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Lamb, Ecclestone shine as Originals finish their season on a high

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Women's CricZone Staff
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Lamb, Ecclestone shine as Originals finish their season on a high

Emma Lamb, Sophie Ecclestone © Getty Images

Clinical bowling performance from the spinners followed by some swashbuckling batting from Emma Lamb and Lizelle Lee helped Manchester Originals finish the campaign in the first season of The Hundred with a nine-wicket win against Trent Rockets on Sunday (August 15). With the defeat, the Rockets failed to qualify for the eliminator. 

After being put in to bat in a must-win game, Trent Rocket openers Sammy-Jo Johnson and Rachel Priest could not get them off to a flier. They managed to score 20 runs in the power play. However, Johnson cut loose shortly after smashing boundaries off Kate Cross and Alexandra Hartley.

The allrounder chipped Cross over mid-off and clobbered the left-arm spinner with the wind over the deep mid-wicket boundary. Hartley came back strongly, getting rid of Priest for eight runs from 15 balls. Meanwhile, Johnson kept the innings going as she smacked Natalie Brown into the stands twice in the same set. Once again, Hartley came to the rescue for the Originals. She deceived Johnson with the drift and got her caught at short mid-wicket. The allrounder made 33 runs from 20 balls.

Rockets skipper Natalie Sciver's stint did not last long as she scored a run-a-ball 13 before getting out to her counterpart, Cross. Joined by Heather Graham, Katherine Brunt tried to rebuild. Together, they added 25 runs off 23 balls for the fourth wicket. Trying to up the ante, Brunt hit Cross straight into the hands of Lizelle Lee at point. 

Ecclestone's double breakthrough meant that the Rockets were in trouble. However, some late hitting from Sarah Glenn took them to 122 for six in 100 balls. She finished with 23 runs from 12 balls, with Ecclestone being the pick of the bowler for the Rockets. The latter took two wickets for just 11 runs in 20 balls. 

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With nothing to lose from the result, Lee and Lamb wasted no time to go after the Rockets bowling. Lamb started with a flick off Johnson and followed it with a swipe across the line to Katherine Bryce. She smacked her through point for a boundary off the very next delivery. Lee, too, joined the party as she picked up a boundary off Brunt's bowling. They raced their way to 35 for no loss in the power play.

When Glenn came on to bowl, Lamb welcomed her with three boundaries - in front of square, through square-leg and one to the fine-leg boundary. She lofted Bryce over long-on for a six and pulled Sciver between square-leg and midwicket. Rockets providing a life to Lamb early in the innings did not help their cause either. 

Halfway through the chase, the Originals were racing away with the game at 79 for no loss. Lee hoicked Johnson over deep-midwicket while Lamb used her feet to loft Georgia Davis over cover twice in the same set. When it seemed like Lamb was finishing the chase unbeaten, Brunt took a stunning catch at deep mid-wicket as the opener fell one run short of her fifty.

Joined by Mignon du Preez, Lee saw through the chase as the Originals won by nine wickets. Lee finished with 47 runs from 45 balls and was adjudged as the hero of the match.

Brief Scores: Trent Rockets 122/6 in 100 balls (Sammy-Jo Johnson 33, Sophie Ecclestone 2/11) lost to Manchester Originals 124/1 in 87 balls (Emma Lamb 49, Georgia Davis 1/9) by nine wickets 
Lizelle Lee kate cross Emma Lamb Manchester Originals Trent Rockets
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