Match Report: Wiltshire Women vs Devon & Hampshire Women (Sunday 16th June)

Wiltshire Women in T20 Action with Devon and Hampshire – Match Reports

Following another cancellation due to rain in the opening round of the Women’s T20 competition, Wiltshire went into their home T20 clash with Devon and Hampshire with fresh legs. Devon were also rain affected in the opening round, whilst Hampshire joined both teams having played 2 fixtures (Won 1, Lost 1), against Somerset & Oxfordshire. Hampshire were therefore the table toppers coming into the Wiltshire T20 weekend.

Wiltshire’s first home games of the 2024 season took place at sunny Potterne CC, with drivers advised to park as far away from the boundary fence as possible. Wiltshire and Devon were first to face off in the tri-T20 day, with Wiltshire welcoming debutants Lauren Adams, Rowan Sabin and Elise Haines to the team to replace the injured Lois Wright, Holly Presswell and Poppy Walker. Lauren, Rowan & Elise were selected in the side for their exceptional, game-changing fielding potential and hard-hitting strike-rates. Much to the Wiltshire’s team’s delight – there was plenty of exceptional fielding from all three players and some valuable knocks with the bat!

Having lost the toss, but achieving their chosen preference, Wiltshire were asked to field, with openers Anna-Mae Shearn & Sophie Gaiger leading the charge with the ball. The powerplay was very much an even contest, with the openers bowling 22 dot balls from the first 36 deliveries, whilst Devon opener’s Munday and Vereker found the ropes 7 times, before both were later dismissed in quick succession by Gaiger and Cobb, who joined the bowling attack early and claimed the valuable wicket of Munday in her first over.

The even battle between bat and ball continued throughout Devon’s innings. Bishop and Lilii rebuilding the Devon innings to 94 in the 14^th over, before Lilli was dismissed by Heppell, who clipped the bails with a late in-swinging delivering. With the game still in the balance, both teams went into the final few overs with confidence, before Devon’s batters changed gear and struck 8 more boundaries, led by big-hitting Bishop (58 from 43) and Perkin (31* from 22). Devon finished their innings on 159-4 from their 20 overs.

Wiltshire set about their chase with confidence and looked to be in the driving seat for the majority of the innings, with opener Sharman (52 from 46), captain Thomson (23 from 17) and a sensible innings from Shearn (36 from 38) knocking off the majority of the Devon total with ease. These 3 found the boundaries at Potterne 16 times (15 fours, 1 six), but came undone at crucial moments in the game, with the former 2 finding the hands of fielders and Shearn being hit in front of the sticks trying to accelerate the run-rate with a flick shot over deep-square.

Wiltshire’s innings fell short after 20-overs, reaching 131-5, despite some moments of brilliance with the bat. The team took the opportunity to regroup, with coaches Dent & Evans leading the team talk

“A good effort, Wilts! Ultimately, we’ve played some good cricket there. Generally, we bowled some fantastic deliveries, took vital wickets and put ourselves into a winning position up until the mid-way point in our innings. There’s a few lessons for us to take from this game, before we play Hampshire later today. The first being that we need to consider conceding less boundaries to the short-side, so bowlers, let’s consider our lines from either end. Flo – a great innings of 50, well done! We got ourselves into a strong position there, but didn’t quite find the opportunities to capitalise on our position against their slower bowlers. Let’s keep things simple, build partnerships and be confident with our skills!”

 

After a well-deserved lunch and opportunity to watch Devon take on Hampshire (Hampshire defeated Devon by 7 wickets, chasing Devon’s score of 60ao in 11.2 overs), Wiltshire took to the field again, having lost the toss.

Game 2 saw several different tactics from Wiltshire. Gaiger remained with the new ball, whilst the other end welcomed Captain, Thomson. Both started superbly, conceding just 5 runs in the first 2 overs. Thomson and Gaiger continued to pile on pressure throughout their opening spell, before Gaiger took the edge of King, which led into Shearn being welcomed back into the attack, and only conceding 1 from her first over. Wiltshire had set the standard inside Powerplay 1, only giving Hampshire 31 runs in their first 6 overs. The relentless bowling consistency and threat continued, as Heppell, Haines and Smith took control of the middle overs. The combined spell between these middle overs bowlers totalling 10-overs, 4 wickets for 38 runs, including a wicket-maiden in the 20^th, delivered by Smith.

The outstanding bowling performance was backed up by some exceptional efforts in the field, seeing all of the Wiltshire players making valuable run-saving contributions. The combined effort restricted Hampshire to a total of 104-8 from their 20-overs.

A tactical change to the batting line up for Wiltshire saw Thomson and Sharman head to the crease to begin their innings, with Thomson setting the tone for the chase by striking two fours over extra-cover in the first over. Sharman, following her outstanding first innings, was unfortunately dismissed inside the 4^th over, bringing Shearn to the crease. Thomson and Shearn continued the onslaught, with a flurry of boundaries taking the total to 47-1 at the end of the Powerplay. Wiltshire were very much in control of this chase, before Hampshire’s Ransley caused an upset by dismissing Thomson for 29. Left-Handed Bogg then returned to the crease, tactically dropped down the order to combat Hampshire leg-spin attack, which proved to be an invaluable tactic, as Bogg struck back-to-back sixes and a subsequent four against Hampshire’s O’Neill, taking Wiltshire to 65-2 from 8 overs.

Yet again, Ransley was determined to scupper Wiltshire’s chase, as she dismissed Shearn in a 9^th over wicket-maiden, which put the brakes on Wiltshire’s innings for several consecutive overs. The culminating pressure then caused a further upset, as both Bogg and Adams were dismissed by Mills in over 13. Heart rates in the dressing room began to climb, as Wiltshire’s total was now 81-5, with batters now showing tentative signs to score, as Wiltshire struggled towards the total, losing another 3 wickets in their chase to Hampshire leg-spin attack, before Gaiger and Smith decided to finish the game. Smith striking back-to-back fours in the 18^th over to seal the victory for Wiltshire.

A spectator at the ground describe Smith and Gaiger, whilst batting as having “Ice in their veins” as they finished the game in style. Wiltshire now sit 3^rd in the group of 9, beneath Hampshire and Oxfordshire.

Wiltshire’s next fixture is on Sunday 30^th May in a 50-over home-clash with Devon at Royal Wootton Bassett CC at 11am. Spectators and Supporters are welcome to attend.