Tazmin Brits breaks Blaze stranglehold to ship Stars victory
South East Stars 161 for 8 (Brits 85, Ballinger 3-26) beat The Blaze 159 (Graves 56, Davies 3-28) by two wickets
South African worldwide Tazmin Brits delivered one other match-winning efficiency as South East Stars clinched back-to-back wins and The Blaze misplaced their unbeaten file within the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy with a two-wicket defeat on the Welbeck membership in north Nottinghamshire.
Brits, whose semi-final half-century helped finish England’s hopes within the Women’s T20 World Cup in February, adopted her 112 not out towards Sunrisers by hitting 10 fours and three sixes in a 63-ball 85 to place the Stars proper on the heels of second-placed Central Sparks within the desk, which is presently led by The Blaze.
Teresa Graves top-scored with 56 as The Blaze recovered from 62 for six of their innings however an all-out complete of 159 by no means regarded sufficient to keep up their 100 per cent file in accomplished matches. Freya Davies (three for 28) was the decide of the Stars bowlers with Alice Davidson-Richards, Ryana MacDonald-Gay and Alexa Stonehouse taking two wickets every.
After a quick stoppage for rain, Stars wanted to match The Blaze complete in 48 overs in response to a Duckworth-Lewis-Stern calculation and although there have been some nerves as late wickets left them eight down, they eased throughout the road with 14 and a half overs to spare. Left-arm fast Grace Ballinger was probably the most profitable Blaze bowler with three for 26.
The Blaze met early hassle after opting to bat first on what proved to be a energetic pitch with three wickets misplaced within the opening seven overs with solely 19 scored.
Marie Kelly, who started brightly with two boundaries off Davies, was leg earlier than in the identical over. Davies claimed a second when Georgie Boyce’s uppish reduce shot picked out backward level, earlier than Kathryn Bryce misplaced her center stump to MacDonald-Gay.
Sarah Bryce and Michaela Kirk added 31 in seven overs however when the latter was given out caught behind down the leg aspect off MacDonald-Gay, it sparked one other clatter of wickets as England Under-19 all-rounder Stonehouse struck in consecutive overs, bowling Kathryn Bryce with a full supply and having Nadine de Klerk, who had edged the earlier supply previous slip for 4, caught behind off one other nick.
From 62 for six after 17 overs, The Blaze had a lot to do to publish a complete they might realistically hope to defend. Graves and Sophie Munro mounted one thing of a fightback, including 65 for the seventh wicket both aspect of an hour-long stoppage for rain.
But each fell looking for to speed up after Davies and Scholfield had shared 4 consecutive maidens, Munro holing out to mid-on earlier than Graves, having accomplished her second List A fifty along with her sixth boundary, was caught at mid-off.
Davies, so efficient on the high of the innings, returned to york Lucy Higham, and Davidson-Richards had Grace Ballinger caught at cowl because the innings ended within the forty seventh over.
Stars, whose batting line-up has proved some of the potent within the 50-over competitors this yr, regarded strongly positioned on the midway stage within the match however like The Blaze bumped into early issues of their innings, stumbling to 30 for 3 within the powerplay.
Stonehouse, who had began assertively, chanced a single to backward level however was overwhelmed by Kirk’s sensible direct hit, with fellow opener Kira Chathli caught at slip in the identical over. Kirstie Gordon struck along with her second ball as Bryony Smith was leg earlier than to at least one that stored low.
Brits, watchful at first, launched right into a flurry of pictures to get the scoreboard transferring within the Stars’ favour, clubbing 24 runs within the house of eight deliveries, with two towering sixes and a swept 4 off Gordon and three boundaries off Kathryn Bryce.
Two fast wickets gave The Blaze renewed hope as Davidson-Richards was trapped in entrance by Bryce and Munro bowled Maddie Blinkhorn-Jones however after Paige Scholfield had been dropped at slip Brits went to a 43-ball fifty with a 3rd six, hammered over long-on off Munro in a 20-run over, and it was clear the Stars would win as long as the South African was nonetheless there, with solely 47 wanted and 26 overs nonetheless in hand.
Scholfield fell for a streaky 19 when she top-edged Gordon to be caught at slip and Brits, who’s on a short-term contract with the Stars, couldn’t fairly end the job, Gordon holding a steepling catch at mid-off, however by that stage solely 5 runs had been wanted for victory.
An outstanding catch by Kirk at gully to take away MacDonald-Gay off Ballinger induced some nerves for the Stars at 155 for eight, the overs in hand meant their ninth-wicket pair may bide their time earlier than Davies took a possibility to hit the successful boundary.