Kesteven's best keeps Lancashire alive in tight victory

Surrey succumb by 10 runs in rain-shortened chase in Manchester

Lancashire 234 for 9 (Kesteven 85) beat Surrey 167 for 6 (Franklin 43) by 10 runs (DLS)

Lancashire Women won by 10 runs against Surrey Women on the DLS method to keep their Metro Bank One Day Cup hopes alive in this inaugural Women's match at the AO Farington Cricket Ground.

A career-best 85 by Tilly Kesteven and crucial wickets for Sophie Morris and Tara Norris keep defending champions Lancashire in the mix of the teams chasing the third qualifying spot in the table currently occupied by Warwickshire. They are five points off third place and Surrey six, with both sides having played one game less.

Kesteven's maiden List A half century led Lancashire to 234 for 9 after the hosts had been put in to bat. Emma Lamb and Eve Jones had posted 48 for the opening wicket but the Surrey bowlers enjoyed the upper hand during the first thirty overs of the innings with Lancashire 122 for 3. Kesteven enjoyed good support from Seren Smale (23) and Kate Cross (20 not out) as Lancashire almost doubled their score from the remaining 20 overs to set a challenging score.

In the Surrey reply, Alice Monaghan fell for a third ball duck, caught at short midwicket off Tara Norris, but Rachel King and Phoebe Franklin fought back with 59 in 14 overs before the former was lbw for 30 to Sophie Morris who then bowled Suné Luus with a turning delivery for 11.

When Franklin pulled a short ball from Liv Brinsden to Smale at deep midwicket for 43, the visitors were in a spot of trouble on 87 for 4 in the 23rd over.

Alice Davidson-Richards and Jemima Spence revived the innings, adding 39 until Tara Norris bowled Surrey skipper Davidson-Richards for 18.

With the weather closing in and the players keeping an eye on the DLS method par score, Spence and Aylish Cranstone kept Surrey in the hunt with a 40-run partnership that was ended when Spence was lbw to Fi Morris for 41. That proved to be a key moment when heavy rain ended play one ball later with Lancashire narrowly ahead on the DLS method.

Accurate opening spells from Kate Coppack and Suné Luus had restricted Lancashire to 37 runs from the ten over powerplay, but it was Monaghan who made the breakthrough at the start of the 13th when Lamb got a leading edge to a full toss that was well caught by a diving Priyanaz Chatterji at mid-on for 26.

Such was Surrey's early stranglehold, the boundary struck by Kesteven in the 17th over was the first since Lamb hit the second ball of the match for four. In response, Kesteven, dropped on 3, went on the attack twice driving Chatterji for four in the following over.

Coppack returned to claim her first Surrey wicket bowling Eve Jones for 24 with a lovely inswinging delivery and the visitors enjoyed further success with Ellie Threlkeld out for 9 and Skye Thomas for 11 to have Lancashire 138 for 4 in the 34th over.

Kesteven became the rock of the hosts' innings, reaching her fifty from 70 balls and adding a run-a-ball 47 with Smale before Surrey fought back to take five wickets for 59 in the final ten overs.