Well folks, hold onto your sunhats because the Blazes are on fire – not just from the summer sun but from their third consecutive Div 3 win! That’s right, Outwood Women made history with a sizzling victory over Epsom in a match full of bruises, drama, teamwork, and yes – a shin-saving effort that deserves its own medal.

First Innings – Epsom Bat First (160/6)

Captain Maz must've read the conditions like a psychic with pitch vision goggles, electing to bowl first – and what a decision that turned out to be!

Rachel Walters, a.k.a. “The Silent Assassin”, was at it again, bagging another three wickets. She even took one for the team later, heroically stopping a boundary with her shins. The bruise? Glorious. The four? Denied. The pain? Worth it.

Annalie “Break the Stumps” Graham also got her name on the wickets board with a well-earned scalp, while Maz wasn’t content with just captaining; she threw in a wicket and a run-out for good measure, because why not?

In the field, Fiona “Flying Farmer” returned from holiday and showed no signs of jet lag, hurling herself around the field like a woman possessed (by elite fielding form). Liz “Stonewall” Peacock was a fortress at mid-off, eating up anything that came her way.

Special mention to Kate, who nearly pulled off a physics-defying boundary catch. Missed it by that much – but prevented a certain six. Bravery in bucketloads.

Second Innings – The Blazes Blaze (163/4)

Chasing 161 looked tricky, but the Outwood ladies had other ideas.

Bernie and Ness opened up with a fluent 31-run partnership until some polite mid-pitch confusion (think: “After you?” “No, after you!”) led to Ness being run out. Tragic but elegant.

In came Kate at three, cool as ever, knitting a composed partnership with Bernie, who was in fine fettle, chalking up her best score of 15 before a rogue ball got her LBW.

Cue Maz. What a knock. A spicy 43 not out, full of fluent cover drives and enough boundaries to make the scoreboard operator sweat. She and Bernie added 50, and later with Caroline, chased down the remaining 26 with poise.

Honourable mention to Emily, who came out like a cricketing espresso shot – a quickfire 10 that boosted momentum.

Maz sealed the win with a sweetly-timed four through cover. Game, set, match, shin bruise.

Final Words

A glorious team performance. First time Outwood CC Women have pulled off three wins in a row since joining Div 3 last year – and they did it with wickets, bruises, smiles, and a little boundary-line magic. Epsom batted valiantly but were undone by some wayward bowling and a Blazes side hitting top form.

Next stop: Walton on Thames at The Wood - 29 June 2025

Let’s just say... the fire’s well and truly lit.