Thursday 22 August 2019 09:33, UK
Danni Wyatt continued her stunning Kia Super League form with a half-century, before Suzie Bates held her nerve in a final over thriller to hand Southern Vipers a three-run victory over Yorkshire Diamonds.
Wyatt hit 59 from 30 balls to take her tally up to 225 runs in the last four days, following scores of 110 and 56 against Surrey Stars and Western Storm.
But Bates had to defend seven in the final over and did so by bowling Jemimah Rodrigues and restricting Katie George and Bess Heath to just three runs off the 20th over.
The four-point win moves the Vipers up to second in the table and on course for a third Finals Day appearance in four seasons; in contrast, Diamonds face an uphill battle to qualify for the Hove finale.
Unbeaten Western Storm reaffirmed their status as Kia Super League title favourites when beating defending champions Surrey Stars by four runs at the Cooper Associates Ground.
Rachel Priest top-scored with 44 and Sophie Luff and Deepti Sharma contributed 32 apiece as Storm posted 159-8 after being put in to bat.
Sarah Taylor's brilliant innings of 73 from 54 balls set-up a tense finish, but Storm held their nerve, off spinner Sharma claiming 3-18 as Stars came up agonisingly short on 158-8.
Already guaranteed a place at Finals Day in Hove on September 1, Storm have now won all eight of their fixtures and, with two group games remaining, are attempting to become the first side in KSL history to go through a season unbeaten.
