Amy Jones comes good as Loughborough Lightning book Finals Day spot

Their match at Loughborough’s Haslegrave Ground, the 22nd fixture of the tournament, was crucial for the home side, of course, but equally so for the visitors, who have struggled to get going this season despite a host of outstanding players.

It began well for them as they opted to bat upon winning the toss, but they managed to put up only 136/7, falling away after a decent start. Rachael Haynes, Sophie Devine and Amy Jones, the star of the day, made short work of the chase, pulling it off in 14.3 overs.

Nicole Bolton scored a 20-ball 19 at the top for Lancashire in an opening stand of 35 with Georgie Boyce, and Boyce then teamed up with Amy Satterthwaite to take them to 82 in just under 12 overs before Boyce fell for 38.

Satterthwaite top-scored for Lancashire with a 41-ball 47, but after Boyce left, Satterthwaite lost partners in a heap, the scoreboard going from 100/2 to 136/7 in next to no time. For Loughborough, Devine (2/22) and Kirstie Gordon (2/29) were the most successful bowlers.

Devine then came back to slam 22 in 12 balls before being run out to give the chase exactly the impetus it needed at the start, and though her dismissal in the fourth over would have given Danielle Hazell’s side hope, Haynes and Jones quickly sorted the matter out.

Haynes was solid, scoring 40* in 37 balls with four fours, while Jones was a revelation, as he hit seven fours and three sixes in a powerful batting display. Jones ended on 66* off just 39 balls, and when the target was overhauled, there were 33 balls left.

The win took Loughborough to second on the table behind Western Storm, and their game on 15 August should decide the table-toppers at the end of the 30-game round-robin stage. Storm’s game against Southern Vipers later on Saturday, 11 August was abandoned.

“They got off to a good start but we were able to rein it in a bit towards the end and 130 is very gettable on this wicket. It is always a good deck here,” said Jones, the Player of the Match. “We knew that we just needed to keep the scoreboard moving when we went out to bat to give ourselves a good opportunity and we did that, so we are very happy.”

Jones has had a few starts in the competition without scoring a big one, and this one came at a good point in the tournament.

“From a personal point of view, it was nice to get a bigger score after getting a few starts without kicking on so that was very pleasing,” she said. “It is fantastic to have clinched our place at Finals Day with two games to go after missing out last year, and we're now looking to finish with a couple of good wins and get that top position.

“What was pleasing today is that we learned a lot from a disappointing performance down at Surrey the other day and put some doubts to bed.”