Nortern Diamonds v The Blaze T20 Charlotte Edwards Cup June 9th

Neil Whitaker reports

THE Blaze beat Northern Diamonds by 13 runs at Headingley to maintain their position at the top of the table in the Charlotte Edwards cup but the margin should have been bigger.

Kathryn Bryce top scored for the Blaze with 54 and then took two wickets for 27 as the Blaze defended 159. She reached her fifty when she drove Hollie Armitage to the long off boundary. Her fifty, which included five fours and a six,  came from 34 balls. She added another four when she reversed swept  Kate Levick to  Katherine Fraser at point.

Put into bat the League leaders Blaze reached 53 in their power play for the loss of opener Teresa Graves who was stumped by Bess  Heath off Erin Burns for a duck in the second over when she went down the pitch.

Hollie Beaumont and Kathryn Bryce looked in control and found boundaries with ease aided by some poor fielding by the Northern Diamonds as they added 78 in eight overs. The partnership was broken when Beaumont top edged a sweep off Sophisa Turner and Levick at square leg took the catch.

After Beaumont’s dismissal it was a procession to and from the hutch.  Sarah Bryce drove  Fraser to Burns at mid off.  Levick got her second wicket two balls later when she bowled Ella Claridge who moved across her stumps to glance the ball to the fine leg boundary but missed the ball.

Heather Graham tried to sweep Burns but played over the ball and was bowled and Sarah Glenn drove Burns to  Larhren Winfield-Hill at the long on boundary.

Only Sterre Kallis and Heath out of the Northern Diamonds top order reached double figures with Heath top scoring with 59 and Kallis hitting 41.   Turner batting at number nine made 11.

The Northern Diamonds lost their first wicket when Winfield-Hill drove Grace  Ballinger to Graham at cover.  In the next over  Armitage joined her opening partner back in the hutch when she missed a googly from Glenn, who went on to take 3/33, and the ball smashed into her leg stump.

In the final over of the powerplay  the Northern Diamonds got a boost when Heath hit four fours off Grace Ballenger.

Aided by some poor fielding by the Blaze and good shots Heath and Kallis found the boundary regularly in adding 76 in eight overs until she  top edged a cut off leg spinner Glenn to stumper Sarah Bryce.

Heath reversed swept Gordon to the point boundary to take her one short off her fifty.  A couple of balls later she reached her fifty off 28 balls when she smashed Gordon to the mid wicket boundary.  Her luck ran out when she smashed Kathryn Bryce to a diving Higham on the mid wicket boundary.  Two balls later Higham was in the action again when her throw to Kathryn Bryce helped to run out Marlow.

Burns had a big swing at Gordon and was bowled. Fraser pulled Glenn to Kathryn Bryce on the square leg boundary.  Turner walked across her stumps to Kathryn  Bryce and clipped her to Higham on the square leg boundary.  In the final over Dobson had a big swing at Graham and was bowled.

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