A half-century partnership between Artemis Downer and Sonali Patel proved not enough for Middlesex, as Surrey won the 2024 London Cup last night by six wickets at the Oval.
Having lost the toss and being asked to bat first by Surrey Captain Amy Gordon, Middlesex's batters struggled against the new ball under grey skies at The Kia Oval.
Saturday's centurion, Saskia Horley (1), Georgia Irving (1), Issy Routledge (8) and Lucy Porter (1) all fell inside the powerplay to leave Middlesex in the mire on 17 for 4 after 6 overs.
Priya Khatkar (2 for 13), Anna Lewis (1 for 7) and Claudie Cooper (2 for 13) all bowled with control to put the hosts in the early ascendancy and restrict scoring opportunities.
The middle overs were dominated by the visitors however, thanks to a partnership of 58 from Artemis Downer (35*) and Sonali Patel (26) who ran well between the wickets and found the boundary on six occasions while at the crease together.
Downer batted patiently to ensure she was there for the final overs, while Patel upped the run rate in her 32 ball innings. The right hander cleared the rope over mid-wicket from a free hit to strike the only maximum of the game.
A strong come back from Middlesex who posted 96 for 8 from their 20 overs, a score that felt defendable with early wickets required.
The early wickets came thanks to seamer Kate Coppack, who delivered a fantastic opening over where the Sunrisers bowler picked up the wickets of Rhianna Southby (5) and Kirstie White (0) in a double wicket-maiden to get Middlesex off to the perfect start.
The next dismissal didn't arrive until the 9th over when Amy Gordon (25) was bowled by a fine in swinging delivery by Sonali Patel (1 for 10) to end a partnership of 36 between Gordon and Madeleine Blinkhorn-Jones (22).
Tight middle over bowling from Issy Routledge and Layla Judge created opportunities and the pair bowled well without reward, conceding just 29 runs from their combined seven overs.
With the run rate creeping up to 5.50 runs per over, Middlesex felt very much in the game, however Thea Brookes (26*) batted fluently in the middle order to move the hosts closer to victory.
Coppack returned to the attack and had Blinkhorn-Jones caught in the 14th over to complete fine figures of 3 for 17 from 4 overs.
However with just 20 runs to win, Brookes and Charlotte Stubbs (6*), saw Surrey over the line with 2.1 overs remaining and complete a six wicket victory.
Congratulations to Surrey who retain the London Cup. We switch attentions to the visit of Essex in the Vitality Women's County T20 on Sunday 16th June at Haberdashers School.
View the full scorecard HERE
