Middlesex Women suffered their first defeat of the Vitality Blast campaign yesterday as Leicestershire Foxes Women chased down 116 to win by five wickets with 16 balls remaining.
After electing to bat first, Middlesex posted 115/4 from their 20 overs, thanks largely to an unbeaten half-century from Gaya Gole. However, a composed partnership between Ellen Watson and Caitlin Chissell guided Leicestershire home despite Middlesex reducing the visitors to 66/5 midway through the chase.
Middlesex endured a difficult start after choosing to bat, losing both Abbie Whybrow and Artemis Downer inside the opening four overs to leave the hosts 13/2.
Captain Saskia Horley briefly counter attacked with seven before she was caught off the bowling of Prisha Thanawala, while Riva Pindoria was trapped leg before wicket by Chissell soon after as Middlesex slipped to 42/4 in the eighth over.
Gole then steadied the innings with a composed and controlled knock, anchoring the Middlesex innings throughout the middle overs. The right-hander reached an unbeaten 51 from 55 deliveries, striking four boundaries in a patient innings that ensured the side remained competitive.
She found valuable support from Georgia Irving, who finished unbeaten on 29 from 40 balls, as the pair added an unbroken stand of 73 for the fifth wicket to rebuild the innings after the early collapse.
Although Middlesex struggled to find regular boundaries, the partnership gradually restored momentum and helped the side close on 115/4 from their 20 overs.
Leicestershire began the chase positively through Thanawala, who struck three early boundaries before falling to Sarah Pearson for 15. Lauren Turner then removed captain Rebecca Brooker to leave the visitors 32/2 during the powerplay.
Middlesex continued to apply pressure as Hannah Francis dismissed Faith Teekasingh shortly after Rachana Cambampaty had stumped Lucy Weston, before Cambampaty struck again to remove Flora Davies and reduce Leicestershire to 66/5 in the 10th over.
However, Watson and Chissell combined to wrestle momentum back in Leicestershire’s favour with an unbroken sixth-wicket partnership of 53.
Watson led the recovery with a fluent unbeaten 28 from 25 deliveries, while Chissell added 20 not out as the pair guided the visitors home in 17.2 overs.
Cambampaty was the standout performer with the ball for Middlesex, finishing with figures of 2/16 from her four overs, while Turner, Pearson and Francis each claimed a wicket.
Middlesex Women
Leicestershire Foxes Women
