Womens Hundred Leeds Sundrisers v Welsh Fire at Headingley

Neil ~Whitaker reports

SUNRISERS Leeds closed the gap between them and Manchester Super Giants who they play on Tuesday at Emirates Old Trafford  to two points after they beat the Welsh Fire by six wickets with 26 balls to spare at Headingley.

Despite the ease of their victory the Sunrisers had a scare when they started their chase.  Sunrisers lost opener Bryony Smith to the first ball of their chase when she hammered Grace  Potts  to Grace Thompson at mid-on who  took a great catch leaping to her right.

Smith’s opening partner Phoebe Litchfield top scored for the Sunrisers with 55.  On 19  the slow left arm spinner Sophie Smale to cover and was dropped. She glanced Heather Graham off her legs through  backward square leg to get another boundary.  She swept Smale over the fine-leg boundary to bring up the fifty partnership with Lauren Winfield-Hill.  The partnership was broken when Winfield-Hill moved across her stumps to sweep Smale and was bowled.

Litchfield cut  Orla Prendergast to the cover boundary and lofted her over the long-on boundary for a six.  She reached her fifty off 22 balls. Her innings ended when the Sunrisers were 31 short of victory.  She danced down the pitch to Welsh Fire captain Georgia Wareham, got a leading edge and the ball looped to Graham  at cover.

Freya Kemp said: “When Litchfield  is in that mood it is  hard to bowl at her.  She is an amazing batter. “

Annabell Sutherland pulled Prendergast to the cover boundary.  She repeated the shot to Smale but this time she found Graham in the deep mid-wicket boundary.

Put into bat  the Welsh Fire  made 121 in their 100 balls with  Kemp top scoring with an unbeaten 72 from 45 balls as she made Sunrisers  Leeds pay for dropping her twice  and they also dropped  another two chances.  Her 72 was her highest score in the hundred.

Kemp was dropped on six when she drove  Cassidy McCarthy to mid-on.  She blasted Kate Cross to the long-on boundary. Her second life came when she was 60 when she was  dropped on  the extra cover boundary off Deepti Sharma.

She said: “It’s a tough result to take but we did well to get to 120.  We  thought that we could defend it but  it’s a hard place to defend. We’ve  lost a few tight games in this tournament but we went to finish on a high at Cardiff on Wednesday.”

She drove Jess Jonessen over the long-on boundary for a big six.  Kemp blasted Sutherland for another six over long-on but this wasn’t so big.  Just for  good measure she finished the set by hitting a straight six.  

The Welsh Fire lost their first wicket when Sarah Bryce walked across her stumps to Cross and was leg before in the second after the first set of five balls bowled by McCarthy consisted of four wides.

Their innings was in danger of falling apart when they lost  five wickets for 22 runs in 21 balls. Georgia Voll became the second leg before victim to one that pitched on leg stump and was hitting it.

Wareham swept Hannah Baker to  Litchfield on the mid-wicket boundary who dived to her left to take the catch.  Three balls later Prendergast was beaten by the turn of Baker and was bowled. Two balls later Graham was dropped on the long-boundary before she had scored.  That drop didn’t prove too expensive as she only made seven before she pulled Sharma to Cross who took a tumbling catch at mid-wicket.

Thompson glanced Surtherland off her legs to Cross  at short fine leg and was all through for  a single by Kemp.  Thompson hesitated and couldn’t beat Cross’ throw to Sutherland at the bowler’s  end. Niamh Holland top edged a sweep off Baker  but was dropped on the square leg as dived forward and the ball ran to the boundary.  She was eventually out  bowled around her legs by Sharma.

For the Sunrisers Leeds Sharma took three wickets for 13 in her 20 balls and Baker’s two wickets cost her 25 runs in her 20 balls.  Sharma said: “As a group we are  growing in confidence after winning our last four games. Now we just need a win against Manchester on Tuesday to get us to the eliminator.”

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