The Blaze secured their first Charlotte Edwards Cup title in thrilling fashion, beating the South East Stars by seven wickets in Derby.

Set 142 for victory, following three wickets apiece for Heather Graham and Josie Groves, sisters Kathryn and Sarah Bryce once again came to the fore with a 79-run partnership, The Blaze taking victory with eight balls to spare.

Asking to bat first, the Stars raced out of the blocks courtesy of Bryony Smith, the opener blasting 17 from eight balls before falling to Kirstie Gordon.

Capitalising on Smith’s quick start, the Stars posted 46/2 from the first six overs, Heather Grahams’s dismissal of Phoebe Franklin the other wicket to fall.

Regular wickets were a constant in the Stars’ innings, Josie Groves chipping in with three more scalps to take her tally for the day to five.

A number of Stars batters got going but failed to kick on, George Redmayne the top-scorer with 25.

After Tash Farrant fell to Gordon (2-21), her 22nd wicket of a stellar summer, Graham removed Dani Gregory in the final over on her way to figures of 3-16, the Stars finishing on 141/9.

The Blaze lost Tammy Beaumont early on in their chase, the England opener ran out after Tash Farrant deflected the ball back onto the stumps following a drive by Marie Kelly. 

Kathryn Bryce, the Charlotte Edwards Cup leading run-scorer, wasted little time in getting into her work, hitting six fours in the powerplay to take The Blaze to 49/2 after 6.

Having lost Kelly for 8, Kathryn was joined by sister Sarah to form what would turn out to be the match-defining 79-run partnership.

Kathryn, leading run-scorer across the whole competition, struck nine boundaries in 45-ball 62, her fifth half-century in 477 T20 runs across 12 matches.

Sarah made her first half-century of the summer at a perfect time, marshalling The Blaze to the brink of victory, before Graham struck the winning boundary.

The trophy marks the regions first success in T20 cricket, having fell short in 2023.