Thunder v Northern Diamonds: Lauren Winfield-Hill sparkles to steal Dottin’s thunder

Alongside Hollie Armitage, who hit 46, and Bess Heath, who struck an unbeaten 51, Winfield-Hill ensured the target of 236 was easily chased down with 46 balls remaining, despite the efforts of Thunder’s Emma Lamb, whose 82 was as equally entertaining as that of her rival opening batter.

At the start of the day Diamonds had made an early breakthrough when Georgie Boyce was trapped in front by Rachel Slater for six with the dismissal bringing the imposing figure of West Indian star Deandra Dottin to the crease.

Unsurprisingly Dottin’s introduction saw the run rate rise dramatically as the new arrival hit three successive boundaries off one Katherine Brunt over with Lamb proving equally dominant at the other end.

The second wicket pair had added 55 runs in just over seven overs when Dottin attempted one shot too many and skied a Katie Levick delivery to Leigh Kasperek at deep cover for an entertaining 26 off 27 balls.

From then on it was all about Lamb, as the England international unleashed an array of attractive stroke play on her way to a fine half-century which saw her bring up 2,000 List A runs when she reached 62.

Along the way both Ellie Threlkeld (13) and Danielle Collins (18) offered valuable support until they were dismissed by the spin of Linsey Smith and Kasperek respectively.

So comfortable had Lamb looked it was something of a shock when she handed Smith her second wicket after she misjudged the flight of a full delivery and was bowled attempting a hit across the line for 82.

But while the runs dried up, Sachi Pai and Daisy Mullan stood firm and added 31 for the sixth wicket until Mullan was caught in the deep by Heath off Levick for 18. Pai finished unbeaten on 41 as Thunder finished on 235-7 at the close of the innings with Levick (2-45) and Smith (2-34).

Until well into the second half of Diamonds’ reply the result of this game never looked in doubt despite the early departure of Linsey Smith for nine after she top-edged a pull shot to Laura Jackson.

The reason was Winfield-Hill who utterly dominated Thunder’s bowling as she constructed a match-defining second wicket partnership with Holly Armitage.

A chanceless knock saw the England international stroke the ball around Sale’s small ground with finesse when needed and with power when required.

The partnership was eventually broken after 116 runs when Armitage’s late cut off Jackson found Hannah Jones at fly slip and she departed for 46 before Winfield-Hill fell soon after to the left arm spin of Alex Hartley when she skied a drive to Georgie Boyce at long off for a brilliant 93.

When Yvonne Graves departed without scoring, bowled by Jones, Thunder had a glimmer of hope, but it was soon extinguished as Sterre Kalis (35*) and Heath (51*) steered Diamonds home.

Winfield-Hill said: “I’m really pleased with how I batted on a good wicket.

“We had lots of really nice partnerships and I think we’ve made big strides since last year in getting ahead of the game and finishing the job off. All round it was a good day.

“People have said about the rivalry between me and Emma (Lamb) but you can’t really think like that. I’m really good mates with her and I’m pleased for her. I like talking to her about batting and I’m not tunnel vision or dog eat dog when it comes to playing for England. I like to see my friends and my team mates do well and she’s played really well again today.

“I caught wind of the fact Deandra (Dottin) might be playing this week and I said to my wife I thought it was brilliant - you have to look forward to having a world class player coming up against you. I was really excited about the prospect of our bowlers coming up against her because that is how you get better. Bowlers have to take a deep breath and be resilient but you want world class players playing in this country.”