Bess Heath guides Durham to win while Bears beat Hampshire

thecricketer

thecricketer|16-06-2025

Bess Heath demonstrated maturity aplenty to carry Durham to a four-wicket victory over Somerset in the Vitality Blast women's competition at the Cooper Associates Ground, Taunton.
Chasing 139 to win, the visitors were indebted to the 23-year-old middle-order batter, who scored 38 not out from 25 balls under pressure to help the visitors reach their target with 11 deliveries to spare. Suzie Bates top-scored with 49, while Somerset seamer Mollie Robbins returned figures of 3 for 22 in a losing cause.
Put into bat, Somerset were in good shape at 75 for 2, thanks to knocks of 36 and 31 from Bex Odgers and Niamh Holland, respectively. But Sophia Turner and Mady Villiers claimed two wickets apiece as Somerset lost their way during the middle overs, and it required a breezy 31 from Amanda-Jade Wellington to haul the cider county to a modest 138 for 7.
Durham have now won two of their six games in the short format, but Somerset remain without a victory and continue to prop up the table.

Warwickshire continued their strong form in the Women's Vitality Blast as they beat Hampshire by 13 runs at Edgbaston to record their third win in four games.

Put in, Warwickshire totalled 178 with Meg Austin making a polished T20-best 51 from 38 balls. Daisy Gibb took 3 for 25, her wickets all coming in the space of four balls in her third over to put a crucial brake on the Bears when they appeared to be heading for 200.

It was still a testing target for a Hampshire side missing the injured Ella McCaughan, scorer of a match-winning century against Essex last Thursday. They came in short at 165 for seven as only captain Georgia Adams (32) and Mary Taylor (31) passed 30 against a disciplined attack led by Millie Taylor (2 for 19).