Gerry Wolstenholme's Blog - Posts Tagged "lancashire-thunder"
“Thunderbolts and Lightning very, very frightening”!
When Freddie Mercury sung the line “Thunderbolts and Lightning very, very frightening” when performing Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, I don’t suppose he ever thought it would be associated with a cricket match! But it was most apt last Wednesday when Blackpool Cricket Club superbly hosted and administered a double-header for the two Lancashire teams, the ladies’ Lancashire Thunder and the Men’s Lancashire Lightning. Their opponents Northern Diamonds and Worcestershire Rapids respectively were both put to the sword, the former comprehensively, the latter in a tense final over.
Hollie Armitage won the toss and decided that Diamonds would bat and the first over produced two fours to Lauren Winfield-Hill. Little did Diamonds know but that was to be their most productive over their second most productive over of the game, the 11 runs from the sixth over being the only one to surpass it. And by then Diamonds had lost four wickets.
The wickets had begun to fall regularly and so they continued as Fi Morris, 2-16, Tara Norris, 2-19, and Mahika Gaur, 2-29, worked their way through the batting order while Olivia Bell’s off-spin, 3-9, helped finish the innings of with Liberty Heap’s throw to Dattani wrapping things up with a run out. Thus Diamonds posted a very modest 96 all out in 18.4 overs on a track that looked like it was full of runs.
Fourteen runs from the first over from Heap, 12, and Dattani, 20, set Thunder well on their way and with Morris making 42 not out from 34 balls with five fours, Diamonds could not stem the flow of runs. And it was all over after 15 overs as Lightning won by seven wickets at 97-3. Not only that, the victory ensured that Thunder would be competing in the play-off game against Southern Vipers at Worcester on 10 June.
As for the men, Lancashire Lightning fought a much tighter battle against Worcestershire Rapid after Liam Livingstone had won the toss and decided that Lightning would field first. And Worcestershire lived up to their name with a rapid start, skipper Brett D’Oliveira taking three fours from the second over. But the introduction of Colin de Grandomme into the attack put a stop to the merriment as he dismissed both openers.
Thereafter the spin of Tom Hartley and Luke Wells put the brakes on somewhat and when Daryl Mitchell was brought into the attack, he not only stemmed the flow of runs but took three wickets in the process to finish with a parsimonious 3-9. And with Adam Finch run out from the final ball of the innings, Rapids finished at 177-9 with Mitchell Santner’s 57 from 33 balls with four fours and four sixes, being the best effort, followed by Adam Hose’s 42 from 29 balls with two fours and three sixes. As for the fielding, on his home ground Steven Croft took three catches, including a superb overhead catch at long-off to dismiss Oliver Cox.
In reply, Lightning lost two early wickets, Phil Salt for five and Luke Wells for three but Joss Buttler was in dominant form and it was a surprise, as well as a disappointment to the healthy-sized crowd, when he edged the speedy Dillon Pennington to wicketkeeper Cox after he had made a sparkling 58 from 42 balls with five fours and three sixes.
It was also a disappointment when Croft was run out for 40 with four fours and two sixes after a mix-up with Mitchell but Livingstone entered and struck a 12-ball 23 to keep his side on track for victory. And with three balls remaining Mitchell, 33 not out from 14 balls, struck a mighty six over long-off to win the game for Lightning by four wickets at 181-6.
And that completed a thoroughly entertaining and successful day all round with the Lancashire men, returning to Stanley Park on 10 July for a four-day Division One LV=Insurance County Championship game … don’t miss it!
Hollie Armitage won the toss and decided that Diamonds would bat and the first over produced two fours to Lauren Winfield-Hill. Little did Diamonds know but that was to be their most productive over their second most productive over of the game, the 11 runs from the sixth over being the only one to surpass it. And by then Diamonds had lost four wickets.
The wickets had begun to fall regularly and so they continued as Fi Morris, 2-16, Tara Norris, 2-19, and Mahika Gaur, 2-29, worked their way through the batting order while Olivia Bell’s off-spin, 3-9, helped finish the innings of with Liberty Heap’s throw to Dattani wrapping things up with a run out. Thus Diamonds posted a very modest 96 all out in 18.4 overs on a track that looked like it was full of runs.
Fourteen runs from the first over from Heap, 12, and Dattani, 20, set Thunder well on their way and with Morris making 42 not out from 34 balls with five fours, Diamonds could not stem the flow of runs. And it was all over after 15 overs as Lightning won by seven wickets at 97-3. Not only that, the victory ensured that Thunder would be competing in the play-off game against Southern Vipers at Worcester on 10 June.
As for the men, Lancashire Lightning fought a much tighter battle against Worcestershire Rapid after Liam Livingstone had won the toss and decided that Lightning would field first. And Worcestershire lived up to their name with a rapid start, skipper Brett D’Oliveira taking three fours from the second over. But the introduction of Colin de Grandomme into the attack put a stop to the merriment as he dismissed both openers.
Thereafter the spin of Tom Hartley and Luke Wells put the brakes on somewhat and when Daryl Mitchell was brought into the attack, he not only stemmed the flow of runs but took three wickets in the process to finish with a parsimonious 3-9. And with Adam Finch run out from the final ball of the innings, Rapids finished at 177-9 with Mitchell Santner’s 57 from 33 balls with four fours and four sixes, being the best effort, followed by Adam Hose’s 42 from 29 balls with two fours and three sixes. As for the fielding, on his home ground Steven Croft took three catches, including a superb overhead catch at long-off to dismiss Oliver Cox.
In reply, Lightning lost two early wickets, Phil Salt for five and Luke Wells for three but Joss Buttler was in dominant form and it was a surprise, as well as a disappointment to the healthy-sized crowd, when he edged the speedy Dillon Pennington to wicketkeeper Cox after he had made a sparkling 58 from 42 balls with five fours and three sixes.
It was also a disappointment when Croft was run out for 40 with four fours and two sixes after a mix-up with Mitchell but Livingstone entered and struck a 12-ball 23 to keep his side on track for victory. And with three balls remaining Mitchell, 33 not out from 14 balls, struck a mighty six over long-off to win the game for Lightning by four wickets at 181-6.
And that completed a thoroughly entertaining and successful day all round with the Lancashire men, returning to Stanley Park on 10 July for a four-day Division One LV=Insurance County Championship game … don’t miss it!
Women's Vitality Blast
Somerset Women at Stanley Park
The final round of the league stage of the Women’s Vitality Blast comes to Stanley Park tomorrow, Friday 18 July with a 2.30pm start. And it features two teams with contrasting fortunes as Lancashire entertain Somerset.
While Lancashire have everything to play for with a victory ensuring a place in Finals Day on 27 July, Somerset will be playing for pride in trying to obtain their second win of a disappointing campaign. Both sides have played 13 games, Lancashire having won seven and lost six while Somerset have just one victory to their name with 10 defeats and two games with no result.
Lancashire began with a defeat to The Blaze despite a fine 59 by Katie Mack but they bounced back in game two by defeating Durham Women by 18 runs with captain Ellie Threlkeld, 48, playing the significant innings of the match. Two defeats and two victories followed in the next four games before another two further defeats set Lancashire back somewhat. But three successive victories restored their hopes. And after an unexpected defeat by Durham Women at old Trafford, despite a fine 74 by Emma Lamb and Alana King’s 3-24, Mahika Gaur’s three wickets in eight balls at Chelmsford at the start of the Essex innings paved the way for a four-wicket victory with Eve Jones top scoring with 59. And so we come to the Somerset game in fourth place, four points ahead of Durham and with a better net run rate.
Meanwhile Somerset were going through a terrible patch with an abandoned fourth game leaving them with three defeats. And those losses continued with five in succession before a little relief came with a home four-wicket victory over Essex Women to which Fran Wilson contributed 41. But two further losses followed and with their final game being abandoned they have just the solitary victory to offset their 10 defeats.
For Lancashire Emma Lamb has the most runs, 336 in her eight games at the exceptional average of 133.33 with four half-centuries while Ailsa Lister has 264 runs, again at a most impressive average of 154.38. with Eve Jones, 203 also passing the 200-mark; in addition four others have more than 100 runs to their names, Ellie Threlkeld, 150, Seren Smale, 140, Tilly Kesterven, 126, and Fi Morris, 122.
In the bowling, Alana King and Tara Norris both have 15 wickets with Kate Cross and Sophie Morris have nine each. To show the strength and variety of the attack, seven other bowlers have also taken wickets.
Somerset’s batting has been led by Amanda Jane Wellington, 250 runs, Fran Wilson, 234 runs, and Bex Odgers, 218 runs, but to demonstrate the paucity of runs, only two other players have passed a total of 100. As for the bowling, Mollie Robbins leads the way with 13 wickets while all-rounder Wellington has 10. Off-spinner Charlie Dean’s 4-9 was their most impressive return of the season.
So, do come along to Stanley Park to see this final game of the league stage to see whether Lancashire will seal their place in final’s day, or Somerset will end their season on a high. It will undoubtedly be an interesting and entertaining day!
The final round of the league stage of the Women’s Vitality Blast comes to Stanley Park tomorrow, Friday 18 July with a 2.30pm start. And it features two teams with contrasting fortunes as Lancashire entertain Somerset.
While Lancashire have everything to play for with a victory ensuring a place in Finals Day on 27 July, Somerset will be playing for pride in trying to obtain their second win of a disappointing campaign. Both sides have played 13 games, Lancashire having won seven and lost six while Somerset have just one victory to their name with 10 defeats and two games with no result.
Lancashire began with a defeat to The Blaze despite a fine 59 by Katie Mack but they bounced back in game two by defeating Durham Women by 18 runs with captain Ellie Threlkeld, 48, playing the significant innings of the match. Two defeats and two victories followed in the next four games before another two further defeats set Lancashire back somewhat. But three successive victories restored their hopes. And after an unexpected defeat by Durham Women at old Trafford, despite a fine 74 by Emma Lamb and Alana King’s 3-24, Mahika Gaur’s three wickets in eight balls at Chelmsford at the start of the Essex innings paved the way for a four-wicket victory with Eve Jones top scoring with 59. And so we come to the Somerset game in fourth place, four points ahead of Durham and with a better net run rate.
Meanwhile Somerset were going through a terrible patch with an abandoned fourth game leaving them with three defeats. And those losses continued with five in succession before a little relief came with a home four-wicket victory over Essex Women to which Fran Wilson contributed 41. But two further losses followed and with their final game being abandoned they have just the solitary victory to offset their 10 defeats.
For Lancashire Emma Lamb has the most runs, 336 in her eight games at the exceptional average of 133.33 with four half-centuries while Ailsa Lister has 264 runs, again at a most impressive average of 154.38. with Eve Jones, 203 also passing the 200-mark; in addition four others have more than 100 runs to their names, Ellie Threlkeld, 150, Seren Smale, 140, Tilly Kesterven, 126, and Fi Morris, 122.
In the bowling, Alana King and Tara Norris both have 15 wickets with Kate Cross and Sophie Morris have nine each. To show the strength and variety of the attack, seven other bowlers have also taken wickets.
Somerset’s batting has been led by Amanda Jane Wellington, 250 runs, Fran Wilson, 234 runs, and Bex Odgers, 218 runs, but to demonstrate the paucity of runs, only two other players have passed a total of 100. As for the bowling, Mollie Robbins leads the way with 13 wickets while all-rounder Wellington has 10. Off-spinner Charlie Dean’s 4-9 was their most impressive return of the season.
So, do come along to Stanley Park to see this final game of the league stage to see whether Lancashire will seal their place in final’s day, or Somerset will end their season on a high. It will undoubtedly be an interesting and entertaining day!
