Kent and Warwickshire triumph in women's County finals day

Kent claimed the Under-17 title at Taunton © Boyd Parker

Somerset CCC in Taunton, the Home of Women's Cricket provided the battleground for the U13, U15 and U17 County Finals and showcased new talent for the Regional Winter Training Squads.

The square was divided by a net into two pitches so that the matches could be completed in a day. All were played out in front of large crowd of mainly parents and friends who showed an impressive vocal range in their support.

“It was a fantastic sight to see some of these girls who have played a significant part in the Lady Taverners outdoor national club competition at U13 and U15 performing at county level," said Gill McConway, ECB's Executive Director of Women's Cricket.

"It shows that the structure and pathway for talent youngsters is in place and working effectively.”

Kent threw down the gauntlet by beating Wales in the U13 final after winning the toss and scoring 107-9 from 30 overs.

Wales lost the Under-13 final to Kent © Boyd Parker

Some fine spin bowling from Rosie Fuge had put pressure on Kent in the early stages but Lucy Arman accumulated a useful 26 runs to boost their total. Wales' middle order bat Chloe O’Connor put on an entertaining fight until she was caught for 31 off the bowling off Deveena Pithia.

Wales were bowled out in the 24rd over with Katharine Wickington proving the main destroyer with 5-17 from five overs.

In the U15s, Warwickshire stamped their mark on the match early on by restricting Essex to 145-6 in 35 overs after winning the toss and electing to field.

An aggressive and impressive 85 from opening bat Anna Jones dominated the game and combined with a fiery 36 not out from Laura Crofts, saw Warwickshire cruise to an easy victory in the 31st over.

Kent continued their winning ways in the U17 final against Staffordshire which was played on the perfect batting track at Taunton Vale, an outground for Somerset CCCC.

Warkwickshire claimed the U15 crown © Boyd Parker

Kent won the toss and scored 208-7 from their 50 overs with Stephanie Masters making an impressive 51 from 72 balls.

Staffordshire's best bowler was Georgia Elwiss (3-31) who represented England Dev XI at the recent European Cup.

In reply, Staffordshire started slowly, scoring just 79 off the first 20 overs. Danielle Wyatt kept the batting steady with a solid 47 and C Alcock almost turned the game around with a stunning innings of 36 from just 24 balls.

Kent had to dig deep and managed to hold the run chase off with consistent performances from all bowlers including Emma Plush who yielded just 19 runs from her nine overs with the loss of one wicket. Kent were crowned U17 champions when the last Staffordshire wicket fell for 191 in the 44th over.

The England selectors were present at all three matches and were handed a hard task in selecting this winters Regional Winter Training Squads. The Regional, Academy and England Squads will be announced later in the week.

Essex Under-15 finished runners-up © Boyd Parker