Report & Reaction: Hampshire Hawks Women v The Blaze, Vitality Blast

By Alex Smith, ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay
Vitality Blast women's competition - Hampshire Hawks 151/8 beat The Blaze 128/8 by 23 runs

Georgia Adams hit 49 before returning four wickets as Hampshire Hawks confirmed their place at the Vitality Blast women’s competition Finals Day.

Hawks skipper Adams was the only player to get used to a slow pitch but fell one short of a half-century, as Hampshire scrimped their way to 151, with Charli Knott and Grace Ballinger picking up three wickets each.

Then Adams, with fellow spinner Amanda-Jade Wellington grabbing two, kept The Blaze to 128 – with four for 16, the second-best figures of her T20 career.

It meant the Hawks are guaranteed to finish in the top four and will play at the Kia Oval on Friday 17 July, whereas The Blaze sit fourth with a two-point buffer to Somerset with two fixtures to go.

Other than Adams, Hampshire’s batting never found the go-button, as The Blaze squeezed with an exceptional bowling display.

Australian Knott, who spent two seasons with Southern Vipers and Hampshire, knocked back Ella McCaughan’s middle stump with her first delivery.

It broke up some lucid batting by Adams, as she swung the ball, mostly to the legside, for seven fours and two lusty sixes but fell one run shy of a half-century to Knott.

The Hawks found promising partnerships of 26, 35 and 38 for the first three wickets but slow scoring left plenty to do at the death, and that led to six wickets falling in the last six overs.

Josie Groves caught and bowled both Cesca Sweet and Rhi Southby in the 15th over, before Ballinger bowled Abi Norgrove and Naomi Dattani in successive deliveries two balls later.

Ballinger and Knott both completed their three-fors in the final two overs as Blaze kept the hosts to 151.

Marie Kelly and Georgia Elwiss attacked the chase by smashing 44 runs in the first 26 balls of the innings.

Daisy Gibb was making her first appearance of the competition – after breaking a finger – but having whacked her first ball with the bat for six to mark her comeback, she ended the opening stand by bowling Kelly.

Like Hampshire after Adams, things slowed up for The Blaze in the face of a wall of spin – which quickly led to wickets.

Top order trio Kathryn Bryce, Knott and Elwiss all fell in the space of 16 balls to Adams and Wellington as Hampshire took control.

Emma Jones ended a 40-ball spell without a boundary, but was caught off the following ball and then Sarah Bryce was stumped at the start of the next over.

Adams added a third and fourth wicket in her final over as Hampshire trumped The Blaze’s bowling performance to go unbeaten at home for the entire tournament.