Grace Scrivens Leads Sunrisers to Thrilling Last-Ball Victory in Charlotte Edwards Cup 2024
Grace Scrivens provides a captain’s knock with an unbeaten 64, securing a dramatic final-ball win for Sunrisers against Northern Diamonds in a nail-biting Charlotte Edwards Cup encounter at Wantage Road.
This captivating showdown witnessed Scrivens’ resilient innings as she steered her team to victory on a challenging surface.
Northern Diamonds 123 for 8 (Armitage 39, Villiers 2-22, Hancock 2-30) lost to Sunrisers 126 for 6 (Scrivens 64*, Armitage 3-16) by four wickets.
On a slow surface, Sunrisers needed to chase just 124 to win, but they fell behind the run rate early on and lost six wickets, forcing Scrivens to play alone.
Needing to score eleven runs to win, she faced Erin Burns in the last over. Off the first five deliveries, she hit two boundaries, one a reverse sweep and the other a heave through backward square leg. Scrivens coolly hammered the final ball down the ground for four to give Sunrisers the two they needed to win.
Diamonds captain Hollie Armitage scored 39 runs in 5.2 overs with former England opener Lauren Winfield-Hill (26), setting the stage for her team.
However, the visitors collapsed in the final 5.2 overs, losing six wickets for 34 to finish at 123 for 8, finding it harder and harder to accelerate on a sluggish ground against some disciplined bowling and fielding from Sunrisers. Nicola Hancock, an Australian playing overseas, and Mady Villiers split two wickets apiece. Armitage, who took three late wickets for sixteen, was also Diamond’s most effective bowler.
In the tournament thus far this season, Sunrisers have recorded their second win, while Diamond has now lost five straight games.
Earlier, Sunrisers nearly seized the lead when Leah Dobson top-edged to short third, where Lissy Macleod dropped a simple chance. Winfield Hill had earlier hit two fours from a wildly aggressive opening over from Villiers. However, Dobson was so frustrated that she attempted to up the pace by approaching Hancock down the pitch, only to be bowled shortly after. Eva Gray was hit over midwicket by Winfield-Hill for four, but Diamonds ended the powerplay with a disappointing 27 for 1.
In a lively stand with Winfield-Hill, Armitage, the incoming batter, attempted to speed and swept Jo Gardner for four. He then removed Sophie Munro in the same area the next over. When she made room to drive Jodi Grewcock and picked out Scrivens at mid-off, the former England opener was dismissed.
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After trying to sweep Villiers, Burns (11) was the next to fall, as Flo Miller caught her while she was running in from deep midwicket with Diamonds 89 for 3 in the fifteenth over. In the subsequent over, Diamonds lost Armitage as she continued to play, trying to ramp Hancock.
Bess Heath increased the pace as Diamonds’ innings was faltering, swiping Hancock for four through cover and then top-edging a pull shot for six off the following delivery.
As Villiers and wicketkeeper Amara Carr teamed to run out Sterre Kalis after the batter ended up on the same end as Heath, wickets kept falling. MacLeod caught Emma Marlow squarely as she stepped outside off stump to sweep Villiers. Heath was removed by Carr off the last ball for eighteen after Gray had bowled a masterful inswinging yorker to dismiss Katherine Fraser in the penultimate over.
The Sunrisers’ pace was even more slower than their opponents’, finishing the powerplay at just 22 without loss. Scrivens pulled Rachel Slater over long-off for four when Sunrisers batted, and Jo Gardner also took the aerial path, blasting the same bowler over long-on to the ropes.
To try to restore the momentum, the dangerous and in-form Gardner hit Grace Hall for a massive six down the pitch, but the bowler made the vital breakthrough when she was caught at wide mid-off by Marlow with the score at 41 for 1 at the end of the ninth over. MacLeod fell to Fraser, and Marlow grabbed a second catch.
As the needed run rate quickly increased beyond nine runs per over, Villiers forcefully pushed Armitage to deep midwicket, where Heath made a brilliant juggling catch. In the subsequent over, Burns threw one up, tricking Cordelia Griffiths into a rundown and resulting in another wicket for Sunrisers.
Scrivens continued to punch the scoreboard, hitting Slater for six runs on the ground before Grewcock swept for four runs to conclude the fifteenth over.
Grewcock chipped her back for an easy catch, and Armitage was on a hat-trick. In the 18th over, Armitage was bowled with the score at 99 for 5, and Hancock was bowled without scoring. After that, Scrivens hit Katie Levick for four runs through the covers, setting up a thrilling last over.
