Middlesex v Essex
Women’s County T20 – Group 3
Haberdashers’ Boys School
Sunday 16 June 2024
Middlesex: Saskia Horley, Issy Routledge*, Georgia Irving+, Louise Poulter, Artemis Downer, Sonali Patel, Bhavika Gajipra, Gayatri Gole, Anisha Dissanayake, Layla Judge, Rachana Cambampaty, Lucy Porter.
Essex: Katherine Speed, Grace Poole, Bella Howarth, Tilly Callaghan, Amu Surenkumar, Jess Olorenshaw+, Jess Bird*, Bella Johnson, Sally Chapman, Hannah Davis, Prisha Bedi, Anjali Mistry.
Scorers: J Johnson & C Bryant
Toss: Essex won the toss and elected to bat
Result: Middlesex won by nine wickets
Match Report
Saskia Horley’s 64 not out from 52 balls saw Essex well beaten by Middlesex in the opening match of a Women’s County T20 double-header at Haberdashers’ Boys’ School.
Despite Essex winning the toss and electing to bat, they were restricted to 122-5 from their allotted 20 overs, with 29 from Katherine Speed and Tilly Callaghan’s 26 the top scores.
Bhavika Gajipra was the pick of the home attack, claiming 3/23, while Layla Judge picked up 2/27 as regular wickets meant Essex were unable to build up much momentum.
Grace Poole struck Judge for back-to-back fours in the second over, but her dismissal one ball later, caught by Sonali Patel, precipitated a low-scoring first 10 overs, with the Eagles on 61-2 at halfway.
There was not much of an uptick in the second half either, as despite Amu Surenkumar contributing to her 23-ball 25 by hitting Patel for two fours in the 12th over, Middlesex bowled tightly.
In response, the hosts began in positive fashion as Horley hit Prisha Bedi for three consecutive fours in the opening over, and an opening stand of 56 from 42 built a solid platform for the chase.
Bedi ended that partnership by bowling captain Issy Routledge for 27 at the start of the eighth over, but there was to be no more joy for Essex as the hosts reached their target without further loss.
Horley reached her fifty, which featured six fours, from 39 balls in the 15th over, and one delivery later, Middlesex brought up their team 100 when Georgia Irving struck Callaghan for four.
Irving eventually then hit the winning run from the final legitimate ball of the penultimate over, taking a single off Sally Chapman and leaving Bedi’s 1/27 as the only Essex figures to contain a wicket.
Berkshire v Essex
Women’s County T20 – Group 3
Haberdashers’ Boys School
Sunday 16 June 2024
Berkshire: Mia Rogers+, Poppy Tulloch, Ariana Dowse, Ashleigh Muttitt*, Francesca Sweet, Izzy Storrar, Freya Johnson, Kali-Ann Docherty, Shayna Chikhlia, Mary Briscoe, Lily Bowlby.
Essex: Katherine Speed, Grace Poole, Bella Howarth, Tilly Callaghan, Amu Surenkumar, Jess Olorenshaw+, Jess Bird*, Bella Johnson, Sally Chapman, Hannah Davis, Prisha Bedi, Anjali Mistry.
Umpires: L Conder & M Juniper
Scorer: J Johnson
Toss: Berkshire won the toss and elected to bat
Result: Essex won by two wickets
Match Report
A starring all-round performance by Bella Johnson saw Essex bounce back to record a tense two-wicket win over Berkshire in the second game of a double-header at Haberdashers’ Boys School.
Johnson picked up 1/15 from three overs with the ball and executed two run-outs as Berkshire were restricted to 106-6, and then struck an unbeaten 37 off 26 to top-score in a successful Essex chase.
The Eagles were grateful for cameos from captain Jess Bird, who made 15, and Amu Surenkumar, who hit 11, while Hannah Davis’s late unbeaten eight from six balls was valuable too.
Having won the toss, Berkshire initially proceeded serenely to an opening stand of 68 in 12.3 overs, only for Johnson to have Mia Rogers caught by Sally Chapman for 44.
Within the next three overs, she had also run out both Rogers’ fellow opener Poppy Tulloch for 31, and Ariana Dowse for two, leaving Berkshire 82-3 with 4.2 overs to go.
Two balls later, Tilly Callaghan drove home Essex’s charge by bowling captain Ashleigh Muttitt for two, and Grace Poole saw off Francesca Sweet for five in identical fashion in the penultimate over.
Yet another wicket went down before the score had reached 100, with Bird executing the third run-out of the innings to remove Freya Johnson for a duck to put Berkshire on 97-6 with one over to go.
Izzy Storrar and Kali-Ann Docherty were at least able to put up three figures, though if Essex were feeling confident at half-time, they quickly found themselves up against it.
Johnson bowled both openers Poole and Tilly Callaghan, Shayna Chikhlia did for Amu Surenkumar and Jess Olorenshaw, both caught by Ariana Dowse, and Tulloch bowled Bella Howarth.
Added to Bird being run out by Storrar, Essex were left reeling at 51-6 in the 12th over and in need of a steadying force, though fortunately the precocious Johnson was on hand to provide it.
She was initially watchful, before the 16th over when, with the innings in need of a boost as Essex required 40 from 28, she counter-attacked against Mary Briscoe with two boundaries in three balls.
Berkshire remained hopeful as they picked up a seventh and an eighth wicket with Lily Bowlby responsible for both, first bowling Katherine Speed before Sally Chapman was caught by Muttitt.
However, Johnson remained on course, and thanks to her final two fours from the first two balls of the last over, Essex were able to cross the line with just enough to spare in the tank.
