Sunrisers 116 for two (Scrivens 63*) beat Western Storm 114 (Wraith 42, Hancock 3-15, Grewcok 3-28) by eight wickets
Seamer Hancock took 3 for 15 in 5.4 overs and teenager Grewcock bowled unchanged for 10 overs to return spectacular figures of three for 28 together with her legbreaks as Storm had been dismissed for a completely insufficient 114 in 30.4 overs.
Offspinner Mady Villiers weighed in with 2 for 36, whereas Esmae MacGregor took a wicket and contributed a run out as Sunrisers produced a disciplined efficiency within the subject after successful the toss. Solely Nat Wraith provided significant resistance with the bat, top-scoring with 42 as Storm opened this marketing campaign as they completed the final, by struggling heavy defeat.
Victorious of their last 4 matches of final season, Sunrisers have picked up the place they left off and can go into their subsequent match towards Thunder at Sale in assured temper. For his or her half, Storm have now been overwhelmed of their final 5 outings within the 50-over competitors and might want to discover enchancment forward of their journey to play Northern Diamonds at Headingley on Wednesday.
Put into bat, Storm had been unable to recuperate from the lack of early wickets and had been shot out inside 31 overs, solely three batters managing double-figures in an innings which the house facet will little question need to overlook in a rush.
Hancock produced a probing new-ball spell to take away Alex Griffiths for two, however fellow opener Sophia Smale responded in optimistic vogue, serving to herself to a few leg-side boundaries to advance her rating to 16. Calamity then struck, Smale clipping Villiers behind level and setting off for a fast single, solely to collide with associate Sophie Luff midway down the monitor and be run out by MacGregor whereas getting again to her ft.
That unlucky mishap sparked a dramatic collapse which noticed 5 wickets fall in simply 8.1 overs as Storm subsided to 64 for six, their high and middle-order batting undermined by spin. Luff performed and missed at a supply from Grewcock that nipped again and was adjudged lbw for 7, whereas Dani Gibson was additionally undone by the England Below-19 legspinner, enjoying again to a ball that struck her on the pad and departing for 3.
Plying her offbreaks on the different finish, Villiers trapped Katie Jones within the crease after which struck a telling blow, inducing former England worldwide Fran Wilson to drive straight to Jo Gardner at mid-on. Wilson had made 18 and together with her went Storm’s finest probability of posting a aggressive whole.
Fearing she may run out of companions earlier than she was capable of do something to treatment a parlous state of affairs, Wraith adopted a forthright strategy and dominated stands of 24 and 26 with Niamh Holland and Amanda-Jade Wellington for the seventh and eighth wickets respectively. However Holland finally provided a return catch to MacGregor and Wellington miscued a drive to additional cowl as Grewcock continued to deploy intelligent variation in flight to strike once more in her last over.
Trying to take issues into her personal arms, Wraith plundered half a dozen boundaries in carrying the struggle to the Sunrisers bowlers, her luck lastly working out when she hoisted a ball from the returning Hancock to deep midwicket. Her combative innings of 42 spanned 52 balls and a minimum of enabled embattled Storm to understand three figures.
Hancock required simply 4 deliveries to wrap-up the innings, having Chloe Skelton caught on the wicket, the seventh Storm participant to perish both in single figures or with out scoring.
Caught between a rock and a tough place, Storm’s bowlers did their utmost to construct stress and new abroad recruit Wellington supplied a silver lining when gaining an lbw choice to take away Ariana Dowse with the rating on 21 within the eighth over. Making a very good first impression on her debut, the Australian worldwide spinner completed with 1 for twenty-four from 9 overs and discomfited the top-order batters sufficiently to recommend she goes to make a optimistic impression in Storm colors this season.
However the implacable Scrivens overcame all makes an attempt to unseat her, enjoying a captain’s innings to make sure her group reached their goal with out enduring any undue dramas. She discovered the proper associate in Griffith, who adopted the function of chief assist in an innings of 28 that spanned 48 balls and included a quartet of fours earlier than she holed out to Holland within the deep off the bowling of Skelton.
Unperturbed by that setback, Scrivens went to 50 through 65 balls together with her ninth 4, a fluent cowl drive plundered on the expense of Griffiths. Maybe fittingly given her efficiency with the ball earlier, Grewcock hit the successful runs as she completed unbeaten on 15.
