Worcestershire Rapids Women welcomed both Derbyshire Falcons and Northants Steelbacks to Visit Worcestershire New Road on Sunday, but walked away empty-handed as they fell to defeat in both games on their return to Vitality T20 Blast action.
Match One v Derbyshire Falcons
After losing the toss and being asked to bat first against Derbyshire, the innings got off to far from the ideal start, as Gwen Davies fell in the third over, for one.
Bryony Gillgrass joined Captain, Clare Boycott, as the pair looked to stabilise proceedings for their side.
Gillgrass, started brightly, as she accessed the leg-side to good effect, but her cameo of 14 was ended before it really got going as she was trapped LBW with her side 32-2.
Unfortunately for the Rapids, wickets continued to fall far too often, stunting any chance of the hosts building any substantial partnerships.
32-2 soon became 40-6, as the Rapids’ middle-order was ripped apart by some accurate Falcons bowling.
When three further wickets fell for eight runs, the Rapids were in serious need of some stability, as no other batter had mustered double-figures by the time the innings reached the halfway stage.
Jess Beach (5) showed some defiance at the back end of the innings, but the Derbyshire bowlers prevailed in a clinical performance, that saw them wrap-up the Worcestershire innings for 53.
In response, the Rapids made the visitors work hard for their runs, taking the game right to the wire.
With 53 on the board however, a challenging defence was always going to prove testing.
Pheobe Brett (1-7), impressed throughout her four-over spell, as she opened the Rapid’s account by dismissing Jessica Couser, without scoring.
Lara Shaw, was the next batter to fall, as he succumbed to the pressure applied by Jess Beach (1-16), with the Rapids giving themselves a fighting chance.
16-2 after five overs, the home side continued their bright start, slowing the Falcons run-rate, with none of the Rapids bowlers going at over four-an-over.
Flora Bertwistle, joined the action in the 12th over, when she removed Megan Pittman for a stubborn 19 off 29 balls.
The home side did not help their cause, conceding 14 extras, as Natasha Allen, 18 not-out off 42 balls, steered her side to victory in the 18th over of the contest, winning by seven-wickets.
Match Two v Northants Steelbacks
The Rapids had a short turnaround however and could not afford to dwell on the morning’s defeat, as the Steelbacks lay in wait for the day’s second game.
Winning the toss this time around, Boycott elected to bowl first, looking to her bowlers to get the Rapids back in contention.
The hosts weathered an early storm, as the Steelbacks came out of the blocks quickly, but soon found themselves two wickets down.
Pheobe Brett, once again made the early inroads for her side, removing both openers to leave the visitors 34-2.
After establishing some stability in the middle overs, Michaela Kirk (27), Amelia Kemp (20) and Alicia Presland (24), all helped Northants make their way to what looked to be a formidable total.
Boycott turned to Bertwistle, who she later had to thank for an innings-changing spell, picking up 3-11 from her four overs, including 18 dot-balls.
She showed control and temperament to drag her side back into the match, picking up two wickets by clean bowling Kirk and Katherine Speed, before getting Kemp stumped smartly by Liv Gough.
Bryony Gillgrass, chipped in with the big wicket of Presland, before some sharp fielding from the Rapids saw them slow the run-rate significantly.
Only conceding 39 runs from the final six overs, the Rapids did an effective job to restrict Northants to 134-8.
The run chase, started in far better fashion than that of the morning’s fixture, as the Rapids’ Gwen Davies, showed some excellent white-ball batting prowess as she played a couple clever shots behind square to get the chase up and running.
When she was dismissed for 11 in the second over, Captain, Clare Boycott was joined by the exciting Bryony Gillgrass, who proceeded to cut loose.
The pair added 42 for the second wicket, before Gillgrass, was bowled for a quick fire 22 from just 15 balls.
Boycott, continued her tempered innings, now joined by Ruby Davis, as they marched on and accumulated runs at tempo.
The Rapids 100 came up in the 15th over, with the 50-partnership taking the hosts to within 27 runs of victory, with a grandstand finish on the cards.
Boycott, however, perished just two short of a well-deserved 50, when she was well caught at long-on for a captains knock of 48 from 45 balls.
Davis (25) fell shortly after, and with her dismissal, the momentum was right back with the visitors.
Under pressure, the Rapids struggled to stay up with the required run-rate, as the innings fell away and a disappointing 16-run defeat ensued.
