England’s Danni Wyatt led from the front as Southern Vipers got the defence of their Charlotte Edwards Cup title off to a winning start against South East Stars.
Opener Wyatt cracked 40 off 20 balls as Vipers chased down 170 to seal a six-wicket victory.
Elsewhere, Northern Diamonds maintained their 100% winning start by edging out Central Sparks at Edgbaston.
Having been bowled out for 135, Diamonds restricted Sparks to 132-7.
Wyatt was in belligerent form as she ensured the Vipers’ run chase never lost momentum after the Stars made 169-6 off their 20 overs.
But that felt below par as they were unable to fully capitalise on a brilliant 134-run opening stand between captain Bryony Smith (83) and Sophia Dunkley (53).
Wyatt’s innings included five fours and two sixes and she got excellent support from Maia Bouchier (30 from 18 balls) before captain Georgia Adams (29), Georgia Elwiss (28 not out) and a cameo from Charlie Dean (20 off nine balls) got the Vipers home on 171-4 with seven deliveries to spare in front of watching England head coach Jon Lewis.
Despite making a good start in Birmingham, Diamonds’ innings subsided once Leah Dobson (41) was out as they slid from 73-1 in the ninth over to 135 all out halfway through the final over, having lost nine wickets for 62 runs.
Off-spinner Georgia Davis (3-13) was the pick of the Sparks’ attack with Emily Arlott (2-14) and Erin Burns (2-28) offering good support.
Sparks captain Eve Jones (30) got the run chase off to a solid start but South Africa all-rounder Chloe Tryon (3-30) removed England star Amy Jones before calmly closing out the final over with previously unbeaten Sparks only able to get nine of the 13 needed.
