Southern Vipers and Northern Diamonds make it two wins from two in this year’s Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy; Vipers ease to victory over South East Stars while Diamonds beat Sunrisers in low-scoring thriller as their opponents suffer batting collapse
Last Updated: 09/07/22 7:49pm
Southern Vipers’ Georgia Elwiss hit a run-a-ball 115 against South East Stars, hitting nine fours and a six
Georgia Elwiss hit a run-a-ball 115 and Emily Windsor struck 90 from 79 deliveries as reigning Rachael Heyhoe Flint champions Southern Vipers made it two wins from two this season with a 133-run thumping of South East Stars at Hove.
Elwiss and Windsor shared a fifth-wicket stand of 160 from 74-4 as Vipers posted 306-9, with 17-year-old Freya Kemp striking 40 from 23 balls late on.
England duo Freya Davies and Alice Davidson-Richards – the latter released from England’s ODI squad in order to play in this match – took three wickets apiece for Stars, although Davidson-Richards went at 8.70 runs an over.
Vipers then limited Stars to 173-9 in reply, although they were initially sloppy in the field with Bryony Smith (39) dropped twice before she was finally caught off Kemp in the 11th over.
Davidson-Richards top-scored for Stars with 42 but the visitors were well beaten as they slipped to their first defeat of the season and Vipers made it two wins from two.
Northern Diamonds joined Vipers on two wins from two after beating Sunrisers by six runs in a low-scoring thriller at Headingley, with all 20 wickets in the match falling to spin.
Sunrisers bowlers Mady Villiers (4-36) and Grace Scrivens (4-20) shared eight wickets as Diamonds were bundled out for 194 in 49.5 overs.
Diamonds did, however, rally from 120-8, with Lea Tahuhu (31), Katie Levick (28) and Rachel Slater (14) adding 74 for the final two wickets, which would prove crucial come the end of the game.
Sunrisers were 44-0 and then 140-4 in the chase, seemingly on course for their first 50-over victory at the 15th attempt, only to buckle to 188 all out after losing their final six wickets for 48 runs.
Lightning record their first victory of the campaign, completing a five-wicket win over Thunder at Loughborough as Grace Ballinger’s five-wicket haul was followed by a fine 109 from captain Kathryn Bryce.
Left-arm seamer Ballinger, recently signed by London Spirit for this year’s edition of The Hundred, bagged 5-29 from her 10 overs in Thunder’s 238-9 at Loughborough.
The 20-year-old struck in the first, third and seventh overs to reduce Thunder to 39-3 – her victims including hard-hitting West Indian Deandra Dottin (28 off 19 balls) – before returning later on to complete her five-for.
Ellie Threlkeld hit 91 from 117 balls after being dropped on three to propel Thunder to a potentially competitive total but Lightning passed that with five balls to spare as Bryce, who struck 15 boundaries, and Sophie Munro (50) starred, inflicting a second straight defeat on Thunder.
Central Sparks also chalked up their first win of the campaign as Sarah Glenn bagged 4-22 in a 22-run success over Western Storm in Bristol, with the home side’s late rally coming in vain.
Leg-spinner Glenn’s burst helped Sparks reduce Storm to 67-8 in a chase of 207 – but the hosts’ margin of defeat was reduced as No 10 batter Rachel Filer (58no off 69) led a comeback from the tail.
Storm finished on 184-9, with No 9 Sophie Smale (32) and No 11 Chloe Skelton (25no) also showing up their side’s established batters.
Fran Wilson (13) and Katie George (12) were the only members of the top eight to make double figures.
Ami Campbell had earlier top-scored with 50 from 75 balls for Sparks.
