Fi Morris stars in big win

Western Storm clinched a nine-wicket win over Thunder in a rain-disrupted Charlotte Edwards Cup clash at Chester Boughton Hall.

The heavens opened one over into Storm’s chase, with the visitors two without loss, after Thunder had posted 110 for eight from their 20 overs.

Once the rain cleared almost two hours later, Storm were set an adjusted target of 33 after five overs – meaning they required 31 from 24 balls.

Fi Morris broke the back of the chase by striking four boundaries off Sophia Turner’s first over to take Storm to 21 without loss.

Emma Lamb’s first ball dismissed Morris for 19, stumped by Ellie Threlkeld, but Georgia Hennessey and Danielle Gibson comfortably guided Storm to their reduced target with 11 balls to spare.

Lamb had looked set to continue her fine form with the bat as she made a quick-fire 21 to lead Thunder’s recovery after the early loss of Georgie Boyce to a brilliant catch from Gibson.

However, Lamb fell to Lauren Parfitt from the final ball of the powerplay to leave Thunder 40 for two.

Piepa Cleary and Threlkeld looked well set but Storm took control thanks to a double-wicket maiden from Morris. Gibson took her third catch to dismiss Cleary for 13, with Threlkeld clean bowled for 12.

Thunder then slipped to 61 for five when Daisy Mullan was bowled by Gibson and the hosts were struggling to post a competitive total.

Laura Marshall and Laura Jackson counter-attacked with a brisk 26-run stand, punctuated by a number of well-timed shots down the ground. But Storm keeper Nat Wraith produced an excellent catch to dismiss Jackson for 12 off Lauren Filer and then stump Danielle Collins for three from the bowling of Nicole Harvey.

Marshall fell in the final over to give Gibson a second wicket, but her 19 had helped Thunder reach their total of 110, before the rain came and brought about a routine victory target.

At the end of the match Danielle Gibson said: “It was really good to get back out there and feel the team environment and that buzz around the field. It was a really good effort from our bowlers.

“Everyone pulled their finger out, bowled their areas and committed in the field. It was just a really good team performance.

“Fi batted unbelievably well and got us off to a great start. We are really pleased. We’ve had a tough couple of weeks so it’s nice to get a win under our belt.”