Report: South Central Counties Cup, Round Five

Berkshire v Buckinghamshire

Bucks completed a close victory over neighbours Berkshire at Wormsley, as they won by 38 runs in the Chiltern Hills.

Electing to bat first, the visitors started well with Molly Carter and Isabella James putting on an opening stand of 66 before the latter was dismissed by Ava Lee for a speedy 34 from 42 balls.

Spinner Lee then picked up a second as Holly Wilson was caught by Freya Johnson as Berkshire were 84-2 after 20 overs.

The runs kept coming steadily as 42 runs came off the next ten overs, with a fifty partnership between Carter and wicket-keeper Ella Claridge was brought up in the 33^rd over.

However, with the score on 136, Kali-Ann Docherty picked up the wicket of Claridge for 15, and five balls later, Poppy Tulloch picked up her first wicket as Mary Briscoe took the catch to remove Amber Drewe for three.

With Carter still at the crease, the 150 was brought up after 39.3 overs, the opener cautiously going about her business.

Ava Lee picked up her third wicket of the day when Rosie Lloyd was dismissed off the final ball of the 44^th over for 15, but Molly Carter kept going and reached her fifty the next over, raising her bat after 135 balls and nearly three hours at the crease.

Annie Townsend was the next to fall, cleaned up by Tulloch before Carter’s vigil came to an end on 55 as she too was castled as part of a double wicket over from Freya Johnson as she dismissed Megs Woodward with the final ball of the 49^th.

Tidy bowling from Tulloch restricted the visitors to just three off the final over to keep them under 200, setting Berkshire a target of 192 for victory.

The home side were quick out of the block, as the boundary was peppered eight times in the first four overs, before Holly Rider was caught by Claridge off the bowling of Hannah Critchley for 17, with Isabella James cleaning up Tulloch for six to peg Berkshire back to 48-2 at the end of the eighth over.

A third Berkshire wicket was found in the tenth, as James claimed her second, dismissing Olivia Gain for 22 as part of a wicket maiden.

There wasn’t much respite for the scorers, as a fourth wicket fell in the 13^th over, Critchley bowling Ava Lee before picking up the wicket of Ash Muttitt for a single as Berkshire slipped to 80-5 after 15 overs.

Izzy Storrar and Freya Johnson set about rebuilding the innings but the latter fell for seven to the bowling of Hannah Davis.

Off the next seven overs, only 11 runs were scored by the home side as survival became the main aim rather than quick scoring.

Carter, not content with just a half-century to her name, picked up the wicket of Docherty on her way to figures of 1-15 from five overs.

Storrar and new batter Shayna Chikhlia looked to up the run rate, taking 11 runs off the 30^th over but Hannah Davis claimed her second victim when she removed the latter lbw for 11.

Molly Bulteel then fell for a duck to Natasha MacBean, with Storrar running out of partners as she was nearing her fifty.

Just one hit away from her milestone, she was bowled by MacBean as the home side fell 38 runs short, with Storrar the last batter to go for 46.

Dorset v Hampshire

Hampshire claimed a comprehensive victory over Dorset to send them joint top of the South Central Counties Cup table.

Having chosen to bowl first, the home side stuck early to remove Ashneet Chahal for seven, Loren Dean picking up the wicket in the fifth over.

Ella Chandler and Pippa Sproul then set about building a strong total for the visitors, as the pair put on 46 before opener Chandler was caught and bowled by Megan Bishop for 33.

Just before the halfway mark, Sproul too was caught and bowled, this time off the bowling of Emily Roberts, for 24 as drinks were taken with Hampshire on 96-3.

This brought Viper Sophie Mitchelmore to the crease, alongside Academy player Rachel King, and the pair looked to wrestle back control of the Hampshire innings.

After just eight overs together, the duo had put on fifty runs for the fourth wicket, and showed no signs of stopping when Mitchelmore smacked two boundaries off an Amelie Whitaker over to push Hampshire past 150.

However, just two runs short of her half-century, King was caught by Roberts off the bowling of Katie Harris, and in the next over, Lizzie Williams claimed the wicket of Talitha Stanley for four as Hampshire slipped from 166-3 to 176-5.

Mitchelmore was the next to go for 34, as Dorset had taken three wickets in the space of 19 balls.

With fewer than ten overs to go, Dani Ransley and keeper Mia Clark took Hampshire past 200 and a strong finish – 16 runs coming from the final two overs – gave Hampshire a competitive total of 234-8.

In reply, Dorset struggled right from the outset. Darcey Clarke claimed two wickets in as many overs, with a run out from Talitha Stanley as the home side were 7-3 after just four overs.

Clarke then picked up a third as Mamta Kothiyal was bowled for ten with just 17 runs on the scoreboard.

Megan Bishop and Matilda Churchill set about rebuilding the Dorset innings, and did so with some success, taking Dorset from 17-4 to 54-5 at the end of the 20^th over.

However, with the first ball of the 23^rd over, Dani Ransley struck to remove Churchill for 14, with Eve O’Neill dismissing Bishop lbw for 20 the first ball after the drinks break.

With the run rate climbing, the need for boundaries came greater for Dorset, but they only managed two in their innings – the second and final four coming off the last ball of the 19^th over.

Izzy Pugh removed Katie Butler for six and Roberts for two as it looked like Dorset would fall short of three figures, however a single from the bat of Loren Dean took them to 100 in the 38^th over.

The final two wickets fell in consecutive balls as Ransley picked up her third of the day, dismissing Amelie Whitaker for 41, before Lizzie Williams was run out without facing a ball on the opening delivery off the 41^st.

Oxfordshire v Sussex

Sussex overcame Oxfordshire to end up joint top of the table after a 111-run win at Kingston Bagpuize CC.

Electing to bat first, Izzy Collis and Phoebe Wilkinson recorded the first century opening partnership of this year’s competition, as they put on 120 for the first wicket with both players passing fifty.

The duo started quickly, bringing up their fifty stand within the first ten overs, and continued to find the boundary with relative ease.

After just 17 overs of batting, Collis won the race to 50, reaching hers after just 49 balls with four boundaries.

Four balls later and the Sussex 100 was brought up with a four from Phoebe Wilkinson.

However, Collis was run out for 59 by Emilia Bartram, which gave Oxfordshire just the opening they needed, as Bartram pounced once again in the field to remove Nicole Faltum for five.

Finty Trussler then struck to pin Chiara Green lbw for a single before Georgia Prestedge dismissed Nancy Harman for two, as Sussex lost four wickets for 31 runs.

Wilkinson then looked to accelerate through the gears, as she took 11 runs off a Prestedge over, reaching her fifty in the process.

In a partnership worth 43 with Lucy Western, Wilkinson scored 31 of them in the space of eight overs.

However, the pair fell in quick succession when Western was caught by Carla Wood off Prestedge for nine, and Chloe Westbury had Wilkinson caught by Abi Norgrove for a well-made 80.

Bartram then had her third run out of the innings when Regina Suddahazai was caught short on four, before she bowled Indigo Gentry to give her first wicket with the ball.

A cameo of 12 from Emily Spooner, which included a four and a six, was ended when she was trapped lbw to Bartram with ten overs to go, as Sussex ended the 40^th on 226-9.

The innings however was cut short when Anna Buckle became the fourth run out victim of day, giving Sussex a total of 237 to defend.

At their home ground, Oxfordshire struggled at the top, as Anna Buckle removed both openers within the first six overs as both Genny Porter and Carla Wood were lbw for five.

Wickets became a regular occurrence throughout the Oxfordshire innings, as Buckle removed captain Ellie Ingram for seven and Emilia Bartram for four, as the home side limped to 47-4 after 12.

Buckle then claimed her fifth wicket when she had Finty Trussler caught by Emily Spooner for seven, eventually finishing with figures of 5-32, the best of this year’s competition.

Nancy Harman then joined in the act, picking up two wickets in an over with the aid of Nicole Faltum, first stumping Chloe Westbury for two before catching Honor Murray for a second ball duck.

Abi Norgrove was still there but at 65-7, it became a tall order for the Vipers batter, and she was caught and bowled by Chiara Green for 39.

Georgia Haworth stuck around for a 46-ball nine, eventually being the last batter dismissed after Kitty Spurgeon fell for 20, only the second Oxfordshire batter to make it to double figures.

End Table

* Sussex win the South Central Counties Cup having won their head-to-head match.