THE final weekend in May saw the completion of the DWCL Super 8s Competition which runs ahead of the 35-over league games. Designed to run alongside the Women's County fixtures they are an ideal opportuntity for younger and newly recruited players to be introduced to the game. 

There were two finals taking place that day: the Super 8s Cup Trophy, which was the the teams that top the groups and also the Super 8s Plate Trophy, which was for the second placed teams. 

SUPER 8S CUP FINAL REPORT

submitted by Tammy Vukusic

The 2022 Super8 Trophy Final was held at Exeter Cricket Club. 

The final was played between Taunton Deane 1st team, Exeter and Taunton Deane 2nd team. 

Match one between Exeter and Taunton and was a competitive match with many younger players having some very positive results at the crease.  Exeter posted 126/6 with G Read, K Knight and E Vukusic all retiring not out.  Some excellent fielding from D Farrow and H Kelly saw the opener Munday run out on 25.  During Taunton’s innings Squire and Kelly both looked dangerous getting close to retiring but were thwarted respectively by Vukusic and Lewis. A great batting from Taunton 2s however they fell a little short and were all out for 104.

Exeter won by 17 runs

Match two was between the two Taunton teams and caused a headache for everyone involved due to the changeable weather.  After Taunton 1s completed their innings the thunder roared and the lightning flashed so according to ECB rules we were off immediately for 30mins!  The return to the pitch was then delayed as the captains, umpires and DWCL worked out how to achieve a result and overall winner.  As the sun started to break through and the outfield dry up a decision was made to play the Taunton 1s vs Exeter match, the result of which would then determine whether the Taunton 1s vs Taunton 2s match would need to be replayed.

 

 

The two Taunton Deane teams enjoying the sun! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Match 3 was on…albeit an hour after the scheduled start time.  Exeter won the toss and opted to field first.  Some excellent bowling and fielding from Lewis, Daldorph and Vukusic kept Taunton to 104 all out, however Woodgate-Jones produced some outstanding shots to retire on 30.  Exeter were then in to bat with 105 the target.  Once again Munday made the boundary seem tiny as she lofted the ball over the fielders before succumbing to an amazing catch from the Taunton keeper, Swart.  Vukusic and Daldorph put on a solid batting display, achieving 26 and 30 not out with eight boundaries between them.  Knight came into bat to help achieve the target of 105 off 11.1 overs.  A clinical display from Exeter.

 

 

 

 

Exeter won by five wickets and were Super 8s Cup Champions!

Congratulations to Exeter! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All the results can be found on this link here

 

SUPER 8s PLATE FINAL REPORT 

The Plate Final was held at North Devon Cricket Club and the teams competing were North Devon, Hatherleigh and Plymouth, writes   Ann-Marie Presswell. 

The day started in beautiful sunshine at North Devon and the first fixture was between Tarka North Devon and Hatherleigh. Winning the toss, Tarka chose to field. Hatherleigh started well with an opening partnership of 61 between Chloe Rose and India. Chloe Rose retired not out and Hatherleigh continued to score well. Tarka's Ruby Davies then came onto bowl and seemed to be the only one not affected by the tricky bowling and fielding conditions in the wind. Keeping her line and length she took two quick wickets and three catches during the game to dismiss Hatherleigh's middle order. Only a late flurry of runs from Jess Dennis and the return of Chloe Rose kept the runs ticking over and Hatherleigh were to finish on 115 all out. 

Hatherleigh got off to a great start in the field with Hester taking 2 wickets in the first over, leaving Tarka on 6-2. However Hatherleigh also found the bowling conditions tricky and with the extras building and steady batting by Rose Ball and later Emily Jakes, Tarka were well up with the run rate and looking like they would have overs to spare. The opening bowlers came back on for Hatherleigh to change the game. And they did. Chloe Dennis first taking the 6th wicket, leaving the last pair to bat out the 12 runs needed in 4 overs. Hester Presswell howver had other plans and closed her final over as she had started - with a wide and a wicket to win the game! 

Hatherleigh win by 7 runs 

Next Hatherleigh were to play Plymouth. Plymouth were fielding a young team, led by Claire Varcoe. A sudden downpour of torrential rain and some distant thunder meant that the game had to be delayed. The start time came amd went and when the ground was fit to play, the game was reduced to 10 overs per side. Hatherleigh won the toos and chose to bat. Plymouth bowled tightly, but Hatherleigh scored well, finishing on 80 for 2 off the ten overs. 

Claire Varcoe opened the batting and and scored steadily, but Plymoiuth never really kept up with the run rate. Run out on 25, Claire was replaced by Immy Prickett who scored a quick 13 off 14 balls. However by this time, the rate required had crept to over 11 and the young side could not reach the target required, finishing on 58.

Hatherleigh win by 22 runs

The last game was played in beautiful sunshine again and returned to the 16 overs per side. Played in great spirit, Plymouth won the toss and elected to field. Again, Plymouth bowled really well, but the batting of the experienced Tarka women was showing through, with Ruby Davies retiring on 30 and Flora Corbin scoring 25 off 25 balls. Finishing on 137, it was going to be a tough ask for the young Plymouth team. Plymouth did,however, give it a really good go! Claire Varcoe retired on 31 and with her partner Olivia Irish scoring 24 before losing the first wicket, they had an opening partnership of 70. With Immy Prickett back at the crease alongside Maggie Haffenden, there was some quick running between the wickets, with both girls scoring 12 runs at the close of play. Once again, Plymouth could not quite keep up with the run rate and feel short by 33 runs. 

North Devon win by 33 runs. 

Hatherleigh hold the Plate Trophy 

For a full round up of results, please click here

Overall, a fantatstic day of cricket for six teams across two grounds. Many thanks should go to the umpires who had to manage the games in some challenging weather conditions. Thanks to North Devon and Exeter Cricket Club for hosting and all the scorers, managers and players that made the day possible. 

The league now looks forward to a busy summer of 35 over cricket in the three divisions. Good luck to all the team involved.