Kirstie Gordon felt the fight shown by The Blaze in the second innings of their County Cup semi-final would stand them in good stead as the Vitality Blast returns this week.
Her side were defeated by Lancashire Thunder in a rain-affected encounter by seven wickets – but, having posted 86 from their 16 overs, reduced their opponents to 3/2 and 19/3 courtesy of two run-outs and a wicket for Grace Ballinger.
“When we came off for rain [in the first innings], we knew we had to get up to a competitive score, and I genuinely felt we were in the game with 90 to defend,” she said.
“We showed that for large parts of the bowling and fielding innings. We were all up and about after the early wickets, and if you were a betting person you might say we were ahead then.
“We knew when we didn’t build partnerships through the middle phase with the bat it could be costly – we kept losing wickets at intervals, and that made it very difficult.
“But we want people to know that when they come up against us, we’re not going to roll over.”
With Lancashire chasing a revised target of 90 from 16 overs, The Blaze delivered 25 dot-balls in the first six overs – while also securing the scalps of the in-form Emma Lamb, Tilly Kesteven and Fi Morris.
Cassidy McCarthy’s smart work in the field effected both run-outs, but her skipper was full of praise for her efforts with the ball too.
“I’ve loved the was Cass bowled in the quarter-final (a win over Kent) and today,” sha said.
“It’s been good for players to get a game or two under their belt in this competition – they can take huge confidence from that,
“We’ve been able to try people in different positions in the batting line-up too, so there’s loads of little learnings we can take from it.”
The Blaze’s County Cup campaign comprised wins over Oxfordshire and Kent before the reverse against Thunder in the last four.
But despite the defeat, Gordon was positive about the impact of the inaugural edition of the competition.
“I think it’s great for the game,” she said.
“Oxfordshire came up to Nottingham, and I was really impressed with them, they gave it a fair crack, and I think it’s showing there’s depth in the game,
“There are talented players out there, and giving them the exposure to play tier one sides is what the competition is all about.
“Giving them that exposure is what makes it different to the Blast. We saw Yorkshire beat Essex in the third round, and it’s great for those teams who might have young players who aspire to be in tier one, or might come into tier one as teams in the future.”
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