Mady Villiers, Armitage powers Durham towards Finals Day

At Bank Homes Riverside, Durham defeated the Blaze by five wickets thanks to Hollie Armitage's 69 not out and Mady Villiers' career-best T20 score of 4 for 14. Villiers's spell restricted the visitors to 147 for nine in their twenty overs, Marie Kelly top-scoring with 37, and Armitage then batted through the innings to secure a win that was sealed with four balls to spare. The victory hurts The Blaze's chances of making Finals Day, but it does improve Durham's chances of doing so. Before Georgia Elwiss was bowled for 10 by Villiers, the Blaze's openers had scored 30 runs in 3.1 overs against some inaccurate medium-pace bowling. Trudy Johnson made up for her loose first over by taking a fine running catch over her left shoulder at mid-off, proving that off-spinner Villiers' early introduction was justified when she dismissed Kathryn Bryce for two in her next over. However, Blaze continued to score freely, and after 9.1 overs, Marie Kelly was run out for 37 by Heather Graham, with Sophia Turner taking the catch at long off. The score was 73 for two. Charli Knott, on the other hand, continued the attack and was well on her way to scoring 29 when she pulled a filthy full toss from Villiers that went straight to Heather Graham at deep midwicket. That reverse marked the beginning of a poor few overs for Blaze, who lost Prisha Thanawala to Villiers for nil and lost Sophie Bryce to Katherine Fraser, who brilliantly caught her at backward point for four. Katie Levick took two wickets in five balls to leave the visitors on 127 for nine after 18 over but Josie Groves's two sixes in Fraser's final over hoisted the total to respectability. The home team was 64 without a loss at the end of the powerplay as Durham's pursuit of 148 began with a flurry of well-judged attacking shots. The home team's otherwise tranquil progress halfway to their target after just eight of their 20 overs mitigated the impact of Villiers' dismissal, leg before to Kirsty Gordon for 31 with the score on 66. Although a mix-up resulted in Emily Windsor's run out for 19, Armitage scored her fourth fifty in this year's Blast off 36 balls, and Durham appeared to have their run chase under control when they reached 110 for two and required 38 off the final five overs. That impression was genuine. The Blaze took three late wickets but Armitage did not panic and Emily Marlow's single settled matters. There was no Blaze bowler who had more than one loss.