A blistering 71 from England opener Tammy Beaumont denied the Northern Diamonds the chance to win their only pre-season friendly on home soil today as the Blaze took the honours by five wickets in a 50-over fixture at Weetwood.

Beaumont crashed three sixes and seven fours in 53 balls as the new Nottingham-based region chased a 199 target in 27 overs.

She shared 126 inside 16 overs for the first wicket with Marie Kelly (36) before Georgie Boyce completed the visiting victory with an unbeaten 50 off 37 balls.

Abi Glen’s seamers accounted for three wickets, including Beaumont bowled as she tried to cut one which skidded through and uprooted her off-stump. 

Glen finished with an encouraging 3-45 from seven overs, while Lizzie Scott and Hollie Armitage struck.

Earlier, having been invited to bat, Armitage top-scored for the Diamonds in their 198 all out with 67 from number three, the captain hitting eight fours in 77 balls.

Rebecca Duckworth (20), Bess Heath (22) and Emma Marlow (27) all provided useful support.

When Armitage fell, the Diamonds were 120-7 in the 29th over, so to get up to 198 should be a source of encouragement. Last pair Katie Levick and Harriet Robson, with 14 and 16 not out, added 35. 

England leg-spinner Sarah Glenn claimed 3-18 from 6.2 overs for the Blaze, while new ball seamer Sophie Munro returned 3-48 from 10.

The Diamonds begin their Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy title defence against the Western Storm at Headingley on Saturday (10.30am).

Lauren Winfield-Hill and Sterre Kalis will return to the fold following their involvement at the Fairbreak Global T20 event in Hong Kong, which finished yesterday.

Kalis and the Tornadoes finished fifth, while Winfield-Hill’s Barmy Army side finished third.

Related News

View all news

Diamonds are ready at all levels - Cant

Tom Cant believes all areas of the Northern Diamonds structure are ready to hit the ground running ahead of the forthcoming summer.

Read more

Pre-season 45-over game: Fraser shines with bat as Diamonds lose to Sparks

Katherine Fraser hit an excellent lower middle 79 - but it wasn’t enough to prevent defeat as the Northern Diamonds were beaten in a 45-over contest in Mumbai today.

Read more

Pre-season T20: Diamonds slip to Sparks defeat in Mumbai

The Northern Diamonds were beaten by regional rivals Central Sparks in their first fixture of 2024 today, losing a T20 friendly by six wickets in Mumbai.

Read more
An image of Lauren Winfield-Hill and Adil Rashid, with the Yorkshire logo and Northern Diamonds logo in the middle

Sign up to our newsletter

For all the latest news, previews, ticket, membership and Premium Experiences information and more exciting content from Yorkshire Cricket and the Northern Diamonds straight to your inbox, subscribe now.

To view our privacy policy, click here.