Powerplay heroics with bat and ball from The Blaze helped end Surrey’s unbeaten start to the 2025 Vitality Blast women’s competition.
Cassidy McCarthy (1-17) and Kirstie Gordon (3-35) reduced the hosts to 1-3 in pursuit of 170 to win at the Kia Oval.
Danni Wyatt-Hodge’s 60 from 33 balls briefly raised home hopes, but they were bowled out in the last over 17 runs short.
Earlier, Georgia Elwiss (61 from 46) and Marie Kelly (46 from 29) shared an opening stand of 92 in 57 balls, and despite a fightback in which Tash Farrant and Grace Harris got two wickets apiece, their total of 169 proved more than enough.
Ryana MacDonald Gay’s five wides in the opening over gave The Blaze early impetus on which they were quick to build.
Kelly was the first aggressor, clearing the ropes off first Farrant and then Corteen-Coleman. Elwiss then drove and swept Kalea Moore for three successive fours as the visitors reached 63-0 at the end of the powerplay.
A lofted drive by Kelly kept up the pressure, but she was ultimately run out with a 50 in sight.
From there, wickets tumbled. In-form Kathryn Bryce lofted Tilly Corteen-Coleman to Harris at mid-off, the first time she’d been dismissed in the tournament, and her sister Sarah made only one before nicking MacDonald-Gay through to Chathli.
Elwiss reached her 50 from 40 balls, before a few late blows from Josie Groves got The Blaze to 169.
Surrey made the worst possible start losing skipper Bryony Smith for nought, part of a wicket-maiden for McCarthy.
Chathli also went without scoring courtesy of a fabulous running catch by Kirk, and when in-form Paige Schofield was bowled first ball for nought by Gordon, Surrey were 1-3.
Phoebe Franklin blocked out Gordon’s hat-trick ball, but would have been run out soon afterwards were it not for a wild throw with both batters at the same end.
Reprieved, Franklin swept Gordon for six, while Wyatt-Hodge caressed one through the covers as a 50-stand came up in 39 balls.
The England opener cleared the ropes at mid-wicket and again behind square to race to 50 in 27 balls, but Groves bowled Franklin to end the stand at 69.
When Wyatt-Hodge’s bold effort was ended by McCarthy’s sharp catch at backward point, hopes rested on big-hitting Harris for a late rescue act.
The powerful Australian hit Groves back over her head for six, but perished later in the over trying to repeat the shot and despite some brief fireworks from Macdonald-Gay, Surrey were destined to fall short.
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