Report: Southern Vipers v Central Sparks, Charlotte Edwards Cup Final

Southern Vipers won their first Charlotte Edwards Cup with a six-wicket win over Central Sparks in the final in Northampton.

Maia Bouchier top-scored with 32 before Ella McCaughan (30) and Charlie Dean (7) saw their side over the line with 25 balls to spare. Sparks won the toss and chose to bat, but never got going and made 109-8 in their 20 overs.

All-rounder Dean shone with the ball for the Vipers, taking 2-19. She also took the key wicket of fellow England player Amy Jones, beginning Sparks’ decline from 45-2 in the eighth over.

Sparks reached the final after edging out holders South East Stars with a two-wicket win earlier in the day. But in their innings in the final only England’s Jones, who finished as the tournament’s top-scorer with 289 runs, was able to post a substantial score with 27 off 23 deliveries.

Their total was 25 runs fewer than any first-innings score they had posted earlier in the competition and the Vipers never looked in serious trouble in the chase, despite the loss of England’s Danni Wyatt for 20 and Bouchier.

They were both dismissed by seam bowler Emily Arlott, who took 2-28 as the Vipers reached 69-4 in the 10th over, but the middle-order pair of McCaughan and Dean shared a comfortable 41-run fifth-wicket stand to win the game.