Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Maddie Ward celebrates a Glamorgan wicket this afternoon and will lead her side into the final this evening at Wantage Road against Middlesex.
Yorkshire are through to the Vitality Blast 2 final this evening after their spinners expertly set up an afternoon semi-final victory by seven wickets against Glamorgan at Wantage Road.
The White Rose, chasing 125, were victors with more than two overs to spare and will face Middlesex from 6.45pm, aiming to win their first professional title as a county.
Maddie Ward’s side have now won nine games from nine in this competition, but their record was threatened in the early stages as the Welsh side started well with the bat.
Having elected to bat, they had advanced to 87-1 in the 13th over and 99-2 early in the 15th before slipping badly to finish on 124-9 from their 20 overs.
Leg-spinner Olivia Thomas led the way with 3-29 from four overs, added to two wickets apiece for off-spinner Claudie Cooper and seamer Beth Langston. Rachel Slater and Ria Fackrell also struck once apiece.
While seam had success in the form of Langston and Slater, it was Yorkshire’s spinners who really turned the tide, with the county’s catching also very impressive.
Openers Georgie Boyce, who top-scored with 38 off 37 balls, and Lauren Winfield-Hill (35) shared 68 in 10.1 overs to set the wheels in motion in pursuit.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Rachel Slater celebrates dismissing Glamorgan’s Lauren Parfitt, the initial breakthrough at Wantage Road.
And Ami Campbell finished things off with three sixes in an unbeaten 26 off 10 balls.
Earlier, Winfield-Hill took a trio of outfield catches at mid-off.
Glamorgan made a settled start, reaching 37-0 at the end of the powerplay having elected to bat.
Bethan Ellis led the way with support from her captain Lauren Parfitt, the pair batting with controlled aggression en-route to an opening stand of 66 inside 10 overs.
Rachel Slater made the breakthrough with a beauty of a slower ball to Parfitt, who was bowled for 29 by one which jagged away from the right-hander.
Ellis played nicely. She swept against Olivia Thomas’s leg-spin as one of her three boundaries.
However, after Olivia Thomas had removed Niamh Holland caught behind, Ellis fell as one of two wickets in three balls at the end of the 14th over and the start of the 15th as Glamorgan slipped to 99-4.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Claudie Cooper celebrates dismissing Glamorgan’s Bethan Ellis.
Both wickets fell to off-spin. Cooper had Ellis brilliantly caught and bowled going to her right almost directly above the stumps before Fackrell had Bethan Gammon caught behind cutting.
Olivia Thomas struck twice in the 16th over – Bea Ellis caught at mid-off following a miscue and Gemma Porter trapped lbw – as the score fell to 105-6.
At this stage, Glamorgan had lost four wickets for six runs.
Further damage was done when Georgia Parfitt was bowled by Cooper before seamer Beth Langston struck twice in the last over, removing Poppys Walker and Tulloch.
Both were caught at mid-off by Winfield-Hill, the latter a particularly good low catch.
Winfield-Hill initially led the chase.
Dominant against spin, particularly on the sweep, she also latched onto anything loose against seam.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com Beth Langston misses an attempted late run out but struck twice in the last over of the Glamorgan innings.
In reaching 43-0 after six overs of powerplay, it was quickly evident that Glamorgan had missed their chance to spring a surprise.
Boyce played the support act impressively, hitting nicely down the ground.
But, with the loss of two quick wickets, Boyce took on the lead role.
Winfield-Hill lofted Walker’s leg-spin to long-off before Sterre Kalis was bowled by a beauty from seamer Tulloch in successive overs, leaving Yorkshire 73-2 in the 12th.
Boyce and captain Ward then had a couple of mix-ups with their running which weren’t punished, and tensions heightened ever so slightly.
But Yorkshire had done enough earlier to be able to absorb a bit of a flat spot in their innings.
Ward then took a couple of boundaries off Walker’s spin as the score reached 98-2 from 15 overs, needing 27 more.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Opener Lauren Winfield-Hill hit 35 and took three catches at mid-off in this afternoon’s semi-final victory over Glamorgan at Blast Finals Day.
Boyce was caught behind off Tulloch with the score on 98 after 15.1 overs before Ward and Campbell completed the victory with a minimum of fuss.
They shared an unbroken fourth-wicket stand of 32, with Campbell taking no prisoners against the spin of Katy Cobb and Walker. Ward finished 21 not out.
Earlier, Middlesex beat Leicestershire by 10 wickets chasing a revised target of 108 inside 14 overs following a rain-shortened morning semi-final.
