[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Their T20 opener in Chelmsford was a good night for Central Sparks as Amy Jones supplied yet another half-century in an innings that ended 137 all out; in reply, after Grace Potts dented the Sunrisers batting order with a couple of early wickets, the hosts required just 53 from 42 balls with a third of the innings to go. What Jones had done for the Sparks, Cordelia Griffith replicated with a dogged 53, but when she fell to Emily Arlott the Sunrisers innings quickly subsided, and they failed to complete the twenty overs as they were bowled out for 114 and an impressive Sparks win. Harder lines at Edgbaston on Tuesday, as Northern Diamonds were able to score relatively unscathed in the first half of their innings, and though a Sparks fightback (with Arlott the pick of the bowlers) pegged them back from there and eventually bowled them out for 135, the slow pitch proved challenging for the hosts to bat on. The departure of Amy Jones for a relatively humble 18 was a big blow, and as the run-rate steadily climbed, it required a fabulous effort by Abbey Freeborn in the eighteenth over, hitting four consecutive fours before being caught off an attempted fifth, to take the game down to the wire. Sadly, despite a final-ball six from Issy Wong, the enthralling encounter ended in a three-run defeat for the Sparks, who now face the Blaze at Grace Road on Friday.

Meanwhile, the men's Rapids commence the 2023 Blast at Wantage Road tomorrow evening, buoyed by the arrival of Michael Bracewell and Usama Mir after last year's disastrous campaign saw the team tackle the first week of the tournament without their overseas players.