Devon Women beat Dorset but fell to a close defeat against Somerset in the final set of fixtures in Group 4 of the ECB T20 County Championship at Hamworthy CC.

Dorset Match Report

Captain Ruby Davis won the toss in the first game against Dorset and elected to bat. On a good track, scoring boundaries proved difficult due to the size of the boundary. The powerplay proved challenging with Dorset reducing Devon to 26 for 3 at the end of the first six overs. A crucial partnership of 75 between Emma Corney (64) and Ellie Bishop (26) took Devon past 100, with Devon finishing their innings on 128 for 7.

Due to the size of the ground this proved a challenging total with Dorset only managing 82 for 9 off their 20 overs and this was due to a disciplined bowling performance, particularly from the spinners Eva Lwwis 3-15, Steph Hutchins 2-11, Ellie Bishop 1-8 and Regina Lilii 1-4, their 13 overs only costing 38 runs.

Scorecard

Dorset 82-9 (S Matthews 13, R Campbell-Barnard 12; E Lewis 3-15, S Hutchins 2-11, K Donovan 2-14)

Devon Women 128-7 (E Corney 64, E Bishop 26; L Dean 2-11, N Hillman 2-23, K Rees 2-35)

Devon Women beat Dorset by 46 runs.

Somerset Match Report

Ruby Davis again opted to bag and Devon set a competitive target of 133 for Somerset to win. This again was based around an undefeated stand of 100 for the third wicket between Emma Corney (50*) and Ellie Bishop (56*), who batted fluently and set up a challenging total for Somerset to chase.

Devon bowlers again bowled with discipline and slowed the Somerset scoring but it was a 40-run partnership between Laila Moledina and Nicole Harvey that got Somerset over the line with a ball to spare. Devon ended up just on the wrong side of the result and showed their customary fight to the end with Eva Lewis being the pick of the bowlers with impressive figures of 3 for 12.

Scorecard

Somerset 133-3 (L Moledina 62*, E Edgecombe 21, D Jeanes 20; E Lewis 3-12)

Devon Women 132-2 (E Bishop 56*, E Corney 50*; E Edgecombe 1-17, L Szczepanski 1-28)

Somerset beat Devon Women by 7 wickets.

David Joseph's Post-Match Thoughts

"I could not be more proud of what the women's squad has achieved this season. They are a highly talented group who have played fearless cricket with a smile on their faces. They are fantastic role models for the women's game. They've worn the shirt with pride and have done Devon proud.

"The downside is we will not be able to take this group forward. To those who will be leaving the Devon set up we wish them every success, to those staying we look forward to training hard this winter and coming back strong next summer.

"I would like to personally thank the players for buying in, Sean for all his support with the coaching and everyone who has supported us and made so many positive comments, it is really appreciated."

Ruby Davis' Post-Match Thoughts

"This season it’s been an absolute pleasure to play with a group of girls I would call far more than just teammates. To finish the T20 league with such a close game against a strong Somerset side truly showed how exciting our standard of cricket can be.

"A special thanks to our legend of a photographer Jules [Head of Communications, Julen] for following the team's journey this year.

"Lastly, a massive thank you to David and Sean for the love and encouragement they’ve shown this team allowing us to have the success and fun we have had."