Surrey clinch Finals Day place defending 132 at The Blaze

Surrey clinched their place at Finals Day in the inaugural Vitality Blast women's competition by defending a meagre 132 for nine against The Blaze at Trent Bridge, restricting the home side to 122 for 5 to secure a 10-run victory.

They pulled it off despite a bizarre start to The Blaze's pursuit of their 133-run target in which Alice Monaghan had to be removed from the Surrey attack for bowling two full tosses above waist height and 27 were conceded in the opening two overs.

Yet a brilliant comeback by Surrey's slower bowlers meant that The Blaze - the only side to beat Surrey after winning at the Kia Oval earlier in the season - fell short despite Kathryn Bryce's unbeaten 53 off 55 balls, with Ryana MacDonald-Gay taking 2 for 14 and Kalea Moore 2 for 17.

Despite five dropped catches, The Blaze restricted Surrey to 132 for 9 from 20 overs, England leg-spinner Sarah Glenn finishing with 3 for 20 and Australia all-rounder Heather Graham 2 for 20, Surrey unable to build on 27 from 23 balls from Alice Davidson-Richards with Grace Harris their next-highest scorer on 26 from 19.

Surrey's experiment with Davidson-Richards at the top of the order paid off as she struck five fours in the powerplay, helping the visitors to 39 without loss from six after winning the toss, but when she went down the pitch to Kirstie Gordon in the seventh she was caught at long-on.

Bryony Smith was caught at deep midwicket for 18 but The Blaze were unusually sloppy in the field, with Kira Chathli dropped three times before she was into double figures and Harris also put down on 4.

The third-wicket pair added 39 from 29 balls before Harris top-edged a slog-sweep off Glenn, whose next over proved calamitous for Surrey as Emma Jones was bowled making room to cut, Chathli caught at mid-off and Monaghan run out.

From 91 for 2, Surrey were 98 for 6, and though Phoebe Franklin picked up three boundaries, she was leg-before stepping across to Graham, who then bowled Moore for 2. Cassidy McCarthy dismissed Alexa Stonehouse and though another dropped catch off the last ball of the innings handed MacDonald-Gay two runs, 133 looked a target well within the home side's compass.

Surrey's fortunes did not improve with the ball, giving The Blaze innings a 12-ball opening over. Started by Monaghan - ordered out of the attack after two full tosses over waist height in her first four deliveries, one of which was a wide - it was ended by Davidson-Richards, who conceded three wides of her own but had a catch put down when Kelly survived a chance on 4.

After Stonehouse went for three boundaries, Blaze were 27 without loss from two overs, yet Surrey responded well by conceding only 14 more in the powerplay, picking up a wicket when Marie Kelly hit Moore's off-spin straight to cover.

The squeeze continued and after Georgia Elwiss had picked out Monaghan in the deep on the leg side, Blaze were behind the required rate at 59 for 2 from 10, needing another 74. The Bryce sisters eked out 43 at a run a ball before Sarah failed to clear wide long-on for 21, leaving 40 needed from the last five overs, but Moore conceded only two from the next.

The 17th over was the first since the second of the innings in which Surrey had conceded more than eight but after Graham found long-on to go for 3, the Blaze needed 22 from 12 balls. Ella Claridge tried but failed to clear deep midwicket off MacDonald-Gay, after which Franklin had no trouble defending 19 off the last over to see out an extraordinary victory.