In an exciting final of the Women’s Continental Cup at Ilfov County on August 30, 2026, Turkey Women secured a dominant 5-wicket win over Isle of Man Women with 30 balls to spare.
Isle of Man Women opened their innings with skipper Lucy Barnett and wicketkeeper Libby Moore taking the crease. The opening partnership struggled to build momentum early on as Ezgi Nur Kilic struck in the third over, removing Libby Moore lbw for just 1 run (5 balls) with the score at 15/1 in 2.2 overs. Rachel Overman joined captain Barnett, but her stay was cut short due to an injury, forcing her to retire hurt after scoring 3 runs off 18 balls with the score at 50/1 (6.6 overs).
Barnett single-handedly kept the run-rate lively, smashing a fiery 59 off 34 balls, inclusive of 9 fours and 1 six. However, Turkey Women turned the game around dramatically in the 10th over. Hacer Celik broke the stand by catching and bowling Barnett for 59 (9.4 overs) with the total at 86/2. Just one ball later, a sharp effort in the field by Suzan Turan and keeper Merve Ercin resulted in Clare Crowe being run out for 3 runs (4 balls) without any change to the scoreline (86/3).
The middle order crumbled rapidly under relentless pressure from Turkey’s attack. Reyyan Aliusta trapped Maisie Skillan lbw for a duck (3 balls) at 88/4 in 10.3 overs. Chloe Dillon chipped in with 6 off 13 balls before falling caught by Keles off Aliusta’s bowling at 101/5 (13.1 overs). Aliusta struck again immediately on the very next delivery, cleaning up Anna Wilson for a golden duck (1 ball) to leave Isle of Man reeling at 101/6.
Joanne Hicks added 3 runs from 13 balls before Kubra Canavarci clean-bowled her at 108/7 in 15.4 overs. Late down the order, Amelia Griffiths hit 4 runs off 21 balls before Celik caught and bowled her at 117/8 (19.5 overs). Grace Cottier (5 not out off 11 balls) and Izzy Clarke (0 not out off 1 ball) remained unbeaten as Isle of Man posted 117/8 in their allotted 20 overs, aided by a generous contribution of 33 extras (1 lb, 4 nb, 28 w).
Turkey Women’s bowling attack delivered disciplined spells across the board. Reyyan Aliusta was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3/25 in 3 overs, supported brilliantly by Hacer Celik (2/25 in 4 overs). Ezgi Nur Kilic was extremely economical, taking 1/12 in her 4 overs, while captain Kubra Canavarci bowled a tight spell returning 1/32 in 4 overs. Suzan Turan kept things exceptionally quiet with 0/8 in 4 overs, while Saliha Ozkunduz conceded 14 runs in her lone over (0/14).
Chasing a target of 118 runs, Turkey Women got off to a shaky start in their reply. Isle of Man captain Lucy Barnett struck early in the opening over, bowling Duygu Tekyildirim for a 3-ball duck at 0/1 in 0.3 overs. Melike Bayram came in at number three and scored 9 off 9 balls (1 four) before Barnett struck again, clean-bowling her at 12/2 in 2.5 overs. Hacer Celik then teamed up with Gulhatun Keles to construct the match-winning partnership. The duo added 56 runs for the third wicket to put Turkey firmly in control.
Keles played a solid supporting role, scoring 27 off 25 balls (2 fours), before she was caught by Overman off Joanne Hicks’ bowling at 68/3 in 9.5 overs. Captain Kubra Canavarci kept up the scoring pace alongside Celik, contributing a quickfire 14 off 12 balls (1 four) before being bowled by Grace Cottier at 104/4 in 13.3 overs.
Hacer Celik completed a stellar all-round performance by anchoring the chase with a blistering 54 off 36 balls, featuring 6 boundaries. Her innings ended when she was stumped by Libby Moore off Hicks at 117/5 in 14.4 overs with Turkey on the verge of victory. Zehra Ender (3 not out off 4 balls) and Saliha Ozkunduz (1 not out off 2 balls) casually knocked off the remaining run to finish at 118/5 in just 15 overs, with 10 extras (1 b, 1 lb, 1 nb, 7 w) assisting the chase.
For Isle of Man Women, Lucy Barnett capped off a strong individual game with figures of 2/22 in 4 overs, matched by Joanne Hicks who took 2/19 in 3 overs. Grace Cottier chipped in with 1/22 in 2 overs, while Izzy Clarke (0/22 in 3 overs) and Amelia Griffiths (0/31 in 3 overs) went wicketless as Turkey Women celebrated a convincing title win.
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