Heroic team effort sees Lancashire overcome The Blaze in gripping semi-final

Lancashire (241/6) beat The Blaze (236/9) by 5 runs

In the most thrilling of finishes Lancashire found a way to win against a Blaze side who seemed to be cruising to victory until the very end of a tense seesaw of a match at Trent Bridge. 

Put into bat on an overcast morning, Lancashire seemed to cope well with the early swing and movement of the ball, Alice Clarke and Gaby Lewis safely negotiating the first five overs, despite playing and missing constantly outside the off stump as Grace Ballinger and Cassidy McCarthy tested and tempted Lancashire’s openers.

Lancashire’s luck was not to last, however, as in quick succession Lewis lost her middle stump to McCarthy, then Smale made a terrible hash of hooking a shorter ball from the same bowler and was caught at mid-wicket by Michaela Kirk, and finally Fi Morris feathered an edge to Sarah Bryce from the left arm pace of Grace Ballinger. 

With the score at 29/3 and Lancashire’s skipper and Ellie Threlkeld prematurely arriving at the crease, it was definitely time for a reset. Watching the carnage from the non-striker’s end was Alice Clarke. The elegant 24-year-old left hander, who has spent the last five seasons with the team from Old Trafford, but has only ever played a handful of games, suddenly found herself in an unfamiliar situation. Lancashire needed her and Threlkeld to preserve their wickets in quite hostile, bowler-friendly conditions. And so she dug in, spending the next nine overs defending and nudging singles and the occasional two before, sensing the need to push on the score, she succumbed to temptation and launched a short ball from Prendergast straight to Cassidy McCarthy at deep square leg.

The short ball was used by The Blaze bowlers with noticeable regularity. The deceptively quick Prendergast and the obviously quick McCarthy regularly dropping short and finding a startling variety of elevation from the resulting bumpers, some going over the batter’s head, some barely getting over the stumps on a rather tired-looking end of season pitch.

Ailsa Lister, one of eight representatives of the Celtic nations on the field today, joined Threlkeld in the 18^th over for what became the defining partnership of the match. For 30 overs these two defended and counter-attacked, at times riding their luck (Lister was dropped twice), but gently accelerated the innings, scoring 15 from their first 6 overs, 48 from their first 10 overs, 95 from 20 overs and finally 166 from 30 overs. It was skilful and patient, but rarely spectacular. A treat for purists who love the drama of the game to unwind gradually over hours and days rather than the instant gratification of shorter forms of the game. 

One key theme of the day was the amount of runs that the batters had to physically run. A slow pitch with unpredictable bounce plus the boundary rope extended to its full circumference at Trent Bridge meant that fours were few and far between and no sixes were hit at all. For example, Ellie Threlkeld hit only four fours in her entire innings, during which she faced 128 balls. 

The Blaze’s bowling strategy was curious. Grace Ballinger was expensive – her 10 overs going for 63. Cassidy McCarthy was much more effective, but she only bowled 7 of her 10 over allocation. Blaze’s best bowler by some distance was the magnificent Orla Prendergast who took one wicket for 26 from her 10 overs – by some distance the most economical bowler of the match. Georgia Elwiss bowled really well a week ago against Durham, but was not used at all today. One can only assume there is some sort of injury.

Going into the final three overs, Threlkeld and Lister’s rescue mission was almost complete. All that remained was for them to finish the innings in style by both bringing up their centuries. Lister reached 96 before using her feet once too often against Kirsty Gordon and finding herself stumped. Threlkeld, needing to keep the strike in the penultimate over to give herself the chance of three figures was run out for 92. Kate Cross and Darcey Carter faced the remaining balls of the innings, helping Lancashire to 241/6. It was not a great total, but for much of their innings even reaching 200 seemed unlikely. Could they defend it? It seemed highly improbable.

The Blaze’s innings followed a strangely similar pattern to Lancashire’s. The first few overs negotiated well before Sarah Bryce lost her leg stump to Mahika Gaur. Boyce and Prendergast followed soon after, both dismissed in the same Cross over. Suddenly it was The Blaze who were in trouble on 37/3. Then came their big partnership. Just as Threlkeld and Lister had batted 30 overs, so Georgia Elwiss and Kathryn Bryce batted for even longer - 32 overs. But here is the crucial difference: Lister’s strike rate was over 100, Elwiss’s strike rate was 64. So crucially, the 32 over partnership for the Blaze was worth 150 runs, but the 30 over partnership for Lancashire was worth 166 runs. Bryce and Elwiss dawdled through the middle overs when they should have been accelerating. And the bowler who caused them the most difficulty? Hannah Jones.

Jones is one of the most overlooked and under-rated bowlers in county cricket. The left arm spinner’s appearances for Lancashire have been restricted somewhat this season, but she can be frightfully economical and takes the wickets of impatient batters in the middle of an innings. Her 0/36 from ten overs was classic Hannah Jones – easy to overlook, seemingly insignificant, but probably the difference between the two teams.

When Elwiss was out, caught by Jones from the bowling of Fi Morris, The Blaze required 50 runs from 52 balls.

Suddenly, Lancashire scented an opportunity and The Blaze began to panic. Marie Kelly and Michaela Kirk, both specialist batters, came and went, contributing 5 runs and eating up 14 deliveries between them. The equation was beginning to look startlingly awkward for the Blaze, who only a few minutes previously had been cruising to victory. Having hit only 17 runs from 5 overs in the death phase, and Lucy Higham now also dismissed, lbw to Cross who claimed her 3^rd victim, the Blaze needed a minor miracle. With Kathryn Bryce at the crease, who had by now got a century, there was always a chance. Fi Morris bowled the 48^th over and went for 14 runs, Kate Cross bowled the 49^th and went for 10. As we entered the final over, only 9 runs were required – two big hits would win it for The Blaze.

The second ball of the final over, Bryce went for the big hit. The ball dropped into the hands of Ailsa Lister at mid-off and Bryce was dismissed for 124. New batter Cassidy McCarthy was dismissed first ball. Kirsty Gordon and Grace Ballinger could only scramble three singles from what remained of the final over. Lancashire had won an extraordinary game by 5 runs. 

A wonderful achievement for Lancashire, but a bitter disappointment for The Blaze who must be very annoyed to have let go of such a dominant position.  Blaze had the top scorer of the match and the bowler with the best bowling figures and yet lost. Ailsa Lister’s innings was the contribution that set up the win for Lancashire in what has become a breakout season for the Scotland international.

Lancashire go on to the final in Southampton on Sunday where they will face either Hampshire or Surrey.