Australian off-spinning all-rounder Charli Knott took a career-best six for 25 for the The Blaze but it was not enough to deny Surrey in the Vitality Blast women’s competition at Trent Bridge.
Surrey’s off-spinner Kalea Moore was the match-winner with a career-best five for 22 to put her side top of the points table.
The defending champions made 155 for nine after opting to bat first, the substance of their innings coming in an 82-run fifth-wicket partnership between Phoebe Franklin (46 off 30 balls) and Alice Monaghan (35 off 27).
Tammy Beaumont (37 off 36), Kathryn Bryce (31 off 21) and Knott (28 off 23) gave the home side every chance of overhauling Surrey’s score to go top of the points table but from 98 for two, The Blaze finished on 121 all out for a 34-run defeat.
Knott’s feat lifted the 23-year-old’s tally to 16 as leading wicket-taker in this season’s Vitality Blast women’s competition.
The Monaghan-Franklin partnership, which spanned 51 deliveries, rescued Surrey from 45 for four after Knott had taken three wickets with her first seven deliveries.
She had Paige Schofield caught at mid-on, won a short-lived battle with Laura Harris by having her compatriot leg before and trapped Jemima Spence in front, Bryony Smith missing a straight one from left-arm spinner Maria Andrews in between.
But Franklin found the boundary five times in her first 10 balls faced and her aggression was matched by Monaghan as the fifth-wicket pair dominated until Monaghan put too much elevation on a flighted ball from Knott and was caught at deep midwicket. Franklin departed moments later, bowled via pad and forearm as she stepped across to sweep Kirstie Gordon.
Moore and Alice Davidson-Richards added a useful 22 before Knott’s final over claimed two more scalps as Moore hit to extra cover and Ryana MacDonald-Gay was stumped off a wide. Priyanaz Chatterji was run out off the final ball of the innings.
The Blaze had Marie Kelly run out first ball but Kathryn Bryce hit six fours in a 21-ball 31 before being undone by a brilliant stumping by Spence off seamer MacDonald-Gay.
Bryce and Beaumont added 56 before Knott’s 28 off 23 balls helped the England opener advance the Blaze total by another 42 to 98 for three in the 13th.
But the innings ran into trouble as Knott dragged a Harris full toss straight to deep square and Moore struck twice in four deliveries, Beaumont succumbing to another full toss and Georgia Elwiss holing out from a slog-sweep, MacDonald-Gay taking both catches on the midwicket boundary.
Surrey were now in control as Emma Jones fell leg before to Dani Gregory’s legspin and Sarah Bryce perished on the point boundary, leaving The Blaze 111 for seven in the 17th, running out of wickets and time, Moore picking up the last three as Spence pulled off two more stumpings and Gordon was bowled.
