01/09/2026
Ladies Cup Final Match Report 🏏
League champions. Unbeaten all season. And a cup final at Dursley to round it off…
However it ended, this is a time for our ladies in purple to look back on what they have built together this season rather than what got away.
Louisa won the toss and chose to bat and within two balls we were one for two. Molly Cross taking the wickets of Beth and Liv from two terrific deliveries. A tough start, and desperately unlucky for two of our players who have been terrific all season. Up stepped Jess to steady things - and steady she was. At the crease from the start and still there at the end on 39 not out from 46 balls with five boundaries. Tewkesbury kept pushing but Jess wouldn't budge. Hannah struck a brisk 13, Sarah was trapped lbw to leave us 23 for 4 and at that point 100 looked like a tough target to reach.
Enter Captain Lou. Her 19 from 25 was exactly what was needed and the stand with Jess took us from 23 to 56 and out of trouble. Meg then played the innings that nobody notices (seven from 26 balls) hanging on to an end and refusing to give Tewkesbury the sixth wicket they wanted. A hundred and one for 5 after a difficult start is a credit to our depth and resilience.
Just as we were about to go in to field the weather turned. The clouds rolled in and the wind picked up - tough conditions for our bowlers. Tewkesbury made their intentions clear early with Lauren Relf and Molly Cross putting on 45 for the first wicket. Chloe broke it, bowling Relf and finished ten dots from her fifteen balls - a fantastic bowling display. Jess then took two in the space of three deliveries, Jackie Fenn caught behind by Sarah and Clare Caudle-Stephens lbw, and at 67 for 3 there was a game on.
Molly Cross had other ideas. She finished unbeaten on 31, Fiona Najim hit two sixes in a rapid 16, and Tewkesbury got home with 18 balls to spare. It wasn't for want of effort in the field with Lexie and Jen both producing terrific stops out on the boundary to keep the target in sight.
Special mentions to Beth and Sarah - both out too soon - who responded by opening the bowling and taking a smart catch behind the stumps respectively. Two players who could have let a bad moment define their afternoon and did precisely the opposite. A mention too for Meg, whose 15 balls went for only seven runs.
Tewkesbury were good - they took their chances early and they finished the job - and on the day that was enough. A league title, an unbeaten campaign and a cup final is a season most sides would take without a moment's hesitation. The season deserves the last word, not the final.
No doubt there will be more wins and finals to come - “that's just science" (©️ R. Wheeler, 2026)
POTM: Chloe 💜🏏
