Storm to play Stars with winner facing Vipers in KSL final
Sunday 27 August 2017 11:47, UK
Western Storm will join defending champions Southern Vipers and Surrey Stars at Kia Super League Finals Day after thumping Lancashire Thunder by five wickets.
Yorkshire Diamonds and Loughborough Lightning were also in the running for a top-three finish but Diamonds lost to table toppers Vipers by 30 runs and Lightning's crushing 81-run victory over Surrey was not enough due to Storm's triumph in Bristol.
Storm and Stars will now square off at Hove on Friday with the winner progressing to face Vipers later in the day, with both games live on Sky Sports Cricket (channel 404) and Sky Sports Main Event (channel 401).
Storm chased down Thunder's 122-5 with 2.5 overs to spare, Rachel Priest hitting 52 from 26 balls and Sophie Luff (24no) sealing the win after a collapse of 4-13 to condemn Thunder to a fifth straight defeat.
Diamonds, meanwhile, were dismissed for 108 in reply to Vipers' 138-6, with only a defiant 42 from 32 deliveries from Katherine Brunt lifting the visitors above 100 at Arundel.
South Africa's Mignon du Preez smashed 50 from 35 deliveries for Vipers and West Indies' Hayley Matthews scored 40, while Diamonds leg-spinner Katie Levick bagged 3-21.
Plus, Lightning subjected Surrey to their first defeat of the campaign, after racking up 171-3 - the second-highest total of the season - and bundling Stars out for 90 in 18 overs.
Australia internationals Elyse Villani (71 off 39) and Elyse Perry (68no off 53) biffed fifties - Villani's coming from 28 balls - as Natalie Sciver and Alex Hartley went at in excess of 11 runs an over.
Sciver's 18-ball 24 was the best Stars could muster with the bat - the home side surrendering their final six wickets for 29 runs to slip to second spot in the standings and miss out on automatic qualification for the final.
Watch Kia Super League Finals Day live on Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Main Event from 2pm on Friday.
