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50 for Bex but Somerset come up short
Somerset once again fell agonisingly short of claiming a first Vitality Blast win of the season when they missed out by six runs against Durham at the Banks Homes Riverside
Having been asked to bat first, Durham made 154 for four in their twenty overs with Suzie Bates making 48 and skipper Hollie Armitage 41. Despite Bex Odgers celebrating the award of her new contract by making 54, Somerset finished on 148 for seven with Mia Rogers making three stumpings and Phoebe Turner taking one for 15 from her four overs
Bates and her opening partner, Emma Marlow attacked almost from the first ball of the Durham innings and had put on 50 in 5.2 overs before Marlow was immediately caught at long-on off Chloe Skelton for an 11-ball 20.
Undaunted by this reverse, Bates and Hollie Armitage ensured Durham were well placed on 78 for one after ten overs of their innings before the New Zealand batter was caught at short third by Odgers off Alex Griffiths when two short of her third Durham half-century.
The departure of their marquee signing in no way deterred her colleagues. Armitage and Mady Villiers brought up the hundred in the 13th over and the home side’s ascendancy was epitomised by Villiers lifting Griffiths for a big six over long-on.
Armitage was unluckily run out for 41 at the bowler’s end when Skelton deflected Villiers’ fierce drive into the stumps and Durham’s momentum was also slowed by Erin Vukusic, who conceded only 29 runs from her four overs.
Emily Windsor was run out on her county debut for five and Durham finished on 154 for four, only 35 runs coming from the last five overs. Villiers finished unbeaten on 39 but Skelton took one for 26 from four overs and Amanda-Jade Wellington nought for 23 in a plucky fightback from the visitors, who did not bowl a wide in their 20 overs.
Encouraged by their bowlers’ resistance, Somerset’s openers began in expansive fashion, Bex Odgers taking 16 runs off Grace Thompson’s first over and 37 coming off the opening 20 balls before Niamh Holland was leg before to an off-spinner from Villiers for 11.
Fran Wilson was caught and bowled by Phoebe Turner for four in the next over but Odgers smacked Villiers for six over square leg and the visitors ended the powerplay three runs better placed than Durham, albeit having lost one more wicket.
A significant setback followed for Somerset, though, when their skipper Sophie Luff was run out for three off her own bowling by Phoebe Turner after a mix-up with Odgers.
If that wicket disturbed Odgers, she did not show it. Instead, she reached her half-century off 35 balls but was stumped by Mia Rogers off Katie Levick for 54 two balls later. Durham’s spinners put the brakes on Somerset’s progress following the opener’s dismissal and 40 runs were still needed off the final five overs.
It proved too stiff a task. Despite Jess Hazell’s enterprising strokeplay, Phoebe and Sophie Turner choked off the runs with tight medium pace bowling and 19 runs were needed off the final 12 balls. Amanda-Jade Wellington was stumped by Rogers off Sophie Turner for 12 in the 19th over and with eleven needed off the final over, Mady Villiers conceded just four, Hazell finishing unbeaten on 38.
At the end of the match, Somerset Head Coach, Trevor Griffin said: “We’ve had a few of those, that’s probably the fourth of our games that’s been close and that was similar to what happened at Somerset when we played Durham there.
“There were just some small margins. I thought we did well with the ball, particularly in the second half of the innings. I thought we made it difficult to score, especially in the last four overs, where Erin Vukusic was outstanding, bowling 12 slower balls and her last two overs went for nine runs.
“With the batting, I thought Bex Odgers was outstanding but we had to maximise the powerplay because it was difficult to access the boundaries in the last few overs when pace came off and we needed to put the pressure back on Durham.
“Mady Villiers and Katie Levick know what they’re doing but we had to try and find a way of putting the pressure back on them. Losing Bex when we did shifted the balance in Durham’s favour and we never really got going again.”
