Van Niekerk shakes off nerves on debut however Sunrisers cannot shake off Stars
South East Stars 135 for six (Smith 38, Scrivens 2-22) beat Sunrisers 132 for 8 (Gray 34*, Scholfield 3-24) by 4 wickets
A friendship cast half a decade in the past at Surrey Stars changed into a shock opening partnership as Dane van Niekerk performed her first sport for Sunrisers alongside Mady Villiers in what turned out to be a preventing defeat by the hands of South East Stars of their Charlotte Edwards Cup conflict at Lord’s.
Villiers had batted at No. 5 in Sunrisers’ first sport of the marketing campaign, a loss to Central Sparks, and scored 70 from her normal place of No. 4 as Sunrisers upset Vipers within the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, which stays their solely win to date within the historical past of the competitors which began in 2020.
But she strode out with van Niekerk, the previous South Africa captain within the subsequent part of her profession following her tumultuous retirement from international cricket, after Sunrisers gained the toss and elected to bat. The transfer did not fairly come off this time as they placed on simply 32 runs earlier than van Niekerk fell making an attempt to slog-sweep a Paige Scholfield supply which rattled into her off stump and Villiers fell a short while later, bowled by Phoebe Franklin to make it 37 for two.
Van Niekerk’s final aggressive match had been on April 11 on the FairBreak Invitational and it confirmed in her 17 off 19 balls with flashes of her brilliance permeating some scratchiness as she struggled to get Freya Davies off the sq. initially earlier than clubbing the third and fifth balls of Davies’ second over for 4, with Villiers having additionally discovered the boundary off the primary. And van Niekerk admitted to having a couple of nerves earlier than she walked out to bat.
“I was shaking,” van Niekerk instructed ESPNcricinfo. “I didn’t shake like that in a long time, in the first over, but I just told myself, ‘don’t be a wuss, you’ve been doing it for a long time,’ and got over it and hopefully I can just get a good contribution going in this tournament for the team.
“I believe with all the pieces that occurred, you say ‘I do not wish to show some extent’, however behind your thoughts you go, ‘I most likely ought to’, however I believe it was simply I did not wish to fail. In the again of my head I used to be like, ‘simply do not get a duck, do not get a duck, do not get a duck’ and after I obtained that first run, the nerves settled. It’s been some time since I performed a aggressive sport, there was a giant crowd out so it was only a bit nervy however I’m glad I obtained it out the best way.”
“My strike price [89.47] did not present most likely how I felt,” she added. “I felt like I used to be hitting 85% out of the center in order that’s good indicators for me. At least I did not stroll off considering I’m in hassle right here. I’m clearly disenchanted I wasn’t hitting gaps, however that can include the extra I play.”
Scholfield’s 3 for 34 were crucial in keeping Sunrisers to 132 for 8, which looked below par but could have been much worse after they had slumped to 64 for 6 until a 48-run stand for between Jo Gardner and Eva Gray, who top-scored for her side with an ubeaten 34 off 24 balls, salvaged something from the innings.
Sunrisers weren’t helped by the chaotic run out of Amara Carr, attempting a second run off Alice Davidson-Richards when she and batting partner Cordelia Griffith almost collided then engaged in an ungainly sideways dance, moving wider and wider of the pitch as they tried to get round each other. Carr was caught short of her ground as Davidson-Richards collected Scholfield’s throw from deep backward square and whipped off the bails at the non-striker’s end.
Grace Scrivens, dropping from opener to No. 4, had already been run out, and when Griffith holed out off a full toss to give Scholfield her second wicket and Florence Miller was trapped lbw by Bryony Smith, Sunrisers were in disarray. It was only down to Gardner and Gray that they had something to defend. But then Garder was run out in another mix-up and captain Kelly Castle was bowled cheaply by Scholfield to leave Sunrisers with plenty of work to do with the ball.
Smith, who scored 83 in Stars’ loss to Vipers on Tuesday, set the run chase off to a strong start with three fours off Gray’s second over, the fourth of the reply.
Villiers, who had taken three wickets against Sparks to add to three three-wicket hauls from the 50-over competition so far this season, trapped Aylish Cranstone lbw with her first ball but it was to be her only wicket for this match.
Alice Capsey sped to 24 off just eight balls but fell as Abtaha Maqsood also claimed a wicket with her first ball. Villiers and Maqsood both missed difficult caught-and-bowled chances off Smith, who reached 38 before picking out Gardner at deep midwicket off Gray. By then, Stars needed 42 runs off 52 balls and while Scrivens picked up the wickets of Tash Farrant and Scholfield to take the match deeper than had looked likely, Stars eased past their target with an over to spare, leaving Sunrisers still chasing their second-ever win in the competition, now in its third season.
But van Niekerk, who could be seen advising England Under-19s captain Scrivens while she was bowling, was confident success would come.
“The good factor is I’ve been via that with the South African staff through the years and it simply comes all the way down to, to begin with, the idea,” van Niekerk said. “You must imagine that you would be able to beat any staff. You cannot go on what occurred previously, you must imagine. Also the expertise in these crunch conditions, and we do not get it proper on a regular basis, however simply having a reference level and I believe that is why I’m right here. That’s me attempting to talk to the gamers, attempting to provide my information to them in sure conditions.
“It’s just about making sure we’re making the right decisions in those crunch situations. We brought it back really well today. The focus just shifted a little bit and that’s stuff that we will speak about more often, just shifting the focus to being very goal-based every single over. This team has got a lot of talent and a lot of potential. It’s just about getting in everything clicking.”
Villiers’ bond with van Niekerk – each had been a part of the Surrey Stars aspect which gained the WCSL in 2018 – had been instrumental in her making the transfer to play in England on a two-and-a-half-month deal forward returning to Oval Invincibles for the Hundred in August.
“I want to play cricket, that’s a fact, and I know Mady very well, and I know, Eva [Gray] and Jo Gardner, so it was a no-brainer for me,” van Niekerk mentioned. “To walk out in the first game with Mads at the top there just in a way put me at ease. We have a good laugh together.”
Speaking to ESPNcricinfo final week forward of her reunion with van Niekerk, Villiers mentioned: “I played with her at Surrey Stars so I’ve known her for five years or so. We get on really well. She’s a great laugh and she’ll do anything for anyone and she’s great to have around the side. She just wants to enjoy her cricket again and I think she’s going to be brilliant for us.”
Valkerie Baynes is a basic editor, ladies’s cricket, at ESPNcricinfo