Luff and Griffiths the stars as Somerset defeat Warwickshire

Somerset (297/6) beat Warwickshire (249 all out) by 48 runs

Credit: Somerset CCC

Warwickshire, fresh from chasing down 313 to win at Beckenham on Sunday, won the toss and asked Somerset to bat on a bright and crisp May morning at Edgbaston, clearly believing in their ability to surpass any total that Somerset could set.

Heather Knight and Emma Corney made a solid start for Somerset, stroking the ball around at four-and-a-half an over, willing to exploit the occasional loose delivery from George and Wong, but ultra-cautious against Em Arlott and Hannah Baker. Knight, such a formidable batter, looked in imperious form, wearing her trademark short sleeves and smiting the ball through the covers during the power play then rotating the strike judiciously as the morning progressed. 

Georgia Davis, Warwickshire’s captain, was giving the batters problems to solve with her occasionally funky field settings, utilising the fact she has some of the best fielders in the women’s game at her disposal. Katie George, Davina Perrin, Charis Pavely and Issy Wong were relentless in their running, diving and overall energy, meaning that batters had the choice of trying to thread the ball through tiny gaps or take the risk of hitting over the top or ramping over the keeper. The success of this strategy was evident: the run rate slowed to snail’s pace, Corney was dismissed caught, trying to hit over the ring and by the 33rd over, Knight was out attempting a ramp, clean bowled by Pavely.

Somerset were 154/2 going into the final 17 overs, heading for a total of about 250, which was very unlikely to win them the game. Something clearly had to change. That change came in the shape of two old school players. Sophie Luff and Fran Wilson are two of the most experienced players in English domestic cricket. They have careers that began in the amateur era and they demonstrated exactly what value experience can bring to the modern county game. Luff was nurdling her way to a 60 ball 50 when Knight was out and Wilson joined her at the crease. Immediately the tempo changed. Within another 39 balls faced, Luff had reached her century – she rode her luck at times – on at least a couple of occasions her outside edges went to the boundary rather than into the keeper’s gloves, but she and Wilson gave enough momentum to Somerset that by the end of the innings, with Luff not out on 111, Somerset had reached 297 runs, a total that seemed highly improbable at one point. Somerset had plundered 89 runs from the final 10 overs.

For Warwickshire, Arlott took four wickets, but they came right at the end, including two in the final over as Somerset threw the bat at everything, so her figures flatter her slightly. Hannah Baker was effective in the middle overs, but what would have been excellent figures were undermined by a couple of expensive overs late on and eventually she did not complete her full allocation. It was interesting to see Captain Davis in action. She seems to be the sort of captain anyone would be happy to play for: tactically astute, thoughtful and clear in her execution of plans and of a generally friendly and positive demeanour with her fellow players. She put herself on to bowl in the middle phase, but she only bowled six overs. I would have liked to see her trusting herself a bit more in this area. George bowled well after having a difficult game at Beckenham last weekend. Issy Wong was lively and caused batters problems from time to time, beating the outside edge with good balls. Ultimately, however, she didn’t take any wickets and was expensive. Good balls make up about 75% of her deliveries, but it is the runs she gives away from the other 25% which prevent her being a top international bowler at the moment.

Warwickshire’s innings began in blistering fashion. Sterre Kalis exploded out of the blocks with a series of exquisite cover drives as The Bears raced to 73/0 in the first 10 overs. The Netherlands international mirrored the assured, muscular confidence that Heather Knight had shown in the first innings as she pierced the covers time and again with beautifully timed drives. Abbie Freeborn was very happy to play the role of junior partner as she contributed 15 to their partnership of 77 for the first wicket. Freeborn’s departure saw the arrival of Davina Perrin. Having top-scored at Beckenham on Sunday, the 18-year-old was brimming with confidence. Like Kalis, she plays with an air and a posture that signifies she knows she belongs at this level and is destined for an even higher level. All these two needed to do was to keep batting at around five an over and Warwickshire would win.

Amanda-Jade Wellington, the wily Australian leggie with a rather unusual gait, was the one to break the partnership, with a classic leg-spinner’s trap, encouraging Kalis onto the back foot and then sending down her flipper to clean bowl the Warwickshire opener. George joined Perrin at the wicket and these two confidently put together a fifty partnership across the next 12 overs, with occasional expansive shots and plenty of rapid running between the wickets. All looked good for Warwickshire, at the 28 over mark, they were 24 runs ahead of where Somerset had been with two set batters in. However, this proved to be the turning point of the game, as five wickets were to fall in the next five overs and the heroes for Somerset were Chloe Skelton and Alex Griffiths – perhaps not the names one would have expected. 

23-year-old Skelton can be unplayable “on her day” – ask any Sunrisers fan as she took a five-fer against them last September, almost preventing them from qualifying for the semi-finals of the RHF trophy. However, it would be fair to say that the off-spinner’s “day” does not happen very often. 

22-year-old Griffiths is perhaps best recognised as one of the only Welsh players to play for Welsh Fire. Her bowling is what could most charitably be described as skiddy medium pace. She bowls it straight, wicket to wicket and very accurate. It’s possibly the most unspectacular bowling you could imagine.  Yet it absolutely flummoxed Warwickshire. Her eight overs produced two wickets for 20 runs. She was the key player in this game because it was the pressure she produced with dot balls that caused Warwickshire to fold.

Well, I say fold, but that is not telling the whole story. By the 36th over, Warwickshire were 179 for 8. Wong and Davis were batting, with only Baker to come. Any seasoned follower of cricket knows what happens next: the collapse continues and they are all out by the 38th over, giving the opposition a bonus point win. However, the fact that things did not play out that way should give Warwickshire a lot of hope for this season. Davis accumulated a run-a-ball 50 with some fine striking, including a six into the Hollies Stand. Wong batted sensibly and calmly. The pair added 70 runs in 13 overs. Not enough to win the game, but enough to frustrate Somerset and deny them the bonus point win. Once Knight was out, Davis’ next attempt to put the ball in the Hollies Stand resulted in Heather Knight catching her out on the boundary. Somerset won by 48 runs.

So, what have we learned from this game? Firstly, Somerset are contenders. They have made a very good start to the Metro Bank One Day Cup. They have lots of experienced players and a clear identity as a side. Sophie Luff and Fran Wilson give them a really solid base to their batting. Their issue going forward may be to do with their pace bowling and also how strong they will be when Dean and Knight are on international duty.

Warwickshire are a resilient and resourceful team. Their fielding is a massive strength and they have pace and spin options aplenty. Their issue is lack of depth in frontline batting. Katie George is batting one or two places too high at number 4. Having said that, their numbers five, six and 10 have all scored 50s this season, not to mention the 130 scored by their number seven. They really need Meg Austin to make the next step and turn her potential into high scores at the top of the order this season, as the on-loan Kalis is not always going to be available to them. They are unlikely to lose any players to international duty during the season, so they have a really good chance of making the semi-finals.