Match Reports: Women’s County T20 Finals Day
The winners of Group 6 of 2022’s Women’s County T20 were decided after the four group sides faced-off at Totton & Eling Cricket Club in Hampshire.
Semi-Final: Kent Women (122/1) def. Hampshire Women (118/8) by nine wickets
After winning the Toss and choosing to bat, the opening pair of Ella Chandler and Maia Bouchier built a strong base of 36 runs until the fifth over, when Ryana MacDonald-Gay earned her first scalp of the match – Chandler was rapped on the pads for three.
View full scorecard
In came Alice Monaghan, but she was sent back to the pavilion straight away as MacDonald-Gay bowled her for a golden, but skipper Emily Windsor denied the Kent seamer her hat-trick.
It was Sydney Gorham that removed the dangerous Bouchier, with Coco Streets taking the catch in the sixth over to leave Hampshire 46/3 – the right handed had made 35 of them.
An excellent middle spell of bowling from the Horses saw the run rate tumble, and it paid dividends with wickets in the eighth and ninth overs.
Hampshire recovery came in the form of Charlotte Taylor and Ariana Dowse for five overs, but the pair would only put 23 runs on together before Taylor became MacDonald-Gay’s third wicket of the innings, caught by captain Grace Scrivens.
MacDonald-Gay then remarkably found herself on the brink of a hat trick once more as she bowled Finty Trussler to leave Hampshire 78/7, and Hampshire’s innings came to an end with them 118/8 after Alexa Stonehouse took Kent’s eighth wicket.
Ryana MacDonald-Gay ended with new career-best figures of 4-19.
Grace Scrivens led from the front opening the batting with ‘keeper-batter Jemima Spence, and with a low but defendable target of 119, both Scrivens and Spence took care to keep wickets intact.
They forged a partnership of 52 together until Spence was caught off the bowling of Gemma Porter for 24, but an inspired innings with the bat from Ryana MacDonald-Gay of 31 not out from only 26 deliveries was the perfect foil for Grace Scrivens to reach 59 not out from 57, and the two saw Kent home to a nine wicket victory and into the Group 6 Final after 19 overs.
View full scorecard
Match Two: Sussex Women (139/6) def. Kent Women (135/6) by four wickets
Coming up against the only side to have beaten them so far this season, Kent Women would face Sussex in the final of this year’s Women’s County T20 competition.
View full scorecard
After winning the Toss and choosing to bat, Kent skipper Grace Scrivens would once again open the batting with Jemima Spence, and the two would once more provide the base of the Horses’ innings – they put on 48 together before Spence was caught by Paige Scholfield off the bowling of Nancy Harman for 19.
Scrivens was joined by Ryana MacDonald-Gay, and in their three overs at the middle the duo added 24 runs to Kent’s score of 48/1, before MacDonald-Gay was dismissed by England’s Georgia Elwiss for 7.
In came Kalea Moore.
With Scrivens also picking up the scoring rate, Moore would record a new best score with the bat and in a final no less – her 36 runs came from 28 deliveries with five fours.
Scrivens would match her semi-final score of 59, but at the end of the 17th over disaster struck – she was caught and bowled by Paige Scholfield.
Moore was joined in the middle by Megan Sturge until the final over when she was stumped by Carla Rudd off the bowling of Nancy Harman – and the feat would be repeated to see the end of Hannah Jelfs to leave Kent 135/6 after 20 overs.
Sussex got off to an imperious start, hitting consistent boundaries, and Georgia Adams and Ella McCaughan raced to a partnership of 47 in five overs.
Hannah Jelfs made the much-needed breakthrough. Captain Scrivens took the catch to see the end of McCaughan, and despite runs still being scored, Kalea Moore bowled Adams for 39 off only 19 in the next over.
She then got rid Scholfield for a three-ball duck, and momentum began to shift towards Kent.
Moore bowled Elwiss in her next over, and at 67/4, the tie was firmly in the balance after eight overs.
Rudd and Harman then shifted the tie back in Sussex’s favour with a vital partnership that lasted six overs and 36 runs – Harman would finish 41 not out and hit the winning runs to see Sussex over the line in the final over.
View full scorecard
The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence will once again host a full England Women’s One-Day International (WODI) match in 2022, with a Royal London WODI against India under the lights in Canterbury on Wednesday, 21 September.
Buy tickets now
Entry to England vs. India is FREE for all valid 2022 Kent Members & Ticket Bundle holders, and this fixture will count as one day of any Six Pack or Six Pack Plus Ticket Bundle.
Become a Kent Member for 2022 now
Entry to all Kent Women home matches will be FREE for 2022 Members and Ticket Bundle Holders.
