England Test opener Tammy Beaumont won the battle of two key innings with former Australia captain Meg Lanning as The Blaze successfully chased 163 against Lancashire Thunder at Emirates Old Trafford to win their second successive Vitality Blast match, this by three wickets with three balls remaining.

Lanning posted a fabulous 81 not out off 49 balls to help Thunder recover from early trouble to total 162 for 5. She shared an unbroken 100 in 9.5 overs for the sixth wicket with Ailsa Lister, 39 not out.

In reply, Beaumont raced away on a true pitch. She had 45 out of 53 for one after six overs but couldn’t go on. Her departure for 54 off 29 balls sparked a collapse from 76 for 1 in the eighth over to 100 for 5 after 12.

But wicketkeeper-batter Sarah Bryce’s resourceful 32 off 22 went a long way to ensuring last year’s semi-finalists held their nerve to back up Friday’s win over Yorkshire. Lancashire, meanwhile, have now lost two from two.

Thunder slipped to 33 for 4 inside six overs as openers Eve Jones and Darcey Carter plus captain Ellie Threlkeld were all caught trying to clear the inner ring. Seren Smale was also stumped.

New ball seamers Grace Ballinger and Charley Phillips removed Jones and Carter before the off-spin of Australian overseas all-rounder Charli Knott accounted for Smale and Threlkeld in the space of three balls in the sixth over.

But in overseas star Lanning, Thunder have a player who has seen it all before.

She set the ball rolling on a recovery, first in partnership with Fi Morris and then Lister.

Lanning shared 29 for the fifth with Morris, who fell caught at short third for 14 off a top-edged pull at Ballinger, and then added 100 unbroken in 9.5 overs with the Scottish international.

The sixth-wicket pair shared four sixes. Lanning hit three of them all around the wicket in the last two overs, which cost 33 combined.

One was slog-swept off Kathryn Bryce’s seam in the penultimate over, the other two hit over long-off and midwicket against Phillips in the last.

The Blaze lost Marie Kelly to Grace Potts early in their chase, but Beaumont hoisted Tara Norris for two sixes over midwicket and long-on in the third over to get things moving

She then slog-swept her former England team-mate Kate Cross for a third six and was punishing as the home bowlers struggled to find a consistent length.

Beaumont reached her fifty off 24 balls just outside the powerplay. But then came Thunder’s second recovery as spin prospered.

She was bowled pulling at Carter’s off-spin before Kathryn Bryce dragged a Morris (three for 25) full toss to long-on.

Georgia Elwiss was bowled by the left-arm spin of Hannah Jones following two deflections off body and bat as she aimed to sweep and Knott skewed the same bowler to backward point, leaving Blaze five down and 63 short of victory.

Emma Jones also holed out to long-off against Morris, but Scotland international Bryce was helped along by captain Kirstie Gordon, who contributed 20 to a 45-run seventh-wicket stand.

Bryce was caught behind off Potts with the first ball of the last over – four needed – but it was too little, too late for Lancashire.