Women’s XI beaten in national final
It proved to be a game too far for Cricket Shropshire’s Women’s XI when they took on Oxfordshire in the Vitality Blast League Three Division Two final at the stunning Wormsley CC in Buckinghamshire.
They were beaten by 38 runs – but can still look back on a brilliant T20 campaign which saw them win nine out of ten games in the group stages.
In the final, Oxfordshire won the toss and got away to a flier and looked to be on course for a massive total when the fourth wicket fell at 102 in the 11th over.
But they managed to pick up another five wickets before the end of the innings to stem the scoring rate and restrict Oxfordshire to 150-9 with Esther Hurford claiming 2-27.
In the reply, Shropshire lost early wickets before a partnership between Aamna Khan (31) and Alex Hale (18 not out) boosted their total before the innings finished on 112-8.
Coach Sam Whitney said: “It was a big toss to lose in a national final – we would have batted first and tried to put the pressure on too. Oxfordshire got off to a flier and took advantage of the powerplay despite Amy Griffiths picking up an early wicket.
“Izzy Crann bowled a nice spell in the middle, and Esther Hurford was superb at the end to limit the score.
“There were also four superb run outs, especially one by Harriet Shuker, which meant they didn’t get away from us and restricted them to 150 when it could have been 180 plus.
“In the batting, we were never really in the game at 50-5 although Aamna and Alex Hales built a nice partnership which showed it was a good pitch to bat on.
“Overall, it was a great run the competition by a fantastic group of girls. Some of them have big futures ahead of them, and hopefully we can have a good run at it again next season where we will have the experience of being there on the big occasion.
Skipper Lara Jones said: “We were all disappointed to have come away with a loss. It wasn’t our best performance and we know what we need to do better next time.
“It was a great experience to play at such a high-quality venue. With a very young team, there are plenty of positives to take away from the experience.
“Izzy Crann and Esther Hurford bowled very well in the second half of the innings whilst under a lot of pressure and helped us to restrict Oxfordshire’s total.
“Aamna Khan also batted very well whilst wickets fell at the other end.
“We, as a team, would like to thank everyone for their support over the weekend. We can now focus and look forward to our 50-over campaign starting with our trip to Norfolk on August 10.”
