South East Stars 258 (Smith 84, Davidson-Richards 70, Grewcock 3-34) beat Sunrisers 214 (Gregory 3-47) by 44 runs
The South East Stars coasted to a 44-run win over the Sunrisers in the Rachel Heyhoe Flint Trophy at Beckenham on Sunday.
The hosts chose to bat under heavy skies but suffered a double blow when Villiers took two wickets in three balls. Phoebe Franklin was caught for five at deep mid-wicket by Florence Miller, before Paige Scholfield was lbw for a second-ball duck.
The Stars responded with a their highest ever List A third-wicket stand, a watchful, patient partnership between two senior players. Smith was dropped on 13 and 73, but played a low-risk innings, until she brought up her 50 by smashing Villiers back over her head for six.
Davidson-Richards reached the same landmark by smearing a full toss from Gray over cow corner but she was caught by Gardner at long-on off Grewcock. The same combination saw off Emma Jones for 2, before Smith was stumped off Grewcock by Amara Carr.
Aylish Cranstone was then run out by Flo Miller for 21, but Ryana MacDonald-Gay injected some urgency into the innings with 37, 20 of which came from a single over before Scrivens had her caught by Grewcock. Eva Gray then took two wickets in three balls, yorking Kalea Moore for 4 and trapping Dani Gregory lbw for a second-ball duck.
Chloe Hill was stranded on 21 not out when Tilly Corteen-Coleman swiped Scrivens to Villiers, with one ball of the innings remaining.
The Sunrisers lost Scrivens early on, when Franklin got her for 11, caught by Jones on the boundary, but they hit back with a stand worth 75 between Macleod and Gardner that ate up 19 overs until Gregory bowled the former with a ball that spun back and hit middle. Up until that point the visitors had looked slight favourites but a cluster of wickets left them struggling to cope with the run rate.
Jones struck in the first over after the drinks break when Grewcock pulled her to Scholfield at midwicket and Moore then bowled Villiers for 1. Smith claimed the key wicket of Gardner for 39 from 74 balls and then got Amu Surenkumar for 11, both lbw.
Gregory then struck twice in successive overs. Miller tried to sweep her and was caught by MacDonald-Gay for 11, before Carr lofted her to Aylish Cranstone 20.
Brilliant work by Moore saw Sophie Munro out for 12 and although the Stars were denied a bonus point win was sealed when the last-wicket duo of Gray and Kate Coppack took the score past 206, the result was secured when MacDonald-Gay cleaned up the latter for five.
The result sees the Stars leapfrog their opponents in the table and the competition now pauses for the Hundred.
