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Varun Shetty06-Jul-2019

India A fired a warning to England Lions and West Indies A ahead of the forthcoming tri-Series with an emphatic victory over an ECB XI

ECB Reporters Network17-Jun-20182:25

‘Important to play close to the body in England’ – Shaw

ScorecardIndia A fired a warning to England Lions and West Indies A ahead of the forthcoming tri-Series with an emphatic victory over an ECB XI in the first game of their tour at Headingley.India A, coached by Rahul Dravid, had been due to play Yorkshire, but the ECB put together alternative opposition from county cricket because of Yorkshire’s progress in the Royal London One-Day Cup.India A fielded a team including three players with senior international experience and plenty of others who have made an impact in the IPL, and they quickly adapted to English conditions to post a total of 328 for 8 – then dismissed the ECB XI for 203.Prithvi Shaw, who captained India to victory in the ICC Under-19s World Cup in New Zealand earlier this year, set the tone with a sparkling innings of 70 from 61 balls including seven fours and three sixes.Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer, the tour captain who has made 12 white-ball international appearances, added half centuries at quicker than a run a ball, although the ECB XI did slow the run rate for periods with the Gloucestershire allrounder Ryan Higgins the pick of the attack, earning 4 for 50 from his 10 overs.Higgins had Shaw caught behind edging a drive to Alex Davies, the Lancashire wicketkeeper who was captaining the Board XI, and later in the same over bowled Hanuma Vihari off an inside edge.Sussex allrounder Delray Rawlins picked up the wicket of Vijay Shankar, chipping to mid-on where Surrey’s Will Jacks took the second of his three catches, having already snapped up Mayank Agarwal at backward point off Tom Barber.Rawlins then took two catches in consecutive balls to give Higgins his third and fourth wickets, following a simple take at long-off to dismiss Kishan with an acrobatic effort at mid-off to send back Iyer.Ollie Robinson and Jamie Overton each picked up a wicket in the closing overs, although the Mumbai Indians all-rounder Krunal Pandya kept up the attack with 34 from 28 balls including two sixes.The Indians were equally impressive with the ball, with their seamers especially relishing the gloomy conditions as the Headingley floodlights were switched on.Deepak Chahar had Davies flicking to mid-wicket, and a promising innings from the Gloucestershire opener George Hankins ended on 27 when he pulled Khaleel Ahmed to mid-on.Jacks hit two sixes before falling lbw to Axar Patel, a left-arm spinner who has played 38 ODIs for India, and the Derbyshire left-hander Ben Slater played some of the day’s best shots in making 37 from 38 balls before he edged Shankar behind.That turned out to be the second top score of the innings, behind Slater’s county team-mate Matt Critchley, who was ninth out for 40.Rawlins swept two boundaries off Patel but was bowled going for a third, Harry Finch was bowled by a beauty from Prasidh Krishna, and Higgins was run out after a mix-up with Critchley.Chahar, a 25-year-old seamer who was an IPL regular for Chennai Super Kings, polished off the last two wickets to end with 3 for 48.

The Australian coach is proud of his young team for forging a new identity and said Steven Smith is at the forefront of this change

Daniel Brettig29-Mar-2017Australia’s coach Darren Lehmann has lauded Steven Smith as “Bradman-like,” while confirming that the way the tourists pushed India to the brink of losing the Border-Gavaskar Trophy has set a marker for how the team intends to play from here on.The 2017 Australians were not the team of snarlers who wrested the Ashes back from England in 2013-14, but nor were they the uncertain group who stumbled in Sri Lanka and in the early weeks of the home season last year. With the help of Lehmann and his support staff, Smith’s men were well prepared and studious, while for the most part offering the sort of example that Cricket Australia’s game growers can be comfortable with.Lehmann said Smith had been the exemplar of this, from his prolific batting feats to the way he has led the team and conducted himself across the tour. A public apology for letting the emotions of a white-knuckle series get the better of him at times, certainly made for a sharp contrast with his opposite number Virat Kohli.

‘Australia is immensely proud’

David Peever, the Cricket Australia chairman, has said “Australia is immensely proud” of the efforts of Steven Smith’s team in India.
“Some gave them little chance of testing the world’s number one team, but instead showed resilience, adaptability and a determination to overcome the difficulties they have experienced in recent years in such conditions.
“There were many fine individual performances, but none better than those of the captain. Steve showed yet again what an outstanding leader he is becoming, and his honesty and gracious comments at the end demonstrated the qualities that Australians expect from their Test captain.
“It was a tough series, as we expected and indeed welcome from our Indian hosts. Cricket at this level is highly competitive, and it is incumbent on all involved, players and administrators, to honour the protocols and standards of behaviour that underpin the spirit of cricket.”

“He’s been brilliant. He’s been unbelievable. He’s been Bradman-like with the bat but all the stuff behind the scenes has been exceptional,” Lehmann said of Smith. “Really pleased for him and what he’s brought to the team as a leader. The way they’ve gone about it has been impressive.”They’re young, they’ve been up against it, the pitches have been as we would expect. There’s a lot of learning in this group over this tour. They’re all hurting and disappointed for the result but I’m really pleased with the effort and the attitude at trying to change the way we play here. He’s led from the front, the captain. Three hundreds in four Test matches is pretty special.”Looking ahead, Lehmann was adamant that at 27-years-old, Smith was more than capable of surpassing the likes of Michael Clarke, Ricky Ponting, Steve Waugh and Mark Taylor, not only as a batsman but also as a captain. “Yeah I think so. He’s a cricket nuffie; loves the game,” Lehmann said. “He’s passionate about the game, loves the game, loves his players.”He helps support staff out. Behind the scenes, he’s into it every day, making sure everyone is okay. He’s a different leader to Michael [Clarke], to Ricky, to Taylor, to Waugh. And he’s working out his own identity as a captain. Everyone is proud of him. So pleased with where he is going. He’ll just get better and better.”When Australia slumped to a fifth consecutive Test defeat in Hobart last November, the team performance manager Pat Howard indicated that Lehmann had to “reinvent” himself as a coach. It was a suggestion that Lehmann visibly bristled at, but five months on he agreed that he had changed his own methods in concert with Smith, as the pair forged a new identity for a young team that does not feature the old heads Lehmann first inherited.’He helps support staff out. Behind the scenes, he’s into it every day, making sure everyone is okay.’•AFP

“They have been excellent. There have been difficult conditions there is no doubt about it. They haven’t whinged once, they’ve been just getting on with the game,” Lehmann said. “They’ve copped a lot from Indian media and that’s just the way it is over here. I’ve been pleased the way they have handled it.”We have decided we are going a different way about the way we play. Obviously we’re less aggressive than we have been in the past. And I’m pleased with the way they have gone about it. The young group will grow. They will get better.”We weren’t good enough in this series, there is no doubt about that. We missed big opportunities to win the series. But if they keep learning and keep growing and keep getting better, it is a group that can play a long time together. That’s the pleasing thing.”Asked to ponder where this team was in relation to the side led by Clarke into the second bracket of back-to-back Ashes series four years ago, Lehmann said Smith’s men were building as a team, rather than looking to atone for a series of defeats to England. Australia had lost three Ashes series in a row up to that point.”I don’t think the group is at that stage. That group back then was right at that stage. I mean, they copped a lot for a few years so they wanted to give some back. This group is just playing a game of cricket,” Lehmann said. “I have actually changed a bit in my ways as a coach. I’ve really enjoyed watching the way they go about it. So, for them, they have had to work out the way they want to play as a group and I think it has been brilliant.”I think the other style was right for that group at the time but this group wants to play a different way and that’s okay as well. I think you have got to change as a coach, change as a captain, and players.””They know they are going to cop different decisions and different pitches and different conditions wherever they play, and they are just trying to get better. My son loves watching the Australian cricket team and I hope everyone’s son does.”

Lions left-arm spinner Aaron Phangiso has been reported for an illegal action following his team’s win against Warriors in the semi-finals of the Momentum One Day Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Feb-2016Lions left-arm spinner Aaron Phangiso has been reported for an illegal action following his team’s win against Warriors in the semi-finals of the Momentum One Day Cup on February 25.In accordance with the ICC’s regulations and Law 18 clause 2.25, Phangiso’s action will now have to be tested in “as soon as reasonably possible but, in any event, within 21 days of receipt by the Player’s Home Board of the notice.” He will be tested on Friday at the ICC-accredited High Performance Academy at the University of Pretoria. Fourteen days after that test, an ICC appointed specialist will furnish the body with written report which will determine whether Phangiso’s action is legal or not.Phangiso, who has played 16 ODIs and nine T20Is and has taken a combined tally of 29 wickets for South Africa, is part of their squad for the upcoming World T20 in India. The time frame for his testing means that Phangiso’s performance in the World T20 could be affected. Even if he is tested immediately, the 14-day period for the analysis would only conclude on March 10, after the first round of the tournament begins. Changes to squads are allowed until March 8, which may see South Africa’s selectors look for another back-up spinner to Imran Tahir.When contacted on Thursday morning, South Africa’s convener of selectors, Linda Zondi, was in a meeting and unavailable for immediate comment. It is likely him and his panel will consider another option to Phangiso. Eddie Leie, who has played two T20s for South Africa, could come into contention if he recovers from the hamstring injury which kept him out of the one-day cup semi-final in time.This is the third time this year Phangiso has made headlines. In mid-January it emerged that he had been prevented from boarding an international flight following South Africa’s ODI series win in India because he was drunk and disorderly and CSA had subsequently handed him an unknown sanction. This week, Phangiso had to apologise for being caught on camera pretending to sniff an unknown substance off his leg during South Africa’s T20 against England at the Wanderers. Phangiso was in the dug out and his gesture took place when South Africa were batting. He said it was a lighthearted joke but understood that in a country with a drug problem, it was inappropriate.

Heather Knight made her first Test century as England continued their dogged rearguard action well into the third day at Wormsley

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Aug-2013
ScorecardHeather Knight and Laura Marsh put on a record-breaking partnership for the seventh wicket•Getty Images

Heather Knight made her first Test century as England continued their dogged rearguard action well into the third day at Wormsley. Knight’s 157 from 338 balls was the seventh-highest Test score by an England woman and she was joined by the equally obdurate Laura Marsh in a stand of 156 – England’s best for the seventh wicket and one run shy of the Test record – that went a long way to staving off the threat of defeat to Australia.With six points on offer in these multi-format Ashes, the incentive to win was clear and evinced by Jodie Fields’ decision to declare with her team six down on the second day. But with the prospect of defeat coming at such a price – a draw will give each side two points – England have knuckled down in an attempt to make sure they don’t lose. Australia had extended their lead to 81 by reaching 64 for 1 by the close, making a draw the most likely result.Resuming on a perilous 172 for 6, still 149 runs behind, Knight and Marsh forged on in the same manner in which they had gone about their business on the on previous evening. The pair soaked up 73 overs of pressure before Knight was run out after being sent back looking for a single.Knight was dropped on 105, wicketkeeper Fields missing a chance down the leg side, but by then she had long-since surpassed her previous best innings, in her only other Test, of 19. She hit 20 fours in all and was particularly strong off her pads in making the third-highest individual total for England against Australia.Marsh, 13 from 114 balls at the start of the day, had progressed to 35 when she lost her partner and Katherine Brunt, who hit her first ball for four, went soon after. But Danielle Hazell stuck around for another 20 overs as Marsh went to her first Test half-century, eventually facing 304 balls for her 55. By the time Australia claimed the final wicket, Erin Osborne finishing with 4 for 67, the deficit was just 17.”I’m really pleased, I think when I went in we were pretty up against it,” Marsh said. “I was just really pleased to be able to hang in there with Heather and support her.”It was the job the team needed and I tried to stick in there and be disciplined with my decision-making. It was really helpful to have Heather at the other end for the vast amount of the time I was there because she just played brilliantly and we kept each other going.”I tried to be positive in defence and approach it that way and pick up runs when they became available.”With a slim lead and a potentially tricky couple of hours to negotiate amid rain showers, Australia’s openers began at a similarly watchful pace, reaching 40 before Jenny Gunn removed Rachael Haynes. First-innings centurion Sarah Elliott accompanied Meg Lanning safely to the close but it will take something special from the usually attacking Fields to force a result.

Graeme Smith believes his side can push for victory after battling through a difficult spell to post an ’emotional’ hundred in his 100th Test

Firdose Moonda at The Oval21-Jul-2012Graeme Smith is due to leave England before the second Test to attend the birth of his first child but, as he marked his 100th Test with a century, his wife, the Irish singer Morgan Deane, joked on Twitter that her waters had broken already.Smith, who will return in time to lead South Africa again at Headingley on August 2, laughed it off and said he tries not to read all her posts these days. “She’s very impulsive, I’m trying to calm her down a bit,” he said. “She’s been very supportive though, considering she is going to give birth so soon.”If there was doubt about Smith’s abilities as a batsman and leader, they have surely all been squashed. His 25th Test hundred was also his seventh against England, fifth in England and made him the seventh player to have scored a century on a landmark 100th Test.Having also brought up big scores on both South Africa’s previous tours here, combined with the fact that the team have never lost a Test when Smith has crossed the three-figure mark, his reputation is at its peak. The actual magnitude of what he has achieved hasn’t formed a solid memory quite yet but he is starting to grasp what significance it has.”It hasn’t really sunk in yet. It was kind of surreal at the time. A lot of thoughts and emotions went through my head,” Smith said. “It was a dream come true to come out and have the chance to do that. At one stage when Graeme Swann was spinning it past my bat, the hundred looked a long time away but once I fought through those tough times, it became a reality.”Smith said he expected a tough passage of play up front but knew that if he could see it through, there may be an opportunity to wrest control of the match. “It was a battle of attrition out there really,” he said. “There weren’t many scoring opportunities available to me so it was about being strong in my game plan. We expected that tactic from England this morning, that they would try and squeeze us as much as possible and cause us to make a mistake. We felt that if we could hold the game in that period of time we would be able to get a release somewhere.”After a cautious start, in which “the key factor was the way I left the ball this morning”, Smith and Hashim Amla took 72 runs off the 13 overs before lunch, which included Smith’s century. “When I got to 100, there was so many emotions: from the battle with Swann to knowing my wife is giving birth in three days’ time,” he said. “All those things were coming through. I don’t even think I realised how I was celebrating. It is a blank moment in my mind.”There is still work to do before he turns his mind to fatherhood. “The way we bounced back with the ball has been probably the biggest achievement of this Test match so far,” he said. “On day one, we were 50-50, we were solid without having an X-factor in our game. It’s so easy to let the game drift from that position and be playing the rest of the Test match under massive pressure but we were able to keep England under pressure.”Now, Smith wants to go for the kill. He has already considered South Africa’s strategy for closing out this match but was careful not to reveal too much. “I don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves. We’ve got two guys, Amla and Jacques Kallis, close to milestones tomorrow and I would love them to get there,” he said. “It’s been a difficult wicket to push on and score greater than three runs an over but if we set up a good base, hopefully we can do that.”Although Smith expects a tighter effort from England, he was bullish in his assessment of whether South Africa has what it takes to win. “We need to respect our opponent, they have the ability to bounce back,” he said. “But we want to have a chance to push for a victory. I believe we have the ability to win, if we set the game up right. If we give ourselves the chance to bowl out England, I believe we’ve got the armoury to do that.”David Saker, England’s bowling coach, called the pitch “subcontinental” and expects it to deteriorate, which could set the stage for the legspinner Imran Tahir to ignite his South Africa career. Smith was hopeful that would be the case. “It is quite dusty and quite dry. There is a turn available and it will be a good opportunity for Imran to get in,” he said. “His form looks pretty solid. I don’t want to put too much pressure on him but, on day five, if we are bowling for the win, he will have to play a prominent role.”

Nottinghamshire spinners Samit Patel and Graeme White shared six wickets on the
second day of their Championship Division One clash with Hampshire at the
Rose Bowl

21-Jul-2011
ScorecardNottinghamshire spinners Samit Patel and Graeme White shared six wickets on the
second day of their Championship Division One clash with Hampshire at the
Rose Bowl.Patel recorded figures of 4 for 43 as Nottinghamshire dismissed their hosts
for 213, Neil McKenzie the mainstay of the innings with an unbeaten 97. Three wickets from Chris Wood, who had earlier made 34, then left the visitors 35 for 3 at the close.After rain washed out the first day, Hampshire won the toss and elected to bat
in overcast conditions, but were soon made to regret their decision as a flurry
of early wickets fell.Liam Dawson was the first man to go, getting stuck on his crease to a delivery
from Charlie Shreck which kept slightly low and trapped him lbw for just six. Fellow opener Jimmy Adams, promoted into the captain’s role because of Dominic Cork’s unexpected absence, was the next wicket to fall, bowled off his pads by former England quick Darren Pattinson for seven to leave Hampshire 13 for 2.Michael Carberry went for four, edging Pattinson behind to give Chris Read a
regulation catch as his side slipped into real trouble at 26 for 3. McKenzie and James Vince temporarily steadied the ship, with Vince the fortunate beneficiary of two dropped catches.But as Hampshire nudged past 50, Vince finally fell, looping a catch to
Pattinson off the bowling of Patel. Sean Ervine was next up, but after battling for 44 balls, the former Zimbabwe Test player was dismissed for 14, edging left-arm spinner White to slip to leave the hosts 86 for 5 at the lunch break.The impressive and resilient McKenzie brought up his 50 and Hampshire’s 100
with a nicely-timed drive after lunch, before combining in a 51-run partnership
with wicket-keeper Michael Bates.But medium-pacer Steven Mullaney struck with the last ball of his first over,
dismissing Bates for 24. A brief shower brought about an early tea before some big hitting from Wood saw him and the McKenzie rack up a half-century partnership.But after two big sixes had advanced the youngster to 34 – just one run short
of matching his highest first-class score – Wood fell to a sharp slip catch by
Adam Voges off the bowling of Patel.McKenzie looked to be moving towards his second Championship century of the
season, but was left stranded on 97 after Danny Briggs and Imran Tahir fell to
Patel in quick succession and David Griffiths was dismissed by White.Nottinghamshire were soon in trouble themselves at the start of their reply,
Wood removing opener Neil Edwards (eight) and dangerman Alex Hales (two) in just
his second over.And he secured Hampshire’s first bowling point with his third wicket in a
devastating opening burst, bowling Rikki Wessels for seven to leave
Nottinghamshire struggling.

Having relinquished wicketkeeping duties in Test cricket, Brendon McCullum is looking to reinvent his role in the New Zealand side by moving up the order as an unorthodox opener in the longest format

Cricinfo staff23-Jul-2010Having relinquished wicketkeeping duties in Test cricket in order to ease the strain on his body, Brendon McCullum is looking to reinvent his role in the New Zealand side by moving up the order as an unorthodox opener in the longest format.”I wouldn’t play conventionally. There are a lot of aggressive Test openers around now. It’s probably something we haven’t really looked at,” McCullum told the in Wellington. “I’m not saying it’s going to work, but I’m going to give it everything I’ve got to try and make it work.”McCullum’s ambition is not without precedent – batsmen such as Virender Sehwag, Matthew Hayden, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Chris Gayle and Tamim Iqbal have reinvented the role of an opening batsman in Test matches with their attacking intent. McCullum has been a staple at the top of the order for New Zealand in the shorter versions of the game where he is recognized as a dangerous batsman, with averages of 29.01 in ODIs and 33.33 in Twenty20s at enviable strike rates. His Test record is less impressive with 2862 runs at 34.90 in 52 matches, most of the runs coming from the number seven spot.In recent times, the Test opening slots have been a major problem area for New Zealand, having tried 14 different batsmen at the top since 2005 without much success. They are likely to maintain the opening combination of Tim McIntosh and BJ Watling for their next assignment in Bangladesh. McCullum is not fixated on opening the batting and is confident of making an impact from the number three position too.”One, two or three are probably the same. I don’t mind where. It won’t be the stock-standard blunt the ball at the top of the order. I’ve got to stick to my strengths and if we’re totally honest it probably hasn’t worked in the past, the way we’ve been playing. Why not try something different?”New Zealand will be without McCullum’s services during the upcoming tri-series in Sri Lanka, also involving India. He will be missing from the starting line-up after 209 successive international appearances as he recovers from a clean-up surgery on his left knee. The break coincides with the birth of his second child.”The last time I missed a game was for the birth of my boy [Riley, in 2004]. This isn’t the reason I’m missing this tour but to have a girl and have an unbroken stretch in between is pretty cool,” McCullum said.

Kent prevail in final-over finish as hosts fall five runs short

ECB Reporters Network28-Jul-2024Rocky Flintoff became the youngest debutant in Lancashire’s 160-year history when he played against Kent in the Metro-Bank One-Day Cup but made just 12 in his side’s pulsating five-run defeat at Blackpool.Flintoff, who is 16 years 113 days old, faced 28 balls for his dozen runs before he was drawn forward by a legspinner from Matt Parkinson and stumped by Harry Finch. And the former Lancashire spinner Parkinson was Kent’s hero when he bowled last man Ollie Sutton in the final over to finish with 4 for 30 off 8.2 oversIt had seemed that Keaton Jennings’ third century at Stanley Park this season would enable Lancashire to get home but Kent battled ferociously hard to defend 209 on a tricky wicket and Beyers Swanepoel’s 3 for 26 off nine overs was another magnificent effort. Jennings finished unbeaten on 107 off 140 balls with 13 fours and a sixFinch had top-scored for the visitors with 48 and Jennings’ one-man effort revived his side after they been struggling on 96 for 5 in the 30th overKent managed only 46 runs in their ten powerplay overs for the loss of Swanepoel, who was caught at cover for 19 off Will Williams. Joey Evison and Ekansh Singh maintained this modest rate of progress until the 15th over when Evison was called for a single to mid-on by Singh and was run out for 22 by Jack Blatherwick’s accurate throw.Debutant Sutton then took a wicket with his first legal delivery for Lancashire when Singh attempted to cut a very wide delivery but only skied a catch to George Lavelle at point. However, Sutton’s joy was short-lived. Two balls later, he had to leave the field with a side strain.Sutton’s replacement, Josh Bohannon, bowled 5.3 tidy overs of offspin for 24 runs but left-arm spinner Charlie Barnard took the next wicket, his first in senior cricket, when Jaydn Denly lofted him to long- on and departed for a pleasant 32 that had included five fours.Moderately placed on 100 for 3 at the halfway point of their innings, Kent searched in vain for the substantial partnership that is so often concomitant with acceleration. Having made 24, Jack Leaning followed Denly’s example in lofting Barnard straight to Green, who then removed Charlie Stobo, caught and bowled for 5.Grant Stewart played on to Williams for nine and it was left to Finch and Parkinson to put on 33 in nine overs before Parkinson was run out for 19 and the innings ended in the 49th over when Green had Finch caught by Lavelle at deep midwicket for 48 and Nathan Gilchrist was caught by Jennings at point for 2. Green ended the innings with 3 for 38, Williams 2 for 41 and Barnard 2 for 47.Lancashire’s pursuit of 210 began poorly when Swanepoel removed both Bell, caught at slip by Stobo for 6, and Bohannon, brilliantly pouched by a diving Evison at cover for five, inside the first eight overs.Jennings and Balderson repaired the damage with a stand of 41 in 11 overs but any thought that Lancashire’s pursuit would be straightforward were removed when Stobo removed them both in the space of three balls to leave the home side on 65 for 4 after 19 overs.The Lancashire skipper then put on 31 in 63 balls with Flintoff and then 24 with Green before the Australian was leg before to Parkinson for 5. Jennings was then given stout support from Blatherwick, who lifted Kent skipper Leaning for two huge sixes, and the home side needed 47 off the final ten overs of a compelling contest.Swanepoel was recalled and almost immediately caught and bowled Blatherwick for 25 and Parkinson had Williams caught behind with 22 still needed off 26 balls. Lancashire needed 15 off two overs and Jennings then reached his century with a straight drive to reduce the target to ten off ten. But Barnard was run out for one and Sutton bowled second ball to spark joyous scenes among the visitors.

Jodie Grewcock fifty not enough as visitors breeze to small target

ECB Reporters Network01-May-2023Lauren Winfield-Hill maintained her remarkable Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy record with another commanding half-century to put Northern Diamonds back on track as they saw off Sunrisers by five wickets.The Diamonds opener passed 50 for the eighth time in her last 10 innings in the tournament to ensure the defending champions – defeated by Central Sparks on Saturday – responded with a comprehensive win at Chelmsford.Seam duo Lizzie Scott and Jessica Woolston laid the foundations with two wickets apiece before legspinner Katie Levick’s 3 for 23 ensured Sunrisers were bundled out for 157, despite Jodie Grewcock’s second half-century of the tournament.Winfield-Hill then top-scored with 51 from 43 balls and Bess Heath struck an unbeaten 32 from 25, as the visitors chased down their target with 21.3 overs to spare.Scott and Woolston, opening the attack after Diamonds had lost the toss and surprisingly been invited to bowl in overcast conditions, established control as they made the ball swing from the start. Woolston brought one back to uproot Cordelia Griffith’s off stump in her second over and then found movement in the opposite direction to clip the bails and pick up the prize scalp of Grace Scrivens for 11.Mady Villiers departed for a second-ball duck, clipping Scott to the diving Katherine Fraser at midwicket and, when Saskia Horley’s pull off Abi Glen flew straight to Hollie Armitage, Sunrisers were deep in the mire at 32 for 4.Grewcock and Jo Gardner dug in for a concerted rebuilding campaign during the middle overs, clawing their way back into the game with a spirited fifth-wicket partnership of 65. Gardner had just begun to open up, drilling Fraser back past the stumps for an isolated boundary, when she miscalculated a Chloe Tryon delivery and was bowled for 32 – after which Sunrisers’ innings hit the buffers again.Teenage left-hander Grewcock, having battled hard to complete her half-century from 91 balls, was then caught behind off the 93rd – the first of two wickets in three deliveries for Levick.Kate Coppack’s breezy unbeaten 16 at least hauled Sunrisers above the 150 mark before they were bowled out with four overs unused – but the total never looked like one they could defend with any degree of confidence.Winfield-Hill immediately set the tone for Diamonds’ response, slamming Coppack to the midwicket boundary twice inside the opening over as she and Sterre Kalis built a belligerent partnership of 53. Coppack’s luck seemed to be out, with Kalis edging her just over the stumps for four, and it was Sunrisers skipper Kelly Castle who eventually achieved the breakthrough, trapping the opener in front with a slower delivery.With Winfield-Hill striking the ball confidently and Armitage in no mood for caution, as she cracked Abtaha Maqsood to the rope three times in her first over, Diamonds appeared to be coasting towards their target.They were held up by Villiers, whose wily offbreaks brought her figures of 3 for 42 – the trio of victims including Winfield-Hill and Armitage, who until then had been highly effective against the slower bowlers in her knock of 30 from 32. However, Heath clubbed Villiers over long-on for the first six of the match – and then flayed the second off Eva Gray to seal Diamonds’ victory in style.