MATCH REPORT: Thunder lose by seven wickets to The Blaze
Kirstie Gordon took five for 12 and Sophie Bryce completed four stumpings as Blaze maintained their 100% record in the Charlotte Edwards Cup with a seven-wicket victory over Lancashire Thunder at Emirates Old Trafford.
Slow left-armer Gordon’s fine bowling and Bryce’s sharp work behind the stumps restricted Thunder to 111 for nine on a pitch that was being used for its fourth T20 match in as many days and this total proved to be no sort of target for a Blaze team featuring the England opener, Tammy Beaumont.
Beaumont made 34 not out and overshadowed her England colleagues Kate Cross and Sophie Ecclestone as Blaze strolled home with 4.2 overs to spare.
Thunder won the toss but Blaze grabbed the initiative in the opening overs, restricting their hosts to 22 runs in the powerplay overs and taking two vital wickets.
Fi Morris, the hero of Thunder’s victory over Sparks on Thursday, was caught by Teresa Groves at backward point for one off the seventh ball of the match and Serena Smale was smartly stumped by Sarah Bryce off her sister, Kathryn for a 13-ball two.
Emma Lamb hit two boundary fours but in the eighth over, she was caught at deep mid-on by Marie Kelly off Kirstie Gordon for 20 and it was only taking ten runs off the tenth over that enabled Thunder to reach the midpoint of their innings on 44 for three.
Eventually, Ellie Threlkeld and Danni Collins maintained some much needed acceleration until their 43-run stand was ended by Lucy Higham in the 14th over when she had Threlkeld caught at mid-off by Kirstie Gordon for 20.
New batter Ailsa Lister lasted only half a dozen deliveries before she holed out to Kelly off Higham for four and the off-spinner took her third wicket when Danni Collins was stumped by Sophie Bryce for a gutsy 30 when attempting a reverse sweep.
Kathryn Bryce’s 19th over of the innings was the most productive of the innings as far as Thunder was concerned, 17 runs coming off it, thanks in part to a four and six by Ecclestone.
The England slow left-armer put on 26 in 14 balls with Cross before Cross became Bryce’s third stumping of the afternoon and Gordon completed a memorable afternoon by bowling Ecclestone for 20 and having Phoebe Graham stumped first ball.
By contrast with their hosts, the Blaze openers, Beaumont and Teresa Graves, encountered few problems getting the scoreboard moving and the pair had put on 50 in 6.2 overs before Graves skied Sophie Morris to Tara Norris at mid-off and departed having made 29 off 24 balls.
Kathryn Bryce then added a further 36 in five overs with Beaumont and the No3’s departure, caught at midwicket by Norris off Fi Morris for 21 did nothing to halt the Blaze’s stroll to victory. Sophie Bryce was caught at cover off Cross in what proved to be the final over of the game but the outcome had long been all but certain.
Report by ECB Reporters Network
Photos by Luke Adams/Dan Adams