The Blazes welcomed Leatherhead to The Wood looking to get back to winning ways and, by the end of the afternoon, had done so in style with a 51-run victory.

Coincidence? Absolutely not. The cricketing gods clearly had a theme in mind.

Batting first, Outwood posted an impressive 183/3 from their 30 overs, built around matching scores of 51 from Liz and Maz. Not content with scoring runs, the pair had clearly coordinated their innings beforehand. Some batting partnerships produce a fifty stand. Liz and Maz decided matching fifties would be much more fashionable.

The innings got off to a solid start before the two settled in and got to work. Boundaries flowed, the scoreboard ticked along nicely and Leatherhead's bowlers were left wondering whether they were seeing double every time they looked at the scoreboard.

There was one moment that nearly brought the house down when Maz launched a ball towards cow corner. For a brief glorious moment, spectators were preparing to applaud another maximum, only for the ball to land agonisingly short of the rope. It was one of those shots that deserved six but settled for four after clearly running out of enthusiasm halfway there.

The landmark wasn't just another fifty either. Liz's 51 made her only the second Blazes player to score a league fifty at 'The Wood', following in the footsteps of Maz. Whether she'll be reminding everyone of that achievement for the rest of the season remains to be seen, but the odds seem pretty short.

With wickets in hand and contributions throughout the order, the Blazes finished on a very healthy 183/3 and headed into tea feeling quietly confident.

Then came the fielding innings. Now, before we talk about the bowling, we need to address the outfield. Whether it was uneven bounce, rogue tufts of grass or simply cricket balls developing minds of their own, several routine stops turned into displays of athletic creativity.

One person, however, appeared completely unaffected by any of this. Stationed at short cover, Liz was quite simply a ball magnet.

If the ball was hit anywhere remotely in her direction, it somehow ended up in her hands. Three catches, countless runs saved and seemingly involved in everything that happened, she spent much of the afternoon making the rest of us wonder whether she'd secretly installed a magnetic field around short cover. Leatherhead's batters must have started questioning whether there was actually any point hitting the ball in her direction at all.

With Leatherhead trying to build partnerships, wickets continued to fall and that was largely thanks to the latest member of the "51 Club".

Last year everyone was obsessed with sixes and sevens. This season the trend has moved on. Liz had 51. Maz had 51. And Flo decided to join the craze by producing a magnificent 5 for 22 from 5.1 overs.

This wasn't just any five-for. Flo's brilliant spell earned her the honour of becoming the first ladies player in Blazes history to take a five-wicket haul at The Wood. A fantastic achievement for one of our talented youngsters and one that will take some beating.
Honestly, if anyone can find a better set of figures involving a five and a one, we'd like to see them.

Flo was outstanding from start to finish. Accurate, relentless and impossible to get away, she tore through the Leatherhead batting lineup and claimed a memorable five-wicket haul. Every time Leatherhead looked like settling, Flo arrived to spoil the party. Backed up by energetic bowling and fielding from the rest of the side, the Blazes kept chipping away until Leatherhead were eventually dismissed for 132 with five balls remaining.

The result? A convincing 51-run victory, maximum points and plenty of smiles on the journey home.

So if you're looking for the must-have number of the 2026 season, forget sixes, forget sevens.It's all about the 51s. Liz scored one. Maz scored one. Flo bowled one and Leatherhead were left seeing them everywhere.