Essex and Lancashire each claimed their first victories of the season within the Girls’s T20 Blast.
Wicketkeeper Lauren Winfield-Hill high scored with 42 from 25 balls as Essex set Somerset 150 to win at Chelmsford.
Somerset’s Ellie Anderson picked up figures of 3-19 off 4 overs which included the wicket of Essex captain Grace Scrivens with the seamer’s first ball of the innings.
Olivia Barnes took a surprising catch at sq. leg to take away Lissy Macleod, certainly one of two catches by Barnes, who was pressured off with a hand damage after the second and was unable to play any additional half.
Somerset stalled of their reply, and when Eva Grey’s in-swinger took skipper Sophie Luff’s off stump to depart them 29-4, the guests possibilities in tatters.
A fifth-wicket partnership of 25 between Fran Wilson and Alex Griffiths gave Somerset a quick glimmer of hope, however when Wilson fell to leg-spinner Abtaha Maqsood, the writing was on the wall for the guests.
Esmae MacGregor completed with career-best T20 figures of 4-8 as Somerset have been rapidly bowled out for 84, nonetheless 66 runs wanting their goal, with final batter Barnes unfit to take to the crease.
Lancashire Thunder bounced again from their seven-wicket defeat by The Blaze on Saturday with a gutsy 18-run victory over Durham at Chester-le-Road.
The guests placed on 140-7 of their 20 overs with captain Ellie Threlkeld top-scoring with 48 and Aisla Lister including 42 not out.
Durham’s run chase began effectively with Suzie Bates and Katherine Fraser placing on 61 for the primary wicket because the hosts went looking for a primary win of the marketing campaign.
However Thunder recovered within the second half of the innings, taking 9 wickets for under 61 runs.
4 wickets from Grace Potts (4-33) and two every for Sophie Morris (2-22), Sophie Ecclestone (2-24) and Grace Johnson (2-25) helped flip the match round for the Purple Rose.
