Surrey stumble home after Paige Scholfield’s fireworks

Surrey 193 for 7 (Scholfield 89, Davidson-Richards 35*, Ward 3-38) beat Yorkshire 185 (Winfield-Hill 60, Kalis 38, Moore 3-22, Corteen-Coleman 3-27) by three wickets (via DLS method)

Scholfield, the South African-born right-hander who won the most recent of her eight England caps last July, flayed the Yorkshire attack to all parts in a devastating display of hitting. Despite a late wobble, Surrey chased down a revised target of 193 with 19.3 overs to spare at The Kia Oval.

Winfield-Hill scored all around the wicket as she raced to 50 off 55 balls, including a cut behind square and a punch through midwicket. Kalis, too, found her rhythm crashing two free hits from Alice Monaghan through mid-off for four.

The controversy that ended their stand of 74 came shortly after a rain delay. Winfield-Hill was given out after seemingly being struck on the helmet by Maitlan Brown, and her reluctance to leave the crease and continued remonstrations while making her way off led the umpires to impose the five-run penalty.

Kalis then fell just two balls after her captain, nicking Brown through to wicketkeeper Kira Chathli. Thereafter, despite cameos from Maddie Ward and Ami Campbell, Yorkshire fell away, their last four wickets falling without a run scored.

Surrey lost Bryony Smith early in reply, but still got off to a flier courtesy of two sixes from Scholfield in a Claudie Cooper over from Scholfield. Scholfield was given a life on 40, a lofted drive brushing the tips of Beth Langston’s fingers at mid-on on its way to the boundary.

Scholfield reached her half-century in just 25 balls with her ninth four, and eight further boundaries followed before she and skipper Chathli fell in successive balls to Ward. The seamer flattened Jemima Spence’s stumps to claim a third wicket and when Beth Langston bowled Brown for a duck, Yorkshire sensed the chance of an unlikely win.