Kent end T20 season with win at Beckenham

A youthful Kent side won one and lost one in the final NatWest Women’s T20 double-header of the season at The County Ground, Beckenham.

The hosts in style by winning the toss and restricting Warwickshire to 89 for seven with superb bowling and fielding.

Skipper Alice Davidson-Richards claimed 2/20 and a run-out and Tash Farrant took 1/14 with good spells in the powerplay and the death overs.

Megan Belt get things tight in the middle overs with four overs returning 1/9 and Chelsey Rowson took a wicket and a run-out in a fine spell of 1/15 in three overs.

In reply, opener Phoebe Franklin gave Kent the perfect start with 23 off 19 balls in the powerplay but the visitors took pace off the ball and made scoring tricky before securing the win with an over and four wickets to spare.

In the second match, Davidson-Richards won the toss again and elected to field.

Middlesex’s top order were more aggressive with three of the top four scoring at more than a run a ball.

Sophia Dunkley’s 38 off 24 balls and former England international Beth Morgan’s 20 off 15 was the difference between the sides.

Tash Farrant dismissed both openers before Megan Belt (2/19), Phoebe Franklin (2/13) and Jenni Jackson (1/19) restricted the visitors with fine four-over spells.

15-year-old Rowson picked up a second wicket in the day before tailender Gayatri Gole hit 16 off 15 balls to push the total to 127-9.

In reply, only Franklin and Davidson-Richards could score at a run-a-ball or more.

Both batsmen were the only players to clear the rope in the match and found little support as the reigning champions bowed out 25 runs short of the target.

Izzy Cloke (13*) was the only other player to reach double figures with the average age of Sunday’s side less than 20 including six teenagers featuring in the Kent XI.

Lancashire won the Division One title by beating Surrey at Banstead. Nottinghamshire and Worcestershire will replace relegated Berkshire and Somerset in the T20 top flight next summer.