Charlotte sparkles in record-breaking innings

CHARLOTTE Anderson hit a sparkling century as Suffolk reached their highest recorded score to beat Cricket East by 69 runs in their final game of the season.

Anderson’s 124 was supported by 47 from debutant Dia Nair, to take Suffolk to a mammoth total of 297 for 5 in Peterborough.

Six bowlers then chipped in with wickets to hold off Cricket East – despite a scintillating 116 from Faith Teekasingh – and take Suffolk to a second Metro Bank One-Day Cup win.

Essex loanee Nair joined Anderson at the top of the order, after Suffolk won the toss and chose to bat. The youthful pair navigated some tricky early overs and emerged from the powerplay unscathed at 44 for 0.

Anderson took her team past 50 with a powerful pull through mid-wicket, but it was her left-handed partner who dominated the partnership. A late cut to the backward point boundary took Nair within one blow of a half-century, but she was sadly caught behind.

Immy Sidhu entered at 90 for 1 and settled in quickly, pulling a full toss for four. Suffolk kept milking the singles and were nicely poised at 117 for 1 halfway through the innings.

Despite missing out on a free hit, Anderson reached 50 in the next over thanks to a misfield on the square leg boundary.

Sidhu had licence to accelerate, and added eight in the 27th over. She began with a sumptuous cover drive, before an uppercut flew over wide third man.

The all-rounder used the pace of Mischa Wilson again to add four more behind square leg, but missed her next pull shot and fell lbw for a handy 27.

Amelie Clarke nailed her first pull to the mid-wicket boundary. She was given a couple of lives, but added two more boundaries to score 27 of her own.

Through all of this, Anderson was consistently accumulating at the other end, and she moved into the nineties at the end of the 40th over.

Sophie Hughes kept the momentum flowing, hooking through long leg for four before a beautiful lofted drive down the ground.

Meanwhile, Anderson calmly ticked through singles to keep the spectators nervous for a bit longer. She showed no nerves of her own, though, and tucked a single into the leg-side to bring up a spectacular century.

The hundred was the first for Suffolk Women since Izzy Sidhu hit 111 against Norfolk at the end of 2022. Anderson clearly wasn’t satisfied, though, with four more driven through wide long-on in the next over.

Poppy Sidhu replaced Hughes (17) and got a reprieve when her first ball was dropped at square leg. She made the most of it, combining with Anderson to take 25 off the 46th and 47th overs.

Anderson was clearly tiring, but found the strength to run a number of twos and threes. By the time she was finally stumped for 124, the opener had reached the highest score by a Suffolk Women’s player since records began in 2007.

With two overs to go, 300 had looked likely, but the wicket of Anderson stalled Suffolk slightly. Sidhu and Immy Hill ran well in the last over, before the former pulled a short final ball behind square for four.

Sidhu’s 19-ball 30 had put the finishing touches on an astounding innings. With 297 for 5 on the board, Suffolk went to lunch happy.

Captain Maddy Reynolds set the tone with a fiery opening spell, in which the Cricket East openers struggled to put bat to ball. The batting side were patient, though, and started both the fifth and sixth overs with consecutive boundaries.

Reynolds turned to Lauren Swinburne, and the move paid off in her first over. Keeper Erica Turner – on loan from Northants – was the wicket to fall, as Nair caught a cover drive low to the ground.

Her opening partner Faith Teekasingh was already in her stride, and took four consecutive twos from the tenth over. The teenager, on loan from Leicestershire, showed her class with a lovely extra cover drive in the 12th over.

Teekasingh reached her 50 in the 17th over, having scored more than half her team’s runs, and it looked as if she was going to have to bat long.

She was looking invincible by the 22nd over, which cost 15 courtesy of two fours and an imperious six over deep mid-wicket’s head.

Reynolds brought herself back, and started with a maiden. The pressure was building on Annie Banks, and it told as Reynolds found her outside edge. One wicket brought another, as spinner Hughes bowled the new batter for a duck.

Clarke, playing her 50th Suffolk match, began with a quick bouncer to Teekasingh. The opener pulled for four, then took a single to give her partner three balls to defend. Clarke bowled her with the next ball.

From a promising position, Cricket East were now four wickets down needing over 150.

Teekasingh kept going, and moved through the nineties in an expensive 29th over. First, she came down the wicket and cross-batted over extra cover for four. A wristy late cut took her to 96, and she ended the over on 99.

After building the suspense for two dot balls, the right-hander effortlessly drove to deep extra to complete her hundred.

Six more came from a powerful pull in the next over. The opener didn’t look like getting out, so Suffolk focused their efforts on keeping her off strike.

Poppy Sidhu got the batters playing aerially three times in her first over, and the third was caught by her sister Immy at cover. Immy bowled the next over, and had a wicket of her own: the new batter drove to Reynolds, who took a one-handed catch at cover.

Six down, the set batter had no choice but to accelerate further. And finally, that was Teekasingh’s downfall. She had a big swing, the ball went up rather than forwards, and the catch was well held at wide mid-on by Amber Bradnam.

Having scored 116 of her side’s 190, the wicket felt like it put the chase to bed.

Captain Emily Banks wasn’t done, though, and drove her first ball through extra cover for four. She pulled a free hit for six in the next over, then found the rope at long-on and extra cover.

Suffolk weren’t too fazed, as Immy Sidhu took another wicket to finish with 3 for 33 with two maidens. Banks scored a few more, but was the ninth batter to go – lbw to Clarke (2 for 29), now bowling off spin.

No more runs were added, and Hughes took the final wicket to end up with 2 for 33. Cricket East were all out for 228; Suffolk won by a resounding 69 runs to end the season on a high.

Poppy Sidhu (left) and Immy Hill (right) are pictured above walking off at the end of Suffolk’s record-breaking innings.

Tags: Amelie Clarke, Charlotte Anderson, Cricket East, Dia Nair, Immy Sidhu, Maddy Reynolds, Metro Bank One-Day Cup, Peterborough, Poppy Sidhu

Categorised in: Suffolk Women