Sunday 13th July saw the Women’s 1st Team in the final set of T20s as we travelled to Marlborough College to face 2nd placed Wiltshire.
Game 1 saw Wiltshire bat first and Berkshire got off to a good start removing the Wiltshire opener in the 2nd over off the bowling of Mary Briscoe. However, Wiltshire then came back strong accelerating to 48/1 at the end of the powerplay. The home side continued to build off the powerplay reaching 97/1 after 11 overs. However, a double wicket maiden from Shayna Chikhlia (2/26) started to slow the rate and the bowlers were able to create a bit more control. Wiltshire ended the innings on 163/5 which with short boundaries to target and an excellent batting wicket felt a chasable total.
The powerplay set a positive platform in the run chase, finishing 46/1 with Shristi Patil (46) taking advantage of the final over of the powerplay, striking 5 boundaries to take 20 runs off the over. This left it neck and neck at the end of the powerplay. However, after the powerplay finished, the boundaries dried up and the batting unit struggled to access the boundaries regularly to the shorter parts of the ground. The innings would come to a close on 131/6 with Wiltshire picking up a 32 run win.
CLICK HERE for Game 1 Scorecard & Highlights
Game 2 saw Wiltshire bat first again and got off to a flyer in the powerplay reaching 55/2. Another wicket just out of the powerplay meant the side had got through the top order who had done the damage in game 1 and after 8 overs were in a strong position at 63/3. The bowling unit was able to control the runs off the bat in the 2nd half of the innings with all the batters restricted to around a run a ball. However, for the first time this season, the extras helped the scoreboard continue to move forward, bowling 25 wides compared to just 7 in game 1 which meant we struggle to build pressure. This meant the side were chasing 153 rather than a score close to 120/130. Lily Bowlby finished the pick of the bowlers with 2-20 (4).
The top order got us off to a good start reach 42/1 at the end of the powerplay and 62/1 after 9 overs with two set batters. However, 3 wickets in the next 6 balls saw us fall to 68/4 at the end of 11 overs. Poppy Camplin (24) & Shristi (46) were able to stage a bit of a rebuild but wickets then continued to fall and the side were unable to keep up with the rate. The Wiltshire bowlers bowled with good control and made it difficult for our batters to score freely. The innings finished on 118/8, with Wiltshire securing a 35 run win that saw them qualify for finals day.
CLICK HERE for Game 2 Scorecard & Highlights