Somerset sealed a remarkable victory over Surrey in the opening round of the Women's One-Day Cup at Beckenham today (April 23), in a thrilling finish which saw Amanda Jade-Wellington crunch six consecutive boundaries.
Amanda Wellington stars in thrilling chase for Somerset
Wellington came to the crease with just two overs left in the rain-shortened game, after Charlie Dean was out trying to clear the ropes as Somerset's required rate climbed. At that point, Somerset needed 32 runs to win, with Surrey's 243-run first-innings total reduced to 237 on DLS.
Wellington came to the middle to face-out Ryana MacDonald-Gay's penultimate over of the innings. She was brought onto strike for its third delivery and placed a short ball beautifully down to the backward point boundary for four. She repeated the trick off MacDonald-Gay's next delivery, steering the ball slightly squarer this time, before playing an identical shot to the fifth delivery of the over. The equation for Somerset by that point had reduced to 19 off seven.
Coming round the wicket for the final ball of her over, Wellington maneuvered MacDonald-Gay into the off-side again to pick up her fourth consecutive four. With 15 now needed off the final over and Fran Wilson on strike, Alice Davidson-Richards, who had dismissed Heather Knight earlier in the game, came on to bowl. Wilson found a four off her first delivery, cutting the ball square past a diving Danni Wyatt-Hodge. A single down the ground from the next delivery brought Wellington back on strike with 10 to win off four.
Match 2, Surrey Women vs Somerset Women
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Yet another boundary into the off side came from Wellington's bat, again through the backward point region, which was followed by a sixth consecutive boundary, this time stepping across to hit behind square on the leg side. With two balls remaining, the equation now read just two runs needed.
After a long conversation between Wellington and Wilson, Wellington stepped across her stumps once more to Davidson-Richards, but was only able to get a deflection of her pad to the keeper behind. Wilson was already halfway down the pitch, however, calling Wellington through for a single. It was a single that nearly ended in disaster, as keeper Kira Chathli's throw missed the non-striker's stumps by a whisker with Wellington well out of her ground.
With the scores level, Wilson sealed the victory with a four carved over deep midwicket, the Surrey fielders reeling at how quickly the game had slipped away from them. Two overs before, Somerset had needed 32 off 12 when Wellington came to the middle.
The result is also an upset in the first round of the new women's county competition, with Surrey tipped as firm favourites beforehand. Earlier in the game Davidson-Richards had hit a half-century, before former England captain Knight had hit a stroke-laden 64 in her first game since the disastrous Ashes Test. Surrey, Essex and The Blaze all sit on no points in the One Day Cup table after opening round losses.
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