Sunrisers beat Stars to lift Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy

Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy final, Leicester

South East Stars 212 (46.2 overs): Davidson-Richards 93, Franklin 33; Coppack 4-27, Grewcock 2-60

Sunrisers 121-3 (25 overs): Griffith 57, Scrivens 39*; Moore 2-29

Sunrisers beat South East Stars by 27 runs (Duckworth-Lewis-Stern)

Match scorecard

Sunrisers lifted the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy for the first time as they beat South East Stars by 27 runs on the DLS method in a rain-hit final in Leicester.

Cordelia Griffith’s 68-ball 57 and an unbeaten 39 from skipper Grace Scrivens saw Sunrisers to 121-3 after 25 overs, chasing 213, when torrential rain and lightning ended play early.

Alice Davidson-Richards earlier made a fluent 93 from 105 balls, but lacked support as Kate Coppack (4-27) helped bowl out Stars for 212 with 22 balls of their 50 overs left unused.

Sunrisers are the last name to be etched on the trophy which will be replaced next season by the One-Day Cup in a wider shake-up of domestic women’s cricket in England.

Having finished fourth in the group stage, Sunrisers would not have even made the knockout stages had a semi-final format not replaced the eliminator system this season.

They eased past the group winners Northern Diamonds and then dispatched the second-placed Stars to claim what will be their first and last silverware after the scrapping of the eight regional sides in favour of counties.

Stars number four Davidson-Richards is the trophy’s top scorer this season with 650 runs, but was at the crease earlier than she would have liked.

Coppack clean bowled Alexa Stonehouse and then Paige Scholfield in the space of three balls to leave Stars 6-2 after just 10 balls.

The hole grew deeper when a mix-up saw skipper Bryony Smith run out for 11, and Stars slumped to 53-4 when Kira Chathli was trapped in front to become Coppack’s third victim.

However, the batting side looked to have weathered the storm as Aylish Cranstone (30) helped add 70 for the fifth wicket.

She was stumped off after sharp work from Amara Carr, but Davidson-Richards continued her scintillating recent form, driving well down the ground and looking untroubled as she brought up her seventh half-century of this season’s competition off 61 balls.

Phoebe Franklin also added momentum, hitting five fours, but was bowled in Coppack’s final over for 33 before the Sunrisers’ slow bowlers took a tight grip.

Stars went more than 10 overs without a boundary as Scrivens (0-21 off 8.2 overs) and Mady Villiers (1-48) turned the screw in the latter part of the innings.

Davidson-Richards smashed Jodi Grewcock for the only six of the innings as Stars looked for late acceleration, but was then pinned in front by Villiers in the 46th over, before a third calamitous run-out ended the innings early.

Lightning struck twice as Sunrisers also lost their first wicket with six on the board when Tilly Corteen-Coleman trapped Jo Gardner for a first-ball duck.

But Griffith took control of the chase with some lovely crisp hitting, smashing Stonehouse for three fours in one over on her way to a 54-ball fifty.

The 29-year-old fell soon after to Scholfield’s diving catch at cover to end a 79-run stand with Scrivens.

Kalea Moore’s off-breaks soon picked up a second wicket, removing Grewcock with a smart caught and bowled to give Charlotte Edwards Cup runners-up Stars some hope of avoiding a second final defeat of the season.

However, Scrivens’ composed unbeaten 39 from 47 balls looked to be carrying Sunrisers to their target in comfort when, with just 92 needed from 25 overs, bright sunshine gave way to thunderstorms.