Ollie Stevenson and Charlie Gadd
The Blaze opened their Vitality Blast Campaign with a tense four-wicket win over Yorkshire Women at Trent Bridge, chasing down 180 with three balls to spare after Charlie Knott marked her debut with a brilliant 57 from 29 deliveries.
Set a challenging target after Yorkshire posted 179 for 5, The Blaze recovered from several pressure points in the chase, with Knott’s middle-over assault and Sarah Bryce’s unbeaten 28 from 17 balls proving decisive. Bryce held her nerve superbly at the death, hitting three boundaries in the final two overs, including the winning runs, to seal a strong opening win for the Trent Bridge side.
Yorkshire had won the toss and elected to bat on a sunny evening at Trent Bridge. Despite the good conditions, the surface showed signs of early-season grip after a wet week, suggesting spin would have a role to play. That proved true across both innings, though not before Yorkshire’s middle order had threatened to take the game away from The Blaze.
Charley Phillips opened the bowling for The Blaze, and, despite conceding 10 from her first over, struck early. Lauren Winfield-Hill was the first to fall, splicing a rising ball to Marie Kelly at mid-on for seven. Phillips then removed Erin Thomas in her next over, Thomas lofting to Kelly at mid-off without quite getting enough on the shot.
At 25 for 2 in the third over, Yorkshire were under early pressure, but Jes Jonassen and Sterre Kalis rebuilt the innings with increasing authority. Jonassen, arriving in strong form after three hundreds in her previous one-day cup innings, needed little time to adjust to the shorter format. She found gaps early, cutting one well through backward square leg, and then began to impose herself against spin.
Lucy Higham’s first over proved particularly costly, Jonassen reverse-swept consecutive boundaries, and reached her half century from just 28 balls, bringing up Yorkshire’s hundred in the same passage and putting The Blaze under real pressure.
Her innings ended one ball later, Phillips claiming her second wicket as Jonassen holed out to deep midwicket for 52, with Tammy Beaumont taking a fine running catch. The damage had already been done, however, with Jonassen and Kalis’s partnership adding 76 from 52 balls, turning Yorkshire’s poor start into a platform for a sizable total.
Kalis continued the rebuild, playing a composed hand of 47 from 40 balls. She added a further 46 with Ami Campbell, who contributed a useful 30 from 2, before Kalis fell to a sharp catch at extra cover of Kirstie Gordon. Campbell then followed at the end of the 18th over, slicing high as Phillips collected her third wicket
Phillips finished as the pick of The Blaze attack with 3 for 31 from her four overs, with Gordon’s 2 for 29 giving the home side important control. Knott was also notably economical on debut, going wicketless but conceding only 19 from her four overs.
Yorkshire still finished strongly, with Maddie Ward and Beth Langston adding late runs to lift them to 179 for 5, which is their highest score against The Blaze, surpassing their previous best of 146 all out.
The chase began with The Blaze needing nine as over, and they suffered an early setback when Tammy Beaumont was bowled by 17-year-old leg-spinner Holly Garton for eight. Beaumont, backing away to cut, played on to give Yorkshire the early breakthrough they needed.
Marie Kelly and Kathryn Bryce steadied the powerplay, taking The Blaze to 47 for 1 after six overs, but only two runs behind where Yorkshire had been at the same stage. But the chase tightened quickly. Kelly was stumped for 29 after coming down the pitch to Olivia Thomas, before Garton skidded on through Kathryn Bryce’s attempted cut to bowl her for 17. At 63 for 3, with the required rate climbing to double figures, the middle order would be crucial in giving The Blaze control of this game.
Charli Knott did exactly that, alongside Georgia Elwiss. The pair, who had previously played together at the Southern Vipers, added 57 from 33 balls, and dragged The Blaze back toward the required rate and prevented Yorkshire’s spinners from squeezing the game completely.
Elwiss made 20 from 17 before falling to a sensational boundary catch by Kalis, giving Garton her third wicket. The 17-year-old finished with an outstanding 3 for 23 from her four overs, an impressive spell that repeatedly threatened to swing the match firmly Yorkshire’s way.
But Knott kept The Blaze alive, bringing up a 27-ball half-century with back-to-back boundaries in an event Beth Langston over, immediately adding another four, before being bowled the very next delivery. It was a chaotic passage, but proved decisive. Despite removing Knott, the over had gone for 17, leaving The Blaze only requiring 23 from the final 17 overs.
Emma Jones then struck the final two balls of the over for four, ensuring the chase remained firming within reach. When the equation came down to 17 from the last two overs, Sarah Bryce took control, finding the boundary three times late on and ensured The Blaze did not waste the platform Knott had given them.
Jones fell in the final over, caught and backward point attempt to finish the match in style with only four required, but Bryce settled it moments later. A loose bit of Yorkshire fielding allowed the ball for four, sealing victory with three balls unused.
For The Blaze, this was a win with several layers of encouragement. Phillips continued her impressive start to the season, Gordon offered control through the middle overs, Knott delivered a match-shaping performance on her debut and Sarah Bryce showed the composure required to finish a tight chase. Yorkshire had enough runs to make it uncomfortable, and in Jonassen, Kali and Garton they had three of the game’s standout performers, but The Blaze held their nerve when it mattered.
Ollie Stevenson and Charlie Gadd
Featured Image courtesy of Ollie Stevenson. No changes were made to this image.
