Stars in final, while Vipers, Diamonds make semis; Storm just miss out

Emma Jones starred for Stars with an unbeaten 46 off just 27 balls in Birmingham. She walked in at no.6 with Diamonds stuttering at four for 90 in the 12^th over. Jones struck seven fours and a six in her stay, helping Stars to a total in excess of 160. Jones aside, Chloe Brewer made 41 off 33 balls.

Sparks reply was led by Evelyn Jones, who continued her form from The Hundred. She hit 76 off just 68 balls, hitting eight fours and a couple of sixes. Apart from her, only Marie Kelly entered double figures, scoring 25. Sparks fell short by 26 runs. Danielle Gregory returned three wickets for Stars.

In Derby, Vipers toppled Lightning by seven wickets. Paige Schofield scored an unbeaten 41 off 36 balls in the chase. Georgia Elwiss and Tara Norris picked three wickets each, which helped Vipers restrict Lightning to 124 for nine.

At Fenner’s Ground in Cambridge, Western Storm had a bittersweet day. Georgia Hennessy made a run-a-ball 62 opening the batting. She was involved in a 68-run opening stand with Fi Morris (21) and then a 51-run partnership with captain Sophie Luff (32), helping Storm post 147 for five against Sunrisers.

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Cordelia Griffith gave Sunrisers a good start in reply. Along with Alice Macleod, she was involved in a 49-run opening stand and was the second wicket to fall with the score on 60. She made 32 off 25 balls. Nicole Harvey returned three wickets for 17 runs in her four overs, which helped Storm keep Sunrisers to 142 for seven.

Thunder, meanwhile, were kept to 90 for nine, thanks to a four-wicket haul from Jenny Gunn. Rachel Slater and Linsey Smith returned with a couple of wickets each. Northern Diamonds easily chased the target down with Bess Heath leading the charge with 58 not out.

Brief Scores

South East Stars 165/6 in 20 overs (Emma Jones 46*, Chloe Brewer 41; Clare Boycott 3/22) beat Central Sparks 139/6 in 20 overs (Evelyn Jones 76; Danielle Gregory 3/16) by 26 runs

Lightning 124/9 in 20 overs (Abigail Freeborn 27; Georgia Elwiss 3/23, Tara Norris 3/26) lost to Southern Vipers 125/3 in 20 overs (Paige Scholfield 41*; Kirstie Gordon 2/20) by seven wickets

Western Storm 147/5 in 20 overs (Georgia Hennessy 62, Sophie Luff 34; Grace Scrivens 2/23) beat Sunrisers 142/7 in 20 overs (Cordelia Griffith 32; Nicole Harvey 3/17) by five runs

Thunder 90/9 in 20 overs (Jenny Gunn 4/15, Linsey Smith 2/12, Rachel Slater 2/22) lost to Northern Diamonds 92/2 in 12.2 overs (Bess Heath 58*) by eight wickets