Eve Jones seals Lancashire dominance as Somerset falter on home soil

Lancashire produced a convincing display with bat and ball at Taunton's Cooper Associates County Ground to beat Somerset by seven wickets and extend their winning start to the Metro Bank One Day Cup women's competition.

Inserted on a green-tinged pitch, Somerset slumped to 89 for 6 in the face of incisive bowling from Kate Cross and Hannah Jones, who returned figures of 2 for 27 and 2 for 23 respectively. Alex Griffiths top-scored with 46 and added 56 for the seventh wicket with Amanda-Jade Wellington to threaten a meaningful recovery, but Emma Lamb bowled well at the death to claim 2 for 30 and help restrict the home side to 205 for 9.

Eve Jones and Lamb then confirmed Lancashire's superiority in a match-winning opening stand of 151 in 28.1 overs to render the outcome a foregone conclusion. Jones posted an assured 97 from 11 balls with a six and 14 fours, while Lamb contributed 52 in an innings that spanned 68 deliveries and included a quartet of fours.

Seren Smale and Fi Morris saw the job through as the red rose county reached their target with 13.1 overs in hand to register a second win in as many matches in the 50-over competition. For their part, Somerset were left to reflect ruefully upon their first home game of the professional era.

Ellie Threlkeld won the toss, opted to field and watched from behind the stumps as her new-ball seamers made short work of Somerset's much-vaunted top-order. Talismanic batters Heather Knight and Sophie Luff both fell in single figures and in identical fashion, pushing half forward to deliveries outside off stump from Cross and offering regulation catches behind. Undone by late movement, fellow England international Fran Wilson was bowled by Tara Norris as the home side slipped to 36 for 3 inside 14 overs, their most experienced batters already back in the pavilion.

Having pulled Norris for six to get off the mark, Charlie Dean was bowled in the act of cutting by slow left armer Hannah Jones, who then pinned Katie Jones lbw in the crease, raising the number of batters to fall short of double figures to five. When the hitherto obdurate Emma Corney, who had chiseled 35 from 79 balls, pushed a delivery from Dani Collins to deep mid-off and set off for a risky single, she was brilliantly run out by Grace Potts, whose pick up and throw scored a direct hit, reducing Somerset to 89 for 6 in the 32nd over.

Overseas all-rounder Wellington inspired a fightback, hoisting successive balls from Norris over the square leg boundary to put Lancashire on the back foot for the first time. She repeated the feat against Emma Lamb, her third six raising a hard-hitting half-century stand in 43 balls in partnership with Griffiths, who made 46 from 58 deliveries. Wellington holed out to deep mid-wicket off the bowling of Lamb for a 20-ball 26 and, when Griffiths was bowled by Collins soon afterwards, the red rose county were back in charge.

Somerset's lower order continued to fight hard and an unbroken alliance of 30 for the last wicket between Chloe Skelton (24 not out) and Laura Jackson (13 not out) pushed the score beyond 200 to at least give the home bowlers a chance.

Lancashire openers Lamb and Eve Jones afforded the reply solid foundations, adding 50 from 73 deliveries to see off the new ball threat of Ellie Anderson and Jackson. Pinning their hopes on spin, Somerset soon turned to Dean and Wellington, only for Jones to hit the latter back over her head for six on her way to an imperious 73-ball half century.

Lamb gave half chances to Dean at cover point off Wellington and Katie Jones behind the wicket off Skelton, but survived to see the hundred partnership come up, the second 50 having come at a run-a-ball. Introduced at the River end, Skelton's off spin proved expensive as Jones and Lamb warmed to their task, advancing their partnership to 132 after 25 overs. Lamb moved to her 50 from 63 balls and the partnership passed the 150 mark as Somerset skipper Luff rotated her spinners without reward.

Wellington eventually made the breakthrough, removing Lamb lbw, while Anderson had Jones held at short third man three runs short of her hundred as Somerset at least salvaged some pride. Dean removed Katie Mack, but it proved too little too late as the visitors cruised to victory.