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John Simpson 91 not out, but Derbyshire still lead by 121

ECB Reporters Network02-Jul-2019Dawid Malan kept himself in Ashes contention with a batting master-class to blunt Derbyshire’s victory hopes against Middlesex at Derby.The Middlesex skipper played superbly to score an unbeaten 177 to take his side past the 408 follow-on target as the visitors closed day three on 436 for 6, 121 runs behind.John Simpson gave him excellent support with 91 not out as the pair shared an unbroken stand of 186, a seventh-wicket record for Middlesex against Derbyshire.The home side took only three wickets, one of them to Fynn Hudson-Prentice who became only the fifth bowler in Derbyshire’s history to strike with his first ball in first-class cricket for the county.Malan went out to resume his innings knowing a lot rested on him and from the start, he set a tone of defiance with an impressive display of concentration and selectivity.Apart from a couple of false shots, his judgement of when to play and when to leave the ball was exemplary and although Derbyshire switched their bowlers around, they could not force an error.Steve Finn fulfilled his nightwatchman duties by staying with his captain for the first 35 minutes of the day before Logan van Beek knocked out his leg stump and although Max Holden struggled, he hung around for 73 minutes.There was little he could do about the ball that removed him as Hudson-Prentice found late movement to become the first player since John Wright in 1980 to strike with his first ball.Wright was on the ground to see another memorable moment for the 23-year-old who bowled with control and was unlucky to see Simpson missed in the slips on 21.George Scott was not as fortunate when he failed to get over a drive at Ravi Rampaul and saw a thick edge fly low to third slip where Matt Critchley took a brilliant diving catch.At 250 for 6, another 158 runs were needed to avoid the follow-on but Simpson matched Malan’s application to take Middlesex to tea and beyond.Malan completed his third championship century of the season from 200 balls with his 15th four and, Simpson’s escape apart, there was little for the bowlers once the second new ball lost its hardness.Simpson gave another tough chance on 43 when a sliced drive at Reece burst through the hands of Anuj Dal leaping at cover point before he completed a deserved 50 from 138 balls shortly before Malan went to 150 off 302 balls.Leus du Plooy became the eighth bowler used during the day but nothing could part Malan and Simpson who went past Middlesex’s previous best seventh wicket stand of 146 at Lord’s in 1932.

Mason Crane claimed three wickets on his return from injury as Hampshire edged out Surrey in a rain-affected contest

ECB Reporters Network21-May-2018
ScorecardMason Crane and Rilee Rossouw starred as Hampshire continued their 100 percent record in the Royal London One-Day Cup – as they edged out Surrey by four wickets.Legspinner Crane grabbed 3 for 45 on his first appearance at the Ageas Bowl since making his Test debut over the winter, before Rossouw blasted a memorable 90, and Joe Weatherley bundled Hampshire over the line, to condemn Surrey to their second defeat of the tournament.Hampshire were set 227 to win from 34 overs, on DLS method, after Surrey had amassed 262 in 44 rain-affected overs, thanks to Dean Elgar’s 91.Rossouw and Hashim Amla set about the task enthusiastically, with the latter creaming a series of cut shots to the boundary. But the former South Africa Test captain, having helped put on 52 for the first wicket, was leg before to a Rikki Clarke ball that jagged in.Rossouw then went on the attack, plunging Sam Curran and Clarke for sixes on the way to a 34-ball fifty. Vince scored 14 in a 63-run partnership with Rossouw before he was bowled by Gareth Batty while attempting to give himself space to drive.Weatherley joined the swashbuckling Rossouw to add the third half-century stand of the innings but Rossouw fell ten runs short of what would have been a deserved ton as he was bowled by Clarke.Jimmy Adams and Brad Taylor both came and went, skying to Foakes and Meaker respectively, before Gareth Berg, who had received a reprieve as replays showed his edge behind hadn’t carried, was bowled – all three to Clarke.Curran spilled Lewis McManus at third man before the wicketkeeper-batsman, along with Weatherley, 46 not out, edged Hampshire to victory with seven balls to spare.Earlier, Rory Burns won the toss and elected to bat on a good-looking wicket, which was to offer equal assistance for bat and ball, with both sides deciding to pick unchanged XIs from their opening matches.England Under-19s star Will Jacks drove to a diving Jimmy Adams at short cover in the sixth over to bring Burns and Elgar together to add 93 for the second wicket.Elgar produced a scrappy innings, full of swings across the line and dabs into gaps, but while it wouldn’t win any style points it proved effective.The South African reached his half-century from 50 balls before spinners Crane and Brad Taylor started the mid-innings squeeze. Crane struck in three successive overs to have Burns, for a well-made 46, and Ollie Pope lbw before producing a devilish delivery to beat Ben Foakes outside his off-stump, with Lewis McManus completing the stumping.While Crane was making the headline by taking wickets, Taylor was stopping the runs – their combined statistics a miserly 3 for 88 from 18 overs.The fast bowlers returned and Fidel Edwards delivered a rising bouncer which bruised Curran’s glove before being caught behind.
And then Berg had Elgar chopping on for 91, before the rain paused the game after 37.1 overs – eventually play resumed with the match cut to 44 overs a side.From the remaining 6.5 overs, Surrey managed to score 64 runs, with Scott Borthwick and Clarke putting on 56, with the latter lbw to Edwards in the penultimate over but it wasn’t enough to prevent Rossouw’s fireworks.

A round-up of the Vijay Hazare Trophy games in Group A, played on March 3, 2017

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Mar-2017Gurkeerat Singh Mann led Punjab to a clinical, five-wicket win with a brisk 91 off 86 balls in their chase of 197 after Haryana had reduced them to 75 for 4. It was Harbhajan Singh’s figures with the ball – 10-0-33-4 – that put Punjab in a position of strength by bowling Haryana out for 196 in the penultimate over. After Siddarth Kaul removed Shubham Rohilla for a 12-ball duck, Nitin Saini and Chaitanya Bishnoi put on 68 for the second wicket in 109 balls, the biggest partnership of the innings. Punjab’s bowlers provided regular breakthroughs thereafter, led by Harbhajan, who had four batsmen lbw. Punjab’s chase got a steady start through U-19 opener Shubman Gill and Mandeep Singh, who added 47 in 81 balls. Legspinner Rahul Tewatia took three wickets and Harshal Patel had Yuvraj Singh bowled to pull Haryana back. Gurkeerat and Nikhil Chaudhary added an unbeaten 71 for the sixth wicket, of which the latter added 14.At the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi, Assam aced their chase of 216 against Railways to register a four-wicket win with 12 balls to spare. After being asked to bowl, Assam restricted Railways to 215. An 85-run third-wicket stand between Akash Verma and Pratham Singh – after Railways were reduced to 8 for 2 – was the only phase in the game that Railways dominated. Arup Das took three wickets, while Pritam Das, Amit Verma and Swarupam Purkayastha claimed two scalps each. Handy contributions from Assam’s top order – Pallavkumar Das (44), Arun Karthik (42), Verma (35) and Riyan Parag (32) – ensured there wasn’t much trouble in the chase.Akshay Karnewar, an ambidextrous bowler, led Vidarbha to a comfortable seven-wicket rout of Odisha with figures of 4 for 21 from 10 overs. Odisha chose to bat, and were given a steady start by Govinda Poddar’s 68-ball 58. However, a score of 87 for 2 in the 23rd over quickly turned to 162 all out in the 46th over as the Vidarbha bowlers took control of the game. No other batsman scored more than 30. After a stable base, Vidarbha’s chase was never in doubt. Jitesh Sharma struck a 71-ball 70 before he was lbw off Rajkishan Patel. A patient 30 from Ambati Rayudu took Vidarbha home with 59 balls to spare.

In Canberra, India found a way to lose a game they should have won. They have to find a way to win in Sydney, where their spinners might get more assistance, if they want to avoid a whitewash

The Preview by Brydon Coverdale22-Jan-2016

Match facts

January 23, 2016
Start time 1420 local (0320 GMT)3:44

Agarkar: Difficult for India to motivate themselves

Big Picture

The first three matches in this one-day series were remarkably similar but in Canberra, Australia found a new way to win. Or India found a new way to lose. It wasn’t exactly clear which. Chasing for the first time in the series, India were well on track for their first victory at 1 for 277 in the 38th over, needing 349. A remarkable collapse was required to lose from there. And they got one. Nine wickets for 46 in less than 13 overs. Not since Malcolm Turnbull ousted Tony Abbott last year has the weight of numbers in Canberra changed sides so rapidly.Now the challenge for India is to lift themselves up after such a demoralising defeat. They are 4-0 down and in serious danger of being whitewashed, clean-swept, whatever you want to call it. Their first bilateral one-day series in Australia might end in unilateral disarmament of India’s attack. For that is what has cost them dearest throughout the series, the inability to restrict Australia on good batting surfaces. Five of Australia’s bowlers have economy rates under six in this series; only two of India’s have. Perhaps the SCG will offer more spin – at least that would be a different way to end the series.

Form guide

Australia: WWWWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
India: LLLLL

In the spotlight

Nathan Lyon might be Australia’s most successful Test offspinner of all time, but he still hasn’t reached double figures in terms of ODI matches played. Australia’s selectors have traditionally been reluctant to let Lyon work in the short forms, afraid that he might lose the flight and loop that has made him such a valuable Test bowler. But surely at 28 and with little left to prove in terms of his Test worth, Lyon can be trusted enough to jump formats. He even opened the bowling in Canberra, a strong hint that captain Steven Smith has been waiting for a frontline spinner in his ODI side.So long have India’s top-order men batted in this series that MS Dhoni has been reduced largely to cameos. A couple have been of the Quentin Tarantino variety – brief and brutal – but in Canberra it was more an Alfred Hitchcock blink-and-you’ll-miss-it appearance. His duck precipitated India’s collapse, and he later declared his own wicket the turning point. If in Sydney the runs flow a little less freely for Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli, it might be time for more of a Clint Eastwood starring role from Dhoni.

Team news

There seems little reason for Australia to make changes to their winning side, with Shaun Marsh and Scott Boland likely to sit out once again – unless Glenn Maxwell does not recover sufficiently from the soreness in his knee resulting from a knock he suffered while batting in Canberra.*Australia (possible) 1 David Warner, 2 Aaron Finch, 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 George Bailey, 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 James Faulkner, 9, John Hastings, 10 Kane Richardson, 11 Nathan LyonAjinkya Rahane split the webbing of his right hand while fielding in Canberra and is likely to miss the Sydney game, which could mean a return for Manish Pandey. If the SCG is expected to spin, R Ashwin should come back to replace one of the seamers, perhaps Rishi Dhawan. Axar Patel may also be considered for the first time in the series.India (possible) 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Rohit Sharma, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Manish Pandey, 5 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 6 Gurkeerat Singh, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Umesh Yadav, 11 Ishant Sharma

Pitch and conditions

The Sydney pitch should offer a little more turn. The weather forecast is for a shower or two, and a possible storm on Saturday.

Stats and trivia

• India will drop from No. 2 to No. 3 on the ODI rankings if they lose this match
• Virat Kohli has scored at such a consistent tempo through this series that his strike-rate is exactly 100 – he is on top of the series run tally with 373 runs from 373 deliveries
• Aaron Finch and Steven Smith both reached 2000 ODI runs in the Canberra game, Finch the equal third-fastest Australian to the milestone and Smith the equal sixth-fastest
• Australia have now won 18 consecutive ODIs at home, last losing to South Africa in Perth in November 2014

Quotes

“We’ve played some very good one-day cricket so far this VB series. It’ll be a fitting finish to the summer if we can finish 5-0.”
07.30GMT, January 22: The Australia team news was updated after news of Glenn Maxwell’s knee niggle came in

If not, perhaps, quite a perfect day for England, but a day when several pieces of their pre-Ashes jigsaw fell into place with a satisfying click as they proved they have a Plan B to their bowling attack

The Report by George Dobell26-May-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsNick Compton’s failure was the only obvious downside of an otherwise quite perfect day for England•Getty Images

If not, perhaps, quite a perfect day for England, but a day when several pieces of their pre-Ashes jigsaw fell into place with a satisfying click.Most pertinently, this was a day when England proved their bowling attack had a Plan B. While it is routinely suggested that, when the ball does not swing, the England bowling attack looks toothless and one dimensional, here they showed that they have what it takes to damage opposition sides when there is no such help.With James Anderson and Stuart Broad – the destroyers of New Zealand at Lord’s – struggling to gain the same seam or swing movement, it was left to Graeme Swann and Steven Finn to find another way through the tourists’ batting. With Finn generating impressive pace and maintaining a hostile line and length and Swann demonstrating beguiling drift and sharp turn, England ended the day having inked in their first choice bowling attack for the Ashes.Swann cannot have the fondest memories of this ground. He had never previously taken a Test wicket here and, a year ago, was dropped for the second Test against South Africa. But in a spell of three wickets for one run in seven balls he not only dismantled a disappointingly fragile New Zealand middle-order but proved that he was back to his best after elbow surgery had forced him out of the Tests in New Zealand.As so often before, Swann struck in his first over. Gaining a surprising amount of turn, Swann beat Dean Brownlie’s somewhat loose stroke with one that turned through the gate to hit the top of off stump. Next over, having set-up Martin Guptill with some flat deliveries, Swann tossed one up, drew the batsman forward and again turned one through the gate to hit the top of off stump.Two deliveries later, Kane Williamson was out too. Moving across his stumps to negate Swann much in the way demonstrated by Hashim Amla in 2012, Williamson was beaten by turn and struck on the pad. While Marais Erasmus turned down the appeal, England reviewed and were rewarded.It was the first of two decisions overturned from England reviews in the session. While Tim Southee was originally given not out following a leg before appeal from Broad – the umpire quite reasonably unable to say whether ball had hit bat or pad first – reviews showed it had struck the pad first and was going on to hit leg stump.Moments later Swann had Doug Bracewell taken at silly point, prodding forward to one that turned and took bat and pad, before Broad had Brendon McCullum, clearly struggling with a bad back after being forced back into service as wicketkeeper, caught behind as he poked at one that seamed in a little.

Swann ignoring weather forecast

Graeme Swann defended England’s decision not to enforce the follow-on after demolishing New Zealand for the second time in a week.

New Zealand survived only 43.4 overs at Headingley, to be dismissed for 174, only a few days after collapsing to 68 all out at Lord’s.

“It was a pretty unanimous decision,” Swann said. “There is a lot of cricket left in the game. The best way to win that game, we felt, was to put a fatigued New Zealand side back into the field. The bowlers weren’t too happy to go back out bowling and you can’t blame them. We want to build a formidable lead and let the pitch deteriorate and the footholds develop and give us the best chance of bowling them out in the second innings.

The prospect of rain on the final day did not unsettle Swann. “I always ignore British weather forecasts,” he said. “If you start looking at that you are missing the point. If it rains all of Tuesday, it rains all of Tuesday. I can’t remember ever sitting in a professional dressing room where a two-day forecast has been believed. It was supposed to be nagging it down all last week at Lord’s and we played.”

It left Swann with the best figures – 4 for 42 – by an England spinner in a Test in Leeds since John Emburey took 5 for 82 against Australia in 1985 and had New Zealand pondering over the wisdom of going into the game without a specialist spinner and with two left-arm seamers whose foot marks had provided rough for Swann to exploit.But if Swann takes the plaudits, it was Finn who made the initial breakthrough. After New Zealand’s openers had batted with fluency in reaching 55 without loss, Finn claimed the first three wickets in a sustained spell of hostile fast bowling.After prompting an error from Peter Fulton, caught and bowled off the leading edge as he tried to work a ball that bounced more than he expected into the leg side, Finn persuaded Hamish Rutherford to push at one angled across him which resulted in a sliced edge to gully and then forced Ross Taylor to play-on. It was due reward for a wonderfully sustained spell of bowling where Finn had cramped Taylor for room, struck him twice on the body and finally provoked the false stroke.New Zealand’s last pair of Neil Wagner and Trent Boult thrashed 52 runs in 27 balls – Wagner thrashed four fours in an over off Broad before Boult thumped Swann for a four and two successive sixes in the next over – but when Anderson returned to end the innings, New Zealand had conceded a first innings lead of 180.Perhaps surprisingly given the far from promising weather forecast, England decided not to enforce the follow-on – with day one washed out the follow-on target was 150-behind – and opted instead for another bat.Alastair Cook, cutting and driving with freedom, was at his most fluent against an attack lacking Trent Boult, who was absent with a side strain. The England captain raced to his half-century off 63 balls and dominated an opening stand of 72 in 20 overs.But the only obvious downside in the entire day for England was the failure of Nick Compton. He was clearly mindful of the vultures circling around him and laboured for 45 deliveries for his seven runs before falling to a bat-pad catch at short-leg. It is only three Tests since he registered back-to-back Test centuries, but it seems some have short memories.Jonathan Trott found life little easier. Struggling to deal with the rough outside his off stump and some tight seam bowling, he managed only 11 off 69 deliveries, and, though he had helped Cook stretch the lead to 296 by stumps, England hardly forced home their advantage in the final 90 minutes. Still, it is England’s policy – rightly or wrongly – to not allow the possibility of weather disruption to influence their game plan and, with nearly 200 overs left in the game, they remain in an overwhelmingly dominant position.

Pakistan are set to tour Sri Lanka for a full series comprising three Tests, five ODIs and two Twenty20 internationals between May 29 and July 13

Sa'adi Thawfeeq29-Apr-2012Pakistan are set to tour Sri Lanka for a full series comprising three Tests, five ODIs and two Twenty20 internationals between May 29 and July 13, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has confirmed.Pakistan are scheduled to arrive in Sri Lanka on May 29 and will play the first of two Twenty20s in Hambantota on June 1. The one-day series begins in Pallekele on June 7. The first two ODIs will be played in Pallekele and the remaining three at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.The three-Test series commences in Galle on June 22 and the second Test will take place at the SSC in Colombo from June 30. The teams will return to Pallekele for the final Test starting on July 8.Pakistan and Sri Lanka last played a Test series in October 2011 in the UAE, where Pakistan won the three-match series 1-0. They last toured Sri Lanka in 2009, when they lost the three-Test series 2-0.

Ian Blackwell smashed 98 off 64 balls and then took three wickets to lead Durham to a 69-run victory over Leicestershire

02-May-2011
ScorecardIan Blackwell enjoyed a wonderful match as Durham won comfortably•Getty Images

Ian Blackwell smashed 98 off 64 balls and then took three wickets to lead Durham to a 69-run victory over Leicestershire in the Clydesdale Bank 40 Group B clash at Grace Road.Put into bat, Durham totalled 285 for 9, helped by Blackwell’s boundary-laden innings plus six additional runs awarded because of the Foxes’ failure to complete their overs in the allotted time. Blackwell then claimed three of the first four Leicestershire wickets to fall, including that of Josh Cobb, who hit a limited-overs best score of 87.Cobb’s effort, however, was not enough to keep the Foxes in contention and they were dismissed for 216 with 16 balls still remaining to give the Dynamos their second win of the season.Durham did not make the best of starts to their innings, with Kyle Coetzer caught at cover off Alex Wyatt in the third over. But a half-century off 39 balls from 19-year-old Ben Stokes launched the recovery, with Gordon Muchall also chipping in with a useful 32. But the innings only really took off when Blackwell arrived at the wicket. He made his intentions clear with two early sixes off Cobb and Wayne White and, after surviving a difficult chance to wicketkeeper Paul Dixey, reached 50 off 41 balls.The scoring rate then rocketed when the Dynamos took the batting powerplay. Blackwell and Gareth Breese hammered 54 off the four overs, with both batsmen piercing the field with a succession of boundaries, including further sixes. When Breese eventually skied a catch to long-on, the sixth-wicket pair had put on a record stand of 144 in 17 overs. Breese’s share was 44, with three fours and a six.Blackwell looked set for a century but, two runs short of it, popped up a return catch off a slower ball from Wyatt, having hit five sixes and seven fours in his blistering 64-ball innings. It was his best limited-overs score for Durham and his best for six years.Graham Onions claimed a quick wicket when the Foxes replied, but a second-wicket partnership of 97 between Cobb and James Taylor put them back into the game, with Cobb twice pulling Onions for six over square leg. However, Blackwell once again changed the course of the match with the wickets of Taylor, Paul Nixon and then Cobb, who he bowled for 87. Cobb hit two sixes and seven fours in his 78-ball knock.That ended Leicestershire’s hopes and Stokes also completed an excellent all-round performance, claiming three late wickets for six runs as the Foxes collapsed to 216 all out with 2.4 overs remaining.

Jaidev Unadkat launched his first-class career in spectacular style, running through West Indies A with a spell of penetrative fast bowling to finish with figures of 7 for 41 on the second day at Grace Road

Cricinfo staff11-Jun-2010
ScorecardJaidev Unadkat launched his first-class career in spectacular style, running through West Indies A with a spell of penetrative fast bowling to finish with figures of 7 for 41 on the second day at Grace Road. West Indies were shot out for 144 and then India’s batsmen ensured they cashed in on the bowlers’ performance, to finish the day on top, with a lead of 39 and eight wickets intact.After the first day was lost to poor weather, Unadkat’s spell on the second morning seemed intent on making up for lost time. Devon Smith perished in his second over, edging to Manish Pandey for five to begin the procession. Omar Philips and Kraigg Braithwaite followed soon after, leaving West Indies stuttering at 26 for 3. Kirk Edwards pitched tent, contributing one run in fifty minutes of defence, and adding 37 runs with Andre Fletcher, before Unadkat intervened in dramatic fashion. Edwards was caught in front and Chadwick Walton’s castle was breached first ball to complete Unadkat’s five-for. In between the strikes Dhawal Kulkarni got rid of Fletcher and West Indies were staring down the barrel again.David Bernard, Imran Khan and Andre Russel managed to take them past three figures, but 144 still seemed woefully inadequate, and India’s top order ensured the advantage was driven home. Abhinav Mukund and Ajinkya Rahane struck fifties, and the latter was unbeaten at stumps as India surged into the lead. Giving him company was Cheteshwar Pujara who had rushed to 34 off 37 balls with five fours, and the pair look good for more runs on day three.

Half-centuries from Amy Hunter, Leah Paul and Rebecca Stokell laid the foundations for a 15-run victory

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Aug-2024Half-centuries from Amy Hunter, Leah Paul and Rebecca Stokell laid the foundations and Arlene Kelly applied the finishing touches with a three-wicket haul as Ireland took an unassailable 2-0 lead over Sri Lanka with a 15-run win in the second ODI in Belfast.As in Friday’s first ODI, however, Sri Lanka made the hosts earn their win. An impressive all-round display from Kavisha Dilhari and a maiden ODI century from the in-form Harshitha Samarawickrama put Sri Lanka in a position of some control in their chase of 256. A 126-run stand between these two left them needing 84 in 98 balls, with eight wickets in hand, but Ireland hit back thereafter, with Kelly, Jane Maguire and run-outs combining to derail the visitors’ chase.Leah Paul innovates on her way to 81•Cricket Ireland

With her 124-ball 105, Samarawickrama became the third member of Sri Lanka’s ODI centurions club, one match after Vishmi Gunaratne had ended Chamari Athapaththu’s long spell as its sole representative.Having pulled off their record ODI chase to win the first ODI, Ireland put up another impressive batting display after being sent in. Achini Kulasuriya removed both their openers in her new-ball spell, and when Dilhari took out Orla Prendergast, their centurion from Friday, they were 77 for 3. Hunter and Paul got them moving with a 57-run fourth-wicket stand, before Athapaththu struck to send Hunter back for a 71-ball 66.Then came the partnership that set Ireland up for their victory push, with Paul and Stokell adding 114 off 112 balls for the fifth wicket. Paul was out in the final over for 81 off 101 balls, while Stokell finished unbeaten on 53 off 61.

Finalists The Blaze secure seven-wicket win on back of her unbeaten fifty, plus two wickets

ECB Reporters Network07-Jun-2023Kathryn Bryce scored a superbly-judged unbeaten half-century to propel Charlotte Edwards Cup finalists The Blaze to a comprehensive seven-wicket victory over Western Storm at Cardiff’s Sophia Gardens.Chasing 135 to win, The Blaze achieved their target with eight balls to spare thanks to an innings of 54 not out from 35 balls by Bryce, who shared in stands of 66 and 41 with Georgie Boyce and Marie Kelly for the third and fourth wickets respectively.Put in to bat, Storm slumped to 49 for 4 and were indebted to Emma Corney, who top-scored with 23 and shared in a restorative stand of 42 for the fifth wicket with Sophie Luff, while Alex Griffiths clubbed 19 not out at the death.But Blaze were always in control, Grace Ballinger taking 2 for 24 with the new ball and Kathryn Bryce weighing in with 2 for 17, including the key wicket of Luff, as Storm were restricted to 134 for 7.Having already qualified for Saturday’s final at New Road, Worcester, group winners Blaze ensured they finished with a 100 percent winning record, extending their unbeaten run in all competitions to 10 matches in 2023. A team in transition, Storm won three of their seven fixtures to claim fifth place.Even without star players Kirstie Gordon, Tammy Beaumont, Nat Sciver-Brunt and Sarah Glenn, who were involved in England’s two-day training match ahead of the women’s Ashes, Blaze proved too strong for a Storm side that were missing Heather Knight, Dani Gibson and Lauren Filer.Ballinger made a breakthrough in the first over, bowling Nat Wraith for four with her second delivery from the River End, after which she and Nadine de Klerk sent down 10 consecutive dot balls to apply immediate pressure.Orla Prendergast had registered a superb hundred on debut in her last appearance at Sophia Gardens in April, but managed just 19 from 14 balls on this occasion as Storm slipped to 35 for 2 in the fifth over. The Ireland international plundered three consecutive fours at the expense of Ballinger, who then exacted a swift revenge by pinning Prendergast lbw next ball.Although the powerplay yielded 44 runs, Storm continued to lose wickets and Niamh Holland, promoted to open the batting in the absence of Gibson, was run out by de Klerk, having contributed a 23-ball 21. Fran Wilson went in the very next over with the score on 49, driving at a length ball from Sophie Munro and finding Kathryn Bryce at extra cover.Charged with the task of rebuilding, Luff and Corney played spinners Josie Groves and Lucy Higham well, combining deft placement and quick running between the wickets to keep the scoreboard ticking over during the middle overs.Corney enjoyed a large slice of good fortune when, having scored seven, she was dropped by Beth Harmer at mid-on off the bowling of Groves with the score on 76. But there was no let-off when Luff stepped in front of a straight ball from Kathryn Bryce and was adjudged lbw in the 15th over. Storm’s influential captain had raised 19 from 18 balls and helped add 42 runs in 6.5 overs for the fifth wicket, but her dismissal represented a body blow to the home side, who were 91 for 5 in the 15th over.Previously deployed in the role of chief support, Corney now picked up the cudgels, driving fluently to register her highest score in the competition, advancing to 23 from 32 balls before being bowled by the returning Kathryn Bryce as Blaze sought to reimpose their earlier dominance. Sophia Smale was bowled by de Klerk for 10 in the penultimate over, but Griffiths was able to score an unbeaten 19 at a run-a-ball to haul Storm to respectability.Prepared to take a risk at every opportunity, Sarah Bryce and Beth Harmer rode their luck to provide the Blaze reply with early momentum, the opening pair adding 28 in 4.2 overs. But Harmer then scooped off spinner Claire Nicholas to short fine leg and departed for 12 and Smale had Bryce held at mid-off for 15 in the next over to reduce the visitors to 30 for 2.Unperturbed by that double setback, Kathryn Bryce and Boyce initially went about their business in workmanlike fashion, finding the gaps and running hard to keep the rate down. When Bryce hoisted Smale over mid-wicket for the first six of the match and then drove her next ball through the covers for four, Blaze were 69 for 2 at the halfway point of their innings, requiring a further 66 at 6.6 an over with plenty of wickets in hand.Becoming ever-more expansive, Bryce then helped herself to three boundaries in the twelfth over, sent down by Prendergast, at which point the rate was below a run a ball for the first time. Nicholas returned to have Boyce caught at mid-off for a 27-ball 26 in the 14th over, in the process terminating a productive stand that had yielded 66 runs in 8.1 overs and giving Storm renewed hope.But skipper Kelly slammed the door shut on West Country ambition, seizing the initiative in a forthright knock of 20 in 18 balls, which put the outcome beyond doubt before Bryce raised her 50 from 31 balls with her sixth four in the 18th over.