Steady Does It… Until It Doesn’t
Ness and Bernie opened the batting like the calm before a storm — keeping things steady, seeing off the shine, and generally looking like they’d read the “How to Open” manual. Once they’d done the hard work, it was time for Maz to put that manual through the shredder.

Maz Mayhem – a ridiculous 61 not out in 44 balls, 11 fours, and a look on her face like she was late for dinner. At the other end, Jane was pure elegance, stroking her way to a beautiful 48 not out, cruelly denied her first ever 50 — the cricket gods clearly have a sense of humour. Kate chipped in with a classy 14 not out, looking like she’d been batting in a BBC period drama.

Leatherhead’s Chase – AKA The Fielding Follies
Leatherhead came out swinging, aided by Maz deciding to drop their opener… off her shoulder. She blamed her “wonky eye” — we’re not saying anything.

Then Flo King happened. Two wickets in one over, including that catch by Maz. Imagine: ball smacked straight at her, hits her left palm, bounces into the right, cushions off her chest, then somehow ends up safely in her hands. No one’s quite sure how — least of all Maz, whose face is still stuck in “What just happened?” mode.

Amelia joined the fun with two wickets of her own, each time wearing her trademark “Oh, me?” look. Rachel and Hayley took one apiece — Hayley was so thrilled she forgot to celebrate. Liz bowled a cracking over, stopped a certain four with her finger (ouch), and Ness stepped in to finish it off.

After her elegant batting, Kate pinged her calf in the field and had to exit stage left. Big thanks to Morag from Leatherhead for stepping in for the last 10 overs.

Leatherhead were bundled out for 124, sealing a 56-run win for the Blazes.

Leaderboard Glory & A Glimpse of the Future

As if the win wasn’t sweet enough, skipper Maz and Jane’s batting heroics landed them top spots on the SWCL Division 3 weekly batting leaderboard, while academy youngster Flo’s two-wicket burst earned her a place on the bowling leaderboard. The future’s looking bright (and just a little chaotic) for the Outwood Ladies.

[b]Final Score:
Blazes – 180-2 (30 overs)
Leatherhead – 124 all out (25.5 overs)
Blazes win by 56 runs.

Next stop: top-of-the-table Sanderstead at the Wood — bring snacks, noise, and maybe a crash helmet.