Warwickshire maintained their challenge for Metro Bank Women’s One-Day Cup qualification with a comfortable 58-run victory over Yorkshire at Edgbaston.
Meg Austin’s excellent 94 (114 balls) was the centrepiece of Warwickshire’s total of 269 for nine, supported by Em Arlott who smashed 44 from 19 balls against the side with whom she has just signed a three-year contract. Claudie Cooper took four for 55.
Chasing a rain-revised target of 260 in 46 overs, Yorkshire fell well short on 202 all out. Sterre Kalis hit 52 (71) but Arlott also shone with the ball, dismissing three of the top four on the way to three for 24, while Phoebe Brett added three for 59.
The result keeps Warwickshire very much in contention for a top-three finish but leaves Yorkshire no further margin for error in their last five games.
After Warwickshire chose to bat, Austin soon torpedoed her opening partner Davina Perrin with a misjudged call for a single. Perrin was comfortably run out by Alice Clarke’s throw and another poor call, later in the over, should have cost Austin, in seven, her wicket but this time the throw missed. She survived and went on to underpin a solid total.
Austin added 60 in 16 overs with Katie George (27, 51) and, after George was well-caught at deep square by Erin Thomas off Cooper, 84 in 13 overs with debutant overseas signing Brooke Halliday (37, 49). The opener was six short of a deserved century when she drilled a low return catch to Jessica Woolston.
Cooper applied a brake with two wickets in four balls, Halliday caught at mid-wicket and Charis Pavely stumped, but Arlott injected important late impetus with five fours and two sixes.
Arlott immediately struck with the ball against her soon-to-be team-mates as Yorkshire slumped to 28 for three in the tenth over. She trapped Lauren Winfield-Hill lbw and hit Clarke’s off-stump in an opening spell of 5-0-16-2. Jess Jonassen lifted Alexa Stonehouse to point.
Mary Taylor added the wicket of Thomas, lbw playing across a ball of full length, but Ami Campbell (35, 20) sparked the chase into life by hitting three sixes before skying an attempt to find a fourth, off Brett. Kalis reached a polished half-century from 66 balls but when she fell lbw to a clever slower ball from Arlott, the White Rose’s hopes went with her.
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