Captain Jones leads young Lancashire side to victory

It was never going to be easy to bat on a track that had been used for the past two weekends. Worcestershire were given that task. It would mean that they would have to bowl exceptionally well against Lancashire to keep the inevitable chase manageable.
Worcestershire took three wickets in the powerplay getting rid of the useful looking Danielle Collins for 2, Natalie Brown for 4 and Ellie Threlkeld for 2. Jones battle hard in an unbeaten 64 from 62 balls that included some sweetly struck blows towards the end of the innings.
Jones needed to get her side over the psychological barrier of 100. This she did almost by herself. Rachel Dickinson was the next highest scorer with 8. Worcestershire were to find out just how difficult a modest target was to be. Lancashire cause some early pressure with the bowlers finding some movement under the grey skies.
Millie Hodge in just her second game for Lancashire impressed. With some important players like Kate Cross missing Hodge was not going to let her captain down. She made the breakthrough in her first over. Worcestershire could not find the gaps and scoring ground to a halt as Hodges and a combination of Lancashire’s bowlers turned on the pressure.
The ball didn’t come onto the bat like it had done in the first game. Sarah Glenn struggled to time the ball and was bowled by Laura Jackson. Lancashire did not have a full complement of frontline bowlers and this would be the moment that Worcestershire would have to capitalise on. They did just that. Jones brought herself on as the fifth bowler and her two overs went for 19.
Worcestershire could not find those last seven runs to win an important game for them, as only Chloe Hill got to grips with the conditions. Lancashire will feel relieved to have gotten out of this game with a win that at times did not look likely.