A coruscating second wicket-partnership of 119 in just 10 overs between Alice Macleod and Cordelia Griffith saw Essex swat aside Warwickshire at Chelmsford to get their Vitality Blast campaign off to the best possible start with a statement win in the sunshine, cruising to their victory target of 165 in just 14.2 overs.

Essex won the toss and put Warwickshire in to bat but it was only Abbie Freeborn who made any real impact, opening up and carrying her bat for 86 off 56 balls. She was initially ably supported by Georgia Redmayne, who made a hard-working 36, but from 80 for 1 in the tenth over, the innings fell away alarmingly, no other batter scoring more than Millie Taylor’s 10, with Essex’s bowlers turning the screw in the second half.

Eva Gray and Jodi Grewcock both picked up two wickets and at the halfway mark, neither side would have quite known who was on top. But any doubts about that were dispelled when Essex skipper Grace Scrivens and MacLeod put on 39 in 3.2 overs to put themselves well ahead of the game and then Griffith came in to play a sublime innings of 68 in 37 balls, combining with Macleod, who made 59 in 38, to ensure that Essex were home and dry long before the end.

Dropped catches and untidy fielding did not help Warwickshire’s cause but the skill and power of the two batters was on display throughout and it was something of a surprise when they fell in successive balls with just seven runs needed. Jo Gardner finished things off with a swept boundary with 5.4 over remaining, and the team who finished second-last in 2025 came off the field with broad smiles on their faces and the points in the bag.