A big century from England captain Heather Knight drove Berkshire to the top of Div 2 on the opening weekend of the Women’s County Championship.

With Berkshire batting first against Worcestershire on Women’s County Cricket Day at North Maidenhead, Knight came in at 3 and hit 131 off 121 balls, in a double-century partnership with captain Lissy Macleod, who finished on 95 – bowled in the final over of the innings, going for her hundred with a big heave! Anya Shrubsole (3-8) and England Academy quick Lauren Bell (2-15) then smashed through the Worcestershire top order as the Rapids were bowled out for 77.

It had been a slightly different story the day before for Berkshire – having bowled Essex out cheaply for 100, with Shrubsole (2-9) and Bell (3-21) again doing most of the damage, their batting struggled without Knight, and although they eventually won by 5 wickets, thanks to 35* from veteran Amanda “Steamer” Potgieter, it was a lot squeakier than the margin of victory makes it sound!

In second place, Devon also took two-from-two over the Bank Holiday. Western Storm off-spinner Becca Silk took 4-6 as they bowled Durham out for 97; but they made it difficult for themselves, losing 7 wickets on their way to overhauling the total, with Ellie Mitchell finishing 42*. Silk was again in the wickets the next day, taking 3-31 as Devon’s match against Wales followed a very similar pattern – Wales bowled out for 132, with New Zealand superstar Rachel Priest bagging a golden duck the first ball of the innings, which Devon chased for the loss of 7 wickets in 41 overs.

Elsewhere, Middlesex’s Sophia Dunkley hit an even bigger hundred than Knight’s, with Worcestershire again the victims as she smashed 138 off 116 balls. Set a target of 271, Worcestershire were then rolled over for 103, Dunkley also chipping in with the ball with 2-11.

Wales also halved the weekend with a win at Somerset, thanks to half-centuries from Rachel Priest (63) and Lauren Parfitt (58) in a total of 232-9. Somerset went the distance, but ended up well short on 180-8, with only Sophie Luff (71) giving the scorers much to do.

Kent and Lancashire set the pace on the opening weekend of the Women’s County Championship, both winning two-from-two with Kent just edging ahead on bonus points.

Kent’s weekend began at Polo farm, batting first against Notts. With none of the top order quite able to convert starts into big scores, it was left to Laura Marsh to shepherd the tail on her way to 55*, taking Kent to 192-9 off their 50 overs. It wasn’t enough for maximum bonus points – you get them for reaching 200 – but it was enough to win the game, with spinner Megan Belt taking 3-20 as Notts were bowled out for 143.

At Beckenham the following day, Kent then inflicted the second of two defeats endured by Warwickshire over the Bank Holiday. Warwickshire posted 232, all out off the final ball, with Amy Jones (67) and Bethan Ellis (74) hitting half centuries; but it wasn’t anything like enough on the First Class pitch at Beckenham as Tammy Beaumont (83) and new signing Fran Wilson (87) made short work of it for a 7-wicket victory.

Lancashire began their Bank Holiday road trip with a visit to the Ageas Bowl to face champions Hampshire. Both sides had lost players to the Women’s IPL currently underway in India, but Hampshire missed Suzie Bates just a bit more than Lancashire missed Sophie Ecclestone, with Kate Cross taking a career best 4-14 to bowl Hampshire out for 163, defending a slightly under-par 179.

Women’s County Cricket Day then dawned bright and sunny dawned bright dawned at Guildford for the match of the weekend, and possibly of the season, between Lancashire and Surrey, with Surrey falling an agonising 1 run short off the final ball to give the Red Roses their second win of the weekend. (Full report here.)

The previous day, Surrey had made short work of Yorkshire – bowling them out for 118 in 26 overs, with Bryony Smith taking 3-14. Smith (37), Kirstie White (44) and Aylish Cranstone (26*) then finished the job as Surrey strolled to victory by 8 wickets.

Yorkshire however picked themselves up to beat Hampshire on the Monday, as spin-twin Katies – Thompson and Levick – took 3 apiece to bowl Hampshire out for 131 chasing 190.

Meanwhile Sussex, weakened by the absence of Dani Wyatt (Women’s IPL), Georgia Elwiss (injured) and Sarah Taylor, scraped an opening-day win over Warwickshire by 1 wicket – Ella Wadey top-scoring with 38; but their batting then imploded against Notts, with Notts skipper and England one-cap-wonder Sonia Odedra taking 4-11 as Notts successfully defended 150.

An overcast day at Guildford Cricket Club ended in a thriller as Lancashire squeaked home by just 1 run against Surrey, having looked dead and buried for much of their opponent’s innings.

A late spell from Emma Lamb eventually saved the day for Lancashire, the off-spinner finishing with figures of 2-39 and, crucially, yielding just 8 runs from her last 4 overs, which included a maiden.

Lamb was finally entrusted with delivering the last over of the day: Surrey needed 8 from it but were only able to pick off singles, and – left needing 3 from the last ball of the day for a win, 2 for a tie – Lamb carefully removed the bails to deny her opponents an attempted second run before Lancashire huddled to celebrate.

The match should have been Surrey’s for the taking: chasing 242, they had initially reached 136 without losing a wicket, with openers Bryony Smith and Kirstie White both reaching half-centuries – Smith in particular slamming the Lancashire bowlers around the park.

Smith eventually fell for 86, sending a straightforward return catch straight into the hands of off-spinner Georgie Boyce. White, though, took on the anchor role and hung around until the 39th over, departing when Surrey needed just 47 runs from the last 11 overs.

Number 3 Aylish Cranstone then notched up a stylish half-century of her own, punishing one Kate Cross over for 14 runs – all still looking hunky dory for Surrey.

That was until the reintroduction of Lamb to the attack in the 44th over, a strategy that paid dividends. The off-spinner firstly had Cranstone caught in the deep; then in her next over was instrumental in the run-out of Kira Chathli, the ball ricocheting off her hand into the path of Alice Dyson at mid-off with Dyson achieving a direct hit at the non-striker’s end.

The very next ball Lamb removed Eva Gray with a smart caught and bowled, leaving Surrey 5 down and with 12 runs still needed from the final 4 overs – ultimately too big an ask for their young middle order.

Earlier, Lamb had also chipped in with the bat, hitting 23 (34 balls) as she put on 50 for Lancashire’s first wicket with opening partner Eve Jones.

Surrey’s captain Hannah Jones eventually broke through, having Lamb caught at point after she tried to push the run rate along. Lamb’s dismissal, though, brought Georgie Boyce to the crease, a position she occupied until the 46th over.

She was able to successfully farm much of the strike, and used the pace of Surrey’s quicks to her advantage, taking 13 runs off one Danielle Gregory over and punching the only six of the Lancashire innings over deep square leg.

Surrey clawed back some momentum (and some bowling bonus points) by continually making inroads at the other end, with Boyce herself eventually dismissed in the 46th over, falling short of 3 figures after Kirstie White took a straightforward catch at midwicket off the bowling of Bryony Smith.

Alex Hartley was then run out off the last ball of the day, leaving Lancashire 9 wickets down and giving Surrey a 4th bowling bonus point – which could yet prove crucial in the fight to top Division 1.

Proceedings were watched by a keen crowd of about 100, including a group from local school Royal Alexandra and Albert School in Reigate, as part of wider Women’s County Cricket Day celebrations around the country. The match was also live-streamed by Surrey CCC on kiaoval.com, in a brilliant innovation for the women’s county game.

The win sees Lancashire go 2 from 2 in the opening weekend of the County Championship after they beat reigning champions Hampshire in yesterday’s match, making them early runners in the battle for this year’s title.

An undefeated 35 off 56 balls from Amanda “Steamer” Potgieter took Berkshire to a 5 wicket victory over Essex at North Maidenhead Cricket Club, in the first round of Division 2 of the County Championship.

Chasing just 100 to win, Berkshire got off to a wobbly start, losing openers Emily Cunningham and Millie Allerton cheaply to leave them 8-2 after 8 overs. But captain Lissy Macleod (30) and new signing Anya Shrubsole (22) steadied the ship to put the Beavers on course to victory, hitting through the aggressive fields set by Essex, which at one point included two slips and a short leg.

Nonetheless, there was still work to do after Shrubsole was adjudged to have nicked behind to to keeper Scarlett Hughes off Mady Villiers and Macleod was bowled by opposing skipper Kelly Castle.

But from 74-5, with plenty of time in hand, Potgieter (35*) and 19-year-old Scottish glove-butler Ellen Watson (5*) kept their cool to guide Berkshire home with 14 overs to spare.

Earlier, England prospect Lauren Bell had taken 3-21 as Essex had been bowled out for exactly 100, with extras making up all but half the total at 47, and no Essex batsman reaching double figures.

Bell opened the bowling with Anya Shrubsole, with the ball swinging under heavy skies, and it wasn’t long before Shrubsole was in the scorebook at her new county, bowling both Essex openers – Beth Harmer and Kelly Castle – for 1 apiece.

Bell then accounted for Mady Villiers, bowled for 4, and Catherine Dalton, run out for 8, to leave the visitors in real trouble at 28-4.

By that stage, the battle for Essex was just to hang around long enough to make it interesting, and that they just about did – Jess Bird seeing off 31 deliveries on her way to 8, and Hayley Arrol lasting 35 balls for 3 – as Essex collapsed over the finish line to close on 100: Bell cleaning up the tail by bowling Arrol and keeper Scarlett Hughes for 4 off 21.

It made it interesting… but not quite interesting enough from an Essex perspective, and they will be hoping to get a few more runs on the board when they travel to Wales next weekend.

Meanwhile Berkshire will go into tomorrow’s Women’s County Cricket Day fixture against Worcestershire with a degree of confidence, bolstered by the return of Heather Knight to their lineup, hoping to make it two-from-two from the opening weekend.

Speaking exclusively to CRICKETher, the ECB have issued a statement clarifying the new Women’s County Championship Playing Regulations.

Two radical new changes have come into force this season:

1. The title will be decided on overall points, not average points. This season, while abandoned and tied matches will result in the points on offer being shared between the two sides, for games that are totally rained off zero points will be awarded to either team.

2. There is now a “rolling subs” rule, whereby teams are required to name 12 players who can be exchanged interchangeably – i.e. there is no requirement to nominate which 11 players will bat.

The ECB’s statement is as follows:

“The decision to decide the Royal London Women’s One-Day Cup on total points, not average points, brings the tournament in line with tournaments across the world and incentivises the playing of cricket. In both cancelled and abandoned games in the Royal London Men’s One-Day Cup the points are shared – but teams are not given the chance to replay the fixture.

We want to avoid losing fixtures where possible, which is why we are giving women’s County teams the chance to replay their games. Teams have until September 29 to replay any abandoned fixtures.

To encourage participation and to provide opportunity for more players, the decision was taken to allow teams to name 12 players, 11 of whom can bat and 11 of whom can field. These names are nominated by the teams prior to the game.

We ask all Counties for feedback throughout the domestic season and Counties have ongoing dialogue with their respective Regional Talent Manager and ECB. Any changes to rules and regulations are debated at end-of-season review meetings.”

In a last-minute surprise move, just days before the start of the season, England allrounder Jenny Gunn has re-signed to play for Nottinghamshire in this year’s Women’s County Championship.

Gunn played for Notts almost her entire career, barring a couple of games for Yorkshire back in 2011, scoring over 3,000 runs and taking 95 wickets over 13 years, up until 2015 when they were relegated from Division 1 of the County Championship.

Following Notts’ demotion, Gunn joined Warwickshire for 3 seasons, but made just 15 appearances due to England commitments.

With over 250 England caps, Gunn – who was awarded an MBE for services to cricket in 2014 – has more experience than Jimi Hendrix; and although she’s played more of a supporting role for England recently, she was retained on a central contract this season and looks likely to be part of England’s plans for the World T20 in Australia early next year.

Now she returns to her home county as they look to battle-out what promises to be one of the closest County Championships in years.

If you are a Notts fan, you’ll be able to see Gunn in action for #YourCounty on Women’s County Cricket Day, as Notts take on Sussex at the Aldridge Academy in Brighton.

15-year-old Georgia Heath, who made her debut for Cheshire in last season’s Women’s County Championship, has recently returned from an age-group tour to Barbados organised by The Cricket Asylum Cricket Academy.

The kit for the tour was supplied by SM Cricket, who are great supporters of the women’s game.

Heath was the only girl on the 30-strong tour, with ages ranging from 10 to 19. Highlights of the tour included facing Jofra Archer’s 8 year old cousin who opened the bowling for Bayleys Primary school, meeting and being coached by cricketing legend Desmond Haynes, and a final match at the iconic Kensington Oval.

She also met and worked with West Indian Coaches Ezra Moseley and Vasbert Drakes (former coach of the West Indies national side) at the University of West Indies, Cave Hill and also played at Isolation, Holders Hill, Bayleys Primary School, Combermere Secondary School and Kensington Oval.

Heath captained the side at Bayleys Primary School , who have been national Barbados Primary School champions for 3 years running, and was presented with a Bayleys Primary training shirt from their coach.

Reflecting on the tour, Heath commented: “It was really fun going on my first international tour, some excellent wickets to play on and my performance was helped by the brilliant kit that SM Cricket supplied. The highlight of my week would have to be the four I scored playing a strong cover drive at the Kensington Oval and a wicket from the Malcolm Marshall end.”

Although Georgia was the only girl on the Cricket Asylum Tour, the Wales Women’s cricket team were staying at the same hotel and played a friendly match against the West Indies Women’s team at Isolation as part of a wider Barbados training camp.

Due to the success of the tour, TCA Sports Tours are already planning a return trip for Easter 2020.

By Raf Nicholson & Syd Egan

With a radical restructure on the cards for next year, the 2019 Women’s County Championship is set to be the last in the current format, which has been running since 1997, when it replaced the old Women’s Area Championship.

The purpose of the restructuring is to strengthen the top tier, but ironically Div 1 looks the strongest it has been for some time – there are no obvious “easy games” and any one of these teams could end up champions… or relegated – albeit academically, as the restructure won’t take into account this year’s positions in determining the membership of the new (semi) professional top tier from 2020.

Predicting the eventual winner feels like a fool’s errand. Could last season’s champions, Hampshire, do it again? Or the previous winners, Lancashire? Or Yorkshire, who came second by a combined total of just 5 points in both of those seasons? What about Kent, who have won it 7 times? Or Sussex with 6 titles? And don’t rule out Warwickshire (who came third in 2016 and 2017), Notts or Surrey!

(But if predictions are what you really want, you’ll find ours at the end!)

Hampshire

Last Season: Champions

Whether Hampshire can replicate their astounding performance last season, whereby they leapt straight from promotion to the top of the pack, remains to be seen. They were fortunate to emerge the winners in several very tight contests last season, and will once again be heavily reliant on last year’s leading Division 1 run-scorer Suzie Bates at the top of the order (who will be MIA for the first 3 rounds, playing in the Women’s IPL in India). Having said that, 18-year-old Charlie Dean – following her promotion to the Senior Academy in October 2017 – came into her own with the bat last season, and after another winter at Loughborough will be looking to replicate that in 2019. New captain Katie George will be fit for the start of the season (she has been out in India training with the Academy), which will be a bonus. Overall, it will certainly be an interesting test for new head coach Charlotte Edwards, who confirmed just this week that she has stepped away from a playing role, having enjoyed that final championship-winning “hurrah” in 2018. [RN]

Squad:  Katie George (C), Fi Morris (VC), Suzie Bates (WCC only), Sam Betts (T20 only), Maia Bouchier (from Middlesex), Ella Chandler, Providence Cowdrill, Clover Crosse, Charlie Dean, Ariana Dowse, Lucia Kendall, Naomi Lynch, Alice Monaghan, Tilly Callaghan, Dani Ransley, Mel Story, Charlotte Taylor, Emily Windsor.

Kent

Last Season: 3rd

After winning the championship in 2016, Kent lost Charlotte Edwards and Suzie Bates to Hampshire, and narrowly avoided relegation the following year. In 2018, they did better – finishing 3rd, but some way off the pace set by Yorkshire and Hampshire, having struggled for runs. In this respect, the recruitment of Fran Wilson from Middlesex is definitely a smart move; and if England let Tammy Beaumont play the full season that’ll help too. Bowling is less of an issue – Megan Belt led them with the ball again last season with 18 wickets across both formats (why, oh why hasn’t anyone given her a chance in the Super League?) and Grace Gibbs has a bright future ahead of her, having hopefully fully recovered from the horrific freak knee injury she sustained in the KSL last season. The key to it all for Kent, though, is all-rounder Alice Davidson-Richards – she was outstanding last season, as she rode the high of becoming an England player for the first time; but now that England seem to have decided to go with other options, can she refocus mentally and accept a possible future as “just” a very good county player? If she can, and she brings her A-game with both bat and ball, Kent will be challenging for a top spot in 2019. [SE]

Squad: Tammy Beaumont (C), Alice Davidson-Richards (VC), Megan Belt, Laura Marsh, Izzy Cloke, Phoebe Franklin, Jenni Jackson, Molly Davis, Lauren Griffiths, Hannah Jelfs, Lottie Bryan, Fran Wilson (from Middlesex), Tash Farrant, Grace Gibbs, Chelsey Rowson

Lancashire

Last Season: 4th

After winning the championship in 2017, Lancashire slipped back into the pack last season. This season, they’ve signed Georgie Boyce, who scored a hatful of runs last year for Notts, to strengthen a batting line-up that already had two of the top 3 batsmen in the County Championship’s “Never Played For England XI” – Eve Jones and Emma Lamb*. Their front-line bowling attack, led by Kate Cross, Sophie Ecclestone and Alex Hartley, is second-to-none – though their second string are a bit weaker than some, and they will definitely feel the absence of Ecclestone while she is at the Women’s IPL. Overall, if you are a Lancashire fan, you can freely hope… but it is probably best not to necessarily expect! [SE]

[* Kirstie White is the other… since you asked!]

Probable* Squad: Eve Jones (C), Natalie Brown, Georgie Boyce (from Notts), Jess Couser, Kate Cross, Rachel Dickinson, Alice Dyson, Sophie Ecclestone, Alex Hartley, Laura Jackson, Emma Lamb, Nalisa Patel, Ellie Threlkeld

[* Squad not announced at time of writing]

Nottinghamshire

Last Season: 6th

Notts escaped relegation last season by the skin of their teeth, and while they will be relieved to still be up in the top flight, they now have the challenge of competing against the other Div 1 teams with a broadly similar squad to 2018. They have lost Academy player Georgie Boyce to Lancashire (following her move to Thunder for the 2018 KSL), which will be a worry given that she was their second-highest run-scorer in the 2018 season. The meteoric rise of last year’s leading wicket-taker Kirstie Gordon is also a double-edged sword, given that England players are often unavailable for at least some Championship matches. However, Scotland’s Sarah Bryce (who featured in last year’s ICC Global Development Squad) is a good “buy”. Interestingly, they have also secured the services of New Zealand keeper-batsman Polly Inglis, who will no doubt be looking to make a mark with an eye to future selection for her national side. [RN]

Squad: Sarah Bryce (from Scotland – WCC only), Megan Burton, Jodie Cook (Dibble), Amy Gauvrit, Teresa Graves, Yvonne Graves, Kirstie Gordon, Jenny Gunn, Lucy Higham, Megan Hodkinson, Hannah Hughes, Polly Inglis (OS, NZ), Sophie Munro, Sonia Odedra, Rachael Potter (from Oxfordshire), Rebecca Widdowson

Surrey

Last Season: Promoted (2nd in Div 2)

Having worked their way back into Div 1 via a long-term rebuilding project, Surrey have the kind of solid, home-grown heart which every great team needs – unlike some sides, you don’t feel they are totally dependent upon their “big” England player, Nat Sciver, who will be playing in the Women’s IPL in the early part of the season anyway. Hannah Jones – who officially takes over the captaincy this season – is the bellwether for a new generation who have the potential to go on to do amazing things. “Potential” though is the operative word here –  it is probably still 2 seasons too early for them to really fulfil their promise – England Academy and Training Squad members Amy Gordon, Eva Gray and Rhianna Southby are the future, but not quite yet the present. Surrey will win some games, but they will likely lose some too, and the real question is how those young players will respond and grow as a result. [SE]

Squad: Hannah Jones (C), Mary Ali, Charlie Bawden, Kira Chathli, Priyanaz Chatterji, Aylish Cranstone, Amy Gordon, Eva Gray, Dani Gregory, Jasmine Jones, Beth Kerins, Laura Sandy, Nat Sciver, Bryony Smith, Rhianna Southby, Alex Travers, Kirstie White

Sussex

Last Season: Promoted (1st in Div 2)

On paper, you look at Sussex and think: how on earth did this team ever get relegated to Div 2? (The answer is it was by the squeakiest of squeaks – 3 teams had a 3-4 win-loss record that season!) But they did… and they bounced straight back up as Div 2 winners. With 5 current England players, on paper they look very strong; though there are a couple of injury question marks there, and of course Danni Wyatt will be missing for the first half of the season at the Women’s IPL. Though they’ve got their share of younger players coming through the squad – the likes of Ella McCaughan and Ellie Robinson (yes, that name does ring a bell – she’s the daughter of current England coach, Mark) – they have also got the likes of Georgia Adams, Chiara Green and Carla Rudd, who should all be entering their peak years as county “pros”… albeit unpaid ones! I’d back Rudd in particular to shine this season after a change of scene, having come back to her childhood club Sussex after 8 years at Berkshire. [SE]

Squad: Georgia Adams (C), Ellen Burt, Izzy Collis, Freya Davies, Georgia Elwiss, Chiara Green, Nancy Harman, Beth Harvey, Cassidy McCarthy, Ella McCaughan, Tara Norris, Ellie Robinson, Carla Rudd (from Berkshire), Paige Scholfield, Linsey Smith, Sarah Taylor, Ella Wadey, Lucy Western, Danni Wyatt, Hollie Young

Warwickshire

Last Season: 5th

Warwickshire’s big signing ahead of this season is an England all-rounder with nearly 90 caps across a 10 year career… who will not pick up a bat or bowl a ball! The answer to this riddle is Laura MacLeod, who took up her post as Warwickshire’s Director of Women’s Cricket last October. If the County Championship was awarded to the nicest team in England, Warwickshire would have won it a few times recently – how can you not love a team that includes The Kelly Gang (Marie and Sian), Amy Jones, Kathryn Bryce and (when the occasion presents itself) Sophie Devine? MacLeod’s challenge will be to add some cold, hard steel behind the nice – something one of those aforementioned players, Amy Jones, seems to have found a way to do for England recently. If Jones can bring just a bit of that mettle back to Brum this season and share it around, things could be looking up for the Bears in 2019. [SE]

Squad: Marie Kelly (C), Eve Alder, Thea Brookes, Kathryn Bryce, Jess Couser, Laura Crofts, Gwenan Davies, Georgia Davis, Nyah Edwards, Bethan Ellis, Ria Fackrell, Jo-Anne Gardner, Milly Home, Amy Jones, Amelia Kite, Anisha Patel, Emily Perrin, Liz Russell, Issy Wong

Yorkshire

Last Season: 2nd

Once again last season Yorkshire were just pipped to the post on the final day, failing to catch Hampshire on bonus points – after finishing twice two years running, they’ll be hoping to avoid a similar fate this time around. New Zealand’s Leigh Kasperek is returning to the mix, having taken 15 wickets in the 2018 season. That should strengthen a bowling line-up which was already one of the strongest in Div 1, featuring county stalwarts Katie Thompson and Katie “Secret Weapon” Levick, who last season became the leading wicket-taker of all time in the WCC. They are also joined by Abby Freeborn, who may well take the gloves ahead of Lauren Winfield, allowing the opener to focus on pinning down her spot in the England XI ahead of this summer’s internationals. [RN]

Squad: Hollie Armitage (C), Katherine Brunt, Hannah Buck, Leah Dobson, Abby Freeborn (from Sussex), Elise Good, Beth Langston, Katie Levick, Leigh Kasperek (OS, NZ), Alex McDonald, Charlotte North, Ella Telford (from Lancashire), Katie Thompson, Jess Watson, Lauren Winfield

Our Predictions

Syd

The last two championships have been won by teams newly promoted from Div 2, and I’m backing Sussex this season to turn that stat-trick into a hat-trick. In doing so, Sussex would draw level with Kent on 7 all-time championship wins, which seems a fitting place to end things between the two great rivals of the tournament’s history, both of whom look likely to not exist next season.

Raf

In what is almost certain to be the last version of this iteration of the Women’s County Championship, I’d love to see Warwickshire take home the title. They’ve come agonisingly close to winning on several occasions, but have never quite brought home the bacon – so I’m going to take a leap of faith and say they will finally manage it in 2019!

Div 2

Teams: Berkshire, Wales, Devon, Durham, Essex, Middlesex, Somerset, Worcestershire.

Having been relegated from Div 1 by only the narrowest of margins, and then gone on to win the T20 Cup, Middlesex looked clear favourites to stroll through Div 2 this season. Their loss to Essex in the opening game was therefore something of a shock, but the smart money will still be on them to come out on top at the end of the season and win back “moral” promotion to Div 1, where they are expected to be playing anyway next season as part of the restructure.

Among the challengers, Essex made the early running with that win against Middlesex; whilst Berkshire will be hoping they can put on a better show this season than last season’s 5th place, though this will partly depend upon the availability of Heather Knight and new signing Anya Shrubsole. Meanwhile Rachel Priest-powered Wales will be aiming to replicate the form that saw them promoted last year to Div 1 in the T20 Cup, and provide a platform for their presumed step up to the big-leagues on the back of their Hundred franchise in 2020.

A 98-ball marathon from Beth Dodd took Essex to an upset victory over much-fancied Middlesex on the opening day of Div 2 of the Women’s County Championship at Chelmsford.

On a gorgeously sunny Easter Sunday at the County Ground, Essex won the toss and elected to bowl on the same pitch these sides’ respective men’s teams had hit nearly 700 runs on in a Royal London Cup game just two days before.

Middlesex openers Cordelia Griffith and Naomi Dattani made a steady start, moving to 45-0 after 10 overs, as Essex seamer Grace Poole bowled well with no luck – passing the edge several times in the powerplay.

A loose over costing 17 runs from the tiring Poole then allowed Dattani to race ahead, with the Middlesex captain reaching her fifty off 48 balls in the 14th over.

The breakthrough for Essex came of the last ball of the 14th over – Griffith brilliantly caught by former Middlesex player Cath Dalton at cover, bringing Sophia Dunkley to the crease for her first Middlesex knock since she became an England player at the World Twenty20 in November.

After a couple of close calls between the sticks, Dattani’s luck ran dry as she was run out by a direct hit from Poole for 57 off 56 balls.

New batsman Beth Morgan quickly followed in the most unfortunate fashion – run out at the non-striker’s end, after Anje Lague put down a fairly straightforward caught-and-bowled chance from Dunkley which then ricocheted onto the stumps, with the umpire adjudging that Morgan was out of her ground at the point of impact.

Lague made better work of her next caught-and-bowled opportunity, sending Emma Albery back to the pavilion for a 6-ball duck, as the visitors began to falter to 104-4 and then 107-5 as Dunkley was given out for 20, caught off what she was clearly convinced was a bump-ball.

Middlesex keeper Iqraa Hussain hung around for 28 balls for 16, before popping up a 3rd catch of the innings to Dalton, as Middlesex’s lower order crawled onward, passing 150 for the loss of 8 wickets in the 37th over.

Middlesex were eventually bowled out for 160, with Kelly Castle picking up 3-16 off 4 overs at the end, including a lovely caught-and-bowled to dismiss Rebecca Tyson – the last wicket to fall for 5.

Despite having not batted, Middlesex’s Katie Wolfe was soon into the action with the ball – opening the bowling, as she took advantage of new regulations which allow all 12 named players to be interchanged freely in and out of the on-field eleven.

First blood however went to Middlesex’s other opening bowler – Gaya Gole, who bowled Kelly Castle off an inside edge for 7 with 12 on the board.

Having negotiated the powerplay to take Essex to 32-1 at 10 overs, the two Beths – Harmer and Dodd – began to play a few shots, keeping well on top of the required rate, which soon fell to a strollable 3-an-over, with Middlesex needing wickets to stay in the game.

It was Naomi Dattani who provided the breakthrough – Harmer bowled for 29, trying to hoik the deceptively quick Dattani across the line.

Dodd however remained rooted to the crease, taking Essex past the 100 mark in 25 overs, together with Cath Dalton who maintained a Strike Rate of 100 despite largely playing second-fiddle to Dodd as the partnership built past 50.

With just 32 needed by Essex for the win, Dattani brought herself back into the attack with immediate results – bowling Cath Dalton for 34 with the first ball of her new spell.

Dodd’s marathon innings then finally ended after 98 balls, caught by Rebecca Tyson off Dunkley for 46; and Middlesex saw a chink of light as Megan Janman was run out shortly afterwards for 1, with 26 still required.

But while wicket-keeper Scarlett Hughes blocked for her life at one end, Jess Bird picked up where Dodd had left off – letting the runs find her as the target was slowly but surely whittled away – Bird finishing on 17, and Hughes on 7, as Essex reached their objective in 42.3 overs to set the early pace in Div 2.

The Women’s County Championship Playing Conditions have been updated [PDF here] and in a break with past seasons, the title will be decided on total points not average points.

Previously, in an attempt to equitably account for rained-off matches, points have been averaged so that cancelled games don’t count against a team’s placing. This system had its own quirks – in 2012, Essex came second despite having won just two matches, with 5 games cancelled – but it was generally accepted as fair.

The move to total points however is not accompanied by a change in the way points are allocated. Crucially, this means that while abandoned and tied matches share five points, games that are totally rained-off get zero points. With no obligation to rearrange cancelled matches, this could become very contentious – on a rainy day, the umpires decision to take the field for just 1 ball could be the difference between death and glory if a team needed, say, 5 points to seal the championship.

The new playing conditions are also somewhat shorter than before, because all the sections about promotion and relegation have been removed. Though it has been an open secret for some months that the 35-team county championship will be reduced to likely just 8 teams in 2020, with no promotion or relegation, the ECB has not yet made any official statement about this, and so the new playing conditions (amazingly!) represent the first semi-official confirmation of these changes.