Picture by Matt Dunn/The Blaze. Sarah Glenn at the crease against her former county today. She top-scored for Yorkshire with 30.
SCORECARD
Yorkshire suffered a foyr-wicket Metro Bank One-Day Cup defeat against The Blaze at Queen’s Park Chesterfield, an early collapse with the bat proving costly in the face of the league leaders.
The White Rose slipped to 60-5 inside 16 overs, including the loss of openers Ami Campbell and Lauren Winfield-Hill inside the first three after the visitors had elected to bat upon winning the toss.
Sarah Glenn, who came in at the loss of the fifth wicket, went on to top score with 30 in 150 all out inside 43 overs.
New-ball seamer Charley Phillips claimed three wickets, but left-arm spinner Maria Andrews was particularly impressive for 2-20 from 10 overs.
Yorkshire then fought hard with the ball. Impressive Beth Langston claimed three wickets with her seam, while Glenn’s leg-spin accounted for one as The Blaze fell to 93-4. But the White Rose just didn’t have enough runs to play with, and opener and captain Marie Kelly’s 66 off 87 balls proved decisive as they won inside 31 overs for a bonus point.
This was The Blaze’s ninth win in 11, while Yorkshire have now lost six of 10 added to three wins and a tie.
Yorkshire handed a debut to in-form Academy seamer Lucy Randle-Bissell, 18.
Campbell was first to go when well caught at backward point by Prisha Thanawala off the bowling of Australian overseas Charli Knott, whose off-spin later forced her fellow Queenslander Jess Jonassen to chop on. Before Jonassen’s departure, Winfield-Hill was caught and bowled by in-form seamer Charley Phillips off a leading edge.
Erin Thomas, on 25, was trapped lbw pushing forwards against the miserly Andrews, whose first two overs were maidens. She bowled four in all.
And when Alice Clarke was run out from cover after some hesitation with partner Rebecca Duckworth, Yorkshire were five down and facing a mountainous recovery task against a Blaze side who had only lost two matches in their previous 10 in this competition.
One of those defeats had come against Yorkshire at Headingley in April.
This was a fresh pitch showing signs of uneven bounce and somewhat of a two-paced nature.
Glenn and Duckworth did well to recover Yorkshire, sharing 59 in the best part of 19 overs. They took the score beyond 100.
Unfortunately, though, with somewhat of a platform at 119-5 in the 35th, Yorkshire were unable to push on.
Glenn sliced Phillips – the leading wicket-taker in the competition with 22 – to backward point immediately after drinks before Duckworth was stumped advancing against Andrews – 134-7. Sandwiched in between, Ines Blackwell pulled her first ball for six against Phillips, Thanawala palming the ball of the rope at wide long-on.
Blackwell also reverse swept a boundary against spin, and played nicely.
But, after Langston was lbw against the seam of Georgia Elwiss, Blackwell was bowled by the same bowler. Randle-Bissell was also bowled by Phillips to wrap things up.
The Blaze were then able to start their chase with significant freedom, and 28 runs came from the first three overs bowled by Blackwell, Glenn and Langston.
They clearly saw this as the ideal chance to boost their net run-rate, something which may be crucial in the race for knockout cricket in September. The top team at the end of the group stage qualifies directly for the final, for example.
But it didn’t work out entirely for the hosts, because Langston trapped Tammy Beaumont lbw – 33-1 at the start of the fifth over – before getting Knott the same way and Elwiss bowled.
At that stage, The Blaze were 51-3 in the ninth.
The continued presence of Kelly, however, was key, and she had to rein herself in following that quick start when she took advantage of a few no balls.
The Blaze reached 92-3 after 17 overs at drinks, with Kelly on 45.
She lost Michaela Kirk (for 18) caught behind cutting at Glenn – 93-4 in the 18th.
But when she reached 50 – her fourth of the campaign – off 64 balls, The Blaze were 120-4 in the 23rd and all but home and hosed.
Kelly shared a fifth-wicket partnership of 51 with 19-year-old Thanawala, for a pleasing 30, before the latter was run out by a Langston direct hit from mid-off at the non-striker’s end and Kelly was trapped lbw by a Blackwell nip-backer next ball.
Yorkshire are next in action on Friday in the Vitality Blast against Hampshire Hawks at the Utilita Bowl, 3pm.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Lucy Randle-Bissell has been in the wickets for Yorkshire’s Academy this summer and debuted at Chesterfield today.