preloader-img

Wildcats suffer defeats against Durham and Staffordshire

The Scotland Wildcats suffered a double defeat at the weekend as they were beaten by Durham before being edged out in a Super over against Staffordshire

Lizzie Sleet @CricketScotland
July 4, 2017 7 years

Sunday saw the Wildcats arrive at Durham City Cricket Club to compete in their second round of ECB Division 2 T20 fixtures against Durham and Staffordshire.

Durham won the toss in game one and elected to bowl first on a pitch that looked slow and helpful for the bowlers. Runs proved hard to come by throughout the innings on a challenging pitch, and it was thanks principally to Rachel Scholes – with an innings of 38 not out from 53 balls – that the Wildcats managed to post 82 for 4 in their 20 overs.

Katie McGill struck in the first over of Durham’s reply, with wicketkeeper Sarah Bryce taking a sharp catch behind the stumps to put Scotland on the front foot. All the bowlers kept things tight, however a number of dropped catches and mis-fields let the game slip away, with Durham eventually reaching the target 4 down in 19 overs.

The Wildcats went straight into the second match against Staffordshire: captain Abbi Aitken won the toss and elected to bowl first, with this decision immediately paying dividends as the skipper produced a run out from the very first ball of the match. The bowlers once again proved difficult to get away, and a slightly improved fielding effort saw Staffordshire reach 78 all out in 20 overs. Spinners Kirstie Gordon and Lois Wilkinson took 5 wickets between them, with the rest shared around the bowlers.

Sarah Bryce was run out early in the reply; however Rachel Scholes once again looked to be taking control of the match alongside a good partnership with Kirstie Gordon – who took the score to 53 for 3 in 13 overs. Three wickets then fell in quick succession, leaving the bowlers to try and salvage the innings. The Wildcats headed into the final over needing 4 to win, and subsequently needed 1 to win from the final delivery. Abbi Aitken attempted a single but was run out, meaning that the game went to a Super Over.

The Wildcats batted first in the Super Over, with Rachel Scholes, Ollie Rae and Liz Priddle the elected batters. The trio scored seven from the over; however a boundary from the first ball of Staffordshire’s chase ultimately sealed the game, and the Wildcats lost with one ball to spare.

A disappointing day for the Wildcats who had the opportunity to win both games but failed to take their chances when they counted. The team head down to Wales for their next round of fixtures in a couple of weeks time to continue their preparations ahead of the ICC Europe/Americas qualifiers that take place in August.

Durham v Wildcats [Scorecard]

Staffordshire v Wildcats [Scorecard] 

ECB Division 2 Standings 

Most Popular News

Latest Videos