Wed 7 May, 10:30
Report: Bears Women vs Somerset Women
Warwickshire slipped to their second Metro Bank One Day Cup defeat by 48 runs despite half-centuries from Sterre Kalis and skipper Georgia Davis.
Somerset totalled a solid 297 for six thanks to captain Sophie Luff’s accomplished unbeaten century – 111 from 105 balls – which built on Heather Knight’s punchy 70 (93 balls) up top. Em Arlott was the pick of the Bears bowlers and continued her excellent start to the season with four for 61.
Warwickshire’s reply came in short at 249 all out after early impetus from Sterre Kalis (60, 49) was followed by a middle-order collapse of five wickets for 14 runs in 30 balls. Alex Griffiths, Amanda-Jade Wellington, Chloe Skelton, and Charlie Dean each took two wickets to squeeze the chase beyond the Bears.
After Warwickshire chose to bowl, they were kept waiting for a breakthrough on a good batting pitch. Knight launched the innings with a flurry of fours but was overtaken by the increasingly fluent Emma Corney (37, 56) in an opening stand of 74 in 100 balls.
Corney sliced Hannah Baker to mid-off but Luff and Knight added 79 before the former moved outside off-stump to lap Charis Pavely and lapped the ball onto the wicket.
Luff, driving sweetly, went to a 60-ball half-century in a stand of 118 in 90 balls with Fran Wilson (37, 37), which ended when Wilson lifted Arlott to deep extra. That was the first of four wickets in 11 balls for Arlott as Wellington edged an attempted cut and, in the final over, Charlie Dean edged a slog and Griffiths was caught at mid off. Luff was left unbeaten, having hit 17 fours in a captain’s innings.
It was a strong total but by no means daunting on a good pitch, and Kalis and Abby Freeborn gave Warwickshire’s reply a purposeful start with a stand of 77 in 61 balls before both fell to Australian leg-spinner Wellington. Freeborn’s anchor role ended when she was caught at deep mid-wicket. Kalis, having hit 11 fours, missed an attempted cut and was bowled.
Davina Perrin (37, 54) and Katie George (28, 41) built a promising alliance of 50, but the chase was derailed by a collapse of wickets in five successive overs. George and Natasha Wraith were adjudged lbw to full-length balls from Griffiths. Skelton removed the dangerous Perrin, caught at deep point, and Bethan Ellis, who chipped to short fine leg. Pavely sought a single that wasn’t there and was run out from extra cover by Knight.
Dean avenged herself on Arlott by hitting her off-stump, and although Georgia Davis accumulated a run-a-ball half century, her departure, lifting Dean to mid on, sealed defeat for her team.
Ali Maiden said: “We felt we were in the game for quite a long period, and then there was the old classic drinks break, and we couldn’t quite keep up with the rate after that.
“It’s always hard to keep up with six an over from the start, and we did really well to get ahead of it. We had a template from the previous game, which we tried to follow, but we lost Katie and Davina together, and with two new batters, it was always going to be hard to keep up with that rate.
“We were a little bit disappointed with their score. That was probably 30 too many on that wicket. On both sides of the game, we could have done a little bit better, but with the confidence in the team, we thought we might have chased 300 today.”
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