An unbeaten half-century stand between Rhiannon Knowling-Davies and Hester Dakin carried Nottinghamshire’s Under 18 girls to a five-wicket win over Leicestershire at Market Overton.
The pair came together with Notts 115/5, marshalling the visitors home expertly after the loss of two wickets in the space of twelve deliveries.
The partnership was Knowling-Davies’ second key contribution of the fixture, after the right-armer secured figures of 4/25 during the Leicestershire innings.
Knowling-Davies accounted for the hosts’ top three within the space of two overs, bowling Sophie Bennett (21), Kaushicaa Vaseeharan (2) and Amy Helstrip (8) to check Leicestershire’s momentum after a productive start.
Ellen Marson soon followed the trio back to the Pavilion, bowled by Molly Greasby for 3, before the Foxes’ recovery was sparked by D’Nica Roff.
Roff monopolised the scoring in partnerships with Beth Black (7) and Scarlett Timms (4), moving to fifty before being run out by Katie Robson.
Roff left the field with the score 139/7 – and seven wickets would immediately become eight as Isabel Barnes fell first-ball to Hester Dakin.
Isabelle Hudson and Eleanor Perkins scored sedately as Leicestershire attempted to rebuild, before the former became Knowling-Davies’ fourth victim of the game. Her replacement Libby Perkins was pinned by Eloise Della-Spina for 3.
With Leicestershire all out for 164, Della-Spina was immediately back in the action, rotating the strike in the company of Elizabeth Grantham-Woodhouse and occasionally finding the ropes.
Grantham-Woodhouse departed for 10, leaving Della-Spina to continue alongside Ella Porter.
The opener’s composed knock came to a conclusion on 44, with cameos from Porter (18) and Sadie Hodgson (16) inching Notts closer to their target.
But there was still much to be done when Dakin and Knowling-Davies came together, with the duo scoring productively to move the Green and Golds towards the line.
Knowling-Davies (31*) sealed victory with consecutive boundaries off Helstrip, while Dakin finished unbeaten on 20.