)}})
Victory for Somerset at Durham
Somerset held their nerve in a tight chase to defeat Durham by four wickets via the DLS method in their Metro Bank One-Day Cup women’s competition clash at Banks Homes Riverside.
Debutant Rebecca Ogders and Fran Wilson scored half-centuries for the visitors in a rain-affected contest reduced to 39 overs per side. The pair set the foundation before Amanda-Jade Wellington and Alex Griffiths saw their team over the line with nine balls to spare.
Durham skipper Hollie Armitage scored 89 earlier in the day to allow Durham to post a competitive 216, reduced to 213 after DLS. Chloe Skelton and Ellie Anderson each claimed three wickets apiece, with the former’s three strikes in the penultimate over proving decisive in the outcome of the contest as Somerset claimed four points.
Somerset won the toss and elected to field, although the start of play was delayed by 50 minutes due to rain. The visitors immediately put Durham on the back foot as Suzie Bates dragged the second delivery of the day from Anderson back onto her own stumps.
After another lengthy delay, Armitage greeted the first ball after the restart with a fine cover drive to the fence, but Somerset kept chipping away at the Durham batting order as Laura Jackson pinned Emma Marlow lbw before Anderson bowled found her way through the defences of both Mady Villiers and Bess Heath.
The Durham skipper defied the Somerset bowlers and reached her third half-century in a row on home soil, finding the gap between the two fielders on the leg-side boundary off Wellington.
Phoebe Turner joined Armitage to offer support, steering Durham towards a competitive total courtesy of a 57-run stand, with Armitage leading the way. She seemed poised to become the first Durham centurion, only to fall 11 runs shy, missing a straight one from Amanda-Jade Wellington.
Katherine Fraser provided the impetus without Armitage with a 23-ball 30, including the first six of the game. But, Skelton wrapped up the Durham innings with three wickets in four balls, skittling the hosts for 216.
Chasing a revised total of 213, Somerset were pegged back early on as Emma Corney and Sophie Luff fell cheaply. But, Odgers, making her Somerset bow in place of Heather Knight, settled into her knock with a flurry of crunching off-side boundaries.
Odgers and Wilson continued to lay the foundations of the visitors’ chase, taking their stand past fifty before the opener brought up her maiden List A fifty from 66 balls. Katie Levick prised out Odgers for a well-made 60, but Wilson continued her impressive innings to keep Somerset within striking distance of the required rate.
Turner dismissed Charlie Dean and Katie Jones to put the pressure on the Somerset ranks. However, Wilson was proving up to the challenge, reaching her half-century with a crisp drive through to covers for four. Timely boundaries whittled down the required run rate as Wilson used all strokes around the ground to put the visitors on the brink.
Levick secured a vital breakthrough to dismiss Wilson for 68 to set up a tense finale. Wellington used her nous to score three boundaries using a reverse scoop off the penultimate over to secure the win for the visitors.
Main image courtesy of Mark Fletcher
