Super Fours to be decided on last day as England all-rounders secure victories
England's leading run-scorers Charlotte Edwards (Kent) and Claire Taylor (Berkshire) will lead their Super Fours teams to the final round of matches next weekend with just one point separating them
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With additional points awarded for match-winning and superior batting and bowling performances in the domestic competition for elite women's cricketers, the title is still in the balance.
The Knight Riders, captained by Edwards, must beat The Braves - last year's winners captained by Clare Connor - and hope The V Team cause an improbable upset in the last round of matches by beating Taylor's Super Strikers.
The teams contested the penultimate round in Nottingham today, with The Knight Riders defeating The V Team by six wickets and The Strikers beating The Braves by 31 runs.
The Super Strikers faced The Braves and, after a slow start, reached 156-7, scoring two thirds of their runs in the final 15 overs. England and Yorkshire all-rounder Laura Spragg performed a characteristic entertaining cameo with the bat, racing to 21 before being dismissed by fellow England bowler Laura Harper.
Spragg then took two wickets for just 15 runs and with Laura Newton taking 3-26, The Strikers sealed victory in the 45th over.
Despite miserly bowling from Isa Guha and Beth Morgan in their opening spells, Hannah Lloyd and Salliann Briggs built a solid partnership, allowing young England bowlers Spragg and Shaw (24 not out) to accelerate the run-rate at the end.
The Knight Riders exerted their authority on The V Team immediately restricting them to just 95 runs; Marsha Davies taking 4-16 from an 8 over spell with Helen Wardlaw and Jenny Gunn taking two wickets each. The V Team remain without a victory in the 2003 competition.
England's U19 batters Rosalie Birch and Lydia Greenway chipped away at the 95 run lead, with another young England and Yorkshire bowler, Helen Wardlaw, finishing the chase scoring 17 from 7 balls, including the winning runs.
A full scorecard and points table can be found at www.Super4s.play-cricket.com
Matches will begin at 12 noon on Saturday 21st June, and be played at The Parks and Radely College, Oxford.
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