The Blaze secured a domestic treble by beating Hampshire in a final-ball thriller. Emma Jones hit an unbeaten 34 from 25 balls for The Blaze and scored the winning runs off the final ball of the match in Southampton. Tammy Beaumont and Georgia Elwiss recorded half-centuries against Hampshire, a team for whom Ella McCaughan top-scored with 78.
The match tightened from needing 17 from the last two overs to two off the final ball. It was a thriller, and The Blaze won it.
The Chase of 252
The Blaze were after 252, and Sarah Bryce and Beaumont made short work of the bowlers for 15 overs, putting on 95 with relative ease. Wellington then changed the course of things by seeing off both Bryce sisters in an over — Sarah was caught at deep square before Kathryn was superbly caught at slip.
Beaumont and Elwiss kept things moving. The former England opener had luck on her side — she was dropped three times and also made it through a stumping chance. But her fortune finally ran out when she was given out lbw to Wellington, which triggered three wickets to fall in 26 balls.
Gordon was the next to be caught, which left 17 free to bowl the last two overs. Jones then took the sting out of things.
A ridiculous reverse pull and a straight drive were both sent to the boundary. Even after a run out with the third ball, Jones led her side to victory with a swept four off the final ball of a nerve-filled match.
Hampshire’s Total
Before, Ella McCaughan and Freya Kemp each crossed fifty in their innings while Hampshire were limited to 251, with Lucy Higham contributing 4-49 to the effort.
After winning the toss, The Blaze kept the early pressure on, letting only 11 runs in for their first five overs through Grace Ballinger and Charley Phillips. Hampshire’s opening pair, Maia Bouchier and McCaughan, gradually began to change the course of the innings with a partnership of 84 runs.
Bouchier, who was dropped on a duck, could not make it three centuries in a row when she holed out to long-on before Georgia Adams slapped straight to mid-off shortly afterwards — both to Higham. McCaughan had no trouble with the ball, confidently pinging it around for her first fifty since June.
The home side went quiet while McCaughan and Kemp took control of the middle part of the innings with a 67-run partnership, and were 166-2 in the 32nd over. However, The Blaze saved their best work for the end, pulling the match back.
The spinner added wickets three and four of the afternoon by having Kemp stumped and Naomi Dattani brilliantly caught by Kirstie Gordon at mid-on. Since her return from The Hundred, Higham has taken 14 wickets in eight matches — with this 4-49, her third four-for in that span.
Phillips dismissed Rhianna Southby, Abi Norgrove and Amanda-Jade Wellington in a single spell of three overs, and Hampshire’s total was restricted, reaching only 251.
Why This Is a Treble
The Vitality Blast and Vitality T20 County Cup were already in the Blaze’s possession, and they had lifted both of them. This season, they had three trophies to their name, and they had earned every one of them.
The match tightened from needing 17 from the last two overs to two off the final ball. Jones scored the winning runs off that last delivery.
- The Blaze won the toss
- Hampshire were restricted to 251 through Higham’s 4-49
- The chase was 252, and The Blaze reached it off the final ball
- Jones hit 34 off 25 balls and scored the winning runs
It was a hard-fought match from start to finish. The Blaze found themselves needing just 17 off the final two overs before going on to require two off the very last delivery. Jones responded with a ridiculous reverse pull and a straight drive, both of which carried her side to the boundary. Even after a run out with the third ball, she managed to bring her team to victory with a swept four off the final ball.
The Numbers Behind It
- The Blaze had already won the Vitality Blast and Vitality T20 County Cup
- The final was played in Southampton
- Emma Jones was unbeaten on 34 from 25 balls
- Tammy Beaumont and Georgia Elwiss both recorded half-centuries
- Ella McCaughan top-scored for Hampshire with 78
- Lucy Higham took 4-49 and has 14 wickets in eight matches since The Hundred
- Charley Phillips dismissed Southby, Norgrove and Wellington in three overs in a row
- Jones scored the winning runs off the final ball
Until the final over, when Jones stepped up to bat, the chase never actually appeared safe. The win gives The Blaze a domestic treble.
See the video the story is built around at Sky Sports.
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