Hampshire Women Flying High in Royal London One-Day Cup Competition

Kent occupied the crease with the bat to start the game, sending in their aggressive opening pair to get off to a flyer, making 53 before the first wicket fell.

A change in bowlers between Providence Cowdrill (3-13), Fi Morris (2-22) and Charlie Dean (1-25) slowed Kent’s scoring with some tight bowling, placing the pressure on the batters which eventually restricted Kent to 148 all out from 48 overs.

In reply, Hampshire were soon in trouble, finding themselves at 72-5 with only 17-year old opener Charlie Dean (73) resisting the opposition’s attack. A 53-run stand between herself and Captain Charlotte Edwards saw Hampshire over the line to secure their fourth consecutive win in the competition.

Earlier this month saw an emphatic four-wicket win against Nottinghamshire with New Zealand overseas Suzie Bates starring with 54-runs and 3-wickets, alongside Emily Windsor scoring 49 and Charlie Dean taking three wickets.

Following Hampshire’s competition opener against Notts, Charlotte Edwards’ side won by 93-runs against Warwickshire at home at Basingstoke, which showcased the Suzie Bates show smashing 148, followed by Danni Ransley taking three wickets to secure the victory.

Next up was Somerset away, which saw a truly one-sided battle with Katie George and Fi Morris being the key contributors in bowling out the hosts for just 64. Another batting wobble saw Hampshire at 17-5, but the experienced Charlotte Edwards and Suzie Bates saw the side home by five-wickets with their unbeaten knocks.

Hampshire Captain, Charlotte Edwards stated, “I am very pleased by the way the players have responded this season, they have learnt in every game, they are training hard in the week and we are getting better and better as we go on”.

Hampshire are now top of Division One of the Royal London Women's One-Day Cup, 14 points ahead of 2nd place Yorkshire and 23 points ahead of Kent in 3rd place, with 3 games to go.

Head Coach Ron Hodgson said, “this coming weekend, with away games at Yorkshire on Sunday and Lancashire on Bank Holiday Monday, is really important for us. The addition of Southern Vipers batter Izzy Collis, on loan from Sussex, and the return of Suzie Bates from the IPL will bolster our top order. What I do know about this group is they carry a never-back-down culture they brought with them from Division 3, only a few short years ago, so anything could happen”.

Follow the teams progress over the weekend on Twitter at: @HampshireWomen