Grace Ballinger, Kirstie Gordon, and Charley Phillips were all among the wickets before Marie Kelly and Orla Prendergast both hit scores in the forties as The Blaze secured a season-opening six-run win over Lancashire via the DLS method.

Ballinger led the way with three scalps, and was backed up by two apiece for Gordon and Phillips, as the defending champions were bowled out for 223 despite Emma Lamb’s 77.

Prendergast and Kelly, along with Kathryn Bryce’s 35, then kept The Blaze’s chase rolling either side of a hefty rain delay that reduced the target to 171 in 32 overs.

Despite both falling before the end, their eventual total of 148-5 was enough to be ahead of the revised DLS par score in the 29th over when the rain returned to officially cut the game short.

Watch the full highlights above.