On Sunday, the St Cross Women’s 2nd XI hosted Portsmouth Women’s 1st XI in a dominant home performance. Captain Steph won the toss and elected to bowl first. The decision paid off immediately, with wickets falling at regular intervals. Portsmouth struggled to build momentum, with their top scorer managing just 26 runs, while the rest of the lineup were restricted to 3 runs or fewer. All bowlers contributed to the wickets, showcasing a strong team effort with the ball. A special mention goes to Thea Budd, who made her women’s cricket debut and marked the occasion by taking the final wicket of the innings in her very first over. All our other bowlers also took wickets, Charlotte Walter and Evie Graham two each, one apiece for Kitty Redhead, skipper Steph Trueman, Becca Gunstone, and Grace Crute. Emma Tayler took a couple of catches, the rest were clean bowled or leg before. Portsmouth were bowled out for just 53 runs in 19 overs.

In reply, St Cross had a slightly shaky start, losing their three opening batters quickly. However, Lesley Hubbard and U13 Grace steadied the innings with a composed and confident partnership. Grace impressed with a mature knock of 27, supported by Lesley’s 15, guiding St Cross to victory with 55 runs in just 9 overs.

A quick and clinical game, capped off by a standout debut and a strong all-round team performance. Many thanks are due to Emily Wilson in her first umpiring assignment, and also Tracy Graham for scoring.

This win takes our Women’s 2s to second in the table with our third consecutive win, and with our only defeats both by just 4 runs we are proving very competitive so far this season.