Sussex Sharks women edged a narrow two-wicket win over Glamorgan in the MetroBank One Day Cup at Neath as they chased down 240 with 2.3 overs to spare. It was Sussex's first win over the Welsh side, while Glamorgan suffered their first defeat in the 50-overs competition this season.
How did Glamorgan set up the total?
Glamorgan made 239 all out in 45 overs after Megan Sturge top-scored with 63 and Lauren Parfitt added 41. Anna Buckle and Bella Johnson took three wickets each for Sussex, while Gemma Porter took 4-31 and finished her tally at 12 wickets in five One Day Cup games.
Glamorgan, who turn professional next season, had won the League Two T20 Blast earlier this month and were back in the 50-over group stage for the first time since May. They gave Warwickshire's Abbey Freeborn her first loan game of the season, but she could not repeat last year's century at Neath and was bowled for 14 by Buckle in the fourth over.
Parfitt and Sturge added 94 for the second wicket, with Parfitt striking three fours and a six before being bowled by rival skipper Chiara Green, who finished with 2-43. Wickets then fell regularly, and although Sturge hit six boundaries in an 89-ball innings, she was the sixth batter out to former Glamorgan loan player Poppy Tulloch, who took 2-47.
Porter tried to hold the lower order together with an unbeaten 34 off 35 balls, but Buckle and Johnson added two more wickets apiece as Glamorgan were dismissed with five overs unused.
How did Sussex recover from early pressure?
Sussex opener Mollie Adams made a rapid 25 before Izzy Collis, who scored 25, and Phoebe Wilkinson built on a strong platform with a second-wicket stand of 55. Glamorgan changed tactics by fielding two seamers, Anna-Mae Shearn and Surrey teenager Charlotte Lambert, but the move did not quite pay off despite two wickets for Lambert.
Wilkinson struck six boundaries in her half-century before Porter dismissed her, leaving Sussex on 143-5 and briefly under pressure. Green and Johnson, who made 27, then put Sussex back in range with a stand of 68, before Porter had Green stumped by Freeborn as she took the first of three wickets in quick succession.
Tulloch and Buckle came together for the ninth wicket with 19 still needed, but they held their nerve and Buckle calmly ramped Lambert for four to seal the result.
What does the result mean for the table?
Glamorgan remain top of the table but now lead Middlesex by only three points, with Middlesex having a game in hand despite losing to Kent. Sussex are third, a point further behind, after claiming their third win in five matches. The top four will contest the semi-finals in September, with the final to be played at Bristol.
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MetroBank One Day Cup, League Two, Neath
Glamorgan 239 (45 overs): Sturge 63, Parfitt 41; Johnson 3-42, Buckle 3-46
Sussex 241-8 (47.3 overs): Wilkinson 53; Porter 4-31
Gemma Porter took her tally to 12 wickets in five One Day Cup games but could not prevent a Sussex win
