Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Lauren Winfield-Hill top-scored for Yorkshire against The Blaze at Headingley today.
Australian overseas star Jess Jonassen underpinned an historic maiden Tier 1 victory with a fifty and four wickets as fabulous Yorkshire beat title hopefuls The Blaze in an action-packed Metro Bank One-Day Cup fixture at Headingley today.
On what was a true pitch, wickets fell in clusters as Yorkshire posted 280-9 thanks to a trio of half-centuries from Lauren Winfield-Hill, who top-scored with 90 off 101 balls, Jonassen with 67 off 57 and Sterre Kalis with 61 off 42.
The Blaze then looked in control of their chase at 126-1 in the 21st over, only to crumble to 210 all out inside 42 overs against the left-arm spin of Jonassen, who looks set to be a talismanic presence for this emerging White Rose side.
She removed half-centurions Marie Kelly (56) and Kathryn Bryce (55) en-route to 4-18 from seven overs, with the off-spin of Claudie Cooper also tough to cope with as she struck three times added to a direct hit run out.
The Blaze reached all three semi-finals last year and beat One-Day Cup champions Lancashire in their opener on Wednesday. Yorkshire had been beaten away at Somerset and Surrey.
Earlier, Jonassen hit 10 fours and a six in her innings.
Yorkshire’s innings was very much a roller-coaster ride, with momentum swing back and forth.
The White Rose – inserted – started and ended their innings impressively, in contrasting fashion, whilst losing four wickets for the addition of only eight runs just when they were starting to think of a 300-plus total.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Australian Jess Jonassen impressed with the bat on home debut.
After Winfield-Hill and Jonassen impressed early on, they had Kalis to thank for adding late impetus to soften the blow of slipping from 191-1 in the 36th over to 199-5 in the 41st. Winfield-Hill and Jonassen both fell in that period.
Having been inserted, Winfield-Hill shared 69 for the first wicket with teenaged opener Ines Blackwell, who contributed 17 having come back into the side in place of loanee Georgie Boyce, who was unable to play against her parent county.
Winfield-Hill was in excellent touch, just as she had been at the Oval on Wednesday in posting 60.
After Blackwell had been trapped lbw by Kirstie Gordon’s left-arm spin, the skipper then shared 122 with second-wicket partner Jonassen. Both were strong on the drive, the latter drilling a straight six off Lucy Higham’s off-spin en-route to a 44-ball fifty – her first in Yorkshire colours.
Winfield-Hill had reached the same milestone off 57 balls beforehand.
They took the score to within a whisker of 200 with 15 overs remaining. However, the loss of four quick wickets, including Jonassen followed by Winfield-Hill, put a different complexion on things.
Jonassen was lbw pulling at Georgia Elwiss’s seam and Winfield-Hill bowled by a full delivery from left-arm pacer Grace Ballinger. Gordon also forced Maddie Ward to play on as the score slipped to 199-5 with just under 10 overs remaining.
Thankfully, though, Kalis came in to put the pressure back on the bowlers.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Sterre Kalis on the reverse sweep as she added late runs to the Yorkshire total.
There is a strong argument to say that her innings was the best of the lot, despite Winfield-Hill and Jonassen contributing more.
She reached her fifty off 35 balls and hit three sixes, one lofted beautifully over long-off and the other two over the leg-side.
Having dominated a 65-run stand with Erin Thomas, Kalis was one of four wickets to fall in the last 13 balls of the innings, holing out against Elwiss.
Yorkshire’s hopes were given a further shot in the arm when Rachel Slater’s left-arm swing accounted for England opener Tammy Beaumont lbw three balls into the Blaze chase, leaving the score at 0-1.
But Kelly and Kathryn Bryce settled things down for the visitors with a 126 stand. Or so you thought!
Kelly lofted Blackwell’s medium pace over long-on for six, while Bryce hit eight of her first 20 balls for four.
Both reached their fifties in quick succession – Kelly off 62 balls, Bryce off 39 – and the Blaze were cruising at 115-1 in the 18th over.
But, not long afterwards, they were wobbling at 132-5 in the 23rd as both departed alongside Elwiss and Orla Prendergast in the space of 13 balls, with Jonassen to the fore.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Lauren Winfield-Hill celebrates with Jess Jonassen after stumping The Blaze’s Marie Kelly.
She had Bryce caught at cover in the 21st over, followed by Kelly stumped by Winfield-Hill. Elwiss was run out at the striker’s end following a direct hit from Claudie Cooper at mid-wicket. Orla Prendergast then fell caught behind to Jonassen in the 23rd.
The Blaze failed to recover.
Jonassen later had a sweeping Sarah Bryce caught at midwicket. That was sandwiched in between two Cooper wickets; Emma Jones bowled and Higham caught at mid-wicket.
After Gordon and Ballinger delayed what was now the inevitable with a 48-run stand, Cooper struck again to remove Gordon before a Beth Langston short ball had Ballinger miscueing to mid-off running around to finish things now.
The semi-finalists have been beaten. Now for the champions, with Lancashire up next at Emirates Old Trafford next Saturday.
