Ashford lost to Spencer by 3 wickets

Ashford 97-9 (Yolandi Maynier 28, Ellie Fielding 9-4-6-3)
Spencer 51-7 (Rachel Wilson 16, Elize Brown 5-2-8-2) (Target reduced to 51 in 25 overs due to rain)

Ashford were outstanding in the field, but rain denied them a chance of victory against close rivals Spencer. Batting first, Gill Bonham and Elize Brown got Ashford away to a steady start, and had almost seen off the Spencer openers when an unfortunate mix up saw Brown run out. Spencer’s bowlers gave nothing away, and started to pick up regular wickets, reducing Ashford to 33-6. Yolandi Maynier then came to the crease, and played aggressive shots from the start. She found the boundary five times on her way to 28, and supported by Angharad Purser, the pair added 43 for the 7th wicket, to give their side a chance of posting some sort of target. However, when both of them fell with the score on 76 and another wicket quickly followed in the 38th over, it looked like Ashford would not even see out their 45 overs. Fourteen year old Katie Brown was last man in, joining Ali McCreedy. Together the pair managed to see the innings through to the end, picking up nineteen valuable runs, a new club record for the tenth wicket, Brown finishing unbeaten on 7, her highest league score for Ashford.

With their strong bowling attack, Ashford were confident that they still had a chance of winning the game, but a heavy downpour halted the Spencer innings after only two overs. With over an hour’s play lost, when it eventually resumed, the target was reduced to only 51, off 25 overs. Ashford didn’t give up, however, and put in their finest fielding performance of the season, taking six catches, none of which was easy, to leave Spencer reeling on 24–6. Amy Evans was quite outstanding at point, a position she is making her own, taking three of them (another club record, for a single game). Yolandi Maynier, Hannah Merchant and Katie Brown took the others, which left their side within sight of an unlikely win. The Spencer skipper Rachel Wilson then got them back on track, but with the score on 48, Jenny Tippell clean bowled her, keeping Ashford’s fading hopes alive. It was not to be, however, and the Spencer bats held their nerve to score the remaining three runs required to take them to victory.

Ashford must reflect on what might have been, as they will now drop to third place in the league. Had the rain not reduced the original target, they would surely have had time to take the last three wickets, but they will also be aware that a stronger performance with the bat would have left them better placed in the game.

Alison McCreedy