Blaze remain unbeaten as Beaumont denies Durham
England opener Tammy Beaumont struck 81 from 44 balls to help The Blaze beat Durham and stay unbeaten in the Women's T20 Blast.Beaumont gave her side a rapid start to a chase of 189 before Heather Graham's 34no in 21 deliveries brought them home with an over to spare at 190-3.Earlier, New Zealander Suzie Bates made 77 from 58 balls to help Durham post 188-5 but it proved not enough.Elsewhere, Somerset remain without a win after a four-wicket defeat at home by Lancashire.
At Chester-le-Street, opener Bates hit 12 fours for the hosts and shared a stand of 73 with Mady Villiers, who made 36 from 24 balls.The pair led their side to 80-2 in the 10th over before wicketkeeper Bess Heath hit six boundaries in amassing 45 runs from 27 balls to lift Durham to a decent total.Despite losing Marie Kelly in the first over of the chase, The Blaze were always up to their task, largely thanks to a Beaumont innings featuring 11 fours and three sixes.They needed 14 runs from the final 12 balls but Graham took consecutive fours off Lauren Filer before Georgia Elwiss (24no) struck the winning boundary.The win was The Blaze's fourth of the season and keeps them top of the table.
By contrast, Somerset are bottom of the standings after a fourth defeat in five games.They lost the toss at Taunton and struggled to 132-7, Alex Griffiths top-scoring from number seven with 27 from 18 balls.Lancashire's chase was well on course with an opening stand of 60 in nine overs but Charlie Dean changed the game as she took 4-9 from her four overs.Eight runs were needed from the final over but Ailsa Lister (28no) got Lancashire home at 133-6 with two balls to spare for their third win of the season.
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