LIVE: South Central Counties Cup, Round Four

Berkshire v Hampshire - FWE Goates Memorial Ground

A strong bowling performance set the tone for Hampshire’s as they recorded their third win, as they defeated Berkshire by six wickets.

PJ Watkins was the star bowler, taking 2-29 off ten overs – which included two maidens – with Talitha Stanley also 2-25 off seven overs.

Poppy Tulloch stood out with the bat for Berks, as she scored 46, with Ava Lee the next top scorer with 25, as Berkshire were kept to 170-8 in their 50 overs.

A modest total on paper, but the home side got off to a strong start with the ball, as Ashneet Chahal was run out for 12, and Ella Chandler was lbw to Molly Bulteel for 23.

The Vipers Academy duo of Sophie Mitchelmore and PJ Watkins then set about steadying the ship, with the former recording a half-century, and Watkins saw the visitors through to the end on 43*, as Hampshire won by 13.1 overs to spare.

Oxfordshire v Buckinghamshire - Bicester & North Oxford CC

Oxfordshire recorded their third win of the South Central Counties Cup, with a resounding 100-run win over Buckinghamshire.

Batting first, Oxon crept to 166 all out, as Bucks’ Natasha MacBean took 5-23 – the second five-for of the tournament – in 7.5 overs, with Isabella James also picking up a couple of wickets.

Aimee Diab (36) was the only home batter to pass 30, with Eleanor Ingram the next best with 29.

The visitors, aiming for their third win, were confident they could chase down the total, but Southern Vipers’ Finty Trussler wasn’t having any of it.

The spinner took 5-11 in 8.2 overs, including four of Buckinghamshire’s top five, one of which was Vipers’ teammate Chloe Hill.

Georgia Haworth was also in the wickets, as she took 4-15 in six overs, with Emilia Bartram taking the other, as nine of the ten Bucks batters were dismissed for single figures, with the visitors bowled out for just 66 in 24.2 overs.

Sussex v Dorset - Blackstone

Sussex recorded a thumping victory against winless Dorset by 255 runs at Blackstone.

Wickets were hard to come by for the visitors, as Sussex openers Isabelle Collis and Phoebe Wilkinson recorded a partnership of 123 before the former was caught off the bowling of Milly Russell for a run-a-ball 57.

The next breakthrough for Dorset then wouldn’t come until the home side had brought up their triple century.

Wilkinson, who reached 50 off just 37 balls, was joined by Vipers Academy batter Mary Taylor who matched the former’s aggressive intent, as she too reached a half-century at quicker than a run-a-ball.

Taylor then overtook the opener, as she raced to her century off just 84 balls, with 13 fours and a six, before Wilkinson brought up her own three figures in 99 balls, as the home side ticked passed the 300 mark at the end of the 42^nd over.

Wilkinson managed 108, the third highest score of the competition, before she was bowled by Emily Roberts.

Taylor meanwhile, kept on batting.

She reached her 150 in 199 balls in the penultimate over before she fell in the 50^th, caught by Caitlin Chissell off Anya Hughes, with Chiara Green and Rachel King chipping in to take the total to a mammoth 368-3.

A tall order for Dorset didn’t get off to the start they wanted, as they lost their first three wickets for 18 runs.

Some resistance came in the form of Sarah Matthews (34) and Caitlin Chissell (26*), but wickets kept falling for the visitors, as Asha Hinley took 5-17 in 5.3 overs to clean up all but one of the final six batters, as Dorset were bowled out for 113 in 32.3 overs.

Next Fixtures - Thursday 11th August

Hampshire v Dorset - St Cross Symondians CC, Winchester

Buckinghamshire v Berkshire - High Wycombe CC

Sussex v Oxfordshire - TBC