BELFAST: Irish international duo Amy Hunter and Cara Murray starred as the Dragons slammed the brakes on the Typhoons seemingly inevitable charge to the Evoke Super 50 Cup title with a 67-run win at Stormont.
After losing opener Bella Armstrong in the first over, the Dragons set about building an innings of patience, quality and intelligence as they posted 271 from their 50 overs. Under bright blue skies, Hunter in particular batted beautifully, registering her maiden Super Series century off just 87 balls (9 fours, 1 six).
The Belfast-born wicketkeeper-batter began watchfully, gradually upping her scoring rate with a series of lusty blows down the ground – her six off Georgia Atkinson saw her charge the bowler and lift the ball over the mid-on boundary.
Immediately after registering her milestone, Hunter swung cross-bat at a ball that kept low and was bowled. Arlene Kelly (44), Alana Dalzell (28) and Leah Paul (24) all made useful contributions as the home side pushed beyond 270 – losing their last wicket on the last ball of their innings.
For the Typhoons, spinner Sarah Forbes claimed 5-28 as she cleaned up the tail.
In reply, Robyn Searle (66) and Atkinson (56) looked to be cruising as they put on a 90-run stand for the second wicket, but the introduction of Cara Murray made the difference on the day. In a player of the match performance, the Ireland legspinner smashed through the Typhoons middle and lower order taking 7-34 from 8.5 overs.
Using her variations of pace and length, Murray tempted the Typhoons batters into a series of injudicious shots. As the wickets began to tumble the runs dried up, and Murray deservedly closed out the match in the 43rd over by trapping Sinead Thomson in front and completing a 67-run win.
MATCH SUMMARY
Dragons v Typhoons, Evoke Super 50 Cup, Stormont, 3 September 2023
Dragons 271 (50 overs; A Hunter 100, A Kelly 44; S Forbes 5-28)
Typhoons 204 (42.5 overs; R Searle 66, G Atkinson 56; C Murray 7-34)
Dragons won by 67 runs
