That’s it for our Finals Day blog. It’s been a landmark day for Surrey Stars, who fully deserved their first Super League victory. I’ll leave you with a match report from Hove. Goodnight!
Nat Sciver is bathed in champagne as she lifts the Super League trophy. Surrey Stars will celebrate well tonight.
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The Player of the Tournament is Smriti Mandhana, who batted so beautifully for Western Storm but was unavailable for Finals Day.
The Player of the Match is Lizelle Lee “I’m so proud of the girls. Everyone dug in and got us over the line today. We didn’t have a target in mind, we just went with it.”
Nat Sciver speaks! “We peaked at the right time as a team. We didn’t play our best cricket at the start but managed to get through to Finals Day, and it’s anyone’s game from there. I’m so pleased for all the girls and all the backroom staff. This tournament is great exposure for everyone and Mady Villiers took her chance today. And I’ve just been told there’s an unlimited card tonight so I’m very happy!”
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The Surrey Stars team all sport huge smiles as they embrace the backroom staff. They have peaked at the right time, edging past Western Storm in the semis before marmalising Loughborough. Lizelle Lee’s savage century took them to a formidable total of 183 for six, and then Marizanne Kapp’s brilliant opening spell left Loughborough in all kinds of bother.
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SURREY STARS WIN THE KIA SUPER LEAGUE 2018!
WICKET! Loughborough Lightning 117 all out (Smith st Taylor b Marsh 5) ... SURREY WIN BY 66 RUNS
It’s all over! Smith runs past one from Marsh and Sarah Taylor does the rest. Surrey have hammered Loughborough to win the Super League for the first time!
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18th over: Loughborough Lightning 116-9 (Gunn 22, Smith 3) The teenager Mady Villiers ends the best spell of her fledgling career with figures of 4-0-22-3. She bowled beautifully and has a big smile all over her face. It was lovely captaincy from Nat Sciver too.
17th over: Loughborough Lightning 113-9 (Gunn 20, Smith 2) Gunn blasts van Niekerk back over her head for four. She is playing with plenty of pride in the face of certain defeat and is now the top scorer in the innings.
16th over: Loughborough Lightning 104-9 (Gunn 13, Smith 0) That was the last ball of the over. Fact.
WICKET! Loughborough Lightning 104-9 (Gordon b Villiers 6)
Mady Villiers takes her third wicket with a flighted delivery that goes straight through Gordon to hit the off stump. Surrey Stars need one wicket to win the Super League for the first time!
15th over: Loughborough Lightning 97-8 (Gunn 7, Gordon 5) Gordon gets her first boundary with a classy back cut off Dunkley.
14th over: Loughborough Lightning 90-8 (Gunn 5, Gordon 0)
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WICKET! Loughborough Lightning 90-8 (Glenn b Villiers 18)
Eight down, two to go. Glenn has a hoick across the line at Villiers and is bowled, ending a breezy cameo of 18 from 12 balls.
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13th over: Loughborough Lightning 83-7 (Gunn 3, Glenn 14) Dane van Niekerk’s hat-trick ball – she took wickets with the last two balls of her previous over – is blocked respectfully by Gunn.
Glenn, who is far too good to be batting at No9, chips perkily over extra cover for four and then lifts another boundary down the ground.
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12th over: Loughborough Lightning 72-7 (Gunn 2, Glenn 5) Loughborough Lightning needs snookers, a miracle, a time machine and 112 from 48 balls.
WICKET! Loughborough Lightning 66-7 (Higham b Villiers 1)
Mady Villiers strikes with her first ball! Higham missed a sweep and was bowled round her legs. Surrey are three wickets away from a thumping victory.
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11th over: Loughborough Lightning 66-6 (Gunn 1, Higham 0) This will be so disappointing for Loughborough, who were emphatically the best team in the league phase. You do wonder if the system of playing the semi-final and the final on the same day puts the league leaders at a disadvantage.
10th over: Loughborough Lightning 63-6 (Gunn 0, Higham 0) “I know the ‘true cricket fan’ always wants to see a close contest, so I must be a fake fan, but I will be more than happy to see the Stars carry on in this manner and crush it today,” says Ravi Nair. “Just as, if I live another 1000 years, I might see England win the Ashes 5-0. OK, the latter is too unrealistic even for my fantasies...”
WICKET! Loughborough Lightning 63-6 (Adams c Marsh b van Niekerk 0)
Two in two balls! Adams clips a low full toss straight to Marsh at mid on, and Loughborough are going down in a heap.
WICKET! Loughborough Lightning 63-5 (Elwiss c Sciver b van Niekerk 18)
Surrey are storming to victory. Elwiss slog sweeps van Niekerk to the deep midwicket boundary, where Sciver takes a beautifully judged catch above her head. With bat and ball, in the field and as captain, Sciver has had a sensational Finals Day.
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9th over: Loughborough Lightning 56-4 (Elwiss 17, Adams 5) Another thrifty over from the legspinner Dunkley, who is bowling so slowly that the batters are having to put all the pace on the ball.
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8th over: Loughborough Lightning 51-4 (Elwiss 15, Adams 2) Natalie Sciver comes on. It’s one captain to another, and Elwiss pings a full toss round the corner for four. She will need to play the innings of her life for Loughborough to win this.
7th over: Loughborough Lightning 43-4 (Elwiss 9, Adams 0)
WICKET! Loughborough Lightning 40-4 (Haynes c Lee b Dunkley 17)
Surrey Stars are surely going to win the Super League. Rachael Haynes has gone now, slicing the legspinner Sophia Dunkley’s second ball straight to Lee at point.
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6th over: Loughborough Lightning 36-3 (Haynes 13, Elwiss 5) That’s a classy stroke from Elwiss, who works Kapp wristily through midwicket for four. It’s not enough for Loughborough, however, with only three runs from the other five deliveries. They need 148 from the last 14 overs.
5th over: Loughborough Lightning 29-3 (Haynes 12, Elwiss 1) Just four from Laura Marsh’s second over. Loughborough have a near impossible task. They need more than 10 an over, yet they can’t afford to lose another wicket for the next half an hour or so.
4th over: Loughborough Lightning 25-3 (Haynes 11, Elwiss 0) That was the ball over the over. Kapp has figures of 2-0-7-2.
WICKET! Loughborough Lightning (Villani b Kapp 2)
Marizanne Kapp’s scintillating opening spell continues with the wicket of Elyse Villani, bowled by a superb yorker as she tried to make room. Loughborough are in huge trouble here.
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3rd over: Loughborough Lightning 23-2 (Haynes 11, Villani 1) Haynes dances down the track to drive van Niekerk sweetly back over her head for four. There’s a death stare coming her way if she gets out in van Niekerk’s next over.
WICKET! Loughborough Lightning 18-2 (Jones b van Niekerk 5)
Another big wicket for Surrey! Jones played a gorgeous stroke to van Niekerk’s first ball, driving it high down the ground for four, but the next delivery skidded on to hit the stumps as Jones shaped to flash it through the off side. Superb bowling from van Niekerk, who celebrated (sic) by giving Jones a truly magnificent death stare.
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2nd over: Loughborough Lightning 14-1 (Haynes 7, Jones 1) Kapp completes a quite brilliant first over by beating Haynes with consecutive deliveries before having a huge LBW shout turned down. That looked really close. Haynes played across an inswinger that might just have been going down leg. That’s the only thing that could have saved her.
WICKET! Loughborough Lightning 13-1 (Devine LBW b Kapp 5)
This is a huge wicket! The ball after being dropped at third man, a fiendishly difficult chance to Gray, Devine was trapped LBW by Marizanne Kapp. It kept a bit low and, though she tried to drag her bat across like a curtain rail, it was too late. She was plumb.
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1st over: Loughborough Lightning 9-0 (Haynes 7, Devine 1) The offspinner Laura Marsh bowls the first over to Rachael Haynes, who steers a boundary to third man and then survives a huge LBW shout. It was just sliding past leg stump.
The players are back out. Sophie Devine will open the batting despite that wrist injury.
20th over: Surrey Stars 183-6 (van Niekerk 15, Marsh 0) The last ball of the innings goes for four byes, with Marsh missing a unique kind of reverse dab. That means Loughborough Lightning need 184 to win – I believe it’s known in the trade as a stiff ask. Or is it a big ask? Whatever, see you in a few minutes for the run chase.
“Just to let you know I have nothing witty or pertinent to say,” says Ravi Nair, “but am following your every word with bated breath. Oh and yes: LIZELLE LEE!!!!!”
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WICKET! Surrey Stars 178-6 (Kapp c Haynes b Elwiss 1)
van Niekerk starts the final over of the innings with a remarkable stroke, a one-handed six down the ground off Elwiss. Kapp then lifts a full toss straight to Haynes at deep square leg. She goes for one and there are two balls remaining.
19th over: Surrey Stars 171-5 (van Niekerk 7, Kapp 1) There was a strange incident earlier in the over. The non-striker Dunkley came back for a second, and was short of her ground when the throw from long on reached the bowler Gunn. But Gunn, for reasons that aren’t entirely clear, had already pulled a stump out of the ground, and that meant Dunkley was not out.
WICKET! Surrey Stars 169-5 (Dunkley c Adams b Gunn 2)
Loughborough are having an excellent end to the innings. Dunkley charges Gunn and hammers straight to Adams on the edge of the circle. There are eight balls remaining.
18th over: Surrey Stars 165-4 (van Niekerk 3, Dunkley 1) That was a brilliant last over from Smith, with just four singles and the wicket of Sciver.
WICKET! Surrey Stars 164-4 (Sciver c Adams b Smith 40)
Sciver slams Smith towards mid off, where Adams takes a smart catch. Sciver played an excellent supporting role, hitting 40 from 31 balls.
17th over: Surrey Stars 161-3 (Sciver 37, van Niekerk 1) Sciver charges down the track to drive Gordon for four. Surrey defended 162 in the semi-finals; they’ll have even more to play in this match.
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WICKET! Surrey Stars 155-3 (Lee c Haynes b Gordon 104)
Lizelle Lee’s masterpiece is over. She clunks Gordon towards long on, where Haynes runs in to take her second excellent catch of the innings. Lee gets a standing ovation for a mighty innings: 104 from 58 balls with 13 fours and six sixes.
LIZELLE LEE SMASHES A STUNNING HUNDRED!
16th over: Surrey Stars 153-2 (Lee 103, Sciver 33) Devine is back on the field and into the attack. Lee greets her with another emphatic drive over extra cover for four to move into the nineties. A top-edged sweep for four and a suicidal single - she would have been miles out with a direct hit - take Lee to 98, and then she pings a full toss to the long leg boundary to reach an astonishing hundred from only 55 balls! It’s the first ever hundred on Finals Day, and it’s been spectacular throughout. She has belted 13 fours and six sixes!
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15th over: Surrey Stars 137-2 (Lee 89, Sciver 32) A slower ball from Gunn is timed beautifully to the extra cover boundary by Sciver, who belts the next delivery over short fine leg for four more. Sciver has quietly sped to 32 from 24 balls; Lee has noisily raced to 89 from 52.
14th over: Surrey Stars 127-2 (Lee 88, Sciver 23) Loughborough look punchdrunk. Elwiss’s third over disappears for 11, with a boundary apiece for Lee and Sciver. This has been an awesome batting performance from Surrey Stars, who are big favourites to win the match.
13th over: Surrey Stars 116-2 (Lee 84, Sciver 17) This is a devastating performance from Lizelle Lee, who has raced to 84 from 46 balls. She splatters Smith over extra cover, the first of three boundaries in four balls. The others came from a ferocious cut stroke and a precise drag round the corner.
12th over: Surrey Stars 103-2 (Lee 72, Sciver 16) Sciver gets her second boundary, dancing down the track to crack Glenn through mid off. Sciver has played unobtrusively so far, happy to support of the rampaging Lee. The moment I type that, Lee gets her sixth six with a monstrous slog sweep. That went miles!
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11th over: Surrey Stars 91-2 (Lee 65, Sciver 11) Devine is leaving the field, presumably for more treatment on that wounded wrist. Gordon tosses the ball up to Lee, who smacks her fifth six of the innings. Technically it’s a dropped catch, as it went through the hands of the leaping Villani at long on, though it was hit flat and very hard. Lee has 65 from 38 balls.
10th over: Surrey Stars 81-2 (Lee 57, Sciver 9) Sarah Glenn comes into the attack. A high full toss means a no-ball and a free hit, but Lee can only scrunch it for a single. It’s a good over from Glenn, the first without a boundary since the second over.
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9th over: Surrey Stars 76-2 (Lee 55, Sciver 7) Lee drags Gunn to fine leg for four to reach a punishing half-century: 30 balls, six fours, four sixes. Loughborough are starting to look a bit frazzled and a rare misfield from Haynes gives Sciver her first boundary. They desperately need a wicket.
“It’s the Stars on 45,” says Chris Drew. “(Sorry!)”
8th over: Surrey Stars 64-2 (Lee 48, Sciver 2) Devine has had her wrist strapped and is going to continue. As is Lizelle Lee, who drives Elwiss high over wide mid off for four to move to 48 from 28 balls. That’s another majestic stroke. If she is at the crease for another five overs, Loughborough will be in a lot of trouble.
There’s a break in play while Sophie Devine receives treatment. She was hit on the wrist, fielding a drive from Sciver, and looks in a lot of pain.
7th over: Surrey Stars 57-2 (Lee 43, Sciver 0) Lee survives a huge shout for LBW after missing a sweep at Kirstie Gordon. That looked extremely close. It’s the start of a very eventful over which includes a high full that Lee clouts for six, and a dropped catch at long off. Lee blasted Gordon down the ground towards Georgia Adams, who seemed to take a wonderful running catch - only to then drop the ball onto the boundary rope. That means another it’s another six for Lee, her fourth of the innings.
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6th over: Surrey Stars 44-2 (Lee 31, Sciver 0) The new batter is the Surrey captain Natalie Sciver, who played so spectacularly in the semi-final earlier today.
WICKET! Surrey Stars 44-2 (Taylor c Haynes b Elwiss 5)
Sarah Taylor has gone! She top-edged a sweep off Georgia Elwiss towards deep square leg, where Rachael Haynes charged in from the boundary and dived forward to take a beautiful low catch. That’s a big wicket for Loughborough.
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5th over: Surrey Stars 40-1 (Lee 31, Taylor 1) Lee blasts Smith down the ground for a huge six. She has raced to 31 from 18 balls, with 22 from the last six.
4th over: Surrey Stars 33-1 (Lee 25, Taylor 0) Lizelle Lee is such a key wicket in this game. She moves into double figures with a savage back cut, the first of four consecutive boundaries off Devine. Two were top-edged pulls over the keeper. I doubt those moral victories are of much comfort to Devine.
3rd over: Surrey Stars 17-1 (Lee 8, Taylor 0) That was the last ball of the over. Sarah Taylor is the new batter.
WICKET! Surrey Stars 17-1 (Smith run out 2)
Bryony Smith stomps off after being needlessly run out. Lee pushed Linsey Smith to point and set off; and Bryony Smith was well short when Amy Jones took Lucy Higham’s throw and sent the stumps flying. It was superb fielding from Higham, though Smith’s body language suggests she is less than enamoured with the decision to take that single.
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2nd over: Surrey Stars 14-0 (Lee 8, Smith 1) The New Zealander Sophie Devine shares the new ball and decides to go after Lee with some short stuff. One ball hits Lee in the stomach, knocking her off her feet; the next beats an attempted hook stroke. In her keenness to get off strike, Lee takes a dodgy single to backward point. We haven’t seen a replay but Smith might have been struggling with a direct hit. A mixed over from Devine, with three leg-side wides and some dangerous deliveries to Lee.
1st over: Surrey Stars 9-0 (Lee 7, Smith 1) This is a bit of a surprise: Jenny Gunn is opening the bowling for Loughborough, perhaps with the dangerous Lizelle Lee in mind. Whatever the plan, it hasn’t worked. After a couple of deliveries to play herself in, Lee drills a stunning six over mid-off. Shot!
In the men’s game, Somerset have beaten Nottinghamshire by 19 runs in the last T20 Blast quarter-final.
I don’t think that’s a terrible toss to lose for Surrey Stars. They won batting first in the semi-final, and chasing is tricky on what looks a tired wicket. They’ll be aiming for 160 again. But 140 would give them a chance.
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The teams
Loughborough Lightning Haynes, Devine, Jones (wk), Villani, Elwiss (c), Adams, Gunn, Higham, Glenn, Gordon, Smith.
Surrey Stars Lee, Smith, Taylor (wk), Sciver (c), van Niekerk, Dunkley, Kapp, Marsh, Cranstone, Villiers, Gray.
Loughborough Lightning have won the toss and will bowl first
Natalie Sciver said she would have bowled, but she doesn’t seem too disappointed. She does, however, look absolutely shattered after her superheroic performance in the semi-final.
Thanks Tanya, hello everyone. We’ll have the toss for the final in a few minutes, though it feels like we all need a bit more time to digest that mighty semi-final.
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So, as time ticks onwards, I’ll hand you over to Rob Smyth for incisive commentary and hot chocolate on the side.
Raf Nicholson on the underdogs:
Sky showing that profile of Katherine Brunt in between matches so just wiping a few fat tears away. But we all have a quiet blub on OBO sometimes don’t we? Anyway, three quarters of an hour till the climax of the women’s domestic season, Loughborough Lightning v Surrey Stars. Loughborough have the advantage of rest and observation, Stars have the advantage of adrenalin and knowing exactly how the pitch is playing.
A cracking match that, and a super little hors-d’oeuvre for the final. Knight and Sciver are eloquent in post-match chat with Nick Knight, whose trousers are so distubingly skin-coloured that it looks as if he’s gone commando for the occasion.
Knight, magnanimous in defeat speaks of Surrey as “our bogey team.” Nat Sciver, player of the match, praises her leg-spinner Dunkley who took the crucial wicket of Knight. “I knew she had it in her.”
20th over: Western Storm 153-6 ( Wilson 58, Dattani 2) Western Storm win by nine runs!
Sciver grabbed the ball for the final over, and with it the match. When Dattani fell to her first ball, it brought in Macleod who was playing her first game of the KSL season . Barring a miracle, it was all over. Bad luck to Fran Wilson whose 58 kept Western Storm in the race, but bravo to Surrey and their inspirational captain Sciver. Surrey lost to Western Storm in last year’s semi so it will be a different line-up for the final staring at 4pm. Surrey Stars v Loughborough Lightning. A tasty, tasty tea-time bank-holiday treat.
Wicket! Dattani b Sciver 4
A slower ball that Dattani edges onto her own stumps. Quelle horreur!
19th over: Western Storm 149-5 ( Wilson 57, Dattani 4) Western Storm need 14 from 6. Marsh bowls the penultimate over... and there are just five off it... and Wilson is stuck at the non-strikers end with one over to go. The captain will bowl it.
18th over: Western Storm 144-5 ( Wilson 55, Dattani 2) Western Storm need 19 from 12. Wilson demi-piroettes to ease Dunkley down to the boundary for four, next ball ... Dunkley bowls, Wilson sweeps on one knee, Taylor appeals vigorously for a stumping... but she’s comfortably in. But just six from the over . This is knee-knockingly tight.
17th over: Western Storm 138-5 ( Wilson 50, Dattani 1) Western Storm need 25 from 18. Arghghg, a no-ball from van Niekerk just at the wrong time gives a free hit to Dattani, who can only knock one from it. Then a terrible final ball is hoiked to the boundary by Wilson which takes her to her fifty, off just 37 balls, a smashing little knock.
Wicket! Luff c Kapp b van Niekerk 3
A good catch, tanterlisingly close to the ground, by Kapp diving forward at mid-wicket
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16th over: Western Storm 129-4 ( Wilson 44, Luff 2) Western Storm need 34 from 24. Fran Wilson hits a boundary somewhere when I’m not looking, then to Sarah Taylor’s shrugging disgust nudges the ball between her legs and the stumps, past Taylor and down to the boundary. Eleven from the over.
An email! From Palfreyman. Thank you.
@tjaldred Storm are going to make this easily, aren't they?
— MemberOfMogFanClub (@palfreyman1414) August 27, 2018
What a Surrey bowling performance...
I reckon there might be one more twist ...
15th over: Western Storm 118-4 ( Wilson 36, Luff 1) Western Storm need 45 from 30 So Dunkley, whose elegant leg-spin floats from her right-hand, balletic left arm testing the breeze, takes the key wicket. Game on now. Nine an over needed with a new batter at the crease.
Wicket! Knight b Dunkley 34
Dunkley elegantly wafts a ball in and Knight misses it! Neck, crop and all the rest
14th over: Western Storm 114-3 ( Wilson 36, Knight 35) Western Storm need 49 from 36 Sciver, determination etched upon her every footstep, runs in and keeps the pressure on. Just five singles from the over. The Wilson/Knight partnership is now worth 51 off 39 balls.
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13th over: Western Storm 109-3 ( Wilson 33, Knight 31) Western Storm need 54 from 42 Tighter from van Niekerk, with her slingy action, just five from it. But Western STorm are tightening the screw.
12th over: Western Storm 105-3 ( Wilson 31, Knight 29) Fran Wilson is playing a cracking little innings. She is so quick and nimble, following Gray’s every move, finding the gaps. To Gray’s penultimate ball, she pulls in front of square to the boundary. Then a reverse sweep in front of third-man for another. CLick-clack, the scoreboard moves through the hinges.
11th over: Western Storm 91-3 ( Wilson 17, Knight 29) Sciver brings Marsh back, who is tighter this time. Just an unfortunate piece of fielding on the boundary to a sweep from Wilson, a mis-reading of the spin, spoils things.
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9th over: Western Storm 79-3 ( Wilson 6, Knight 28) Wilson, keen to book her place on the plane for the winter tour, hits her first ball, a loosener from Dunkley, for four. Knight watches the last ball of the over land in front of her, short and wide, and square drives it away for four. 12 off the over. Storm need 84 to win off 11.
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8th over: Western Storm 67-3 ( Wilson 0, Knight 23) A timely wicket. Sciver brings herself on and over-pitches her third ball, Taylor takes one step and powers the ball to the boundary. The next delivery gets Taylor. But Knight powers on, four off the last, down to third man.
Taylor c Marsh b Sciver 16
A slightly mis-timed lofted straight drive that goes high, so high, and straight to Laura Marsh at mid on.
7th over: Western Storm 59-2 ( Stefanie Taylor 12, Knight 19) Oooh Heather Knight, that’s tasty. She goes down on one knee and sweeps Marsh for four. Taylor and Knight scuttle between the wickets, Knight considerably more speedy. That’s 12 from the over.
6th over: Western Storm 47-2 ( Stefanie Taylor 10, Knight 9) Kapp, a most serious looking bowler, is on top till the final ball when a delicate touch from Taylor, like the grandmother’s stroke of a baby’s cheek, sends the ball scuttling to the boundary.
5th over: Western Storm 40-2 ( Stefanie Taylor 5, Knight 7) Taylor clocks van Niekerk square for a boundary and Knight follows suit with a stylish drive for four. At the same point in their innings Surrey were 42-1.
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4th over: Western Storm 30-2 ( Stefanie Taylor 0, Knight 2) West Indies and England captains at the crease!
WICKET! Priest c Marsh b Kapp 24
The big-hitting Priest tries one slog too many and topples the ball into the stretched arms of Marsh at short long-on.
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3rd over: Western Storm 18-1 ( Priest 11, Knight 0) What a bowling change as Sciver brings van Niekerk into the attack. Shrubsole lasts four balls of her power-hitting brief before hitting out in frustration and finding Kapp comfortably placed just short of the rope at deep mid-wicket.
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WICKET! Shrusole c Kapp b van Niekerk 2
Shrubsole makes the connection... but only as far as Kapp who takes the catch standing just short of the deep-midwicket boundary.
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2nd over: Western Storm 14-0 ( Priest 11, Shrubsole 2) A careful over from Kapp. Priest follows her opening ball round and Kapp, hair in a bun, and Taylor, appeal for an edge. Not out says the umpire. Priest edges the next past Taylor and down for a boundary. But Storm look nervy.
1st over: Western Storm 8-0 ( Priest 7, Shrubsole 1) A tight first over from Marsh, with some nimble Surrey fielding, till Priest gets hold of a loose last delivery and powers it for four.
Edwards on Sciver: “as good as T20 innings as I’ve seen from her.”
So Western Storm have to break the KSL Finals day record to defend their title against Loughborough later. But the chasing team have so far have the edge on Final’s Day. Enter Shrubsole and Priest. Surrey Stars have won the two group games, but Western Storm are defending champions....here we go...
11th over: Surrey Stars 72-4 (Dunkley 1, Sciver 15) Sciver strikes Nicholas for a back-foot boundary, and then another to the last ball of the over that just beats the desperately diving Heather Knight to the rope.
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Well, that was cracking. I thought Surrey had blown it when Taylor fell early. All power to the incredible Sciver. Now what can Western Storm do? Shrubsole, promoted to open, has something to prove after bowling four wicketless overs for 42.
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20th over: Surrey Stars 162-5 (Kapp 32, Sciver 72) Shrubsole’s final over goes for 13. Kapp takes a leaf out out of Sciver’s book, throwing the bat - the best shot a short-arm jab down the hill and over the boundary. A great recovery by Surrey, and a bootiful unbeaten partnership of 90 between Kapp and Sciver. Sciver was drop-dead sensational. Surrey’s 162 is the highest score of Final’s Day - with a hundred runs coming off the last ten overs.
19th over: Surrey Stars 149-5 (Kapp 20, Sciver 71) Nicholas keeps it tight till the final ball of the over when Sciver pulls her low just in front of where the fielder was moved to, for a one-bounce-four. This is edge-of-your-seats superb batting.
18th over: Surrey Stars 141-5 (Kapp 18, Sciver 65) Davies wobbles, and Sciver stands, waits and glides the ball to the boundary. Two balls later she shimmies and ramps and has another four outside fine leg’s stretch. A rattled Davies bowls a huge wide.
Two overs to go - can they hit 150?
17th over: Surrey Stars 129-5 (Kapp 17, Sciver 55) Knight returns and Surrey whallop 13 off her over. Sciver reaches 50 with a sweep - 32 balls, seven fours -her third fifty in KSL matches. And here she goes again with another four! Through the offside, with rhythm!
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16th over: Surrey Stars 116-5 (Kapp 16, Sciver 43) Surrey fearlessly up the tempo - two boundaries off Taylor’s over, including a stylish drive by Sciver that was rather hopelessly parried by Western Storm.
15th over: Surrey Stars 104-5 (Kapp 11, Sciver 37) Shrubsole, soon to open the batting, is brought back and keeps it tight for four balls. Then she drifts wider, and Sciver drives squarely through the off side for a boundary; flicks the next just over the fielder for another four.
14th over: Surrey Stars 93-5 (Kapp 8, Sciver 26) Eight from Taylor’s over that includes a juicy full toss that Sciver gets hold of, but hits straight to the sweeper for a single.
13th over: Surrey Stars 85-5 (Kapp 6, Sciver 22) Sciver pulls Gibson riskily behind square for four, then off her toes as these two scramble for runs.
Something to think about: the average score in a women’s T20 at Hove is 130.
12th over: Surrey Stars 75-5 (Kapp 1, Sciver 15) Good running between the wickets to the last ball of Knight’s over brings a couple more runs, but the Stars are short and the women bowl so quickly that the overs tick by without fanfare.
WICKET! Dunkley b Knight 1
Knight brings herself on and with her first ball, comes around the wicket and bowls Dunkley, who got herself into a dogs-breakfast of a position.
10th over: Surrey Stars 62-4 (Dunkley 0, Sciver 6 ) At half way the Stars are struggling, but Sciver, crucially is still there. Still rubbing my eyes at the audacity of that run-out.
Wicket! van Niekerk run out (Wilson) 3
Wow! An astonishing bit of fielding from Wilson at point, who must have been still buzzing from her catch. The run was there, but the fielding was top- notch.
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9th over: Surrey Stars 60-3 (van Niekerk 3, Sciver 5 ) A tight over from Gibson - only four from it - as the Stars regroup. Plenty of tickets still available by the way if anyone is looking for something to do on a cloudy bank holiday - £1 for children, £5 (I think) for adults.
8th over: Surrey Stars 56-3 (van Niekerk 1, Sciver 3 ) Stafanie Taylor snatches her namesake, who is yet to fire properly with the bat in this tournament. Nervous times for Surrey. They need to take an over to breathe. But the balls tick ever onwards.
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WICKET! Taylor c Wilson b Taylor 15
A fuller ball from Taylor, and Sarah Taylor tries to reverse sweep and is caught! A superb diving catch by Fran Wilson at point.
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7th over: Surrey Stars 49-2 (Taylor 11, Sciver 1 ) Danielle Gibson enters the fray. An inelegant top-edged pull by Taylor in the gloom. Five runs from the over.
6th over: Surrey Stars 44-2 (Taylor 7, Sciver 0 ) So enter Sciver, who has been in magnificent form with both bat and ball for the Stars this season. This will be a partnership to watch.
WICKET! Smith b Davies 11
Oooh, unlucky Smith. An inside edge that bounces onto the pads and hits leg stump.
5th over: Surrey Stars 42-1 (Taylor 6, Smith 10) Claire Nicholas replaces Shrubsole and has Taylor prodding until the last ball which Taylor, slender as a grass, steps forward and with a glorious lofted drive hits the boundary.
4th over: Surrey Stars 30-1 (Taylor 0, Smith 10) Nine runs off Davies’ over as Smith takes over the Lee mantle. Sarah Taylor watches for a couple of careful dots.
3rd over: Surrey Stars 21-1 (Lee 19, Smith 1) What a timely wicket. They’d just been saying on the commentary that when Lee goes beyond ten, there is trouble at mill. Lee whalloped two fours in the over before she was dismissed.
WICKET! Lee c Priest b Shrubsole 19
Just as Lee was about to move into fifth gear, Shrubsole strikes! A regulation catch for the keeper and a game-changer.
2nd over: Surrey Stars 8-0 (Lee 7, Smith 1) A big stage for the talented Freya Davies, whose pony-tail hangs long down her back as she runs in to bowl. She beats Smith with her first ball, mixes it up through the over with a bit of late-swing here and an angled seam there. Lee falls ingloriously on to her behind trying to pull a low ball.
1st over: Surrey Stars 5-0 (Lee 5, Smith 0) Anya Shrubsole starts with a couple of hooping inswingers, Lizelle Lee helps a wider one on its way down for the first boundary of the match.
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And the teams walk out to dry ice, which has the fielders coughing, flames and mascots. The Surrey Stars openers are South African Lizelle Lee and England’s Bryony Smith
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Knowledgeable preview from Raf and Syd at CricketHer:
Last shout out for our @crickether preview of #KSL2018 Finals Day, in which Syd plays the recorder... (badly) 😆https://t.co/MXTjAxfJHN
— Raf Nicholson (@RafNicholson) August 27, 2018
Going back to Ali Mitchell’s grey anorak - a few year’s ago I don’t think you’d have found a female TV commentator with the confidence to wear a practical item of clothing like that. Things really have changed - it was in coughing memory that when you read an interview with a sportswoman in a paper they were always done alongside a glamorous photoshoot, never with them looking sweaty and strong. All power to the Ali anorak!
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Charlotte Edwards waxing lyrical over Nat Sciver’s increasing “lateral use of the crease. ” Good to hear Edwards on Radio 4’s Today programme this morning, dealing with Rob Bonnet’s trademark probing-questions-with-a-smile.
Surrey Stars:
💪 In to bat for the #SurreyStars as Western Storm's captain Heather Knight wins the toss, and chooses to field.
— Surrey Cricket (@surreycricket) August 27, 2018
An unchanged XI from our last victory over the Storm. ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/Eq6PDBJdDL
Western Storm:
Your @WesternStormKSL team for today’s semi-final v @StarsKSL. #StormTroopers 🌪🌪 pic.twitter.com/CQJfYArR35
— Western Storm (@WesternStormKSL) August 27, 2018
And we go to the toss - Ali Mitchell is wearing an anorak - autumn is on the way. Heather Knight has won, and Western Storm are going to bowl first. Anya Shrubsole will open the batting - expect fire and fury.
Surrey Stars captain Nat Sciver says she would have had a bowl too on what looks like a good track. “Expect lots of runs,” she says. It’s a repeat of last year’s semi-final which the Stars lost. What will they take from that defeat? “We’ve learnt to soak up the pressure a little bit more,” she says.
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Preamble
Roll-up, roll-up and welcome to Hove for the third, and penultimate (at least in its current form), KSL finals day.
While over the last few months various sub-committees have become embroiled in talk of The Hundred with its multiple mathematical possibilities, the KSL has rolled along in its merry way much as it has in the previous two years, with upsets and sensational performances popping up at every corner. After ten rounds (for details see here):
Final group stage standings for KSL 2018.#KSL2018 https://t.co/LtZu8ms7aO pic.twitter.com/sBJaSyKqFt
— hypocaust (@_hypocaust) August 19, 2018
we have finished up with a top three of SURREY STARS, WESTERN STORM and LOUGHBOROUGH LIGHTNING fighting it out for the crown.
This finals day follows the previous blue-print which mean that at noon third - SURREY STARS - play second -WESTERN STORM- with the winner of that game playing the surprise table-toppers LOUGHBOROUGH LIGHTNING for the trophy. That game is due to start at 4pm.
It is the current holders Western Storm’s third consecutive appearance at Finals Day, so they know the drill. They are without their superstar Smriti Mandhana, who has returned to India for a training camp, but captain Heather Knight has been in scintillating form, and is the second-leading run-scorer in the competition.
The Surrey Stars beat Western Storm to seal their Finals day spot after an uneven start to the tournament, with captain Nat Sciver top performer with bat and ball. Sarah Taylor, who returned to the Stars this year from Old Trafford, is confident:
“The three teams are very tightly matched. We’ve beaten each other at various points and while we finished third in the table we ended with a bit of momentum behind us so that may help us out.
“It’s obviously tough to play two games in a day but Storm managed to win the tournament last year via that method and there’s no reason we can’t do it.”
Loughborough were dealt a blow at the beginning of the tournament when their star player Ellyse Perry decided to stay in Australia, but despite being widely thought of as the underdog, they strode through the group stages, winning seven of their 10 games and finishing top of the table. Kirstie Gordon, a 20 year old Scot who abandoned dreams of playing for her country in order to play for the Lightning, is the leading spinner in the competition with 16 wickets.
The toss could be crucial today. According to CricketHer, the chasing side has won every match at Finals Day. All will be revealed shortly....
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