Charlotte Edwards Cup 2024 roundup: Thunder and Stars bowled out cheaply, The Blaze win semi-final dress rehearsal

The Cricketer reviews the best of the action from the latest round of the T20 competition in 2024

Hove: Southern Vipers 179-5, South East Stars 66 - Southern Vipers win by 113 runs

Maia Bouchier led the way with a career-best 93 as Southern Vipers warmed up for the defence of their title with a crushing 113-run victory over South East Stars in the Charlotte Edwards Cup.

The 25-year-old opener needed just 55 balls to make the second-highest score in this season's competition as Vipers posted 179 for 5 in a game between two sides who were already through to Finals Day in Derby on Saturday.

Stars finished second after suffering only their second defeat in the group stage, but they will need to regroup having been bowled out for just 66, the second-lowest completed total in this season's competition. Charlie Dean led the way with 3 for 5, Linsey Smith took 3 for 12 and Charli Knott 2 for 11 as nine of the wickets fell to spin.

^{Tilly Corteen-Coleman has had a fine tournament for Stars (Ben Hoskins/Getty Images)}

Chester-le-Street: Thunder 61, Northern Diamonds 62-5 - Northern Diamonds win by five wickets

Northern Diamonds bowled Lancashire Thunder out for just 61 – the lowest total in the four-year history of the Charlotte Edwards Cup – on the way to a five-wicket victory with 6.2 overs to spare against their arch-rivals at Durham’s Seat Unique Riverside.

Scotland left-arm seamer Rachel Slater returned a superb 3 for 12 from four overs bowled straight through with the new ball, while opener partner Lizzie Scott also struck twice added to two wickets for the off-spin of Erin Burns in a final group clash which started with neither side able to qualify for Saturday’s Finals Day.

Having almost perfectly made use of helpful bowling conditions, the Diamonds slipped to 37 for 4 in this helter-skelter contest. But Thunder had left themselves with too much to do, and their former batter Rebecca Duckworth steered the hosts over the line with an unbeaten 21.

Both sides finished this competition with three wins from their 10 matches. Diamonds have won their last two and Thunder have lost their last two.

^{Issy Wong is on loan at Western Storm (Harry Trump/Getty Images)}

Edgbaston: Central Sparks 138-8, The Blaze 139-5 - The Blaze win by five wickets

The Blaze beat Central Sparks by five wickets at Edgbaston in a last group match which turned out to be a dress rehearsal for a Charlotte Edwards Cup semi-final at Derby on Saturday.

A ninth win in ten games left Blaze top of the final table while the defeat saw Sparks drop to fourth after Southern Vipers climbed above them with a bonus point win over South East Stars at Hove.

Sparks were restricted to 138 for 8 by an impressive Blaze attack led by Kirstie Gordon and Grace Ballinger. After solid contributions from top three Amy Freeborn (39), Davina Perrin (37) and Amy Jones (36), the rest folded as Josie Groves and Heather Graham also each took two wickets.

Marie Kelly, on the ground where she learned her cricket, then swept Blaze to victory. Kelly's classy unbeaten 89 underpinned her side's progress to 139 for 5 from 19.2 overs as a Sparks bowling attack which had bowled Vipers out for 98 three days earlier found life much more difficult. It is The Blaze who will head to Derby with momentum behind them.

Chelmsford: Western Storm 142-7, Sunrisers 131-9 - Western Storm win by 11 runs

Heather Knight got herself into form ahead of England's series with New Zealand with 66 as Western Storm condemned Sunrisers to the wooden spoon in the Charlotte Edwards Cup.

England skipper Knight grabbed her second fifty in a row to average 52 in the competition, to put the disappointing Pakistan T20s behind her before the White Ferns arrive for three ODIs and five T20s from next Wednesday.

Her 74-run stand with 20-year-old Emma Corney – who made a CEC best of 46 – put Storm on track for 142 for seven, with Blaze loanee Sophie Munro picking up 4 for 23.

Despite Grace Scrivens and Jo Gardner's speedy start, Sunrisers fell 11 runs short to end as the bottom-placed side for the fourth year in a row – with Storm ending their tournament a point and a place better off.

Join The Cricketer's brand new Whatsapp channel for the latest breaking news, comment and features - click here to become a member

Related Topics

• Time to put Afghan women back on track and show-up the Taliban