Sunrisers Triumph with Villiers’ Birthday Brilliance
Sunrisers’ Mady Villiers celebrated her 26th birthday with a career-best bowling performance, leading her team to a three-wicket victory over Northern Diamonds at Chelmsford. Villiers’ 4 for 36 and Sophie Munro’s 3 for 25 restricted Diamonds to 188 for 9, despite Sterre Kalis’ 36 and Katherine Fraser’s 34.
In reply, Grace Scrivens’ 56 anchored the chase, sharing half-century partnerships with Cordelia Griffith and Jody Grewcock (40). Despite a late wobble, Sunrisers reached their target with 12 overs to spare, moving third in the standings.
Diamonds, missing Lauren Winfield-Hill and Bess Heath, opted to bat first on a used pitch. Fraser provided early momentum with four boundaries, but Eva Gray dismissed her on the final ball of the powerplay. Villiers then took center stage, dismissing Hollie Armitage, Emma Marlow, and Rebecca Duckworth to leave Diamonds reeling at 97 for 4.
Kalis and Beth Langston counter-attacked with a 50-run stand, but Villiers and Munro struck again to remove both batters. A stubborn ninth-wicket partnership between Maddie Ward and Katie Levick helped Diamonds reach a par score of 188.
In the chase, Sunrisers lost early wickets, but Griffith and Scrivens steadied the innings with a 53-run stand. Scrivens reached her half-century with a towering six, but was dismissed shortly after. Grewcock was run out in a mix-up, and Villiers was dropped by Kalis.
Fraser caused late panic with the wickets of Miller and Gray, but Lissy Macleod (23 not out) guided Sunrisers home. Diamonds’ dropped catches proved costly, as they missed out on a chance to consolidate their position in the top two.
