Match Centre

MIDDLESEX WOMEN V GLAMORGAN WOMEN | MATCH REPORT

Middlesex Women made it two wins from two in the Vitality Blast yesterday, clinching a tense four-wicket victory over Glamorgan in a low-scoring thriller at Merchant Taylors’ School.

After winning the toss and electing to bowl, Middlesex produced an outstanding performance with the ball to dismiss Glamorgan for 77 inside 18 overs. However, what looked like a straightforward chase turned into a nail-biting finish, with captain, Saskia Horley, striking the winning boundary off the penultimate ball to seal the win in dramatic fashion.

Opening the bowling for Middlesex, Lauren Turner made the perfect start with the ball, removing Glamorgan skipper, Lauren Parfitt, who was bowled for a duck with the final delivery of the opening over. From the other end, Sonali Patel wasted no time in making her mark, dismissing Daisy Jeanes with her first ball. Turner then struck again in her next over, having Bethan Gammon caught behind by Pippa Sproul for 2, as the Middlesex pair tore through the top order.

Glamorgan steadied slightly through Niamh Holland, but wickets continued to fall at regular intervals. Anaya Patel entered the attack in the sixth over and soon picked up where she left off against Sussex, having Bea Ellis edged behind to Sproul. Two balls later, Sonali Patel picked up her second, Emily Burke also caught behind. Patel closed out an excellent spell with figures of 2/9 from her four overs.

By the halfway mark of the innings, Glamorgan had reached 41/5, as Horley then introduced herself into the attack and immediately added to the tally, thanks to a great catch from Hannah Davis to remove Gemma Porter. Davis then claimed the crucial wicket of Glamorgan’s top scorer, Holland, who was bowled for 40.

With the visitors eight wickets down after 17 overs, Davis returned to wrap things up, and within two balls, Glamorgan’s innings had come to an end. First, Davis had Sara Phillips out lbw for 1, before some sharp fielding from Horley and Davis saw Nicole Ried run-out, ending Glamorgan’s innings at 77 all out in 17.2 overs.

The target set, Issy Routledge and Riva Pindoria opened the batting for Middlesex. Routledge got off the mark, scoring six from the first over, before falling for 7 at the end of the second, stumped off Porter. Dattani followed soon after, also to Porter, before Pindoria departed for 5, leaving Middlesex at 25/3 by the end of the seventh over.

Finty Trussler and Saskia Horley began to steady the ship, rotating the strike and edging towards the modest target. Trussler looked composed but fell for 19 in the 11th over, stumped off Phillips, as Glamorgan continued to squeeze.

Sproul joined Horley and the pair nudged Middlesex within 15 runs of the target with five overs remaining. But Sproul’s lbw dismissal - Porter’s third wicket – set up a tense finale. Sonali Patel and Horley inched closer, though runs became increasingly hard to come by, as Glamorgan’s bowling attack restricted scoring opportunities, and the pressure mounted.

With four runs needed from the final over and five wickets in hand, Patel was out lbw with three balls remaining. Anaya Patel managed a leg bye to, crucially, get Horley back on strike with two balls left and three still required.

Composed as ever under pressure, Horley stepped up and calmly struck the penultimate delivery to the boundary, sealing a dramatic four-wicket win after a heart-stopping conclusion.

Another step forward in the Vitality Blast – two wins from two and a perfect start to the campaign continues.