The second game of the South Group of the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy took place at Chelmsford between Western Storm and Sunrisers. Western Storm has won one game out of the two they have played while Sunrisers are yet to open their account.
STORM WIN BY 86 RUNS!!! 🔥 #StormTroopers 🌪️ 🌪 pic.twitter.com/8Uzeu6ZObh
— Western Storm 🏆🏆 (@WesternStormKSL) September 5, 2020
Sunrisers won the toss and elected to field first. Both sides are now without their international players, who have left their respective squads to prepare for their series against West Indies. Openers Fi Morris and Lauren Parfitt came out for Western Storm and got off to a smooth start. With the score on 43, Lauren Parfitt was dismissed LBW by Joanne Gardner for 18. That dismissal created a stutter as Fi Morris was also dismissed soon after by Alice MacLeod for 24 and Georgia Hennessey was run out cheaply. With the score on a precarious 69/3, Natasha Wraith joined Sophie Luff as they added 40 runs to take Western Storm past 100. Wraith was dismissed on 18 by Grace Scrivens shortly after the team reached the landmark. Alex Griffith then joined her captain as they combined with a partnership of 80 for the fifth wicket. Griffith was the aggressor and looked in a dangerous touch as she looked to accelerate the scoring. However, she fell to Sonali Patel scoring a 34-ball 43 as the side reached 189/5 with 13 overs to play. Sophie Luff, who had just reached her half-century before her dismissal, took the mantle with the company of Claire Nicholas as they added another 55 runs in the next 10 overs. She was the next to go, playing a captain’s knock of 85 in 105 deliveries. Claire Nicholas managed to hit a few boundaries and remained unbeaten on 24 as they eventually reached 265/6 in their 50 overs.
Set a challenging target of 266, Sunrisers did not begin well with skipper, Amara Carr and Alice McLeod getting out for first-ball ducks. Cordelia Griffith, the other opener, also departed for 15 as they reached a precarious position at 33/3. Then, Fi Morris got into the act and removed Naomi Dattani for 27 and Gayatri Gole in quick succession to leave them reeling at 70/5 in 18 overs. Grace Scrivens forged a 51-run stand with Joanne Gardner before losing her wicket to Stephanie Hutchins for 26. She had consumed 74 deliveries by then as they limped to 121/6 in the 34th over. With 145 still to get off 16 overs, Sunrisers were already out of the game. Fi Morris picked another 3 wickets rapidly, including that of Gardner for 54 to hasten the end. Georgia Hennessey struck the last nail on the coffin by dismissing Katie Wolfe to end their innings at 179 in 45 overs. Fi Morris ended up picking up 5 wickets for 26 runs as Western Storm won the game by 86 runs.
With this win, Western Storm have consolidated their position in the second spot on the group table with 2 wins out of 3 games and 10 points, earning a bonus point for both their wins. They will next face South East Stars at Bristol. Sunrisers have lost their third game in the tournament and are all but eliminated from the competition. They face Southern Vipers next in Southampton in what will be a do-or-die match for them. Both matches are scheduled to take place on the 11th of September.
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BRIEF SCORES
Western Storm: 265/6 in 50 overs (S Luff – 85, A Griffith – 43)
Sunrisers: 179 all out of 45 overs (J Gardner – 54, F Morris – 5/26, L Filer – 2/24)
Western Storm won by 86 runs