A youthful Northern Diamonds side were beaten upon their return to Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy action as fellow semi-final contenders Sunrisers claimed a three-wicket win chasing 189 at sunny Chelmsford today.
The Diamonds, who handed a senior debut to teenaged wicketkeeper-batter Maddie Ward, were limited to 188-9, including 36 from Sterre Kalis, 34 from Emma Marlow and an encouraging 20 from the debutant down the order.
Fringe England off-spinner Mady Villiers was excellent with 4-36 from 10 overs on her 26th birthday, and her career best equalling List A figures were backed up by on-loan seamer Sophie Munro’s impressive 3-25 from 10.
Home captain Grace Scrivens then led the chase having opened the batting. She top-scored with 56 off 74 balls, while Jodi Grewcock added 40 and Villiers capped her memorable day with a useful 19 as Sunrisers won with 12 overs remaining, despite Katherine Fraser’s impressive 3-37 from eight overs of off-spin.
The Diamonds suffered their third defeat in 11 games, though will end the day having held onto second place in the table with three games remaining in the race for the semi-finals. Sunrisers jumped up to third.
Diamonds face another team in contention, Lancashire Thunder, at Southport next Sunday.
Picture by YCCC. Maddie Ward (r) is presented with her cap by team-mate Lizzie Scott.
Having elected to bat on a used pitch, it was no surprise that the Diamonds, who lost all nine of their wickets facing bowling from the Graham Gooch End of this ground, had to battle hard for reward.
Without Lauren Winfield-Hill (Caribbean Premier League duty) and Bess Heath (withdrawn at the request of England), the Diamonds were shorn of experience in their batting department.
But they made a very encouraging start as Marlow and new opening partner Fraser, who made 21 before her trio of wickets, shared 47 inside 10 overs for the first wicket.
Sunrisers’ bowlers grew into their work and were most effective through the middle of their innings, allowing Diamonds to start and finish well.
Fraser pulled a couple of her four boundaries before miscueing a catch to backward point off Eva Gray’s seam at the end of the 10th over.
Marlow hit back-to-back boundaries off Gray – one particularly eye-catching as she punched her between mid-on and mid-wicket off the back foot.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com. Sterre Kalis top-scored with 36 at Chelmsford today.
Unfortunately, after Hollie Armitage had pulled Villiers to mid-wicket, Marlow miscued the same bowler a touch straight to a shortish mid-on – 81-3 in the 18th.
Villiers excelled on a slow pitch.
She went on to trap Rebecca Duckworth lbw and bowled Beth Langston – 136-5 in the 30th.
Langston (18) and fifth-wicket Kalis, who looked in good order after some runs in the Hundred with Birmingham Phoenix, had shared 50 to give the Diamonds a platform to build from during the second half of their innings.
Unfortunately, the loss of four wickets for 14 put the visitors on the back foot again.
Langston was the first of those, followed by Kalis bowled by Munro, Phoebe Turner caught and bowled by the same on-loan seamer off a leading edge and Abi Glen bowled.
Picture by John Clifton/SWpix.com. Emma Marlow contributed 34 and took a wicket at Chelmsford, but it wasn’t enough to prevent defeat.
Munro’s third wicket left the Diamonds 148-8 in the 38th over.
However, in 19-year-old Ward, they had a batter who was able to chip away and add invaluable runs in a watchful manner but with flashes of aggression.
In sharing 28 with Katie Levick for the ninth wicket, she lofted the off-spin of Scrivens over mid-on’s head for her first boundary and paddled a second to long-leg off the seam of Kate Coppack.
Upon being stumped off Grewcock’s leg-spin at the end of the 48th over, it left the Diamonds 176-9. But in becoming the seventh batter to reach double figures, Levick’s unbeaten 14 pushed the total up towards the 190-mark.
And on a slow pitch, it felt competitive.
Despite the early wicket of Jo Gardner, caught behind by Ward off Rachel Slater – 7-1 in the third over, it proved not to be the case.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com. Coach Dani Hazell had to contend with the absence of a couple of key players.
Cordelia Griffiths hoisted the contest’s first of only two sixes, straight down the ground off Levick’s leg-spin, as Sunrisers reached the 10-over mark at 55-1. Thankfully, she fell for 19 not long afterwards having skied a return catch to the off-spin of Fraser in her first over – 60-2 in the 12th over.
Ward couldn’t hold a tough running catch with Scrivens on 29 off a top-edge against Turner not long afterwards, and limiting her influence on the chase was always going to be key to the Diamonds’ hopes.
In similar fashion to Griffith, she lofted Fraser straight for six almost immediately before reaching a 62-ball fifty. And when she got there, Sunrisers were 101-2 in the 19th over and looking highly likely victors by now.
Despite the slow pitch, Sunrisers, who in truth were better in all departments today, attacked this chase and broke its back in impressive fashion.
Scrivens shared 53 with Griffith and followed it up with another half-century stand with Grewcock, though their partnership was cut short on 60 when the former top-edged an attempted sweep at Marlow’s off-spin to short fine-leg, leaving the score at 120-3 in the 24th.
Grewcock was then run out before Levick had Villiers caught at mid-off and Fraser struck for a second time, bowling Flo Miller. Scotland international Fraser struck again, getting Eva Gray caught at cover as Sunrisers lost three for 13 – 183-7. But they got over the line.
Picture by Gareth Copley/Getty Images. England fringe off-spinner Mady Villiers was excellent for Sunrisers in victory.
