Winfield-Hill innings boosts Diamonds’ finals hopes
Northern Diamonds 196 (Winfield-Hill 89, Bell 4-32) beat Thunder 148 (Levick 4-28, Turner 3-18) by 48 runs
Northern Diamonds gave their probabilities of qualifying for the ultimate levels of the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy an enormous increase with a complete 48-run victory over cross-Pennines rivals Thunder at Sale Sports Club.
Lauren Winfield-Hill continued her good white-ball type for Diamonds with a barnstorming 89, earlier than Katie Levick with 4 wickets and Phoebe Turner with three, sealed the win in a recreation which the hosts appeared to be in command of on the interval after bowling out the guests for a below-par 196.
Diamonds received off to a fast begin with Winfield-Hill starting the place she left off towards Western Storm by hitting a trio of boundaries within the first few overs because the rating raced alongside within the early morning sunshine.
But Thunder hit again when Phoebe Graham produced a cracking supply which nipped again and eliminated Sterre Kalis’s bails for eight.
Winfield-Hill continued to dominate the bowling, hitting fours at will as Graham and fellow opening bowler Tara Norris proved costly with the guests reaching the top of the powerplay on 63 for two.
With Hollie Armitage departing simply earlier than that within the ninth over for 9, trying to reverse sweep Hannah Jones, Diamonds gave a touch of the difficulty that was to return as Thunder efficiently launched the spin of Jones, Fi Morris and Olivia Bell to good impact.
Jones had Emma Marlow trapped in entrance for 9 earlier than Bell ripped out Diamonds’ center order with a succession of wickets which dragged the house aspect again right into a recreation Winfield-Hill had threatened to remove from them.
Rebecca Duckworth performed nicely for her 27 off 54 balls as she and Winfield-Hill placed on 46 runs for the fourth wicket earlier than she was bowled by Bell leaving the previous England opener struggling to search out one other associate of word.
The stress of carrying the innings ultimately turned an excessive amount of for Winfield-Hill. who was bowled by the returning Norris for 89 off 90 balls together with 14 fours. It was an excellent knock however her departure hastened the top for Diamonds who rapidly misplaced Leah Dobson and Turner to the rampant Bell earlier than Levick turned the Thunder off-spinner’s fourth wicket.
By then the rating was 169 for 8 and Naomi Dattani mopped up the tail’s dogged resistance with the wickets of Grace Hall and Jessica Woolston to go away Diamonds posting an underwhelming 196 all out off 46.4 overs.
With either side determined for the win, nerves have been jangling as Thunder started their innings with one supply from Lizzie Scott’s first over going for 5 wides.
Runs flowed for the primary 5 overs till Liberty Heap was bowled by a tremendous supply from Woolston for 14 to go away Thunder 27 for 1.
Dattani regarded to rebuild and the hosts handed 50 earlier than she was brilliantly caught down the leg aspect by Winfield-Hill off Levick’s third ball with the spinner’s fourth ball trapping Morris in entrance with out scoring to go away Thunder out of the blue up towards it at 54 for 3.
A captain’s innings was required and Ellie Threlkeld regarded up for the problem as she and Seren Smale started to construct a fourth-wicket partnership which slowly pulled Thunder again into the competition.
A wicket regarded very important for Diamonds and Turner obliged as she started a spell that might flip the match the customer’s method with Smale prime edging a supply to depart for 33 earlier than Threlkeld’s vigil ended barely unluckily when she discovered Marlow on the leg aspect boundary for 31.
With that the stuffing was knocked out of the Thunder reply and Turner took one other one to say Daisy Mullan with out scoring with Levick accounting for Norris lbw for one.
Graham rapidly adopted the identical method to the identical bowler for a third-ball duck and regardless of some resistance from Laura Delaney and Bell the sport was up when the latter was run out for eight and Jones fell the identical method as Thunder have been dismissed for 148.