Penketh leads with bat and ball

Elissa Penketh celebrates her hat-trick during her match-winning performance

Elissa Penketh took a hat-trick and top-scored with 25 in an impressive performance for Harold Wood against Mote Ladies 2nd XI in the Women’s Southern League.

Harold Wood Women are top of WCSL Division 3, and this latest outing at Harold Wood Park showed some of the outstanding individual performances that have propelled them towards success this season.

Hannah Mowbray reaches her 50

Mote managed to restrict Harold Wood to 96 all out with all seven bowlers taking wickets. Riti Patel was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets for six runs.

Mote started their reply with confidence but Hannah Courtnell, fresh from her match-winning 4 for 10 in the Essex v Kent U15 match the previous day, bowled with great control using the seam movement, getting Riti Patel and Becca Johnson early.

Harold Wood brought Penketh into the attack, and she got Zoe Sturgess out with her first ball. Wickets fell at regular intervals but Hannah Mowbray kept playing with freedom taking Mote closer to the target.

Michelle Kerr joined Mowbray adding 30 odd for the seventh wicket to get Mote within 18 runs with almost as many overs left until Penketh bowled Kerr with one that turned sharply.

In her next over she ran through the Mote tail with a hat-trick including the prize wicket of Mowbray (58), who showed the spirit of cricket by walking following a fine edge to the keeper.

Penketh finished with outstanding bowling figures of 8.4-1-29-6 to seal the win for Harold Wood.

Hannah Mowbray pulls for four during her impressive innings of 58 for the Mote