-rounders Phoebe Turner and then Jess Jonassen.
This was game number five of a rollercoaster season which had previously seen the White Rose win two, lose two.
England A all-rounder Turner helped inserted Durham recover from 53-4 at a sunny North Marine Road, with them finishing on 290-8. That total also included Bess Heath’s Durham best of 70 off 52 balls. Turner’s 100 not out off 82 represented her maiden competitive century.
Australian all-rounder Jonassen then posted an imperious 104 off 109 balls and looked to have put the White Rose in a great position. When she fell, having posted her second century in as many games, in the 37th over, the score was 207-4.
But four run outs, including Rachel Slater attempting to scramble a single through to wicketkeeper Tahlia Wilson off the last ball from Turner, left Yorkshire 290 all out.
Incredible, Remarkable, Crazy. All are apt descriptions for a game which swung this way, that way and back again.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Ines Blackwell celebrates dismissing Durham’s Tahlia Wilson.
And it is incredible to think that Jonassen, having not scored a hundred in any form of senior cricket before Saturday’s one against Lancashire, has now scored two in two games.
Yorkshire’s 16-year-old all-rounder Ines Blackwell struck three early blows with her medium-paced in-swing, getting Australian Wilson, Mady Villiers and captain Hollie Armitage. She finished with a career best 4-61 from 10 overs.
Both Turner, who later struck once with the ball and was also bowling the final over of the game, and Heath played county cricket for Yorkshire and the Northern Diamonds before joining Durham ahead of last summer.
Yorkshire will be frustrated at letting a handful of catches go down.
Heath started the visiting recovery, though she was dropped twice in the deep en-route to a 37-ball fifty. Turner was also dropped on 93 reaching her century with a two to long-on off the last ball of the innings.
Durham fell from 41-0 after nine overs to 53-4 in the 12th.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Lauren Winfield-Hill and Hollie Armitage, former Yorkshire and Northern Diamonds team-mates, meet at the toss.
Blackwell’s devastating in-swing had Wilson chipping to mid-wicket in the 10th, Villiers bowled next ball and, in the 12th, captain Armitage trapped lbw playing back.
Heath shared 71 for the fifth wicket with Emily Windsor and then 56 for the sixth with Turner before falling to a brilliant one-handed catch at cover from Jess Woolston having cut Maddie Ward’s spin. Incidentally, Woolston finished with three catches.
At that stage, Durham were 180-6 in the 31st over before Turner, who shared 61 for the seventh wicket with Katherine Fraser, boosted the total towards 300 and was rightly delighted to have reached her century at the very last.
Lauren Filer then forced home captain Lauren Winfield-Hill to play on with the first legitimate ball of the chase – following a wide – before Rebecca Duckworth was trapped lbw by a Trudy Johnson in-swinger in the second over, leaving the score at 4-2.
Duckworth had come in for her first game of the season with Ami Campbell having suffered a broken finger in Saturday’s win over Lancashire at Emirates Old Trafford.
But Jonassen and fellow in-form batter Sterre Kalis, who posted 79, turned things around beautifully with a fourth-wicket 121 stand from 86-3.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Phoebe Turner celebrates her century against Yorkshire.
Unfortunately, though, when Jonassen top-edged a sweep at Katie Levick’s leg-spin and was caught at short fine-leg, followed by Kalis bowled by Turner – 229-5 in the 40th over, it set the wheels in motion on a damaging collapse.
Jonassen had reached her hundred off 104 balls, but it was followed by Blackwell, Beth Langston and Claudie Cooper all run out.
That left 10 needed off the last over from Turner.
Slater struck a leg-side six before striker Woolston missed the last ball with a single needed, Slater ran and Wilson threw down the striker’s stumps to leave both camps not really knowing whether they should be laughing or crying.
While Yorkshire have now won two, lost two and tied one, Durham have won one, lost three and tied one.
The White Rose face Essex at Headingley on Saturday.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Lauren Winfield-Hill shakes hands with Jess Woolston after the mad-cap tie.
