MATCH REPORT: Lancashire Women lose out at Durham
An excellent century from Durham captain Hollie Armitage led her side to an 89 run win in their Metro Bank One Day Cup clash with Lancashire Women.
Durham’s total of 257 was supercharged by Armitage’s century, the first scored by a Durham player in professional women’s cricket, but three wickets from Alana King restricted the hosts in the closing period of the innings.
Lancashire’s chase got off to a bad start as they found themselves 59 for four and they never really got going after that, with Durham bowling them out for 168 to continue their quarter-final pursuit.
Armitage won the toss and elected to bat, but the hosts’ innings got off to a bad start as Lancashire got a moment of good fortune when Bates was run out backing up for 12.
Armitage then came to the crease and played a delightful shot through the covers off the bowling of Sophie Morris, while Marlow played a tidy shot off her legs for four to keep the Durham total ticking over.
The Durham pair were looking good, but a mix up between the wickets meant that Marlow had to depart as she was run out for a well-made 37.
King then got her first as Mady Villiers edged a delivery straight into the hands of Eve Jones at slip for one.
Armitage then passed fifty for the fourth time in the competition, with this one coming from 61 balls.
Emily Windsor, making her Durham List A debut, joined Armitage and looked good as she launched a Morris ball down the ground for four.
Lancashire had a chance to get the key wicket of Armitage when she mistimed a slog sweep off Tara Norris but Seren Smale failed to take a catch on the boundary with the Durham batter on 71.
The attention quickly turned to a milestone at the other end as Windsor picked up her first half-century in a Durham shirt, with it coming from 47 balls.
Windsor didn’t last much longer as King got her caught behind for a fluent 55, but Armitage continued to flow as she picked up back-to-back fours off Norris, but two quick wickets fell at the other end as King got Heath and Phoebe Turner was run out.
However, Armitage managed to get her seventh List A century from 110 balls, but Norris got Katherine Fraser with the next ball.
Gaur then got Grace Thompson, while Armitage and Sophia Turner were run out in the final over to leave Durham on 257 all out.
Lancashire’s opening pair of Emma Lamb and Eve Jones guided their side through the opening overs with minimum fuss, but when Mady Villiers came into the attack that changed as she got Lamb, the top run scorer in this competition, caught behind for 12.
Durham struck again to remove Tilly Kesteven for four as the Lancashire batter mistimed a cut shot off the bowling of Fraser and Thompson produced a superb diving catch at backward point.
Lancashire’s poor start to their chase continued as Jones chipped one straight back to Fraser for 24 and the visitors were in trouble at 47 for three.
Ellie Threlkeld relieved some pressure as she smashed Phoebe Turner’s first ball down the ground for four, but the Durham bowler struck back as she bowled the Lancashire captain with a beauty.
Ailsa Lister played a glorious shot over the field on the offside for a much-needed boundary.
Smale continued to tick the score along for the visitors, knowing that her partnership with Lister was key to any Lancashire victory hopes, but that partnership didn’t last much longer as Katie Levick got Lister caught at cover for 18. King failed to have the same impact with the bat as she did with the ball as she was caught behind off the bowling of Levick for four.
Durham were on the brink of victory as Villiers got Smale LBW for 32 to leave Lancashire seven down.
Kate Cross looked to offer some resistance as she played a pair of nice shots off the bowling of Phoebe Turner, but Fraser picked up her third as she removed Norris.
Sophia Turner then got in on the act as she bowled Cross for a resolute 34 and she wrapped up the win, bowling Morris for a golden duck.