Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com. Erin Thomas top-scored for Yorkshire with 39 during today’s T20 defeat to Warwickshire.
Yorkshire fell to a disappointing defeat to the Bears by 10 wickets with 29 balls to spare in the Vitality County T20 Cup quarter-final at Weetwood this afternoon.
Erin Thomas top scored for the White Rose side with a season’s best 39 but Yorkshire lost wickets regularly in compiling a stuttering 138 all out from their 20 overs, with left-arm wrist spinner Millie Taylor taking three wickets.
That score was hunted down ruthlessly by the Bears’ opening pair of Abbey Freeborn and Davina Perrin inside 16 overs to take the visitors through to face Surrey in the second semi-final at Taunton on Monday.
The Tier 1 Bears made a good start to their run chase, despite a maiden opening over from Beth Langston who found some good early swing.
Langston only conceded four from her second over but Freeborn hit out effectively with a six and four boundaries to help the Bears take 38 runs from the six over powerplay.
Yorkshire were hampered by the loss of Maddie Ward three balls into her opening over with damage to her right hand and replaced by Ria Fackrell, with Grace Hall completing the sixth over.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com. Lauren Winfield-Hill attempts to stump Warwickshire’s top-scorer Abbey Freeborn.
Freeborn hammered a further six and Perrin added two fours as 16 runs came from the eighth over bowled by Hall with the opening partnership reaching 50 from 46 balls.
The flashing blade of Freeborn continued to prosper as her seventh four, a pull to mid-wicket, brought up an adventurous half century off 33 balls in the 11th over with the Bears reaching 100 from 68 balls without loss and racing towards their target.
Perrin greeted Langston’s return to the attack in the 12th over by hitting four boundaries to make the outcome fairly inevitable before going to her fifty off 41 balls in style with a six off Claudie Cooper at the start of the 15th over.
From that point the pair coasted home, completing their victory off the first ball of the 16th over with Freeborn finishing with 78 runs from 47 balls and Perrin 58 off 44 to record a comprehensive victory.
Yorkshire suffered two early blows after being put in to bat, losing Lauren Winfield-Hill for four and Rebecca Duckworth for five.
But Thomas went onto the attack hitting Hannah Rainey for consecutive fours plus a six in her second over after the Bears’ Scottish international had started with a wicket maiden.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com. Yorkshire’s women bow out of the County Cup having beaten Tier 1 side Essex last weekend amongst three wins.
Thomas then thumped Hannah Baker for six to take Yorkshire to 48-2 by the end of the powerplay. But, having made 39 off just 21 balls, found Bethan Ellis at mid-on off Bears’ debutant Amu Surenkumar.
Sterre Kalis started in familiar fashion square-cutting Charis Pavely powerfully for four.
But when she drove Taylor to Georgia Davis at mid-off for six at the start of the 9th over the hosts were in trouble on 65-4.
Ami Campbell twice pulled Surenkumar for four to get her innings up and running as Yorkshire reached halfway on 74-4. Six runs later, however, she holed out to Meg Austin at deep mid-wicket off Taylor for 11.
Ward took two fours from one Ellis over and added two more boundaries until lbw sweeping at Davis for a run-a-ball 21 with Yorkshire 94-6 towards the end of the 14th over.
Olivia Thomas hit Taylor for four through wide mid-off for four but was bowled next ball for 11 to give the bowler T20 career-best figures of 3-17 while Cooper was stumped by Nat Wraith off Davis for one.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com. Rebecca Duckworth on the drive against the Bears at Weetwood this afternoon.
Langston – who pulled her second ball authoritatively for four – did her best to boost the total with some late blows, twice hitting Davis to the ropes in the 18th over before stumped when hitting out at Pavely in the last over.
Her cameo of 28 off 21 balls gave their bowlers something to work with. Unfortunately, though, it proved to be well short in the end as the White Rose suffered a first defeat in seven matches in all competitions.
They start their Vitality Blast 2 campaign next weekend having claimed three T20 County Cup wins from four, including beating Tier 1 side Essex Eagles in round three.
