DEBRIEF: Women’s County Championship Div 2 – Knight In Shining Armour Keeps Berkshire Top

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Team Played Won Lost N/R Tied Points*
Berkshire 6 5 0 1 0 92
Middlesex 6 4 1 0 1 85
Essex 6 4 2 0 0 77
Devon 6 3 2 1 0 67
Wales 6 2 3 0 1 60
Somerset 6 1 5 0 0 48
Worcestershire 6 2 4 0 0 47
Durham 6 1 5 0 0 42

[* Bonus points for Berkshire and Devon on Play Cricket are wrong – these totals are correct!]

A huge century from Heather Knight kept Berkshire in pole position in Div 2, but Middlesex also won twice to set up a showdown between the two for the title next weekend.

Having beaten Durham on Sunday (full report here) Berkshire travelled to Wales on Monday, where 69 from Alex Griffiths helped set up a total of 232-9 – a target that looked an awfully long way off when Berkshire’s number 9, Millie Allerton, walked to the crease to join Heather Knight at 153-7. But Knight – in what was almost certainly her last match for the Beavers – drove on, eventually hitting the winning runs in the 48th over, as she finished with 159* off 125 balls, with Allerton still there on 17* at the other end.

Middlesex’s weekend began at Sophia Dunkley’s alma mater – Mill Hill School – where they hosted Somerset. For once this season, Dunkley was upstaged – she “only” made 54, as Cordelia Griffith took the limelight with 112 off 106 balls, as Middlesex posted 246-8. Somerset were then bowled out for 214 – Katie Wolfe cleaning-up the tail with a hat-trick at the end!

Dunkley and Griffith were then in the runs again as Middlesex defeated Devon by 8 wickets on the Monday (full report here).

These results mean that next weekend sees a de-facto “final” between Berkshire and Middlesex at Mill Hill, with the likelihood that the winner will top the division. (Though it is definitely mathematically possible for Berkshire to lose the match and still finish first due to the way bonus points work*.)

Elsewhere, there were 4fers for Anje Lague – 4-23 in Essex’s 65-run win versus Devon – and Emily Arlott – 4-25 as Worcestershire beat Somerset by 4 wickets; with Worcestershire leapfrogging Durham off the bottom of the table having also won in Wales.

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* E.g. Middlesex make 201-9 = Berkshire +4 for bowling; Middlesex +4 for batting; Berkshire make 200-2 = Berkshire +4 for batting; Middlesex +0 for bowling +10 for winning = Berkshire on 100; Middlesex on 99.