Georgia Adams fifty spearheads Vipers romp to Finals Day
Southern Vipers 115 for five (Adams 63, Villiers 3-15) beat Sunrisers 114 for 7 (Griffith 65, Smith 3-13) by 5 wickets
Southern Vipers romped in the direction of finals day of the Charlotte Edwards Cup after they defeated Sunrisers by 5 wickets on the 1st Central County Ground, Hove.
Even with out their England gamers they had been far too sturdy for a Sunrisers facet who’ve misplaced all seven of their matches within the competitors. Chasing a modest goal of 115 the Vipers received residence with 5.1 overs to spare.
They began off as in the event that they needed to get the runs in ten overs and misplaced two wickets within the third over. Nicole Faltum had one other failure on the prime of the order when she was bowled, sweeping, by Mady Villiers. And three balls later Ella McCaughan was caught at cow nook going for a most.
But captain Georgia Adams led from the entrance with an unbeaten 63, with six fours and three sixes. She misplaced Georgia Elwiss, who was caught at midwicket for ten, after which Freya Kemp who was bowled for 12. And simply earlier than the top Emily Windsor was bowled for eight. But former opener Adams, regardless of being dropped on 19, batted with authority, reaching her fifty from solely 28 deliveries and occurring to steer her facet to an emphatic victory.
The Vipers went into their final group stage match with the comfy data that solely heavy defeat would deny them a spot at New Road, Worcester, the place they are going to face Thunder.
And, having to chosen to bowl, the one critical resistance got here from Cordelia Griffith, who plundered 65 runs from 56 deliveries, with 9 fours and a six.
The Vipers had been properly on their strategy to victory after simply 5 overs, having lowered Sunrisers to 18 for 4 in that point.
Struggling Sunrisers had given the captaincy to the skilled South African Dane van Niekerk and given a debut to spectacular medium pacer Esmae MacGregor, who took two wickets. But it wasn’t sufficient.
Slow left-armer Linsey Smith opened the bowling for the Vipers and broke by means of with simply the third supply of the match when Alice Macleod, strolling down the pitch, missed the ball and was comfortably stumped by Faltum. Sunrisers misplaced their second wicket to the primary supply of the third over when Smith straightened one and had van Niekerk lbw. And it was 5 for 3 when Villiers performed too early to the final ball of Smith’s second over and skied to deep further cowl to make it three gentle dismissals in as many overs.
From the second ball of the fifth over wicket-keeper Amara Carr was run out by Alice Monaghan, going for an optimistic second run and the innings appeared in ruins.
But the Sunrisers can by no means be written off whereas Griffith remains to be there and as soon as once more the aggressive right-hander counter-attacked in opposition to a Vipers facet who, as common, rotated their bowlers at each alternative. At the midway stage of the innings – which had featured six Vipers bowlers – Sunrisers had been 45 for 4.
Grifffith powered to her fifty from 44 balls when she pulled Elwiss to the midwicket boundary. But with the final ball of the over Elwiss yorked Florence Miller for 20 to finish the 65-run partnership. And, in essence, the innings was over within the 18th over when Griffith, aiming for the leg facet, was caught at extra-cover.