Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Ami Campbell on the attack against Lancashire at York this afternoon.
Yorkshire v Lancashire Thunder, Vitality Blast, Women, Wednesday July 1, 2026, 2.30pm, York Cricket Club
Toss: Lancashire won it and elected to bowl.
Teams – Yorkshire: Ami Campbell, Erin Thomas, Jess Jonassen, Lauren Winfield-Hill c/w, Sterre Kalis, Sarah Glenn, Beth Langston, Olivia Thomas, Claudie Cooper, Hannah Rainey, Jess Woolston.
Lancashire: Meg Lanning, Eve Jones, Emma Lamb, Tilly Kesteven, Ellie Threlkeld c/w, Seren Smale, Fi Morris, Kate Cross, Tara Norris, Venus Weerappuli, Sophie Morris.
Match Summary: Lancashire chased a 161-target to win by six wickets with 17 balls remaining, after Yorkshire had the opportunity to put them under significant pressure in an entertaining Roses clash in the Minster City.
Ami Campbell blazed a brilliant 47 off 21 balls to get the White Rose ahead of the game at 79-1 in the seventh over, only to lose wickets regularly from there and scramble to 160-7. Sixteen-year-old leg-spinner Venus Weerappuli took a senior career best 3-13 from four overs.
Lancashire also attacked early on; Meg Lanning leading the way with 34 off 15 balls. And they were able to maintain the momentum after she fell at 46-1 after four. Her opening partner Eve Jones top-scored with 57 off 38 balls.
Lancashire claimed their second win in eight games in this competition, while Yorkshire remain winless in eight. With four games remaining, the White Rose are all but out of contention for Finals Day qualification.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Venus Weerappuli (right) helps Tara Norris celebrate dismissing Lauren Winfield-Hill this afternoon.
Report: Left-handed Campbell blazed a trail for Yorkshire in the early stages of a contest between the two bottom sides in the group table.
She was leg-side dominant, and the highlight of her entertaining innings was taking two fours and two sixes as 24 came from the bowling of Kate Cross in the sixth over, the score advancing to 74-1.
Then came the Thunder fightback.
It started with wickets for young spinners Weerappuli and Sophie Morris in successive overs at a bright and breezy Yorkshire – 81-3 in the eighth.
Bradford-based Weerappuli had a sweeping Campbell caught at backward square-leg off a top-edge.
Tara Norris then had home captain Lauren Winfield-Hill caught in the deep as Yorkshire reached the 10-over mark at 97-4
From there, the White Rose were unable to accelerate as Weerappuli bowled Sterre Kalis for 22 and trapped a sweeping Olivia Thomas lbw.
Beth Langston contributed a useful unbeaten 17, and 10 came off the last over of the innings, as it had the first.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Lauren Winfield-Hill celebrates taking a catch from the bowling of Claudie Cooper to dismiss Lancashire’s Meg Lanning.
Lancashire’s chase then started in similar fashion to how Yorkshire’s innings had done earlier on a true batter’s paradise of a pitch.
Australian overseas Lanning was the one who attacked initially.
Lanning had a scare on eight when she pulled Hannah Rainey out to deep square-leg, the ball parried over the rope for six by Claudie Cooper. In truth, Cooper always looked second favourite.
Lanning hit a straight six and three fours off Cooper’s off-spin as 19 came from the fourth over. But she fell caught behind cutting at the end of it, with the score 46-1.
The powerplay scores were almost identical at 78 for one and 74 for one. But Lancashire never looked like letting this slip. And they pressed on.
Left-handed Jones drilled Beth Langston’s seam down the ground for six shortly before reaching her fifty off 31 balls.
By the time she got there, it felt like game over at 96-1 in the 10th over. Jones dominated a second-wicket partnership of 68 with Emma Lamb, who contributed 22.
And not even their departures to the seam of Rainey and Jess Woolston – 116-3 in the 13th over – could derail Thunder, for whom new England Test wicketkeeper-batter Ellie Threlkeld finished 28 not out.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Hannah Rainey dismissed Emma Lamb.
Magic moment: Can we please extend the magic moment to a magic 25 minutes? Ami Campbell’s 21-ball 47 with four fours and as many sixes was a fabulous knock.
Turning point: Yorkshire slipping from 124-4 in the 14th over to 124-6 in the 15th, losing Sarah Glenn and Sterre Kalis to successive deliveries from spinners Emma Lamb and Venus Weerappuli. The White Rose were just looking to accelerate, only to be set back.
Stat of the match: Ami Campbell’s 47 was her best T20 score in professional cricket.
What they said – Yorkshire’s opener Ami Campbell: “I was really happy with how I went about it. With the way I play it doesn’t always come off, and I think I’ve had a pretty rough season finding my flow a little bit.
“But I’m really happy to be opening the bat, and I feel like it’s way more suited to my style. It was good to just get a bigger score today and help the team get off to a better start.
“Unfortunately, I feel like we were just 20 or 30 short of a competitive score on this ground.
“We weren’t a million miles away.
“I still think it was a competitive score if we were bowling the right lines and our fielding was clean.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Yorkshire take to the field in their defence of 161.
“But, today, I think we fell off in those areas, which we’ve just spoken about as a team.”
What’s next: Yorkshire face Somerset at Headingley on Friday afternoon (2.30pm) as part of a Vitality Blast double header with the county’s men, who face Durham under lights.
