Surrey pick up first London Cup title as women's cricket returns

Surrey beat Middlesex to lift the London Cup for the first time in the annual competition as elite women's cricket returned at last.

There were some reassuring signs at the Kia Oval. While the spectators were absent, the pigeons feasted on the edge of the square and the busy sounds of South London carried on outside the ground.

The London Cup is fast becoming an intriguing part of the women’s domestic calendar. Middlesex had won the previous five meetings in this fixture. Looking at some of the names absent in the Surrey side, they would have been confident of adding to their tally.

But it was the South London side who would lift the cup for the first time thanks to a four-wicket victory with a ball to spare. It was a game that ebbed and flowed and the winner was never certain for long.

When Naomi Dattani – the Middlesex captain – won the toss, she opted to bat. It soon looked like it would be the last bit of luck for Middlesex. However, the nature of Twenty20 cricket has a way of turning things on their head.  

With the COVID-19 pandemic delaying the season it would have been an easy excuse for Surrey’s opening bowlers to start with a couple of loose deliveries. They didn’t. Amy Gordon and Claudi Cooper complemented each other and gave nothing away. It took 14 balls for Middlesex to score, Amara Carr dabbing towards point to get the innings going.

By then, Middlesex had already lost their skipper - Dattani going after the first wider ball but only finding the edge. The bat slipped from her hands but it was not enough to put off the wicketkeeper Rhianna Southby, who was superb behind the stumps.

It was hard going for the Middlesex batters. Carr never got going, the young spinner Cooper was able to bowl with control and variety.  It was an under edge that accounted for Carr and at 5 for 2, Middlesex were in trouble. Cranes dominate the Kia Oval skyline and it was going to take a rebuild of those proportions for Middlesex to force their way back into the game.

Natasha Miles and Cordelia Griffith offered experience and started to steady things. Griffth was the more dominant of the two - her 30 coming from just 23 balls, including a six and three fours.

But just as Griffiths got going, Beth Kerins was able to recover from a poor first over to have her caught by Gordon at deep mid-wicket. Middlesex then collapsed from 60 for 3 to 64 for 6 in the space of eight balls.

The carnage started with an excellent bit of skill from the leg-spinner Dani Gregory who found a way through the defences of Miles. Every Surrey spinner offered an element of doubt in the batters minds and at one point it was doubtful if Middlesex would reach three figures.

But Gayatri Gole and Sonali Patel, with a partnership of 38 for the seventh wicket from 32 balls, gave their side a total to bowl at - Middlesex finishing on 108 for 7. It felt like a momentum change.

Pressure in the middle overs put the squeeze on Surrey who had started well with the bat. Alice Capsey batted with purpose and was going well with 17 runs from 21 balls. Along with Kirstie White, they looked comfortable in the powerplay overs. There were a couple of near misses as Middlesex fielders failed to hold on or get near a number of half chances.

Katie Wolfe made the breakthrough as Capsey looped a catch to Miles at mid-off. Surrey started to wobble - White run out in the next over, Wolfe again in the action with a direct hit.

It was again the spin that caused problems for the batters. Emily Thorpe, another young leg-spinner, bowled well. Her four overs went for just 11 runs as she took the important wickets of Aylish Cranstone and Gordon, both lbw.

At 60 for 5 Surrey had a lot of work to do to stay in the game. The run-rate had crept above seven an over and Middlesex were happy for their opponents to knock it around for singles.

It was down to Southby and Kira Chathli to take Surrey to victory. The pair needed 49 more runs to win when they joined each other in the middle with 42 balls left. It was going to take one of them to find a way of finding the boundary that had eluded the team since the eighth over.

It would be Chathli who found a way, scooping Dattani for two consecutive fours over the keeper's head in the 17th over.

There was a last twist of drama as Southby was bowled from the first ball of the final over with six runs still required. but Chathli stayed calm and with a boundary from the penultimate ball she won the game to take the London Cup to the Oval for the first time.

Match Summary:

Middlesex 108 for 7 (Griffith 30)

Surrey 110 for 6 (Thorpe 2-11)