Match Centre

NORTHAMPTONSHIRE STEELBACKS WOMEN V MIDDLESEX WOMEN | MATCH REPORT

Middlesex Women extended their unbeaten start to the season with a four-wicket victory over Northamptonshire Steelbacks in their Metro Bank One-Day Cup clash at the County Ground.

After an impressive performance with the ball, bowling the hosts out for 144 in 46.2 overs, we chased the target down confidently in 33.3 overs to make it three wins from three – returning to the top of the Tier Two table as the only unbeaten side, four points clear of second-place Yorkshire. Northamptonshire, meanwhile, dropped to fifth after suffering their first defeat of the campaign at the hands of Middlesex.

Head Coach, Marc Broom, made five changes from the side that edged past Glamorgan, with the incoming players all making valuable contributions. Lauren Turner, Sarah Pearson, Anaya Patel and Anisha Dissanayake excelled with the ball, while Artemis Downer stood out with the bat, scoring an assured 47 runs in her first appearance of the season.

After winning the toss, skipper, Saskia Horley, elected to bowl. Katie Wolfe and Lauren Turner made a disciplined start, restricting the hosts to just seven runs from the first four overs. The breakthrough came courtesy of some sharp fielding from Riva Pindoria, whose direct hit ran out May Drinkell to leave Northamptonshire 16/1 after five overs.

Middlesex had to be patient in their hunt for the second wicket, which eventually came from Turner, who bowled opener, Amelia Kemp, for 22. She struck again soon after, as Beth Ascott was caught behind by Pippa Sproul for 9.

Sarah Pearson was then brought into the attack, and quickly made her mark, taking her first wicket of the season in her third over. From there, the floodgates opened, with Anaya Patel and Anisha Dissanayake both picking up their first wickets. Dissanayake’s second, bowling Alicia Presland for 1, left the Steelbacks in trouble at 86/7.

Middlesex had to then endure another resilient partnership, as Mabel Reid and Ella Phillips began to steady the innings. Once again, however, it was Pearson who broke the stand, with Phillips caught by Horley for 28 in the 43rd over. Horley then followed it up, bowling Poppy Smart for a duck, before Turner’s catch removed Reid for 29 to give Pearson her third. The innings was wrapped up in 46.2 overs, with Northamptonshire all out for 144, and Middlesex firmly in control. Pearson finished as the pick of the bowlers with fine figures of 3/29 from 6.2 overs.

Chasing 145 for victory, Downer and Sproul opened the innings and made a positive start. They built a steady platform before Sproul was dismissed for 19, leaving us at 39/1 inside nine overs. Finty Trussler added a lively 18, including three boundaries, before being caught, bringing Horley to the crease alongside Downer.

In her first competitive game of the season, Downer looked strong. She reached 47 before falling to Anisha Patel, narrowly missing out on a milestone. Her dismissal left Middlesex needing a further 43 runs with seven wickets in hand.

Georgia Irving chipped in with seven before being caught, and a couple of quick wickets briefly slowed the chase. Horley, however, played a composed captain’s knock, guiding the innings through the later stages, before finally being joined by Pearson. The pair saw us comfortably over the line, with Pearson hitting the winning runs to take us to 145/6 in 33.3 overs.

Another assured performance with both bat and ball kept our unbeaten run intact, with a third straight win putting us at the top of Tier Two.

We next head into T20 action, with us kicking off the Vitality Women's T20 County Cup tomorrow against Kent at Radlett in round one, when we'll be looking to continue our fantastic start to the season and start what we hope will be a good run in the T20 cup.