Surrey Women slipped to an agonising defeat in the opening fixture of London Championship, losing to Sussex by 15 runs.
Sussex batted first and struggled to score quickly in the face of a disciplined Surrey attack. Nine bowlers were used and all went at less than six runs an over.
Isabelle Collis (34) and Chiara Green (39) were the only Sussex batters to break thirty, but with both their innings taking up more than 70 deliveries, Surrey were always going to be looking at a chaseable total.
This ended up being 179, with captain Eva Gray contributing 2/17 and Beth Kerins adding 2/23.
Chloe Brewer (59) and Maddie Blinkhorn-Jones (37) got the chase off to a perfect start, adding 82 for the first wicket but when Blinkhorn-Jones was caught by Cassidy McCarthy off Beth Harvey, it kicked off a Surrey collapse.
Amy Gordon (21) was the only other batter to reach double figures as Emily Spooner (3/25) and Millie Taylor (4/18) flew through the Surrey middle and lower order.
132/3 became 149/8 and, despite Dani Gregory (6) and Olivia Daniels (6*) adding ten for the last wicket – and Surrey having eight overs still to play – Sophie Grayson ran Gregory out to complete a remarkable comeback for Sussex.
Surrey’s next fixture in the London Championship will see the Club take on Kent at Chipstead CC on Sunday June 20th.
