Maia Bouchier Shines with 93 as Southern Vipers Triumph in Charlotte Edwards Cup

South East Stars 66 (Dean 3-5, Smith 3-12) were defeated by Southern Vipers 179 for 5 (Bouchier 93, Adams 39) by a margin of 113 runs.

Stars, who had only lost twice in the group stage, came in second place, but they will need to get back together after being bowled out for just 66, the second-lowest total in the competition this season. Nine of the wickets fell to spin, with Charlie Dean taking the most with 3 for 5, Linsey Smith taking 3 for 12, and Charli Knott taking 2 for 11.

A boisterous 3,000 people, including kids from 70 nearby schools, were treated to a spectacular innings of cricket played by Bouchier with strokes all over the wicket.

Vipers reached 50 for one thanks to an odd powerplay, with Bouchier scoring 32 off of just seven balls. After hitting five of Emily Jones’s deliveries to the boundary in the fourth over, she twice lofted Tash Farrant over the ropes in the sixth over.

Between came a maiden from Tilly Corteen-Coleman, a 16-year-old left-arm spinner who once again showed promise with her control and claimed a well-earned wicket when Knott was beaten in the flight.

Bouchier and captain Georgia Adams put on a solid partnership of 76 in nine overs, during which Bouchier hit her fifty off 27 balls.

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Adams contributed 39 before a ramp attempt was stopped at backward point. Adams capitalized on being laid down by Alexa Stonehouse on 13, a challenging opportunity as she rushed in from deep backward square. After Farrant had dismissed Danni Wyatt in the second over with a slower ball that Wyatt had chipped to mid-on, it handed her a second wicket.

Though Bouchier appeared to be cruising toward a century, in the 16th over she committed her lone error, failing to reverse sweep with her second ball, which gave Stars captain Bryony Smith a wicket. Bouchier scored three sixes and eleven fours.

After losing three wickets in the powerplay, Stars’ poor chase was never salvaged as Freya Kemp pushed the score to 30 from 14 balls at the end.

In the first paragraph of the reply, Smith gave Freya Davies four boundaries, giving the impression that she meant business. However, the innings collapsed as she was dismissed for 22 while attempting to hit slow left-armer Linsey Smith over the top in the second over. Stonehouse came in second with the largest contribution of nine.

In the final over of the powerplay, Smith picked up Tarrant and Kalea Moore after Paige Schofield missed a sweep, and Dean further hurt the Stars by bowling Alice Davidson-Richards and Jones with consecutive balls in the ninth over.

After falling down 44 for 6, the Stars were unable to recover, and in the 14th over, off-spinner Knott concluded the match.