To end a successful 50 over season, the Essex Women’s team travelled to Gloucestershire to play the ECB Women’s County Championship Division 3 Play off with an opportunity to earn promotion. With a strong team performance from all, Essex persevered under pressure to clinch the Division Three title and gain promotion to Division Two for the 2018 season.
The home team won the toss and chose to bat first putting Essex in the field, hoping to take a few early wickets. Gloucestershire’s opening batters started strong, attacking Essex’s fast bowlers however the bowling change of Hannah Finbow-Jeffery brought the first wicket in her first over, trapping Evans LBW. She continued to lead the Essex bowling attack finishing with figures of 10 overs, 3 wickets for only 25 runs. The home team managed to rebuild their innings with MacDonald leading the attack making a quick-fire 50 until her innings came to an end, being bowled by Anje Lague and finishing on a respectable 81. Essex continued to take frequent wickets, with Mady Villiers picking up 3 wickets for 31 runs. Gloucestershire finished their innings on 229 off of the allotted 50 overs.
In reply, Essex’s openers also started well until the early wicket of Mahatma fell leaving the visitors 20-1. The incoming batsmen, Cordelia Griffith, looked confident and helped build a solid partnership before the second wicket fell of Dodd for 23 with Essex on 87-2. Griffith continued her onslaught, making 50 in no time, and attacking all bowlers. With a key partnership building, both Castle and Griffith looked to get the job done until the breakthrough from Gloucestershire left Essex on 167-3, but already steaming ahead, Gloucestershire knew there was a lot more to be done.
Essex looked to be in control of the game, helped by Griffith making 100 with only a few runs left to chase in order to become victorious. With a last push from the opposition picking up one last wicket, the visitors wrapped up the game with 7 overs remaining. A captains innings led the way, finishing on 113* off 111 balls consisting of 16 fours and 1 six.
Essex Women Head Coach, Matthew Hyam added: “The players have achieved their goal of regaining Division Two status. The focus of the summer was on the 50-over game and going unbeaten in the 6 matches was a great performance from the team. There were lots of individual contributions along the way, none more so than Cordelia Griffith’s hundred in the playoff game. However, it was the combined efforts of all the players involved that has been the catalyst for great results. The team has grown stronger over the summer and with more focus going forward can only get even better.”
Finishing the 2017 season unbeaten in 50-over cricket, the Essex Women’s team have been promoted to Division Two and will try to continue the victorious season into 2018, inspired by the Essex Men’s success after their promotion last season in 2016.
