The Cricketer picks out the standout performers from the fourth round of the 2023 Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy...
Successive half centuries for the England opener, even if this latest one – 56 off 68 balls – was only enough for a tie against Central Sparks.
Lamb eventually fell to the off-spin of Georgia Davis, but only once she'd given her Thunder side a platform to post a far greater score than they ultimately ended up with; her dismissal gave way to a collapse of 4 for 15 in seven overs as all prior momentum was wrestled back by Sparks.
Such are the options in Thunder's bowling attack, Lamb wasn't required with the ball; somehow, with a such a strong squad, her team remain winless after four rounds of fixtures.
Arguably the circuit's best uncapped batter, the Central Sparks captain has begun this season with the same consistency that has been typical since the introduction of the regional structure.
Jones' 69 in the tie with Thunder was her second half century in four games, with scores of 29, 34 and 67 rounding off a promising start to her summer.
She would have been frustrated by the end result, having seen the game swing back towards Thunder on the back of her dismissal, which came when Sparks were well placed at 154 for 3.
South East Stars' wicketkeeper wouldn't have thought much of her 39-ball 28 when she walked off as her side's third wicket to fall on Friday against Sunrisers at Radlett, but what happened next perhaps altered that view.
She top-scored in a crazy game, with the last 16 wickets in the match falling for just 130 runs after her dismissal. The in-form pair of Bryony Smith (21) and Paige Scholfield (27) both also made starts, with Cordelia Griffith (27) playing a lone hand for Sunrisers in response as Stars won easily in the end, with Chathli's contribution crucial up front.
Kira Chathli top-scored in a low-scoring win for South East Stars (Ben Hoskins/Getty Images)
Central Sparks' overseas player impressed on debut in the tie with Thunder, contributing with both bat and ball in exactly the way that Laura MacLeod and Lloyd Tennant would have hoped from their veteran Australian.
She looked at ease for 37 with the bat, before falling to Alex Hartley's left-arm spin, having earlier picked up four key wickets with her off-spin, including the key scalp of her opposite number, Thunder overseas player Deandra Dottin.
Nonetheless, Burns was frustrated at the end not to have turned her performance into a match-winning contribution. "Personally, it was pretty good, but you can always nit-pick and think you should have done better," she said. "I would have liked to have kicked on a bit more with the bat."
After three quiet displays to begin her South East Stars season, the 25-year-old allrounder was key in Stars' demolition of Sunrisers, picking up the vital wickets of overseas batter Saskia Horley and England allrounder Mady Villiers as Andy Tennant's team slumped to 22 for 4 and eventually to 64 all out.
Franklin had earlier made 20 with the bat, which may not sound like much but was a valuable effort in the context of proceedings.
England's left-arm spinner has long talked about being seen as a genuine allrounder, and she is getting ever-closer to that point, smashing the highest score of the round in Thunder's tie with Central Sparks.
Ecclestone hit eight fours and two sixes in her 65-ball 74, which came at a crucial time, beginning mid-collapse at 114 for 4 and dragging her side's lower order to a final total of 234.
"It was great to be back in the side and score a few runs," she told the ECB Reporters Network. "I think that's something I want to start doing more for Thunder and hopefully England. It's a great start to my campaign and long may it continue."
Eve Jones is a consistent source of runs for Central Sparks (Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)
It perhaps wasn't the day that the South African allrounder was after – dismissed first ball by an international colleague after arriving in the middle at 42 for 4 – but she went some way to getting her own back with the ball, even if it ultimately came in a losing cause.
Tryon had predominantly impressed with the bat in her first three appearances for Northern Diamonds, beginning her time there with 63 against Western Storm. But with just 62 runs to defend on Saturday, she was thrown the ball early and twirled away to finish with figures of 4 for 16 in 7.5 overs when Diamonds ultimately ran out of runs.
She had Marie Kelly, Tammy Beaumont and Georgie Boyce all caught, before trapping Kathryn Bryce in front to briefly cause some discomfort in The Blaze's dressing room.
The South African allrounder starred for The Blaze, bowling unchanged for 9.1 overs to run through Northern Diamonds.
They were bowled out for 62, with de Klerk, 23, finishing with the remarkable figures of 7 for 33, including five of Diamonds' top six, which features Lauren Winfield-Hill, Hollie Armitage, Bess Heath and international teammate Tryon.
Partnered expertly with the new ball by Grace Ballinger, Kirstie Gordon saw no need to change the bowling or turn to spin, meaning Sarah Glenn was a mere bystander as de Klerk proved her worth as an overseas signing.
Her figures are not quite as extraordinary as de Klerk's, but 21-year-old left-armer Ballinger proved the ideal foil for de Klerk at Chester-le-Street.
She trapped Netherlands international Sterre Kalis in front and then later bowled Katherine Fraser and Abi Glen to ensure there was no respite at the other end to de Klerk.
Ballinger had gone wicketless in The Blaze's first two games but came to the party on Saturday in some style.
Dani Gregory put Sunrisers in a spin (Ben Hoskins/Getty Images)
Sunrisers folded dismally with the bat against South East Stars, but that was not the doing of Scotland leg-spinner Maqsood, who did her bit to set up the game for her side.
She began her season with a five-wicket haul against Southern Vipers and, after two matches without a wicket, added four more to her tally by running through Stars' middle order.
"Abtaha again proved her worth to us with a really good spell," said her head coach, Andy Tennant. "She's a very skilful performer. Wrist-spinners are particularly effective in the short-form games when they’re on it and she spins the ball both ways. When she's in good nick, she's a real handful and she's made a great start with us this season."
Maqsood accounted for England's Alice Davidson-Richards and the in-form Paige Scholfield among her victims.
Maqsood was overshadowed, though, by another leg-spinner at Radlett, with Dani Gregory's spell eventually taking the game away from Sunrisers, who were already on the back foot by the time she came into the attack.
Gregory had watched as the new ball accounted for Sunrisers' top five, but she showed the value of wrist-spin against the lower order by wrapping up a comprehensive victory in little time at all, with Jo Gardner, Eva Gray and Kelly Castle all falling in a rare triple-wicket maiden.
"I've had quite a long winter just churning out balls, so I'm trying to replicate that on the field and fortunately it came together today," she told the ECB Reporters Network afterwards.
This coverage is brought to you in partnership with Smile Group Travel, specialists in women and girls cricket. For more information, visit www.smilegrouptravel.com
Welcome to www.thecricketer.com - the online home of the world’s oldest cricket magazine. Breaking news, interviews, opinion and cricket goodness from every corner of our beautiful sport, from village green to national arena.