Warwickshire Bears suffered a five-wicket defeat to Yorkshire in the Vitality Blast at Edgbaston, despite half-centuries from Abigail Freeborn and Georgia Redmayne, as a century partnership between Jess Jonassen and Lauren Winfield-Hill guided the visitors to victory.
With Yorkshire 14 for 2 and chasing 162, Jonassen (65 from 40 balls) and Winfield-Hill (42 from 35 balls) took the game away from the Bears, who had posted a competitive target thanks to contributions from Abigail Freeborn (65 from 49 balls) and Georgia Redmayne (52 not out from 36 balls).
Freeborn and Nat Wraith (24 from 21 balls) quickly introduced impetus to the Bears’ innings, before the latter was stumped off the bowling of Jonassen.
Freeborn, dropped on two by Sarah Glenn, and Redmayne then established a platform on which they could accelerate the Warwickshire total; opener Freeborn brought up her fourth half-century of the Blast in 40 balls when she cut behind square.
The Warwickshire pair continued to score at a rate and, at one stage in the middle overs, played 28 consecutive scoring shots, routinely turning over the strike and applying pressure to the Yorkshire bowling unit.
Having been 66 for 2 at the halfway stage of their innings, the Bears continued to lift the run rate, demonstrated by one of the shots of the day when Redmayne handsomely lifted Glenn to the deep mid-wicket boundary.
The momentum was threatened when Freeborn nicked off, swinging at a wide delivery from Jessica Woolston that found the safe gloves of Winfield-Hill to bring to an end a 72-run partnership.
Redmayne, assisted in the closing stages by Em Arlott (15 from 9 balls), ensured that Warwickshire continued to score fluently and, with the final two overs costing Yorkshire 23 runs, the Bears set their visitors 162 for victory.
Yorkshire looked to be in trouble in the early stages of the powerplay when Arlott struck twice in her first over.
Erin Thomas deflected a delivery straight up in the air for keeper Wraith before fellow opener Ami Campbell, visibly furious with herself, slapped another ball straight to Warwickshire captain Georgia Davis at mid-on.
That brought Winfield-Hill, who scored 99 in the win over Somerset on Friday, to the crease. She and Jonassen quickly reversed the momentum, with the latter in particular beginning to dominate.
The Australian all-rounder brought up her half-century from 32 deliveries with a straight six back over the head of Hannah Baker before, in the same over, Georgia Davis was unable to hold a chance at mid-off.
By the time Millie Taylor had Jonassen stumped when short of her ground, she and Winfield-Hill had added 104 for the third wicket, leaving Yorkshire requiring almost a run a ball for victory.
Amu Surenkumar snared a leading edge from Sterre Kalis before Millie Taylor claimed the key wicket of Winfield-Hill, who reverse swept straight to Redmayne at point, to briefly raise hopes of a Bears comeback.
However, Sarah Glenn (21 from 11 balls) and Alice Clarke (15 from 18 balls) calmly guided Yorkshire home to complete a five-wicket victory.
