Freeborn takes positives despite Yorkshire defeat

Abbey Freeborn continued her good form in the Vitality Blast and was keen to focus on the positives despite Warwickshire Bears Women falling to a five-wicket defeat against Yorkshire at Edgbaston Stadium.

2026-07-05T16:10+01:00

Freeborn (65) took her tally of runs in the competition past 300, and combined with Georgia Redmayne (52) in a 72-run third wicket stand as the Bears posted a testing total of 161 for three from their 20 overs.

In reply, Yorkshire kept up with the rate thanks to telling contributions from Jess Jonassen (61) and Lauren Winfield-Hill (42), but when the Bears’ Millie Taylor took the wicket of Winfield-Hill in the 17th over, the game was in the balance.

A late cameo from Sarah Glenn (21* off 11 balls) took the game away from the Bears though, with Yorkshire eventually reaching their total with three balls remaining.

Freeborn, although disappointed the Bears weren’t able to make it four wins in a row in the competition, was proud of how the team took the game deep, after Yorkshire had looked to be easing to victory when Jonassen and Winfield-Hill were set.

“I thought we had enough at half time,” she said. “They've batted brilliantly and so unfortunately it wasn't quite enough for us today.

“We got ourselves back into it with those wickets which is such a positive for us, and we took it down to the last over.

“Sarah Glenn came in at the end there and won them the game, but up until then, we were right in it, and it was really a 50-50 chance with two overs to go.

“They had to go hard in the 19th over and it came off of them, which is just unlucky for us.”

Freeborn is enjoying her best season to date in T20 cricket having scored 329 runs so far at an average of 41, with today’s half-century marking her fourth of the campaign.

The right-handed bat was upbeat about her form in the competition, despite results not always following suit for the Bears.

“From a personal perspective, I'm pleased with how my form has been,” she added.

“Unfortunately for us, Yorkshire had their day today. The partnership between me and Georgia [Redmayne] was good and we set it up so that we could go hard at the back end.

“I thought we had enough, but unfortunately it wasn’t to be.”

Bears Women return to action on Wednesday 8 July, when they take on Surrey at The Kia Oval.

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Bears Women v Yorkshire (h): Vitality Blast preview

Warwickshire Bears Women entertain Yorkshire at Edgbaston Stadium on Sunday 5 July, looking to continue their fine run of form. Play gets under way at 11:30am as part of another Sunday double-header at The People’s Home of Cricket. Here’s all you need to know… Team news Bears Women have named a 13-player squad for the visit of Yorkshire, with the playing XI set to be announced at the toss. Bears squad: Georgia Davis, Em Arlott, Hannah Baker, Sophie Beech, Phoebe Brett, Chloe Brewer, Abbey Freeborn, Katie George, Georgia Redmayne, Amu Surenkumar, Mary Taylor, Millie Taylor, Nat Wraith. Current form drag embedded asset published Georgia Redmayne (4) What a turnaround from the Bears since the Blast returned. Three wins from three have kept their slim hopes of reaching the knockout stages of the competition alive. It all started with a dominant 42-run victory over Surrey at Edgbaston at the end of June. That was followed by a nerve-shredding one-run win away against Lancashire last Sunday, before they returned to Edgbaston on Wednesday, toppling Essex by five wickets in a low-scoring game. With several players finding form with the bat, and the bowling unit able to restrict runs in recent outings, the Bears are playing their best cricket of the season. In contrast, Yorkshire are still searching for their first win of the competition having endured a testing run of fixtures. While they have yet to register a victory, they have been close to getting over the line on several occasions. Their season-opening game against The Blaze was decided with three balls remaining and they missed out against Essex by just three runs. Previous meetings drag embedded asset published Warwickshire Bears (2) This will be the first meeting between the two teams in the Vitality Blast. Yorkshire didn’t feature in last year’s inaugural season of the women’s tournament however were added to the Tier 1 competition for 2026 following the ECB’s annual county-by-county review. The teams have met once this season, doing so in the Metro Bank One Day Cup. On that occasion at Scarborough, it was the Bears that came out on top, winning by three wickets as they successfully chased down 239 for victory. Players to watch drag embedded asset published Amu Surenkumar (4) Amu Surenkumar Amu Surenkumar produced an outstanding spell in Wednesday’s victory over Essex, running through their top order to put the Bears in control. The right arm pace bowler took two wickets in an over, and ended with figures of three for 22 from her three overs. Georgia Redmayne A match-winning 43 not out in the Bears’ last fixture saw Georgia Redmayne help her side to a third successive win. The Australian has found form over the last few weeks, registering her first 50 of the campaign against Hampshire before last Wednesday’s winning knock. Jess Jonassen (Yorkshire) Jess Jonassen is Yorkshire’s leading run-scorer in the competition, and the Bears are all too familiar with her qualities at the top of the order. The Australian scored a brilliant 110 off 102 balls when the two teams met in the One Day Cup in May. The left-handed batter is also a quality operator with the ball.

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