The Blaze won by 133 runs (D/L method)
Visitors pile up 318 for 8 in shortened innings and then demolish Stars with the ball
Sarah Bryce continued her good form against South East Stars • Getty Images
The Blaze 318 for 8 (S Bryce 81, Claridge 71, Kelly 52) beat South East Stars 185 (Graham 6-39) by 133 runs (DLS method)
The Blaze have beaten the South East Stars by 133 runs (DLS method) in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy at Beckenham.
The visitors scored a mammoth 318 for 8, their highest List A score, even though the innings was reduced to 44 overs due to rain. Sarah Bryce top-scored with 81, Ella Claridge made a career-best 71 from 45 balls and Marie Kelly weighed in with 52.
Heather Graham then claimed 6 for 39 as the Stars were bowled out for 185, despite a defiant 44 from Alice Davidson-Richards.
Just eight days after Blaze eased to victory over Stars in the Charlotte Edwards Cup final they repeated the trick with an equally comfortable win at the New County Ground.
Leaden skies may have persuaded Stars to bowl first, but after the early removal of Teresa Graves, who was run out by Phoebe Franklin for 9, the Bryce sisters put on a 94-run stand that was only curtailed when Tilly Corteen-Coleman bowled Kathryn for 30.
A hefty rain delay saw the game reduced to 44 overs per side and Sarah Bryce fell soon after the resumption, pulling a short ball from Alexa Stonehouse to Franklin at mid-on.
Graham made 28 before she was bowled by Kalea Moore and Kelly was the victim of a brilliant bit of fielding by Franklin, who in one motion, dived, scooped her up on the boundary and threw the ball in to allow Chloe Hill to complete the run out.
Michaela Kirk played a supporting role to Claridge but hit out in the penultimate over and was caught off Franklin by Tash Farrant on the cow corner boundary for 18.
Farrant took two wickets in the final over: Claridge was caught by Emma Jones in the deep and Josie Groves bottom-edged her to Cranstone, but the momentum was maintained by a two-ball cameo from Cassidy McCarthy, who finished on 8 not out.
The target of 319 wasn’t adjusted despite the loss of six overs, but Stars made a rocky start, losing skipper Bryony Smith for 11, caught by Kirstie Gordon off Kathryn Bryce after a run of dot balls.
Moore also went for 11, skying Graham almost vertically into Sarah Bryce’s gloves. Graham then had Farrant caught behind for 35 and Jones stumped for a second ball duck.
Aylish Cranstone and Franklin put on 39 for the next wicket until the latter sliced Groves to McCarthy for 13. Groves then had Cranstone lbw for 33, attempting to sweep, Gordon had Hill stumped for 17 and Alexa Stonehouse was bowled by Graham for a third-ball duck.
Davidson-Richards went down swinging, trying to hit Graham out of the ground but slicing her to Kathryn Bryce at backward point and the result was sealed when Graham had caught Danni Gregory by McCarthy at midwicket for 1.
