June 20, 2017
On a glorious May afternoon, the Totts women kicked off their campaign in the new Lancashire Thunder League with a 211 run win over an enthusiastic and well-supported Blackpool.
Coach Bret has worked hard with his young charges this Spring, and their hard work paid off in fine style. Having won the toss, skipper Danielle Collins picked up where she'd left off for the men's 2nd XI on Saturday and was soon smashing the ball to all parts. By over 15, Danielle and opening partner Roshi has carried the score to 133 for no loss. Danielle fell for 78, but the runrate showed no sign of abating, as Sophie Heaton picked up the momentum. When Roshi also fell for 78, Lancs starlet Georgie Holt entered the fray. As the sun beat down, Blackpool continued to give it their all, but the Totts batters continued to collect runs galore, eventually closing their innings on 277-3 from 34 overs.
Clearly this was going to be a tough run chase for any side, not least a young and inexperience one, but the Blackpool girls, who were cheered on by lots of travelling supporters and families, were game. Totts opened with the pacy Emily Carter in tandem with Eve Whaling, who tossed it up high, and the contrasting styles worked to keep the visitors in check. With 13 overs gone, only 18 runs were on the board, and the game was firmly in our control. The first wicket finally fell with the score on 42, and this prompted a clatter of wickets, with all 10 falling for just 24 in the face of excellent bowling from all the Totts team. Olivia and Sophie each captured 3 wickets, backed up by some committed and tight fielding, and excellent keeping from Georgie.
An excellent start for the side, who are hoping to make a big impact this season - thanks to Blackpool who never gave up, cheered their team on throughout and were a credit to their club all day. Thanks also to Kieran, Bret and co for getting everything prepared, Dasher for manning the bar all day, Gemma Whaling who kept Twitter fully up to date, and good to see plenty of the men's players down to help support their teammates and club colleagues. A great start!