Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy: The Blaze beat South East Stars to reach final

The Blaze reduced South East Stars to 77-7 at Beckenham before a late resurgence

The Blaze beat the weather to reach the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy final with a rain-affected eight-wicket eliminator win over South East Stars at Beckenham.

After bowling out the Stars for 148, a three-and-a-half-hour rain break left The Blaze chasing a DLS-revised target of 52 from 10 overs.

But Sarah Bryce hit three fours before finishing it off when she hit Bryony Smith for a six that just cleared the long-off boundary to win with eight balls to spare.

Earlier, four Blaze bowlers claimed two wickets as the Stars recovered from 77-7, Ryana MacDonald-Gay leading the rearguard action to top score with 26.

The long rain break threatened the outcome of the match being decided by a 'bowl-out'.

But Bryce got the job done properly to steer The Blaze through to Sunday's final with the Southern Vipers at Wantage Road, Northampton.

The Blaze wicketkeeper Sarah Bryce:

"It was a strange day. The rain hung around for longer than we would have liked and the thought of a bowl-off was a bit nerve-wracking, so we're actually delighted that we were able to get out there and finish it.

"We just went out there with a positive mindset and trusted ourselves. It was a decent pitch and with nine wickets in the shed you've got that bit of freedom. I wasn't sure if I'd got hold of that six, so when it went over the line and I heard the cheers I was absolutely buzzing.

"The Vipers are a good team and we've got a rematch of the 20 final but we also beat them in this competition in the first group game so we've know we've got that belief behind us."

South East Stars skipper Bryony Smith:

"It's disappointing - not just the end result, but the whole day. To come into a semi-final and only get 148 is obviously not ideal, but the girls scrapped and I'm proud of how we did that.

"It wasn't easy to bat but we also knew that the team chasing, there was going to be pressure on them, so we tried to do everything we could.

"You don't really want a semi-final to be decided by a bowl-out. I've not had one since about under-11s. That was going to the case if it did rain, but credit to the ground staff. They've been unbelievable for us all season with the amount of rain we've had."

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