Essex v Suffolk
Women’s County T20
Colchester & East Essex CC
Sunday 26 May 2024 | 4:30pm
Team News
Essex: Grace Poole, Katherine Speed, Bella Howarth, Tilly Callaghan, Jess Bird, Kelly Castle*, Bella Johnson, Jasmine Westley, Yasmin Daswani+, Hannah Davis, Esmae Macgregor.
Match Details
Toss: Suffolk won the toss and opted to field
Result: Essex won by 75 runs
Scorecard: View Here
Match Report
Essex Women secured a crushing win over Suffolk to get their County T20 campaign underway in style in the second match of a planned double-header at Colchester and East Essex CC.
Despite the first match of the day, against Kent, having fallen victim to the weather, conditions had brightened up sufficiently by late afternoon to allow the second game to take place in full.
The Eagles piled up 163-5 as Tilly Callaghan struck 55, while Katherine Speed and returning captain Kelly Castle both amassed 33, with the latter doing so unbeaten and off just 21 balls.
In addition, Grace Poole, operating as an opening pinch-hitter, flew out of the blocks with 23 from just nine balls, including a second over that totalled 20.
It was a total that proved beyond the reach of the Suffolk chasing effort, as despite the visitors having earlier opted to insert Essex, they fell far short in replying with just 88-4 from their allotted 20 overs.
Restrictive bowling from Poole, Callaghan, Esmae Macgregor, and Hannah Davis saw them all pick up a wicket apiece, while Jasmine Westley was similarly economical in going for just 22 from four overs.
After Poole’s efforts had seen Essex fly out of the traps before she was caught by Laila Hollis off Imogen Sidhu, Speed went on to underpin the innings with her 39-ball effort.
Following the latter being run out, Callaghan took up the mantle, and alongside the strong hitting of Castle, the Eagles finished with a flourish as Callaghan went to her fifty in the final over.
The Essex attack then superbly applied the pressure to ensure Suffolk were never in the hunt in reply, with Callaghan claiming the wicket of Sophie Hughes before Poole removed Sophie Singer next ball.
That left the visitors 14-2, and although top-scorer and captain Amelie Clarke and Emily Cunningham added 44, their rate was always too slow to provide any real danger.
Bella Howarth took the catch of Cunningham off Macgregor to break that third-wicket stand, while Davis bowled Hollis with the penultimate ball of the 18th over.
A final tight over of just two runs from Macgregor closed out the contest, handing the Eagles eight points and sending them soaring to the top of Group 3 in the County T20 competition.
