MATCH REPORT: Lancashire Thunder get their first win of the Vitality Blast
Meg Lanning made her second successive unbeaten fifty to guide Lancashire Thunder to their first victory in this year’s Women’s Vitality Blast.
The world-class Australian batter finished on 75 not out off 48 balls as Thunder defeated Somerset by seven wickets in a one-sided match at Emirates Old Trafford
It was Somerset’s first defeat in this year’s Blast but the visitors could harbour no grievances. Having posted a modest 137 for six in their 20 overs, a total in which skipper Sophie Luff made 42, they were powerless to prevent Lancashire reaching their target in 15.3 overs and thereby collecting one bonus point in addition to the four for victory.
Having opted to bat first, Sophie Luff and her opening partner, Bex Odgers, put on 37 in 4.1 overs but this bright start was cut short when Hannah Jones took two wickets in five balls. The left-arm spinner trapped Odgers leg-before when sweeping for 23 and then bowled Anika Learoyd for a single with a quicker delivery.
The visitors’ momentum was further disrupted in the eighth over when Niamh Holland swung the fourth ball of Venus Weerappuli’s senior career to Fi Morris at deep midwicket and departed for two. That wicket sparked great celebrations among the Lancashire players; aged 16 years and 206 days leg-spinner Weerapulli had become Lancashire’s youngest debutant.
Further wickets prevented Somerset recovering their early fluency. Luff was stumped by Ellie Threlkeld off Grace Johnson for a 31-ball 42 and Katie Jones was caught and bowled in Fi Morris’s first over for 16. That left Somerset on 88 for five after 11.3 overs and it quickly became clear Luff’s batters would have to settle for a lower total than they had amassed in their three earlier games.
Alex Grififths became Jones’s third victim when her attempted reverse sweep only resulted in her being lbw for 14 and the innings ended on 137 for six, a total boosted by the 12 runs taken off Kate Cross’s final over, the last two deliveries of which were inside-edged and then swung to the fine leg boundary by Jess Hazell, who finished unbeaten on 23. Jones was comfortably her side’s best bowler, finishing with three for 20 from four overs.
Lancashire’s reply began even better than Somerset’s and suffered no serious setbacks. Lanning and Eve Jones shared nine boundaries during a powerplay that yielded 62 runs and none of Luff’s bowlers were able to put a break on the scoring.
Lanning reached her fifty off 30 balls, eight of which she hit for boundary fours, but her partnership was broken two short of a hundred, when Jones was bowled by Erin Vukusic for 43. Dani Collins then fell first ball when her extravagant drive off Vukusic merely skied a catch to Olivia Barnes at backward point.
Unflustered by these slight setbacks Lanning put on a further 32 with Johnson, who was lbw to Vukusic for 16 just before Lanning smacked a six off Holland and Threlkeld’s single clinched the win. Vukusic finished with three for 30 from her four overs.
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