Somerset Women’s Vitality Blast campaign ends in defeat
Liberty Heap top-scored with 37 as Essex completed their Vitality Blast campaign with a 41-run victory over Somerset at the Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton.
Somerset spinner Charlie Dean claimed three for 36, but Grace Scrivens and Jo Gardner weighed in with 32 and 30 respectively as Essex ran up an imposing 163 for nine after winning the toss.
Seamers Katie Coppack (two for 20) and Eva Gray (two for 11) then put the skids under Somerset’s batting as the home side were shot out for 122.
Neither side was able to qualify for finals day, but Essex leapfrogged Somerset to finish in fifth place, courtesy of their sixth win of the season.
Essex elected to bat and subsided to 58 for three in eight overs. Alex Griffiths had Anneke Bosch held at deep mid-wicket and Sophia Smale fell to Chloe Skelton in identical fashion as Somerset made early in-roads.
Scrivens raised 32 from 25 balls with five fours in a productive powerplay that yielded 53 runs. But her luck ran out when she was brilliantly run out by Liv Barnes.
Required to rebuild, Jodi Grewcock and Heap responded positively, the fourth wicket pair adding 44 in 5.2 overs to bring up three figures. That was the cue for Barnes to strike another telling blow, the slow left-armer bowling Grewcock for 19 with the score 102 for four in the fourteenth.
Gardner demonstrated aggressive intent, smiting Barnes for a straight six, and then repeating the feat at the expense of Harris as she raised a quickfire 30 from 17 balls. Harris had the last laugh, though, persuading Gardner to drive to extra cover.
But Heap remained at large, hoisting Dean for a six over deep mid-wicket before top-edging a catch to third man, having hauled her side to a competitive total.
That total appeared more handy still when Somerset lost three wickets in the powerplay. Katie Coppack had Bex Odgers held at mid-wicket and Niamh Holland caught behind in a new ball burst of two for 15 from three overs, while Sophie Luff lobbed a Smale full toss to mid-on as the home side slipped to 29 for three.
Making her final appearance of the season before returning to Australia, Anika Learoyd joined forces with Griffiths in an attempt to keep the chase afloat. By the time Griffiths fell lbw to Eva Gray for 15, Somerset were 49 for four in the tenth and required to score at just under eleven an over.
Their task became even more difficult when Gray had Learoyd caught at long-on and then rather fortuitously ran out Dean at the non striker’s end to reduce the home side to 50 for six. Skelton was then run out by Heap.
Hazell mustered dogged resistance in a losing cause thereafter, raising 37 from 28 balls. But it was too little too late.
