Central Sparks 139 for 6 (E Jones 71) beat Lightning 136 for 8 (Freeborn 32, Arlott 2-13) by four wickets
With a captain's innings of 71 from 55 balls, Eve Jones ensured her Central Sparks side didn't suffer an upset against their Midlands neighbours Lightning at New Road, Worcester. Chasing 137 to win, the Sparks knew only a win would do to keep them in the hunt for finals day. They won by four wickets with a ball to spare as Issy Wong smashed Grace Ballinger down the ground for four.
Lightning have yet to win a game in this season's Charlotte Edwards Cup; that being said, they gave Central Sparks some moments of concern.
Sonia Odedra and Bethany Harmer, the Lightning openers, started with the freedom to swing, and it was Harmer who impressed, hitting Wong out of the attack with consecutive fours and a six in the space of three balls, following it up with two fours of Emily Arlott's following over.
The pair added 54 before Clare Boycott bowled Harmer for a 26. When Odedra was bowled for 22 by Anisha Patel's first ball, it felt like Lightning were starting to lose their momentum.
It was up to Abigail Freeborn, who top-scored with 61 on Wednesday, to lift Lightning with 32 from 33 balls, again the highest individual tally of the innings. However, a fall of late order wickets ensured that Lightning fell far short of 150. Arlott took two wickets in her final over as Lighting lost their last four wickets for 22 runs.
Jones and Marie Kelly had led to a convincing victory over Southern Vipers only days ago. It looked as if the two meant business again with 17 runs coming from Sophie Munro's first five balls before the bowler forced Kelly into the mistake and was caught at cover by Harmer.
When Kirstie Gordon caught Milly Home three balls later, Sparks were now looking for the calm head of Jones to get them through. With Gwen Davies, the pair added 50 runs for the third wicket. They were keeping up with the rate and were starting to look favourites.
They found partnerships at the right times, but with the run rate required at over seven an over, Jones needed to be there at the end.
With eight balls left of the innings and six runs to win, Yvonne Graves caught Jones, and the following ball Arlott was bowled by Odedra. But Chole Hill and Wong kept their cool, and it was the home side that prevailed.
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