Match Review
Round 2 of the T20 County Cup saw Berkshire play host to Tier 2 side – Kent Women at Wokingham CC. A trip to Tier 3 side Cambridgeshire in the 3rd round had already been confirmed for the winner of the encounter.
Bowling first, Kent got off to a flyer but a wicket in the 2nd over from Freya Johnson saw off Kent’s no. 2. The introduction of Naaz Asif Iqbal in the powerplay once again saw Berkshire remove the dangerous Amy Gordon for 26 off 13. Kent finished the powerplay 52/2. During the middle overs, Berkshire were able to contain the Kent batters at 6 an over but were only able to pick up 2 wickets with Naaz (2/31) picking up a second and Lily Bowlby (1/19) delivered a tight spell off her 4 overs. With wickets in hand, the Kent batters were able to go hard at the end and put on 41 in the last 3 overs.
The chase didn’t get off to the best of starts with a wicket off the first ball of the innings. However, Shristi Patil (40) joined captain – Izzy Storrar (31) at the crease and were able to put on 74 runs as a pair in 10 overs. At the half way stage, this left Berkshire ahead on DLS. However, we then lost both set batters in the space of 4 balls which set the run chase back. Lily Bowlby (17*) would be the only other batter to reach double figures with the side eventually being bowled out for 115 in the final over.
While the result was not the one the team was looking for, the young side with 7 of the side still playing U18s cricket, put up an excellent effort against a strong Tier 2 side. The competition provided a great opportunity for our side to test themselves against a strong opposition and were able to demonstrate the talent within our squad. As put by Cricket Writer – Syd Egan (Crickether) in his match report “Berkshire were well short of their target but they had made a game of it […] they made sure that Kent knew that Tier 3 perhaps aren’t quite so far behind them as they (and to be fair, we) might have expected.”
Sunday’s loss now means the Women’s 1st Team have a few weeks off before we return in the 50 Over format against Wiltshire on Sunday 1st June at Sulhamstead & Ufton CC.
Mia Rogers – Durham Debut
Sunday also saw former Berkshire Cricketer Mia Rogers make her debut for Durham in Tier 1. Mia who came through our pathway and had represented the 1st team up until the restructure of the domestic game this winter, signed her first full time professional contract with Durham ahead of this season, having previously been involved with the Sunrisers set up. Mia was on the winning side, having batted at 5 with Durham chasing down 244 with 3 wickets to spare.