Jake Perry chats to Scotland Coach Steve Knox.

As seasons go, the first for Steve Knox as Head Coach of Scotland’s National Women’s cricket squad could only have been fashioned by Carlsberg. Since his appointment in March he has watched his side reach the ICC Global Qualifier for the first time as well as secure promotion to Division Two of the NatWest Twenty20 competition on the back of an unbeaten campaign. Oh, and led the German national men’s team into European Division One for good measure.

Today, having finished a session of junior coaching at the National Cricket Academy in Edinburgh at the start of the half-term holiday, the 42 year-old former Saltire is happy to take a moment to look back on what has been by any standards quite a year.

“I’m very pleased,” said Knox. “We’ve achieved what we set out to achieve. One of the targets at the start of the year was to beat Holland in the European qualifiers and we managed to do that.

“Realistically I knew that promotion in the [Royal London] One-Day competition was going to be difficult because we needed to prioritise and use those games to find out what worked and what didn’t, but we identified the opportunity to get promoted in T20. 

“For us to achieve those two objectives was fantastic, especially to remain unbeaten in the T20 competition. As a result we’ll be playing better teams week in, week out next year which is really important for us as we’re looking towards the next World T20 in 2018.” 

Knox took over a team buoyed by a strong performance at the Women’s WT20 Qualifiers in Thailand. Led by Abby Aitken, a youthful Scotland side had demonstrated that they could compete with the more established nations, eventually securing fourth place in what was their first appearance at a major global tournament. The potential in the team is clear and Knox initially focused on how best to harness it.

“Finding the right combinations on the field was the first thing that had to happen and I think we’ve managed to do that,” he said. “By the time July came around everyone knew their role in the top six and was pretty much carrying it out, which allowed us to score 200 plus the majority of times.” 

A well-balanced side in which responsibility is shared has been the key to success.

“Kari [Carswell] has been our main player for so long but to be honest for much of that time she was relied upon too heavily,” he said. “We were obviously very keen to move away from that situation and I think we’ve achieved that, we had four girls who scored over three hundred runs in all formats this year. 

“Kari still played a big role at number three in the one-dayers but the pressure was on her less compared to before which has to be good. 

“Kathryn Bryce has performed really well, she is a very important member of our squad who has taken on leadership responsibility as vice-captain too,” he continued. “She enjoys every challenge, she acknowledges it and then just gets on with overcoming it which is great. 

“Her sister Sarah has emerged to open the batting too – at sixteen years old to break into the team, get yourself established and then keep performing is a fantastic achievement. Ollie Rae also opened the batting for the second half of the season, she feels comfortable there and contributed on several occasions. Rachel Scholes, on the flip side, went down the order and found her niche at five, she’s a really dangerous player and a good bowler as well.

“We backed that up with a bowling attack that gave us a number of options,” said Knox. “If seam wasn’t working we could turn to spin, we have three good spinners who played a really important role against the Dutch in the fifty over games. Different options are always nice and it’s important that the responsibility is shared around. 

“I think the really exciting thing for me, too, is that the majority of the girls are aged between sixteen and twenty four, twenty five, so the next three or four years are very promising for us.” 

Development of the women’s game is one of the cornerstones of Cricket Scotland’s Strategic Plan, published in May. A significant growth in participation, together with a top twelve ranking for the international side, are clearly defined targets for the next three years. There is work to do to achieve this, but Knox feels that Scotland are on their way to doing so.

“We have to get a domestic structure which allows the best players to play each other reasonably regularly. We haven’t quite got that yet but it’s starting to get there. 

“One of the things we introduced this year was a regional competition. It involved two teams because I wanted strength to play against strength, I didn’t want it to be easy for anyone. Establishing that culture is really important within Scottish women’s cricket, it is saying to the girls that if you want to break into the national team this is the environment in which you need to perform, if you don’t you’re not just going to get in because you’ve played before. 

“If we can get into the habit of playing tough cricket and doing well in tough situations then hopefully that will carry into the international arena as well.” 

Reorganisation of the domestic league structure is also planned.

“Kari set up and developed the women’s national league over the past five years and moving forward we’re probably going to look to regionalise that as far as possible so that the girls who want to play recreationally are playing more locally. 

“Hopefully that will grow the domestic regional club leagues and allow the women’s game to keep developing because we don’t yet have anywhere near a wide enough base of players at the bottom of the pyramid.” 

Knox is also hopeful that the international fixture schedule may provide a boost to the profile of the Scotland side.

“We need the international team to play more against other international teams. I’m not sure how long it has been since the Wildcats played a home game against international opposition but it’s been quite a while. For our profile that needs to change, we need to play some games at home so that the girls and boys in Scotland who want to come and watch us can do so.” 

For now, though, all eyes are turned to Scotland’s next assignment at the ICC Global Qualifier. Victory over Holland in July secured Scotland’s qualification to the tournament in February and with it the chance to meet some significant opposition.

“It’s a fantastic challenge and I’m very excited about it. The girls went to Thailand for the World T20 Qualifiers last November but this one is going to be much tougher. The quality of the opposition, together with the local conditions, us coming out of the Scottish winter into temperatures which will probably be in the early thirties, all adds up to a real test for us.” 

But although their task could hardly be more daunting, Knox is relishing the opportunity for his side to spring a surprise.

“We’ve got three and a half really important months to get ourselves as ready as we can be. I don’t think there’s any expectation on us to qualify, we’re just going to go out there to give it our best shot. 

“Let’s see what happens!”

———————

Jake Perry is a freelance cricket writer. He writes regularly on Scottish cricket for Cricket Scotland, CricketEurope and CricIndex and has contributed to ESPNcricinfo and All Out Cricket. 

Twitter: @jperry_cricket / Facebook: Jake Perry Cricket

Guest writer Simon Pearson wades into the KSL-county cricket debate.

There has been much discussion recently about the future of the County Championship in the light of the KSL launch and its now-postponed extension into a 50 over format. Perhaps we should now be looking at how the County Championship needs to adapt in order to meet the demands of this new era in women’s cricket.

If the purpose of the County Championship is to act a training ground for the best and as a feeder to Team England (now maybe via the KSL) then, I would suggest, it is no longer fit for purpose.

The current County Championship regulations state that a player is eligible to play for a county if:

Martin Saxon reports from the Cheshire Women’s League Finals Day.

T20 Divisional Competition Final:

Appleton Tigers 94-6 (20; Emma Barlow 25ret, Lorna Starkey 2-13)

Chester Boughton Hall Deemons 96-5 (19.3; Starkey 25ret, Sammi Short 25ret, Kathryn Jackson 2-23)

The Cheshire Women’s League has been holding double-header Finals Days ever since 2008, but today went one better and staged three finals on the same pitch on the same day. The best was certainly saved for last as Western Division T20 champions Chester Boughton Hall sneaked past the target set by Eastern Division winners Appleton with just three balls to spare.

It was 13 year old Hannah Snape who finished the job by lofting experienced Appleton captain Nathalie Long to the midwicket boundary with both the second and third balls of the final over.

Appleton certainly posted a more than decent total batting first, with Emma Barlow getting them off to a good start, and Laura Jackson and Kathryn Jackson adding vital impetus later on.

Lorna Starkey got Chester off to a good start, and when she reached the retirement score of 25, she had scored almost all of the 30 runs that came in the first seven overs. But when two dangerous batsmen in Kate Coppack and Lauren O’Reilly fell cheaply, Appleton looked to be favourites.

Sammi Short, who had played second fiddle to the big hitters earlier on, then took charge and herself reached 25 before being forced to retire – by that stage she had reduced the runs required to single figures. Given that Short had earlier bowled three overs for just three runs, this was another young talent who played a significant part in the Deemons’ victory.

However, two wickets fell to run outs as the pressure mounted, Laura Jackson came back to bowl more miserly overs, and with the lower order at the crease and seven required from five balls, would Chester get over the line? Thanks to Snape’s final flourish the answer was a decisive Yes.

Scorecard

Chester and Appleton have of course met in finals on a number of previous occasions, and given the recent results in those matches, it was no surprise this went right to the wire. Only the first two resulted in decisive wins, and all the others have been genuine nailbiters:

2007 – Knockout Final – Chester won by 97 runs

2008 – Knockout Final – Chester won by 9 wickets

2010 – Knockout Final – Appleton won by 1 run

2010 – T20 Divisional Final – Appleton won by 5 wickets with 1 ball to spare

2012 – T20 Divisional Final – Chester won on faster run rate, after being 1 run ahead of where they needed to be when rain halted play

Senior Knockout Cup Final:

Oakmere Kats 34 (15.2; Lauren Smith 2-8, Hannah Jones 2-10)

Didsbury Swordettes 35-1 (8.5; Smith 17*)

Didsbury have made some formidable totals in T20 cricket this season while batting first, but here the job was all but done in the first eight overs of their bowling innings, as Oakmere imploded.

By the time Hannah Jones and Lauren Smith had taken their caps, having bowled unchanged for four overs each as the opening pair, Oakmere were 19-8. The two young Lancashire spinners had undoubtedly bowled well, with figures of 2-10 and 2-8 respectively, but Oakmere certainly contributed to their own downfall with four run outs.

Australia A all-rounder Smith then hit some fine shots to ensure the Swordettes’ brief run chase was successful.

Scorecard

Development Knockout Cup Final:

Leigh Lionesses 96-5 (20; Georgia Taylor 25ret, Emily Mason 3-9)

Bredbury Saints 73-6 (20; Alex Wilson 26ret, Sarah Perry 3-14)

Division three leaders Leigh retained the Development Cup – the knockout competition exclusively for teams from that division.

The only two experienced players in a very young Leigh side – Nicky Deane and Sarah Perry – fell cheaply, but from 24-3, Georgia Taylor and Rachel Downs batted superbly, rotating the strike well and running well between the wickets, to ensure Bredbury would need almost 100 to win. Emily Mason contributed excellent figures of 3-9 and Alex Wilson conceded just 11 in her four overs.

Abi Barlow and Wilson took the Saints to 28-0 after five overs, but once the first wicket had fallen, things turned Leigh’s way. Perry’s bowling spell then snuffed out any remaining threat from the Stockport side.

Scorecard

The League extends its thanks to Finals Day hosts Timperley CC and umpires Keith Wells, Steve Jackson and Graham Pugh, the last two of which were on the ground from 9.30am, an hour before the first match, until the close of the last match after 7pm.

Very few women’s club leagues offer this type of cup final experience. However the heart-stopping finale to Chester’s T20 Divisional triumph illustrated just how entertaining a Finals Day can be.

James Piechowski reports from the Ageas Bowl.

Result: Southern Vipers (156-4) beat Loughborough Lightning (97) by 59 runs

Both sides may have already qualified for finals day going into this match, but it was far from a dead rubber. The sizeable crowd that turned up on a hot Sunday afternoon in Southampton saw a superb display with bat and ball, and in the field, from the Southern Vipers.

It was still possible for either side to top the table with a win here (or, indeed, Western Storm to spoil the party with a big win of their own at Headingley against the Diamonds, in the event of a close game here). But in the end, the Vipers were not in the mood to let anything slip, and had too much for a Lightning side that may have been a bit unlucky with the bat, but gave probably their weakest display yet otherwise.

The Ageas Bowl pitch, slow as is often the case these days, had a tinge of green on it this time, and seemed to contain more runs for the Vipers, as they got off to a solid start. Charlotte Edwards, who missed the first 2 batting innings for the Vipers due to injury, has since got going with her run-scoring but is still not looking at her fluent best.

It was Suzie Bates, the irrepressible captain of New Zealand, that got Vipers off to a flyer, taking them to 64/1 in the 8th over before falling to Sonia Odedra. Scoring 38 off 24 balls, she drove serenely over the top and along the deck, striking 6 fours and a massive 6 over long-off. Georgia Adams provided capable support, with a cameo of 17 before Sara McGlashan (34*) and Lydia Greenway (29) took over, both testing out the ground-fielding skills of the Lightning by working the ball around adeptly into gaps, running hard for ones and twos. They added 62 together in 8.3 overs, and by the time Becky Grundy bowled Greenway going for another reverse, Vipers had already scored 142. Lightning had hardly been ragged in the field, but after Bates’ blitz, they were simply pulled from pillar to post by two of the women’s game’s great accumulators.

Lightning captain Georgia Elwiss tried everything she could to mix up the bowling and keep the attack unpredictable, and indeed it was the 8th over before Lightning used a bowler for a second over. They are a truly flexible bowling unit – a characteristic obtained by possessing so many quality all-rounders.

But here it was only Odedra (1-20) and Grundy (2-24) who really managed to contain the Vipers. The others delivered a few too many wayward balls. Maybe they have too many bowling options, meaning that on game days, it’s difficult to choose who to turn to. In any event, Vipers finished on 156/4, a daunting total and their highest yet in the KSL.

Lightning got off to a decent start, and it took until the fifth over and the introduction of Linsey Smith (3-16), the slow left-armer, for the wickets to start falling. Smith dismissed Van Niekerk and Devine, both internationals, clean bowled, and went on the take the vital wicket of Eve Jones. Unerringly accurate, Smith attacks the stumps effectively and has enough subtle deception to best top-line batsmen. There is some debate about whether she would be able to continue this at international level, or if she would be rapidly found out. But in either case, she is clearly enjoying herself, and we won’t know what she could do until she is given an opportunity to play with an England development squad. England coach Mark Robinson, who was at this game, would have at least taken note of this upcoming prospect.

It was Eve Jones (33 from 31) who most impressed me for the Lightning, with the bat. Mainly an off-side player, Jones the left-hander has a free-flowing, languid style which is not dissimilar from current England men’s favourite Moeen Ali. Hence, she is very aesthetically pleasing to watch. With her nonchalant, almost casual approach, I have no doubt she will give some chances away, but if she gets in, could score many runs. She was sent back to the dugout by Smith, adjudged lbw, and in came her namesake Amy with the score on 36-3. Eve had scored 33 of those runs.

Ellyse Perry came to the crease in the 5th over, and did not leave until the 18th. She played a customary calm, composed innings. I sense she was somewhat subdued, content to score solidly at a run a ball and anchor the innings. She had hoped for more cameos to support her, and it was only when she started to run out of partners that she decided to go big. Perry managed to hit a couple more boundaries, but it wasn’t enough and in the end she holed out to Brindle (3-24), only finding the safe hands of Suzie Bates in the deep on the leg side.

Arran Brindle, the former England all-rounder, can seemingly do no wrong. She looks dynamic at the crease, missing out on nothing, and is dependable with the ball, proving difficult to get away. Amy Jones, having struggled to get going, was dismissed when she was bowled trying to cut her away. After the fifth wicket was down, Lightning were in the position of needing 83 from 6 overs, an unlikely task, and so it proved. Paige Scholfield and Thea Brookes, having made a very close chase against the Thunder, got no luck this time and in the end Lightning finished tamely, bowled out for 97.

Vipers had produced a brilliant bowling and fielding display, dropping a couple of tough chances, but it was of little concern, as most of the shots that Lightning played in aerial fashion seemed to home in towards a grateful Viper’s hands. The Vipers bowlers’ figures also included 2-11 for Bates, and 1-15 for a continually impressive Katie George.

Vipers go into the KSL final next Sunday at Chelmsford, full of confidence. They are a tough side to beat and can make a solid innings total, from bad starts and good starts alike. In the field they are tight and organised, and give away little with the ball. As for Lightning, they will want to take their learnings and quickly forget this disappointing performance. They can then focus on challenging a strong Western Storm side in their semi-final, so that they take some momentum into a potential return fixture of this match and can – they will hope – take revenge.

Guest reporter Martin Saxon was at Old Trafford for last night’s KSL Roses clash.

‘Low key’ maybe best sums up this meeting of two teams who couldn’t make it to Finals Day. In the end, Yorkshire Diamonds recorded their first win and Lancashire Thunder ended with one win across the competition.

Once play started, it was a very one-sided affair indeed, as aside from maybe the first seven overs of the match, the Diamonds dominated.

After a first over from Thunder captain Amy Satterthwaite that went for 11, Hayley Matthews and Sophie Ecclestone did a superb job to leave Yorkshire 36-2 after seven overs, and it was very much going the home side’s way. Lauren Winfield had also departed to a smart stumping by Ellie Threlkeld off Sophie Ecclestone.

Then Alex Blackwell was the key player in turning the game, contributing 59 off 42 deliveries with five fours and two sixes. Her innings, full of improvised dabs and sweeps, was complemented superbly by the power of Katherine Brunt, who scored 36 in 24 deliveries.

As if the scoring rate had not been quick enough over the last two thirds of the innings, six penalty runs were added to the score for a slow over rate – judging by the lack of urgency shown as the cut off approached one wondered if Satterthwaite and her team were even aware of the regulation. As it was, the extra six runs made very little difference.

Perhaps daunted by the very stiff target, it seemed to be big shots or nothing in the early stages of the reply. Whilst Blackwell and Brunt had undoubtedly hit a lot of boundaries, their rotation of the strike had also been excellent, something that appeared to be missing from the Thunder reply.

After seven overs, Lancashire were 34-2, almost comparable to the first innings, but few in the crowd held out much hope of a home win. Katherine Brunt only conceded five in her first two overs, and was then replaced by one of the world’s leading T20 bowlers in Danielle Hazell.

Deandra Dottin did her best, and was involved in a curious incident when she hit a high full toss towards the boundary only to see Brunt pluck it out of the air above her head withe one hand. The umpire correctly called no ball for a delivery above waist height, but non-striker Threlkeld, thinking a legal catch had been taken, was clearly out of her ground when the stumps were subsequently put down. The umpires allowed Threlkeld to remain even though the no ball Law states all no balls are considered to have been no  balls from the instant of delivery. So under the Laws the ball was never dead and it appears, however much you sympathise with her, that Threlkeld was out under the Laws? One for any umpires reading this?

The end came very quickly with six wickets for 11 runs, and Brunt ending with a hat-trick for a return of 3-6. Hazell recorded an even more impressive 4-10 in four overs.

Whilst taking nothing away from Yorkshire, Lancashire’s batsmen were faced with batting in the twilight under lights, something I imagine few had done before. The Diamonds’ decision to bat on winning the toss was no surprise.

Lancashire Thunder also perhaps go down as the unluckiest side in the KSL. Two of their three original overseas players withdrew, then came the biggest blow with the absence of Sarah Taylor. It all left their batting line up looking rather brittle on paper, as it was surely too much to ask Dottin and Matthews to fly in a few days before the first match and adapt instantly to alien English conditions. Danielle Wyatt was another who could have contributed – given she has an excellent record of run scoring at county level but a poor one for England, many wondered how she would perform at a level in between. The answer was not very well, with just 39 tournament runs.

On a night of few positives for Lancashire Thunder, perhaps the most encouraging thing was the attendance of 875 at Old Trafford for what after all was a dead rubber. In the last two years, England Women have not played in the North (or even in the North Midlands), and tonight has hopefully sent a message to the ECB that there is an audience for women’s cricket in the North.

Guest writer Ben Gardner looks at what each team needs to do in their final games to qualify for Finals Day.

As we enter the final rounds of the Kia Super League, it is impossible not to look ahead, towards Finals Day, and for the mathematicians inside of each of us to try and work out which permutations and combinations can result in our team going through. It turns out that no team can yet relax, and also that every team is in with a chance, no matter how slim, of qualifying for that glorious day in Chelmsford. Read on to find out more.

Southern Vipers – The Vipers, thanks to having won three games out of three, are almost qualified for Finals Day, but can still go out if they lose both their games, concede bonus points in both, and Stars beat Lightning with a bonus point. Then Stars, Lightning, Storm, and Vipers will all be on at least 8 points, and it will come down to net run rate.

Loughborough Lightning – If Lightning beat Stars they are through to Finals Day. If they lose to Stars they can qualify by beating Vipers with a better or equal result in terms of bonus points than that which they lost to Stars. If the results are equal then Lightning will need a better net run rate than Stars. Lightning can also qualify by beating Vipers and finishing on greater or equal points than Storm, with net run rate coming into play if they are on equal points. If Lightning lose both they need lots to go their way. They need Vipers and Diamonds to beat Storm, Diamonds to not win both their games with bonus points and net run rate to work in their favour.

Western Storm – If Storm win both games they are through. If they win one, then they are through if Lightning beat Stars, or if their win equals or betters Stars’ win, with Storm needing a better NRR than Stars if it’s equal. If Storm lose both, then they again need a lot of results to conspire for them. Storm will need Lightning to beat Stars, or Lightning to lose both games, and Diamonds to not win both games with bonus points, and to beat whichever teams are on 5 points on net run rate.

Surrey Stars – Stars will have to wait on other results no matter what their result against Lightning is. They can be knocked out even if they beat Lightning with a bonus point, if Lightning beat Vipers with a bonus point or Storm finish on or above 8 points, and if NRR works against them. But equally if they lose, they can still qualify if Diamonds beat Storm and Diamonds finish on 5 or less points, and NRR works with them. They can also mathematically still finish 1st in the table since Lightning, Vipers, Storm and Stars could all finish on 8 points, at which point it would be decided on net run rate.

Lancashire Thunder – In an almost hopeless situation, Thunder need to win with a bonus point to have any chance of qualifying, and also need Storm to lose both games, and Lightning to beat Stars, or Stars and Vipers both to beat Lightning, and then hope for net run rate to do its magic.

Yorkshire Diamonds – Although point-less so far, Diamonds are still in with a shot of qualifying for Finals Day. They need to win both games, and at least one with a bonus point. They also need Storm to lose to Vipers, and either Lightning to beat Stars, or Vipers and Stars to beat Lightning. If they win both games with bonus points, and the above scenario happens, they will not need to rely on net run rate.

NB: The possibility of any matches ending as no-result was not considered.

Guest reporter James Piechowski was at Guildford yesterday to see Surrey Stars defeat Lancashire Thunder.

Result: Surrey Stars won by 7 wickets (with 28 balls remaining)

Going into this match, both sides had played 3 games, lost 2 and won only 1. The result from Monday’s game, with the Southern Vipers earning a bonus point win over Yorkshire Diamonds, meant that both sides playing yesterday had clear daylight between them and the bottom of the table. With Vipers essentially through, and Diamonds needing a miracle, four sides were effectively competing for 2 qualification spots. This match was basically an eliminator of sorts, as the losing side would be left relying on other results and a bonus point win in their final match to have any sort of chance.

Either Stars or Thunder getting through to finals day seemed unlikely, but they had hope to hold onto. In order to get into the top three, a minimum of 5 points would be required, even if Lightning or Storm lost both their remaining games. Realistically, six or or seven points may even be needed to qualify. That left both sides desperately needing a win to ensure their campaigns could continue on positively. In fact, the extra bonus point win would be preferable. It was, as the old adage goes, a “six-pointer” if ever there was one. With just one more game remaining for both sides after this, Thunder would be facing a wounded Diamonds side in a sure-to-be feisty Roses clash. Stars had a slight run rate advantage, and the added bonus of playing Lightning, a team they would need to overtake, last. Nothing could be guaranteed though. The points were there for the taking, but who could hold their nerve best?

The sun may have struggled to poke through the clouds over the Guildford ground at times, but this did not dampen the friendly carnival atmosphere, many spectators choosing to sit at the boundary’s edge to get close to the action. And the crowd of several hundred were certainly treated to an entertaining match.

Thunder got off to a bad start as West Indian opener Hayley Matthews was adjudged to be lbw to Marizanne Kapp, second ball of the innings. She offered some dissent to the umpire, indicating that she had hit the ball. In came Thunder captain Amy Satterthwaite and she would stay out in the middle until the end of the innings. It was the promising Emma Lamb who took the attack to Tahuhu in the next over though, using her feet well and punishing anything wide or over-pitched. Lamb has an attractive, dynamic batting style, and faces relatively few dot balls. She strikes regular boundaries, and also works the ball well into gaps for singles and twos. She is fast in running between the wickets. In the field too, Lamb impresses, being quick to the ball and secure in her handling. She was out yesterday though to a rather unnecessary slog at Kapp, having scored 27 off 17 balls. It was a rash shot, something that she can hopefully eliminate with more experience.

After 11 overs, Thunder were 66-2 with Satterthwaite and Laura Macleod going well. They would have been aiming for a total of at least 130. But Alex Hartley, in her second over, triggered a middle order collapse that saw 6 wickets fall for 17 runs in 5.4 overs. At the end of this flop, Thunder were 83-8 with just over 3 overs left, and looking at a total of just over 100. Hartley was the main difference yesterday. She has a boundless energy about her that she channels into her bowling to allow her to be accurate and difficult to hit cleanly. Her fielding is not always to the standard you’d expect, but her bowling is invariably excellent, and yesterday was no exception.

Credit should also be given to Kapp, whose accuracy meant that she was one of the only pace bowlers to not go the distance yesterday, finishing with 2-18. And Laura Marsh bowled so well in partnership with Hartley to restrict Thunder in that middle period, that Rene Farrell, a bowler usually called upon much earlier in the innings, was not given a bowl until the 17th over and thus could only complete 2 of her available 4. Stars certainly have a wealth of bowling options available. Yesterday they offered an improvement to an admittedly sloppy display in the field against Western Storm. The three run outs were well executed and hurt Thunder badly. The fielding was not perfect though. Hartley dropped a catch she should have taken 99 times out of a hundred, a dolly popped up off her own bowling, made all the more galling as it was Satterthwaite when she had just 10; and also Lea Tahuhu grounded a more difficult chance running in from the boundary.

Thunder did not help themselves with a few questionable decisions out in the middle. The batting order, with Macleod promoted above Deandra Dottin and Danni Wyatt, looked short of the power needed to set a challenging total. When Dottin and Wyatt did finally arrive at the crease, there was extra pressure after Macleod had used up 23 balls and only scored at a strike rate of 74. But they gave their wickets away somewhat timidly. Thunder had lost their nerve. The problem was that Satterthwaite, although a fine batsman, is more of an accumulator in style, and in the New Zealand team she has made her name playing in often relies on the likes of Bates, Devine et al to provide the punch. With Emma Lamb making the only fast cameo for Thunder yesterday, and the middle order collapse, Satterthwaite – not exactly at her fluent best – was left to rebuild the innings with little support. The total of 102-9 appeared to be about 30 runs short on a good track and fast outfield.

Thunder only hit 9 fours; in reply, Stars managed 16. In the end Satterthwaite tried her best in difficult circumstances, and did well to carry her bat, but only making 34* after arriving at the crease in the first over tells its own story. In the field for Thunder, I could not understand why the excellent Matthews was held back after bowling a cheap opening over until the 11th over; a combination of Kate Cross, Dottin and Satterthwaite being preferred instead. Of those bowlers, only Dottin looked like doing what Thunder would have needed to make things close.

The Stars reply was swift and telling. Tammy Beaumont offered another fine display, working the ball all around the wicket and striking boundaries with aplomb.

Bryony Smith is some prospect – more than just a pinch-hitter promoted from the middle-order. When she hits the ball, it stays hit; she is brutal when cutting outside off stump, and on the drive. She is not all about power though: a deft ramp shot over her shoulder which scooted to the rope for 4 showed she has finesse, too. By the time she was out in the 7th over, trying to hit Dottin for another leg side four but caught by Satterthwaite, Stars had already broken the back of the chase and Nat Sciver, Cordelia Griffith and Kapp continued the necessary impetus to see them over the line with the bonus point, with 4 balls to spare.

The result leaves Thunder only able to achieve a maximum of 5 points which is very unlikely to be enough to qualify, seeing as 3 teams already have that tally. For Stars, they face a key match away at Loughborough against Lightning, on Friday, which may well turn out to be another eliminator. This convincing win yesterday will give them confidence that they can put in the strong performance that will surely be required.

Guest reporter Ben Gardner was at Blackpool last Friday to see Southern Vipers defeat Lancashire Thunder.

It was a shame really. This pitch, a used wicket, was slow and low, the kind that encourages neither extravagant strokeplay nor fast bowling. It took spin, allowing Hayley Matthews in particular to showcase her skills. But for crowds wanting to see a run-filled Twenty20, and for organisers wanting to showcase the women’s game, it was a disappointment. It was impressive that even 250 runs were scored in the match.

Still, for the convert, there is something in every pitch to be enjoyed, and it is part of the joy of the game that the surface can have such an impact. To see how players handle such a situation might be a lesser thrill, but a thrill nonetheless. And, for a tournament which aims to develop the younger generation of England stars, the manner in which three of the more experienced Southern Vipers players dealt with the challenge should provide a valuable template.

It was not that Sara McGlashan, Lydia Greenway, and Arran Brindle had greater ability to deal with what Lancashire Thunder were throwing at them; the former in particular struggled at first, and was tied down by the spin of Sophie Ecclestone and the impressive Hayley Matthews. At one point she was just 7 off 17. But she stuck at the task, refusing to give her wicket away, and eventually found a method to make runs. She would finish with 54 off 50 balls: the highest score of the tournament up to that point, as well as the longest innings.

This was a lesson in nous rather than technique, and how these three players adjusted and then met expectations was impressive. With a combined age of 98 years, they will surely have faced such challenges before, and it needed all their know-how to find a solution. McGlashan afterwards said that they “got to about 6-8 overs left and realised around 120/130 would probably be alright. So then it was a matter of just trying to be disciplined, not hit out too much, just work on 5s and 6s through singles.” Coming up with the plan is noteworthy enough, but sticking to it, trusting your assessment of the pitch and not going after balls that are not there to be hit, is worthy of special praise.

Another point of McGlashan’s innings that is worth highlighting was her ability to find a release shot when required. The most eye-catching was the elegant six over long on, off Kate Cross, but equally impressive was the manner in which she and Arran Brindle took Ecclestone’s last two overs for 22; her first two had gone for just 10. This was calculated, intelligent batting of the highest order. A lesser team would have surely folded for nearer to 100.

In the Super League so far, many of the most eye-catching performances have come from some of the youngest players. The likes of Georgia Adams, Katie George, and Bryony Smith have proved that this tournament can reveal players of quality, perhaps even future internationals. But on this occasion it was experience that dragged Vipers to what ended up being a winning total, and gave a prime example to all those watching of how to bat in difficult conditions.