Surrey continued their impressive start to their T20 season when they defeated Yorkshire by four wickets in the Women’s Vitality Blast group match at Headingley.

Ryana Macdonald-Gay and Kalea Moore both took three wickets to restrict the home side to 133 all out in their twenty overs but this modest target was defended in courageous fashion by the home bowlers.

Jess Jonassen took three wickets as Surrey collapsed to 89 for 6 but Jemima Spence (20 not out) and Alice Monaghan (29 not out) put on an unbroken 45 for the seventh wicket and the visitors reached their target with 27 balls to spare

Yorkshire supporters could also be encouraged by the 60-run opening stand shared by their skipper Lauren Winfield-Hill and Erin Thomas. But few at Headingley thought the visitors would encounter so many problems on what looked a good batting wicket when the batters’ efforts were aided by a fast outfield.

Yorkshire’s openers, Lauren Winfield-Hill and Erin Thomas, launched their side’s innings in impressive fashion by putting on 60 in 5.5 overs before Winfield- Hill was bowled by Macdonald-Gay with the final ball of the powerplay.

Having made 42 off 29 balls with eight boundaries, Thomas’s enterprising innings ended when she was caught at backward point by Laura Harris off Kalea Moore in the eighth over and that began a collapse which saw four wickets fall for 18 runs in 27 balls.

Jonassen was caught at long-on off Alice Davidson-Richards for two; Ami Campbell perished at deep backward square leg off Macdonald-Gay for the same score; and Maddie Ward lofted Dani Gregory to Bryony Smith at mid off when she had made seven.

Having removed the cream of Yorkshire’s middle order, Surrey’s bowlers maintained the pressure on the remaining batters. There were no substantial partnerships and wickets fell regularly. Dani Gregory was the meanest bowler with figures of one for 21 from four overs but the other members of the attack kept their discipline and allowed few liberties.

The opening pair excepted, Yorkshire’s batters hit only four boundaries and the last nine wickets could barely double the 60 runs scored by Winfield-Hill and Erin Thomas.

Surrey’s reply began in thunderous fashion when Smith hit Rachel Slater’s first four balls for four. But a little order was restored in the next overs when Jonassen bowled Smith for 21. Two overs later Jonassen also castled Kira Chathli for 14 although those wickets did nothing to moderate the Surrey’s batters’ attacking intent.

Davidson-Richards and Laura Harris continued the assault and the fifty came up in the fifth over. However, Surrey’s rapid progress was disrupted in the eighth over, first when Davidson-Richards was caught by Winfield- Hill off Olivia Thomas for 29 and then when Paige Scholfield was run out for nought first ball after a mix-up with Harris.

Yorkshire’s hopes received another boost five balls later when Harris was caught at long on off Jonassen for 19. That left the visitors on 86 for 5 and the astonishing turnaround continued when Macdonald-Gay was bowled by Holly Garton for nought.

That wicket meant the visitors needed 45 off ten overs but Spence and Monaghan trusted their techniques and guided Surrey to their second victory in this year’s Blast with something to spare. But the holders of the Blast had still been given a fright. Jonassen finished with 3 for 25.