The Blaze sealed a top two spot in the Charlotte Edwards Cup in emphatic fashion at Lord’s, thrashing the Sunrisers by eight wickets inside 15.1 overs.

Restricting the hosts to 137/7, with two wickets apiece for Heather Graham and Kirstie Gordon, the Bryce sisters combined for an unbeaten 100-run stand to take The Blaze to eight T20 victories in eight matches in 2024 to date.

Winning the toss at the beginning of the day, Gordon chose to bowl first under overcast skies at Lord’s.

The hosts, led by 42 from skipper Grace Scrivens, made the most of the opening ten overs, six of which were under powerplay restrictions, reaching 72/2.

However, Marie Kelly’s direct hit run-out of Scrivens proved the catalyse for a fightback from The Blaze in the second half of Sunrisers’ innings.

Heather Graham took two wickets in an over, Gordon added her 17th scalp of the summer and Grace Ballinger dismissed Jo Gardner as the hosts stuttered their way to 137/7 from their 20 overs.

In reply, Tammy Beaumont fell to Jo Grewcock off the first ball of the chase, trapped LBW by the leg-spinner.

Charlotte Edwards Cup leading run-scorer Kathryn Bryce settled quickly into her stride with three boundaries off the bowling of Kate Coppack.

Kelly, meanwhile, continued to enjoy her day out at Lord’s, lifting Grewcock back over her head for the first two maximums of the contest in a 16-run over that pushed The Blaze to 44/2 after the powerplay.

Despite the loss of Kelly for 23 from 18, the visitors continued to push on, reaching 75/2 at the halfway stage.

Determined not to follow the blueprint of the first 20 overs, the Bryce sisters, Kathryn and Sarah, played sensibly before cashing in on some wayward bowling from the Sunrisers.

Kathryn (57*) would bring up her half-century from 34 deliveries, with eight boundaries, her fourth of the campaign in just eight matches to date.

Sarah (54*) would reach the milestone off the same amount of deliveries, with five fours and two sixes, the second of which landed in the upper tiers of the Lord’s stands.

It would be left to the wicketkeeper to finish the game at the start of the 16th over, striking her sixth boundary, bringing up the 100 stand between the pair.

The Blaze take on their closest rivals, in terms of position in the table, on Sunday, with the visit of South East Stars to the Incora County Ground.