Luff fifties see Storm; Paige Scholfield, Alice Davidson-Richards, Alice Cranstone Fifty in vain as Stars lose first.

Luff fifties see Storm; Western Storm 236 for 5 (Wilson 65, Luff 59, Waithe 40*) beat South East Stars 298 for 5 (Scholfield 74, Davidson-Richards 65, Cranstone 63*) by eight runs (DLS Method)

Western Storm showed remarkable tenacity with the bat to secure an unlikely victory over table-toppers South East Stars in an entertaining Rachel Hayhoe Flint Trophy match at the Cooper Associates Ground in Taunton.

 with the home side , Luff fifties see Storm winning by eight runs at Duckworth-Lewis. Thanks to captain Sophie Lowe and Fran Wilson and Nat Raith’s clear knocking of 40 not out, the Stern method.

Paige Scholfield Luff fifties see Storm , Alice Davidson-Richards and Alice Cranstone scored unbeaten 74, 65 and 63 respectively as the Stars continued to be in fine form. But a stand of 131 in 19.5 overs between Loof and Wilson before the rain returned put the home side firmly in contention.

With their confidence boosted after three straight wins, the Stars were kept on a dry pitch after the start of the game was delayed by an hour and 15 minutes due to rain. Openers Brynie Smith and Alexa Stonehouse more than made up for lost time, adding vital momentum to the innings with 42 runs in five overs.

Signed on loan from Sparks, seam bowler Ellie Anderson endured a tough debut, conceding 22 runs in two overs with the new ball and withdrawing from the attack. Sophia Smel of Slow Bum Armor did a little better. Struggling with a wet ball and hitting a short-leg-side boundary, the England Under-19 international moved to 29 in three overs as the aggressive Smith hit a 19-ball 30 with a four and a six.

In the sixth over Luff fifties see Storm , pacer Molly Robbins induced Smith to drive to cover point, but the respite proved short-lived as Scholfield put on 47 for the second wicket with Stonehouse. The South African-born right-hander posted a brilliant match-winning century against Bristol Storm 12 months ago and managed to repeat the feat with two magnificent sixes over midwicket in three deliveries.

The stars lost the toss and scored runs in eight overs. Stonehouse tried to cut Harrison and snared Wilson brilliantly at backward point, departing for 29, only for Davidson-Richards to announce himself with a straight six at the expense of Amanda-Jade Wellington as the run flow continued.

At least the Australian spinner managed to gain some control in the nine overs from the river’s edge which yielded just 35 runs.

Otherwise, the Storm’s bowlers found it difficult under constant pressure from Scholfield and Davidson-Richards. Scholfield picked up 50 off 48 balls and put on a 100-run stand in just 107 deliveries as the third-wicket pair ruthlessly exploited anything short of length on an easy-paced track.

Called into the attack for the first time, Niamh Holland needed just two balls to break the pair, with Scholefield scoring 189 at 74 lbw. But the damage was done, Scholfield bowled a brilliant innings with five fours and three sixes. That spanned 64 balls.

Davidson-Richards made 50 off 74 balls to take his score to 65 off the bowling of Alex Griffiths, who dropped Chloe Skelton at extra cover.

Thereafter, Cranstone ensured the momentum was sustained, with the Surrey left-hander quick-firing for 63 off 40 balls, collecting eight boundaries and dominating a whirlwind sixth-wicket partnership of 47 from four overs with Raina McDonald-Gay. Under the pump at the death, Storm were guilty of numerous misfields and dropped two more catches under pressure.

Needing seven overs to score, Storm moved out of the blocks, Smellie offered a return catch to Phoebe Franklin and departed in the third over. When Griffiths was bowled by Stonehouse, the home side were 10 for 2.

In charge of rebuilding Luff fifties see Storm , the veteran duo of Loof and Wilson could not take undue risks instead of being cautious against the new ball. Despite this, Luckie managed to escape for 8 runs, with Franklin caught straight off his own bowling for 27 runs.

Fran Wilson, Sophie Luff fifties see Storm home in rain-hit clash

In the run, helped by Storm skipper Wilson to add 50 runs off 52 balls, the third wicket pair always grew in faith as they maintained the required deficit in about eight overs. They found the momentum to triple their tally with 41 more deliveries, rotating the strike and making the stars work hard in the field.

Wilson was first on 50 off 46 balls, while Law needed 18 more deliveries to reach the same milestone as the home side reached 122 for 2 at the halfway point, needing 176 more runs at 8.1 per over.

As the excitement in the stands grew, Stars produced a breakthrough, as Bethan Miles bowled Laff for 59 runs. His heroic innings spanned 73 balls and spoiled the Storm’s best chance to pull off an unlikely win with five fours. . Dropping Danny Gregory to Franklin at midwicket, Wilson came alive for 61, but was soon out, stumped for 65 by the same bowler Chloe Hill.

In contrast Luff fifties see Storm, the fifth wicket pair of Wyeth and Wellington took the aerial route as they tried to reduce the necessary damage to a manageable level. Wellington, the only Storm batsman to target the short boundary, helped himself to three sixes at the expense of Miles, who was quick to retaliate and caught the Australian for 30 off 16 balls in a slog-sweeping performance and Luff fifties see Storm.

Needing 74 off the last 10 overs, Wraith and new partner Holland collected enough boundaries to put pressure on the Stars for the first time in the match.