Lamb celebrates England recall with match-winning innings

Lancashire (276/8) beat Warwickshire (175 all out) by 101 runs

Photo Credit: Lancashire Cricket

Five wickets for Fi Morris and half centuries for Emma Lamb and the returning Sophie Ecclestone gave Lancashire a comfortable win at Edgbaston.

This has been an unusual season for Warwickshire. They started it with a tie against Hampshire, in a game they really should have won. In the five subsequent games, they had won two and lost three. When their top order has failed, they have won, when their top order has fired, they have lost. Their only centurion is their number seven batter, although those batting at 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8 and 10 have all scored 50s, but not Katie George, who bats number 4, but really isn’t a number 4 batter. 

Therefore it should have caused little surprise when they asked last week’s number 8 batter to open the batting for them today.

The truth is, Warwickshire didn’t manage to recruit an opening batter when the re-structure happened. They had lost Eve Jones to Lancashire from the old Central Sparks regional side and as a result, they are lacking a player who can anchor their innings. They have lots of players capable of scoring runs, but nobody who can stick around for 35 overs accumulating big runs when they are needed.

On another glorious May morning in Birmingham, Lancashire won the toss and decided to bat. Despite losing Eve Jones early on, lbw to Katie George, a wicket which provoked loud celebrations amongst the Warwickshire players, Lancashire dug in and accumulated runs efficiently enough in the first hour. Without appearing extravagant or flashy in any way, Emma Lamb and Katie Mack were judiciously hitting at five runs per over and remained securely at the crease for over 20 overs. The only time either of them erred was when Mack seemed insistent on trying out the ramp shot. This is a shot which she is clearly not very good at, as her four attempts resulted in four false shots and two concussion tests.

Em Arlott, about to receive a well-deserved England call-up, was bowling with rhythm and accuracy throughout this phase of the game, challenging both batters with her off-stump line and the occasional alarming short ball. It will be really interesting to see her bowling on the international stage later this month.

When Mack departed in the 23rd over, Lamb pushed on at a rate of a run a ball as her batting partners came and went at the other end. Now recalled to the England ODI side, Preston-born Lamb looked a class above any of the other batters on show today, timing the ball well and manipulating her shots cannily round the ground.

When Lamb was finally out for 88 in the 35th over, appearing to top edge a short ball from Wong to wicketkeeper Abbie Freeborn, Lancashire needed someone to step up and take the lead batting for the final 15 overs. Enter Sophie Ecclestone. With some convincing boundaries alongside some well-judged running between the wickets, she combined with her captain Ellie Threlkeld to add 91 runs in 14 overs, finally succumbing to a catch at long on by Bethan Ellis from the bowling of Em Arlott just after she had passed her half century. Lancashire’s 276 after 50 overs seemed about par, and we have seen much higher scores than this chased down already this season, so Warwickshire, even with their fragile top order, will have been pleased with their bowling efforts.

Within a few overs, Warwickshire could already perceive the difficulty of replying to this total. Kate Cross and Mahika Gaur appeared unplayable for the first half hour, constantly beating the bat and making Sterre Kalis and Charis Pavely struggle to make any impact, nudging the ball for singles and barely managing to score at three runs an over. All Warwickshire’s top four batters got in and got out, which is pretty much what has happened all season. Sophie Ecclestone managed to somehow drop a very simple catch from Davina Perrin, before completing a tremendous diving catch next ball to dismiss Kalis from the bowling of Fi Morris.

Although Gaur, Cross and Ecclestone are the England contracted players and all performed well today, the standout performance came from Morris. The 31 year old veteran of the various incarnations of women’s cricket domestic structures was the one bowler the Warwickshire batters needed to get after. Unfortunately for them, Morris is a wily old pro who can be awfully difficult to hit over the top. Kalis’s dismissal caught at mid off was repeated when Perrin hit out to mid on and Freeborn, also hitting to mid on became Morris’s fifth victim, after she had earlier clean bowled Katie George and Nat Wraith had been stumped.

So, the Warwickshire innings slowly petered out. Top scorer was Katie George with 35. Warwickshire did not reach the half way point of runs required until the 38th over, at which point they required a highly unlikely 138 from 12 overs. When Hannah Baker was caught by Eve Jones from the bowling of Emma Lamb, Warwickshire were all out for 175, still 101 runs short of their target in the 48th over. Having had a reasonable start to the season, things look quite difficult now for The Bears after three defeats in a row. As the Vitality T20 Blast begins at the end of this month, it’s probably a good time for them to re-group and re-set for the shorter format, which one senses may be their better chance of silverware this season.