Finchampstead Women (132-2) beat Oxford Women (131 all out)
Finchampstead Women were crowned as Home Counties Women’s League champions after they defeated Oxford Women in the cup final.
Finches elected to field first having won the toss. With Oxford managing to put just 50 runs on the board in return for the first five wickets, it looked like Finches decision to bowl first had paid dividends.
But Oxford made somewhat of a strong recovery in the middle order as Sana Kassey (21) and Isobel Kirby (27) managed to build a partnership to put some much needed rus on the board.
However, Finches grabbed the wickets of Kassey and Kirby in quick succession with Oxford on 118-7.
The last three wickets came with Oxford finishing with a total of 131. Finches could be pleased with their efforts in the field as Emma Walker was economical with 2-12.
Meanwhile, Sophie Armstrong-Wood’s bowling spell proved to be outstanding as she took an incredible 5-6, while also bowling a maiden over.
Finches made a nightmare start to their chase as they lost their opening batting pair of Millie Allerton and Dj Waqar for just two runs. Waqar fell first and Allerton quickly followed to give Oxford hope of defending their total.
However, Finches made a remarkable comeback with Ashleigh Muttitt and Freya Johnson at the crease who ensured that they would be crowned as champions.
Finch didn’t drop another wicket as Johnson hit four fours on the way to scoring 37, while a batting masterclass from Muttitt saw her smash 80 runs, including nine boundaries as the pair guided their team towards the cup.
Victory was sealed after just 24.3 overs to give Finches the trophy in a tremendous team performance.
Finchampstead bowling: Walker 2-12, Muttitt 0-5, F Johnson 0-4, V Johnson 1-11, Armstrong-Wood 5-6, Allerton 1-32, Bulteel 0-20, Castle 0-20, Gulliver 0-10
Finchampstead batting: Allerton 0, Waqar 1, Muttitt 80, F Johnson 37, Walker dnb, V Johnson dnb, Castle dnb, Gulliver dnb, Allerton dnb, Bulteel dnb, Armstrong-Wood dnb.
