Hythe won the toss and elected to field. Opening bowler Kaylea stepped up to the crease and bowled the first ball of the match. For a second, following a superb catch by Sian, it looked like the first wicket had fallen. Sadly, the ball was deemed to be a no ball so not out. Undeterred, Kaylea bowled again. The batter struck and wicket keeper Wendy sprang into action, swiftly catching the ball behind the stumps. No escape this time for the batter - most definitely out!

The next wicket came in the third over courtesy of Jayne (b) and Kaylea (c). A fantastic over for Jayne and her first ever wicket maiden! Wickets for Rosie and Friday followed bringing the score to just 19 - 4.

A great innings by one of the younger Folkestone players helped to stem the flow of wickets until the 11th over when Hythe seemed to get back on track - b. Stacey c. Jayne. Hythe claimed 3 more wickets before the end of the innings - Jayne (b) and Wendy (c) , Rosie (b) and a run out due to swift and accurate fielding by Annabel and Wendy.

Folkestone ended their innings on 101/8 with just 55 of those runs being scored off the bat.
With the score to chase being higher than hoped, Wendy and Kaylea opened the batting and got off the mark with a few steady singles. Sadly it wasn't Kaylea's day and when she was caught out at the end of the second over, Rosie took her place. Hythe then put on 27 runs in just 3 overs - Wendy leading the way with 4 impressive four's. They seemed unstoppable, but as we know, nothing is ever certain or straightforward in cricket!

When Wendy was caught off an excellent ball in the 6th over, followed immediately by Sian being bowled, the score stood at 50-3 and the Hythe players began to feel a little on edge.
Wade joined Rosie to face the last ball of the over and everyone breathed a sigh of relief as Rosie fired off 3 fours and took command of the field. Their partnership lasted until the end of the 10th over when Wade was caught - 75-4. Pam was caught in the next over and Louise came in to steady the ship.

Rosie was on the brink of retiring when she hit her own wickets but she left the crease with her head held high after her impressive innings of 29. Hythe needed just 4 to win with 5 overs remaining. 1 run apiece for Louise and Friday and a final wide ball from the Folkestone bowler secured victory for the Hythe Hopefuls.

A great game of cricket with some tense moments!

A big thank you to Folkestone for making us feel so welcome as always and for hosting the match as our ground was unavailable. Thanks also to the scorers, umpires and friends and family who came to support the teams.

Next fixture is on Sunday 5th July 1pm at Three Hills where we face Folkestone and then Deal Victoria and Barns Close in the Kent Women's Softball Festival League.

We are always on the lookout for new players so if you're interested in joining us feel free to pop along to one of our training sessions on Tuesday evenings at 6pm or contact Jayne, womenscricket@hythecsc.com