Charley Phillips’ maiden List A five-wicket haul led The Blaze to a third consecutive Metro Bank One Day Cup win with a 92-run victory over Durham at Banks Homes Riverside.
Phillips returned figures of 5/49 from ten overs as The Blaze successfully defended their 240-8 by dismissing Durham for 148.
Grace Ballinger claimed 2/13 from her 6.2 overs, while Lucy Higham and Kathryn Bryce also collected a scalp each, with only three Durham batters making double figures.
It added up to mean that The Blaze’s total, set after captain Kirstie Gordon amassed an unbeaten 60 and debutant Prisha Thanawala hit a fluent 47, was comfortably enough to win.
A partnership of 83 for the eighth wicket between Gordon and Higham, who made 32, helped the visitors recover from 135-7, which in turn had come after Katie Levick led the Durham attack with 3/36.
Thanawala played with maturity beyond her 19 years to be the early constant, pulling out two scoop shots in the first over before the visitors suffered a stutter to slip to 77-4 in the 19th over.
She was denied a half-century when bowled by Sophia Turner, but her knock - which came off 61 balls and contained three fours - helped The Blaze to 117-5 at drinks.
Emma Jones and Ella Claridge steadied the ship with a stand of 40, but following the dismissals of both, Gordon and Higham picked up the baton down the order.
Their partnership came off 16.5 overs and helped take The Blaze beyond 200, with Gordon’s half-century coming up in 69 balls and containing three fours.
Higham perished at the death when Katherine Fraser held on to one off her own bowling, but a final flourish between Gordon and Ballinger added 22 from the last 15 balls to hoist The Blaze to their eventual total.
The chase began in nightmarish fashion for the hosts, as an inspired Phillips ripped through the top order with a spell of four wickets in nine balls.
Emma Marlow was first to go, feathering a top edge off a Phillips bouncer through to Sarah Bryce, and Hollie Armitage then immediately followed when she was bowled for a golden duck.
Phillips was unable to claim her hat-trick, but did have a third just five balls later when Australian overseas wicketkeeper Tahlia Wilson was lbw.
At the other end, Ballinger removed Mady Villiers via another Sarah Bryce catch for a fourth wicket of the powerplay.
Phillips then made it five by ripping two of Bess Heath’s stumps out of the ground, and by the end of the powerplay, Durham were in disarray at 42-5.
Six overs later, Fraser was on her way back too, as she popped a simple catch up to Gordon at midwicket off Higham as Durham sunk further into the abyss at 51-6.
Although Emily Windsor made 41 in a stand of 65 with Grace Thompson, her dismissal at the end of the 31st over, having driven Kathryn Bryce to Tammy Beaumont, heralded the end.
Thompson held out for a little while longer for a career-best 49, even as Phillips claimed her five by bowling Turner for nought before Johnson was run out by Kathryn Bryce.
However, her scoop of Ballinger to Jones when one shy of a maiden fifty confirmed the end as the innings was wrapped and The Blaze secured the points.
