Watch KSL Finals Day, live on Sky Sports Cricket on Friday
Friday 1 September 2017 07:56, UK
The group stage in this season's Kia Super League featured two tons and nine fifties - and ended with Southern Vipers, Surrey Stars and Western Storm reaching Finals Day.
Table toppers and defending champions Vipers will face the winner of Stars and Storm's play-off in the competition final on Friday, with both games live on Sky Sports Cricket.
Vipers will be looking for further pyrotechnics from Suzie Bates, the only player to crack 200 runs in the pool phase, after she hit the inaugural KSL ton, in front of the Sky cameras.
Here are the highlights from the campaign so far, with Bates' blistering knock top of the list…
Highest score - Suzie Bates (119no)
Southern Vipers opener Suzie Bates provided a taster of her talent when she smashed an unbeaten 47 from 31 balls in her side's thumping nine-wicket win over Western Storm in the tournament opener. That knock proved a precursor to a stunning 63-ball hundred against Loughborough Lightning next time out, with the New Zealander becoming the first woman to hit a KSL century and thrashing 15 fours and four sixes during a scintillating 72-ball knock. Bates' fellow Kiwi, Rachel Priest, hit the second KSL ton of the campaign, an unbeaten 106 from 65 deliveries against Yorkshire Diamonds.
Lowest total - Western Storm (70)
Priest and opening partner Heather Knight (48no) put on an unbroken 161-run stand against Diamonds - over double what their entire team scored against Vipers in the first match of the season! Priest (3) and Knight (1) scored just four runs between them during a torrid Storm batting display, as only Georgia Hennessy (22) and Fran Wilson (10) reached double figures. Three run outs did not aid Storm's cause - Charlotte Edwards securing one of them - as they were skittled in 18.5 overs, before Bates ensured Vipers required just nine overs to coast past their target.
Most sixes in innings - Lizelle Lee (6)
The South African only signed for Surrey following an injury to India boundary-hitter Harmanpreet Kaur but has been a more than adequate replacement - just ask the Storm bowlers! The opener muscled six maximums against Knight's side, including three off the visiting skipper's spin in the 12th over. Lee did not thrash the ball over the fence in any other innings, however, meaning her tally of six for the group stage was matched by Bates, Priest and Ellyse Perry, Perry clubbing four of hers in Lightning's 81-run mauling of Stars in their final group game at The Oval on Saturday.
Most wickets - Natalie Sciver (10)
Sciver will be irked that her side's defeat to Lightning cost them automatic qualification to the Kia Super League Final but will raise a small smile at being the leading wicket-taker during the group phase. The medium-pacer scooping three-fors in the victories over Diamonds, Vipers and Storm as well as a solitary scalp in the win against Thunder. Sciver's Surrey team-mate Alex Hartley and Lancashire captain Dani Hazell are next on the list, having collected nine scalps with their spin.
Best bowling figures - Rene Farrell (5-26)
The Surrey seamer turned Stars' game with Thunder on its head with a devastating spell. Thunder looked well place to challenge Surrey's 133-6 at Old Trafford when they progressed to 75-2 in the 12th over, but Farrell had other ideas, picked up the key scalps of Amy Satterthwaite and England's Sarah Taylor (34) en route to just the second five-for in the KSL as Thunder lost their final eight wickets for 25 runs. Storm's Stafanie Taylor deserves a mention, too, having bagged 4-5 against Lightning, the West Indian taking three wickets in one over and bowling 20 dot balls out of 24.
Watch Kia Super League Finals Day live on Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Main Event from 2pm on Friday.
