King, Cross overpower Essex in rain-reduced win at Old Trafford

Ashes rivals Kate Cross and Alana King equally shared four wickets to set Lancashire Thunder up for a convincing rain-affected Vitality Blast win over Essex Eagles at Emirates Old Trafford, keeping their Finals Day hopes alive.

England seamer Cross and Australia legspinner King struck twice apiece in the space of 10 legitimate balls in the sixth and seventh overs of what turned out to be an eight-over Essex innings as they slipped to 38 for six and later totalled 47 for seven.

A two-hour rain delay ravaged a fixture which both sides realistically needed to win to maintain hopes of a top-three finish, and it was Thunder who claimed the five points as they reeled in a revised 52-target in six overs thanks largely to opener Emma Lamb's 21 off 17 balls.

Thunder's fourth win in nine games - this by eight wickets on DLS - means they leapfrog Essex into fifth place and are now 11 points behind third-placed Bears with five games left. Thunder face them in a crunch clash here tomorrow afternoon.

Essex, meanwhile, lost for the sixth time in nine and have a mountain to climb.

Thunder, who importantly won the toss and elected to bowl first, made a fast start with the ball either side of the two-hour delay from just after 11.20am.

First of all, Essex reached 24 for two after five overs.

Seamer Phoebe Graham was making her first competitive appearance of the summer for Thunder, and she struck in the fourth over when she uprooted the leg-stump off Lissy MacLeod as she aimed a heave across the line.

Left-arm swing bowler Tara Norris then had the other Essex opener Lauren Winfield-Hill well caught low down at cover by Ailsa Lister following a miscue in the next. Only four more balls were bowled before play was halted.

Then, upon the resumption, with an eight-overs per side game now in motion, Thunder struck four times in the first 10 legitimate balls back to all but end any realistic chance Essex had of winning, the visitors crumbling to 38 for six.

King had compatriot Maddie Penna well caught low down at square-leg by Lister off a full toss before getting Cordelia Griffith caught behind cutting later in the sixth over.

In the seventh, Cross uprooted Jo Gardner's off-stump and had an attacking Eva Gray caught behind.

Amara Carr was then run out off the final ball of the innings. Opener Winfield-Hill was the only Essex batter to reach double figures with 13.

Eve Jones set Thunder on their way in the chase with an eye-catching straight driven boundary off Esmae MacGregor's seam before dragging Gray's seam to midwicket on 17 - 29 for one in the fourth.

England's Lamb hit three leg-side boundaries before being run out with only four runs required.

While the Red Rose host the Bears tomorrow (1pm), Essex face league leaders Surrey at The Kia Oval (midday).