Women’s Vitality T20 Women’s County Cup Final – Match Report: Lancashire Women...

Women’s Vitality T20 Women’s County Cup Final – Match Report: Lancashire Women v Surrey Women

Tilly Kisvesten

Lancashire won the Vitality T20 Cup, the first final of the new women’s county era. They beat a strong Surrey side, with the experience of Sophie Ecclestone and the youthful inexperience of Tilly Kesteven ensuring the Red Rose county won their first piece of silverware by 32 runs.

Those who knew they were going to be at Taunton, or were thinking about it with a week or less to go, instantly became amateur meteorologists. Studying if and when the rain would fall. By early afternoon Saturday, we knew that Surrey, Warwickshire, The Blaze and Lancashire would compete in the first T20 Cup finals day, and who would be playing the final when the floodlights fired into life, was as unpredictable as the weather.

Surrey managed to avoid the rain in their three-wicket win against Warwickshire in the first semi-final, and a rain-reduced game saw Lancashire prevail against a spirited The Blaze fightback, to win by seven wickets in the second.

The final wouldn’t escape the rain, and Lancashire, having lost the toss, were invited to bat. Considering the tentative way the top order went about their chase against The Blaze, that looked a good call. Also, with rain forecast, the team chasing usually has an advantage.

Lancashire, probably with the benefit of a quick change-around, came out full of intent. Emma Lamb is in fine form, and the relatively untested Kesteven took just 37 balls to reach her first Lancashire fifty. Having come into the side due to the injury to Eve Jones, Kesteven, still only 20 years old and a left-handed batter like Eve Jones, looked as composed as Lamb. The pair added 86 for the first wicket from the first 10.2 overs, with a break for rain after seven overs the only real trouble they had during the opening exchanges.

That confidence spread. Seren Smale, who took her time to get started in the semi-final, looked more like the free-scoring batter she has forged a reputation as. While she found the boundary only twice, she still managed 19 from 15 balls. Fi Morris, run out by Smale in the semi, was able to show her intent and keep the Lancashire innings going with a rapid 27 from 13 balls, hitting the only six of the innings.

A score of over 180 could well have been on the cards, had it not been for the efforts of the off-spin of Kalea Moore, who chipped away with four wickets, including Kesteven, Smale, and Morris, and made sure that Sophie Ecclestone, promoted up the order, couldn’t do any damage.

Lancashire’s total of 172 for six would be a difficult chase for Surrey, despite having players with power to unleash. It was the wicketkeeper and opening batter Kira Chathli, a clean striker of the ball, but not the name you would put at the top of Surrey’s push for sixes, who deposited Kate Cross into the Sir Ian Botham Stand for the biggest six of the day.

Alongside Bryony Smith, the openers had raced to 29 from the first fourteen balls of the innings before Cross would enact her revenge, bowling Chathli for 21. Smith would follow soon after, and Surrey would need the rebuild to be swift as the required run-rate continued to be around the nine-an-over mark.

Much would rely on the experience of Paige Scholfield who, with England looking at those on the fringes, knew this would be the ideal time to shine. However, it isn’t easy for anyone when you are facing Ecclestone, on the comeback from injury, and she delivered the killer blow for Lancashire: having Scholfield caught by Emma Lamb for nine, and then next ball bowling Emma Jones.

Jones is the type of player that could swing for the Quantocks. It is usually hit and miss, and today it was miss, bowled first ball by Ecclestone. At 75 for four, Surrey’s job was looking more difficult. Phoebe Franklin was still there, and it gave Surrey an outside chance of winning, but she was caught by Tara Norris to give Ecclestone her third wicket, in figures of four for 12. Surrey were effectively out of it. Moore, with 22 not out, and Ryana MacDonald-Gay, who made 18 before being bowled by Ecclestone, battled to the end.

Lancashire, under the Thunder banner during the regional era, always looked like a team that wasn’t too far off from challenging for this sort of occasion, and finally they proved that Ellie Threlkeld’s team is one to fear. For Surrey, they go into the Vitality Blast knowing they will be competing and with a final scheduled for their home ground, The Oval, you wouldn’t bet against them being there in July.

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