Devon Women beat Wiltshire by 28 runs in their first ECB County Championship T20 game of the season, but fell to a 7-wicket defeat against Hampshire at Potterne CC on Sunday.

Wiltshire Match Report

On a fast-scoring ground, Devon elected to bat against Wiltshire in the first T20 of the day. Devon posted a very competitive score of 159 for 4, centred around Ellie Bishop's fluent innings of 58 (43 balls). In addition, Hollie Perkin 31* (22 balls), Regina Lilii 27 (24 balls) and Amelie Munday 21 (19 balls) all made valuable positive contributions. 

Wiltshire remained in the game throughout their reply and kept the run rate in check. Devon's bowling unit bowled good lines and were supported by a really good fielding performance. The 18th over proved key to the result, with Katie Donovan picking up the wickets of Anna-Mae Shearn (36) and Flo Sharman (52) to break the partnership and set up the win. In the end, Devon won by 28 runs.

Scorecard

Wiltshire 131-5 (F Sharman 52, A Shearn 36; K Donovan 2-16, E Bishop 1-14)

Devon Women 159-4 (E Bishop 58, H Perkin 31, R Lilii 27; F Sharman 1-5, J Heppell 1-26)

Devon Women beat Wiltshire by 28 runs.

Hampshire Match Report

In the second game of the day against Hampshire, Devon looked to follow the same game plan as they did against Wiltshire, winning the toss and opting to bat.

The start was aggressive with Amelie Munday taking 19 off the first over. However, 2 wickets in the second over slowed Devon's progress. Devon struggled to come to terms with the slowing wicket and Hampshire's accurate and varied attack. The innings finished with Devon being bowled out for 60.

The bowling attack worked hard and made the chase as difficult as they could. The fielding unit supported them throughout, but ultimately 60 was not enough runs with Hampshire passing the score 3 down in the 12th over, with JoJo Baylis, Eva Lewis and Eliza Heard all chipping in with a wicket.

Scorecard

Hampshire 63/3 (D Ransley 15*, F Trussler 15; E Lewis 1-3, E Heard 1-17)

Devon Women 60ao (A Munday 19, E Bishop 11; G Lane 2-5, E Wilson 2-7)

Hampshire beat Devon Women by 7 wickets.

David Joseph's Post-Match Thoughts

"There were lots of positives that came out of the games. It was great to get our first win on the board against Wiltshire. The batters showed good aggression and intent against Wiltshire. The bowling unit was backed up well by the fielders to end up with a comfortable win.

"The Hampshire game was ultimately decided by our low score, and we have already discussed how we can approach the middle overs batting. I was really pleased with our response with the ball and how deep we took the game.

"Bowling plans are coming together and the fielding unit are supporting with their intensity and game awareness. We are a young side who are learning fast together and developing clear plans of how we want to play moving forward."

Steph Hutchins' Post-Match Thoughts

"We set the tone from ball one in our first game against with bat and took advantage of the short boundary. Our bowling unit followed this up once we worked out a clear plan.

"Our second game against Hampshire wasn’t the best innings with the bat, only setting a low score. Our bowlers stuck to their plans and executed them really well. We made the batters work for their runs dragging out past the 11th over and taking 3 wickets."

Up Next

Devon Women are back in Wiltshire for their next fixture, in a 50-over rematch against the hosts at Royal Wootton Bassett CC on Sunday, June 30.