Heather Knight, Fran Wilson put Western Storm on the board in 155-run chase

Western Storm 155 for 4 (Knight 62, Wilson 53) beat Thunder 154 for 7 (Lamb 36) by six wickets

Set 155 to win, Storm chased down their goal with 4 balls to spare due to superbly-judged knocks of 62 and 53 from Knight and Wilson respectively, the third-wicket pair calling upon all their huge expertise to make amends for final week’s defeat by the hands of Northern Diamonds.

Dani Gibson was excellent in conceding simply 22 runs from 4 overs and claiming the important thing wicket of Deandra Dottin, whereas Storm effected two run outs to cap a powerful show within the subject.

The Bristolian additionally contributed a helpful 20 runs on the high of the order to offer Storm’s reply lift-off earlier than being bowled by Sophie Ecclestone. If Thunder felt they had been within the sport after lowering the hosts to 27 for two, they had been finally disabused of the thought by former England team-mates Knight and Wilson, whose partnership initially proved measured somewhat than spectacular.

Wilson was given a life on 17 within the tenth over, dropped on the sq. leg boundary by Heap off the bowling of Naomi Dattani. How Thunder should have regretted their profligacy because the third wicket stand realised 50 in 6.5 overs, Knight and Wilson slowly making use of extra stress as they upped the speed.

Although Tara Norris and Mahika Gaur stored issues fairly tight, Ecclestone’s sluggish left arm represented Thunder’s finest likelihood of victory. But Knight and Wilson safely negotiated the England spinner, elevating 100 within the 14th over as they started to speed up.

Knight was first to 50, lifting Dottin over sq. leg for six after which driving the subsequent supply into the covers to go to her half century from 35 balls. Wilson went to 50 by way of 42 balls together with her seventh 4 as Storm closed in on their goal, aided and abetted by some ragged fielding from the guests.

By the time Knight holed out within the deep off the bowling of Ecclestone within the seventeenth over, the hosts had been just about house and dry. Wilson departed within the penultimate over, caught at cow nook off the bowling of Gaur, leaving Prendergast and Sophie Luff to complete the job.

Thunder had earlier elected to bat and had been fast out of the blocks, Lamb and Heap making the most of the fielding restrictions to boost 10 boundaries between them in a helpful opening stand of 65 in 7.2 overs.

Teenager Heap plundered fours both aspect of the wicket on the expense of Gibson and afforded Lauren Filer the identical remedy within the second over because the Burnley-born teenager hit the bottom working. England batter Lamb was on one when she supplied an eminently presentable likelihood, clipping a ball from Filer straight to mid-wicket the place Sophie Luff, just lately recovered from a damaged thumb, uncharacteristically fumbled.

Lamb made good her escape, taking the aerial path to plunder the primary six of the innings off Orla Prendergast.

Thunder’s clean progress whereas the restrictions had been in place foundered upon the introduction of spin, Chloe Skelton eradicating the damaging Lamb together with her second supply to impact the breakthrough Storm so badly wanted. Coming ahead and over-reaching, Lamb was deftly stumped by Nat Wraith, having accrued 5 fours and a six.

New batter Dottin greeted Sophia Smale’s sluggish left arm by hoisting her over mid-wicket for an enormous six, however the guests misplaced essential momentum throughout the center overs, Heap chancing her arm in pursuit of a single and being run out for 22 by Niamh Holland’s sensible pick-up-and-throw from sq. leg. When Dottin was bowled for 10 by a cleverly-disguised slower ball from Gibson, Thunder had slipped from 65 with out loss to 79-3 within the house of three.5 overs.

Dattani and Sophie Ecclestone tried to restore the injury in a fourth wicket stand of 30 in 3.5 overs, solely to fall to successive deliveries within the fifteenth over, despatched down by Filer. Slow to set off for a single, Dattani was run out by Prendergast’s throw from mid-on, whereas England all-rounder Ecclestone was bowled for 22 as Thunder additional subsided to 109 for five.

Needing to select up the cudgels in the event that they had been to regain the initiative, Danni Collins and Fi Morris discovered themselves successfully shackled by a mix of the wily Gibson, Alex Griffiths and Prendergast as Storm turned the screw on the loss of life. Prendergast accounted for Morris and Ellie Threlkeld throughout the ultimate over to complete with 2 for 36 and, though Collins scored 15 not out at a run-a-ball, Thunder’s center order mustered simply three boundaries within the ultimate 5 overs.