Sussex Sharks Women vs Leicestershire Foxes

There were moments in this match where Sussex played some of their finest cricket of the campaign. The brilliance and sheen of the top order, and the bowling attack that just kept getting better. For large swathes of this sweltering August day there was little between the Sharks and the Foxes. Yet, as the afternoon grew and time ticked on, there was only going to be one outcome. The result? A third Metro Bank One Day Cup victory of the campaign.

With the bat Sussex were fluid and, at times, flawless. Mollie Adams and Izzy Collis have demonstrated their capabilities with the bat on numerous occasions this season, but for the latter it was perhaps her finest showing out in the middle. It wasn't just the 55 runs that were scored, but the control and care that went into this, the Sharks' eventual highest score of the innings. 

Adams fell with 65 runs on the board. April Herathge claimed the wicket, though Adams would perhaps have liked that one back in an instant. It was a wide delivery, and cut away. Unfortunately, it was straight into the hands of Francesca Sweet. Phoebe Wilkinson tapped the gloves of Collis as the foundations for another strong partnership were hastily laid. Wilkinson has been superb with the bat in recent months, and this was again a showcase of angles, straight lines and pure vibes. 

A smidgen below a run a ball for her 26, Nancy Harman would follow suit with more runs. Harman's innings began with great pace and urgency, placing the pressure onto the Leicestershire bowling cohort that at one moment it might look like she would never leave the crease. Collis and Harman combined for 10 boundaries, and they found them with surgical precision. 

In the 32nd over Collis' resistance was over. She had soaked up 91 balls and crafted 55 runs, falling to the bowling of Lucy Weston. It would be her lone scalp in the match, but perhaps the most imperative of them all. Rachel King, a talent who continues to grow in guile and grace with each appearance, added 25 runs to the equation. That would be the least number of runs made out of anyone in the top six, testament to a triumphant string of batters who lifted Sussex over 200 with a plentiful number of overs remaining. 

King and Green, much like Harman earlier in the innings, racked up their runs at an urgency. Both with strike rates over 100, they were intelligent beneath a sweltering sun. Aimee Colquhoun claimed the catches with both batters removed in the space of two overs to bring the Foxes back into the match. Daisy Mullan and Ava Lee tacked on extra runs before a late cameo from Talitha Stanley propped the Sharks' total up to a commendable 272 from their 50 overs. This was a collective effort with the bat from a young and hungry team who fought until the very final delivery, and ultimately put themselves in the driving seat after over three hours out in the middle. 

At the end of the innings the clouds moved away and the sun shone bright. The staggering trees caught hold of the gentle breeze and swayed softly around the boundary's edge. There are few places in England, let alone cricket grounds, that are as serene and stunning as Arundel. And almost as soon as Sussex had sauntered onto the luscious turf Leicestershire had lost their opening wicket. Only four Lottie Curling deliveries had been bowled when she removed the bails of Sweet. Few fielders had realised the outcome, for two of them could be seen running after the ball as it hurtled toward the boundary. But the wickets had been hit, and Curling had the breakthrough.

Then, the resistance. Prisha Thanawala joined Becki Brooker in the middle, and the pair were indomitable for a time. It was careful batting: dispatching the wider deliveries but ultimately keeping things secure at a time when their side needed them most. The partnership would last for 142 balls and harvest 117 runs. By this time the clouds had dissipated completely, and nothing but azure blue clung overhead. The runs kept coming. At a rate that might not have concerned Green too much as the visitors reached the 100-mark in the 22nd over, but the quest for a wicket was intensifying. 

Brooker reached her fifty in good time, hastily followed by Thanawala. At this moment the WASP (Wicket and Score Predictor) was at its highest of 87%. Wickets were vital to stemming the stream of runs. Mere moments had passed after Thanawala was dropped when the breakthrough was made, though it would be Brooker who made way first in an over that would greatly alter the narrative. Green had bowled four overs without reward, but she'd claim two valuable scalps in the space of just four balls - first Brooker, then Thanawala - both via the faintest of edges that Adams confidently kept hold of. 

Anna Buckle had toiled in the Sussex sun but earned her reward midway through her spell. Ellen Watson the victim, chipping one into the grateful grasp of Harman. Leicestershire four down, slipping under the scoreboard pressure, and desperate for runs as the overs ticked by. At the 36th over, 90 runs were required off 84 deliveries. A steep task. Sophie Bennett and Weston were the Foxes' final hope, their last stand. 

When Bennett lifted a six off the bowling of Curling those clad in Leicestershire colours grew in noise. But the next few overs would prove pivotal. And at its core was Ava Lee. The 19-year-old had bowled beautifully throughout, but within the space of two overs she had claimed three wickets, and effectively sealed the Sharks' victory. First uprooting Weston's stumps, then Bennett's. The over later she'd dismiss Colquhoun with the finish line swiftly coming into view. 

Stanley was back into the attack at this point, and the eighth Leicestershire wicket was taken. Adjudged LBW - the first leg before wicket of the whole match - an over before Green took her third wicket of the match to remove Holly Whitfield. Then, it was just a matter of time. In the 46th over the result was secured as Stanley steamed in and blew Emma Thatcher's leg stump away. At the end there is a shiver of exulted Sharks, elated with a prized victory. This is how far this team has come. This is only the beginning.