In the National Final against Sussex, Kent lost the toss and were asked to bat. After the early loss of Deveena Pithia, run out by Chiara Green for 5, with the score on just 15, Katherine Long and Jess Denniff put on 28, before Long was trapped by Jade Elphick for 24. Denniff and Alice Davidson-Richards then featured in what was to be, at 43 runs, the highest partnership of the innings.

At 86 for 2, Kent suffered an uncharacteristic collapse, losing seven wickets for the addition of just 29 runs. Davidson-Richards was caught by Gina Monk off  Samantha Wright for 13, following which Paige Schofield ripped through the Kent middle order. First she bowled Lucy Arman for no score; this was followed by the dismissal of Charlotte Pape, also bowled, for 2. Grace Gibbs became Schofield’s third victim - also bowled without scoring, Olivia Price completing the quartet, caught by Monk for no score. Laura Bassant became the fourth Kent batsman to fail to score, and when she was bowled by Wright, Kent had just two wickets remaining. 

Jess Denniff’s fine innings of 56 looked colossal amidst the carnage wreaked by Schofield and Wright. However, with the score still on 115, Denniff was stumped by Rudd off Green to leave Kent nine down and a competitive total a long way off.

The last wicket pair of Philippa Skelton-Hook and Gemma Greenwood offered some late resistance, putting on 23. When Skelton-Hook was bowled by Elphick for 4, leaving Greenwood not out 12 and Kent on 138 from 39.3 overs, a Kent victory seemed a faint prospect indeed.

The Sussex innings began with the county requiring a fraction over 3 runs per over for victory. The innings began soundly but slowly, only 31 runs coming from the first 9 overs, though a continuation of this run rate would be enough to ensure a Sussex victory.

Chiara Green and Georgia Adams shared an opening partnership of 53, but with no further runs on the board, Sussex found themselves three wickets down. Emma Waters trapped Green lbw for 37 and two balls later bowled Sophie Parnell for no score, in what was to be a double wicket maiden. In the following over, Pithia had Adams caught by Arman for 16. At 53 for 3, Kent’s hopes of victory remained alive.

It was to be 19 overs before Kent enjoyed further success. Carla Rudd and Rebecca Silk rebuilt the Sussex innings in steady but unspectacular fashion, putting on 60 before Silk was bowled by Gibbs for 36. Sussex was, at this stage, 113 for 4 from 34 overs, still requiring 26 runs for victory.

Izzy Noakes joined Rudd and this pair saw their side home, Rudd sealing victory with a 4 off Davidson-Richards. With Rudd 39 not out and Noakes 9 not out, Sussex’s total of 141 for 4, from 40 overs, brought victory by 6 wickets. 

Sussex remains the only county to have beaten Kent at U17 level this season - but it has achieved this feat twice! 

In the National Semi Final, played at Kidderminster CC, Kent, paired with Northamptonshire, won the toss and elected to bat. The Kent openers, Katherine Long and Deveena Pithia, made a solid start, putting on 52, before Pithia was bowled for 10. Long and Jess Denniff then enjoyed what proved to be a match winning partnership, as they put on 108 for the second wicket, Long reaching her century shortly before Denniff was also bowled, for 29. At this point, Long had scored 103 of the 160 runs on the board. 11 runs later, Long became the third Kent batsman to be bowled, having made a fine 111.

Skipper Alice Davidson-Richards (24 not out) then held the middle order together as three further wickets fell, Lucy Arman bowled for 3, Charlotte Pape, caught off a shoulder high delivery for 7 and Grace Gibbs run out for 1.
Kent finished on 209 for 5 from their 45 overs, setting their opponents a run rate of 4.67 per over to win.

With just 25 Northamptonshire runs on the board, Davidson-Richards made the breakthrough, bowling Tonks for 8. Then, at 49, Pape had Hewitt caught by Gibbs for 21. Wickets continued to fall steadily, Lucy Arman featuring in the next two to fall, as she ran out Ablitt for 34 and caught Harrison off her own bowling for 7.

Pape took the fifth and sixth Northamptonshire wickets to fall, having Boddington caught behind by centurion Long for 11 and bowling Monk for 0. Both of these wickets fell on 106, as did the next two, as Northants collapsed from 106 for 4 to 106 for 8. Whinmill was run out by Philippa Skelton-Hook and Gardner was caught by Skelton-Hook off Emma Waters, both batsmen failing to score.

Following a ninth wicket partnership of 21, Skelton-Hook had Smith caught by Pithia for 6, then, at 128, and with only 36.3 over bowled, wrapped up the innings by bowling Patel, for the fourth duck in the Northants innings.

Kent were worthy winners, by 81 runs, sealing a place in the final against Sussex, winners over Yorkshire and  the only county to have beaten Kent in their 9 matches this season.

Kent Under 17 Girls enjoyed mixed fortunes in the three matches the team played at the Taunton Festival, held at King’s College, from 22 to 24 August 2011.

In the game against Essex, the Kent girls were asked to bat. Inside ten overs, the Essex attack had reduced Kent to 30 for 3. The middle order led the recovery, as Jess Denniff (46), Charlotte Pape (28), Grace Gibbs (36), Olivia Price (22) and Philippa Skelton-Hook (18 not out) took the side to 217 for 7 from 45 overs.

In reply, Essex also found themselves at 30 for 3, and with six of their first seven batsmen failing to score more than 14, a Kent win seemed the most likely outcome. Paige Roche, however, had other ideas, scoring 46 before falling to a catch from Olivia Barber. The lower order supported Roche, Laura Woodhatch scoring 32 and Shona Keaney finishing not out for the same score.

This was enough to produce a tense finish to the match, Essex ending their innings on 211 for 8 from 45 overs, just 6 runs short of the Kent total.

Gemma Greenwood was the pick of the bowlers, taking 3 wickets for 19 runs from her 6 overs, whilst Emma Waters weighed in with 2 for 23 from 7 overs.

The Festival rules dictated that a team batting first only achieves an outright win if it bowls out the opposition. Kent having taken 8 wickets, the result was a winning draw for Kent and a losing draw for Essex.

Kent also batted first in their second match, and found their Welsh opponents a tough proposition. The Wales opening bowlers bowled with hostility as Kent were reduced to 18 for 2 in the seventh over. Laura Bassant (13) and Charlotte Pape (35) put on 40 for the third wicket, whilst Pape and Grace Gibbs (21) added 39 for the fourth.

At 97 for 3, the Kent batting collapsed, 6 wickets falling in quick succession. However, the last wicket pair of Emma Waters (22 not out) and Olivia Barber  (3 not out) offered stiff resistance, lending respectability to a Kent total of 151 for 9.

The Welsh batsmen also struggled to build an innings, only one player exceeding 18 runs. The problem for Kent was that this one player had an answer for every tactic they employed. Batting in a striped helmet, Rebecca Struthers came in at the fall of the third wicket and remained undefeated until Wales overhauled the Kent score, with 8 wickets down and 19 balls of the innings remaining.

The final match of the Festival saw Kent in action against Cornwall. If Kent could emulate Essex and Wales by beating Cornwall, and if Essex could prevent a Welsh victory, any one of three teams could emerge victorious.

Batting first for the third time in three matches, Kent began briskly, and maintained a rate of in excess of 5 runs per over. Opener Laura Bassant (50) and Charlotte Pape (59) both made their maiden half centuries for Kent U17, the pair putting on 71 for the fourth wicket. At 131, Kent lost their fourth and fifth wickets before Pape and Grace Gibbs added 29 for the sixth and Pape and Waters put on 31 for the seventh.  

In a match which had been reduced to 40 overs per side at the outset, in anticipation of adverse weather conditions, a Kent total of 208-7 appeared to be sufficient for victory, provided that all ten opposition wickets could be captured for the first time at the 2011 Festival.

Cornwall were never able to match the Kent run rate. However, some stubborn batting from Hawkins, with a half century, and a couple of dropped catches, left Kent’s opponents on 145-7. Grace Gibb took two wickets, with Pape, Waters, Lucy Arman and Olivia Barber securing one apiece.

A second winning draw left Kent without an outright win in the competition, and in third place, behind winners Wales and runners up Essex.

Kent Under 17 Girls qualified for the national county semi finals with their seventh victory in their eight matches this season, against Essex U17 Girls, at Garon Park, Southend.

After Kent won the toss and elected to bat, openers Katharine Long and Deveena Pithia scored 79 and 29 respectively.Laura Bassant (47 not out)) and skipper Alice Davidson-Richards (31) then continued to take the attack to the opposition, the Kent innings ending on 214 for 4 wickets from 45 overs.

In reply, no Essex batsman could manage more than 15 runs. The major bowling contributions came from Pithia with a ‘five for’ (5 for 18 from 9 overs) and Jess Denniff with 3 for 6 from 3.5 overs. The other Kent wicket takers were Philippa Skelton-Hook with 1 for 10 from 6 overs and Charlotte Pape with 1 for 22 from 5 overs.

The Essex girls were all out for 114 from 40.5 overs. Leaving Kent victorious by 100 runs.

Kent Under 17 Girls now have at least four, and hopefully five, further matches to play this season.. At the English Schools’ Cricket Association Girls U17 Cricket Festival, to be held at King’s College, Taunton, the side is due to play fixtures against Essex (Monday 22 August), Wales (Tuesday 23 August) and Cornwall (Wednesday 24 August).

The girls will be hoping to go one better than their second place finish last year, in a festival which was badly affected by rain.  

In the national county semi finals, to be held at Kidderminster on Tuesday 30 August, Kent U17 Girls are due to play Northamptonshire. The other semi final will be contested by Sussex and Yorkshire. The final is scheduled for Wednesday 31 August, at the same venue.

Kent Under 17 Girls returned to winning ways with a crushing victory over Oxfordshire U17 Girls at the BAE Sports Ground, Hoo.
 
After the visitors had won the toss and asked Kent to bat, the home side scored 232 runs for the loss of 7 wickets from their 45 overs, a rate of a little over 5 runs per over.

Deveena Pithia, opening the Kent innings for the first time this season, scored 51, featuring in partnerships of 20 with Olivia Barber (7), 30 with Jess Denniff (23), 26 with Charlotte Pape (15) and 60 with Grace Gibbs (27).

By the time that Pithia was dismissed, Kent had 155 runs on the board for the loss of 5 wickets. However, there was further assured batting to come. Gemma Greenwood (25 not out) and Laura Bassant (33) put on 62 for the seventh wicket, as the Kent Girls finished just 5 runs short of their highest total this season.

Kent made short work of bowling out Oxfordshire, taking all 10 wickets inside 20 overs and conceding only 46 runs. Unsure was the only Oxfordshire batsman to reach double figures, as Pithia sealed an excellent personal all round performance with 4 wickets for 10 runs from her 4.2 overs. Philippa Skelton-Hook took 3 wickets for 9 runs in 5 overs, Pape captured 2 wickets for 7 runs in 5 overs and Waters finished with1 wicket for 12 runs in 5 overs.