The Final Step

While the nation’s sporting focus was either substantially concentrated on the Olympic Games in Beijing or anticipating the kick off of a new Premier League football season, Jessica Watson (Sessay CC) and Emily Jordan (Helperby CC) were both involved in tension packed bat and ball action at Denby CC in Derbyshire. Last Friday the two girls both played influential roles as Yorkshire played Kent in the LV U13 Women’s County Cricket Championship semi final.Kent, last year’s county champions at this age group, started the match as strong favourites, the team having emerged as winners of the formidable ‘London & East League’ in the regional stage of the competition. When Kent invited Yorkshire to bat, Jessica batted throughout the innings (30 overs) ably partnered at one stage by Emily when the pair stabilised the innings following the loss of quick wickets. Emily having reigned-in her natural inclination to attack was eventually caught seeking to hit over the infield having scored 4 runs but her time spent in the middle was valuable to the team. The quality of Jessica’s chanceless innings of 70 not out was amply illustrated by the fact that no other batsman in the match would reach the 20 runs mark.  Yorkshire’s total of 119 for 6 wickets appeared to be some 30 runs shy of being truly competitive but the Yorkshire girls took the field prepared to make a game of it and rose to the occasion by putting in their best performance of the season in the field. The Yorkshire bowlers enjoyed regular successes to heap the pressure onto Kent. Nevertheless, even when the score declined to 50 for 6, the Kent batsmen, to their great credit remained positive. The tension assumed a new intensity as a combination of lusty hitting and scrambled singles made the (by now) unthinkable Kent victory a real possibility.However, Emily’s pace yielded three crucial wickets at a cost of 12 runs in 3 overs, to all but end Kent hopes. Then Jessica, who had opened the bowling and conceded only 3 runs from 3 overs, fittingly concluded the match when the first ball of her second spell careered into the batsman’s stumps and Kent were bowled out for 102 in the 28th over; Yorkshire winning by 17 runs.Jessica as team captain and Emily can both look forward to a trip to Taunton for the final of the competition in early September when Yorkshire will take on Devon, who surprisingly beat Wales in the other semi-final. 


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