Waldron and Dattani shine before Perera wins it with ball

Today was a day of firsts at the picturesque Wormsley in Buckinghamshire. With the aim of promoting gender equality. Organised by FairBreak. A FairBreak XI which included players from 11 different countries in their squad took on a Sir Paul Getty XI.
Charlotte Edwards captained a Sir Paul Getty women's side assembled for the first time. It was a side that had a more experienced look to it, including England veterans Arran Brindle and Laura Macleod.
It was the Getty side that would bat first. Achini Perera the young Canadian opened with Brindle and they got their team off to a steady start with a partnership of 57 from 10.4 overs. It was a platform that would allow Mary Waldron the Irish international wicketkeeper and Naomi Dattani to attack. Dattani put in a cameo of class it took her only 19 balls to hit 41 runs.  Vanuatu's Selina Salman saw off the Middlesex 50 over captain.
Waldron was the mainstay of the innings with the highest score of 43 not out from 26. Sir Paul Getty XI reached 155 from their twenty overs. It would require the experienced players in the FairBreak XI to help keep them in the game. The FairBreak XI lost early wickets that and when Ciara Metcalfe the Irish legspinner bowled Suzie Bates it was always going to be difficult to keep up with the run-rate.
It was Perera who has got her side off to a great start with the bat who started to do the damage with the ball. In her three overs, she took four wickets as the FairBreak lower order looked for quick runs. Alex Blackwell was faced with a similar situation in last year's World Cup Semi-Final; took the attack to the bowlers and was the only player in the game to score a fifty with 52 not out from 32 balls.
Blackwell brought up her fifty with the final ball of the match but by that time the game was over. It was always going to be difficult for the FairBreak side. It was more about being given the opportunity to play against some very good players.
One of the purposes of the game was to showcase for the associate members of the ICC to show that there is the talent below the current top eight and that given the opportunities they can play along with the best, and there wasn't a single player that looked out of place.