Cardiff edge out Warwick in T20 Friendly

Cardiff University Ladies Cricket Club beat University of Warwick Women’s Cricket Club by 14 runs to take the win in a tense T20 match at Vale CC in Corntown, Glamorgan.

With many outdoor matches having been rescheduled due to the pandemic and bad weather, Warwick and Cardiff organised a friendly 20-over game on 17 June to make the most of the final weeks of University term. 

Warwick won the toss and chose to field so the pressure was on Cardiff to set the standard. Cardiff Captain Eliza Ahren was the stand out batter for the hosts. She produced an expert knock of 66 not out embellished by numerous impressive boundaries.

Lauren Seagrief was a key support to Ahren, helping to build a second wicket partnership of 61 that laid the foundations of a well-measured and accomplished innings. However, the visitors were able to suppress further damage from other batters.

The Warwick spinners proved to be very effective. Stand-in Captain Orla Pembroke achieved season’s best figures of 2-13, including a thrilling caught and bowled to dismiss Seagrief and disrupt her dangerous partnership with Ahren.

Annie O’Gorman’s leg spin was also a challenge for Cardiff. In her three-over spell, she conceded only 12 runs and bowled an exquisite maiden over. The pace of Cerys Gordon and Nafeesa Aziz further penetrated the Cardiff batting order, taking three wickets between them. 

Playing in Cardiff was a great experience for our team; it was a close game and all players gave great performances

– Orla Pembroke

Cardiff finished on a respectable score of 121, meaning Warwick needed 122 to win. The Coventry-based side were also feeling added pressure due to being without star allrounder and regular captain, Isobel Ralph.

Integral to Warwick’s chances of a win, Aziz (57) was able to steady the innings with an outstanding, superbly tempered half century. Partnerships were in short supply though, as Hannah Bates (2-2) and Gemma Hill’s (2-9) bowling triggered a collapse in the middle batting order. 

Cardiff’s great fielding prevented any progress; a remarkable catch by the skipper was a strong testament to this. As Warwick fell for ducks and single figures, there was little more Aziz could do. The team ended on 107, just 15 runs shy of the winning total. 

Captain Orla Pembroke: “Playing in Cardiff was a great experience for our team; it was a close game and all players gave great performances. Captaining my first game was great putting into practice what I’ve learned. Hopefully next year we’re able to invite Cardiff to play in Warwick and establish a relationship with their team.”

On the bright side, it was just a friendly and brought many successes. The match was an insightful and exciting experience for debutants Ranjit Jassal and Hetal Modhvadia, and I was very happy to have a go with the gloves as wicketkeeper for the first time. It was a thoroughly enjoyable day for all and another great day for women’s cricket!