Emma Jones Secures Last-Ball Victory for The Blaze
Emma Jones carved her name into The Blaze’s history with one clean swing of the bat, drilling a last-ball boundary to seal a dramatic One-Day Cup final and rip silverware from Hampshire’s grasp at the Utilita Bowl.
Final Score: The Blaze 252 - Hampshire (result not specified)
Two runs needed. One ball left. Fielders crowding the bat, home fans on their feet. Jones, 34 not out from 25 balls, rocked back and pulled Daisy Gibb to the rope, igniting wild celebrations and completing a remarkable clean sweep of trophies.
The Blaze arrived on the south coast already burdened with success – T20 Blast champions, County Cup winners, the season’s standard-setters. Chasing 252, they looked every inch the dominant side again as Tammy Beaumont and Georgia Elwiss imposed their class on the chase.
Beaumont, all timing and angles, anchored the innings with 74, steering the reply with familiar authority. Elwiss matched her composure with 64, the pair seemingly draining the tension from the contest as the target shrank and Hampshire’s attack searched for answers.
For a while, it felt routine. Too routine for a final.
Then the game turned.
Hampshire’s spinners tightened the screws, and suddenly every run felt heavy. Amanda-Jade Wellington, bristling with intent, ripped through the middle order, her 3-36 dragging her side back from the brink. Bex Tyson chimed in with 2-46, and with four wickets tumbling for just 29 runs, the contest flipped on its head.
The Blaze, once cruising, were jolted into a scrap: 30 needed from the final three overs, the crowd roaring Hampshire home, the pressure now very real.
This is where titles are won or lost. This is where nerves show.
Jones refused to blink. She picked her moments, pierced the gaps, and turned ones into twos, dragging the chase back under control without ever losing her shape. Each boundary she found chipped away at Hampshire’s belief, yet the hosts clung on, dragging it all the way to that last delivery.
Gibb ran in with the field set for drama. Jones delivered it. The pull shot flew, the rope was cleared, and with it went Hampshire’s resistance and their season’s dream.
For Hampshire, it was a brutal sense of déjà vu. Another final, on home soil. Another defeat. After losing the 2025 showpiece to Lancashire, they stood again on the outfield at the Utilita Bowl, watching another team lift the trophy they craved.
For The Blaze, the picture could not be more different. Three competitions. Three trophies. And a last-ball boundary that will be replayed every time this treble is mentioned.
