City duo help County side to great start

COVENTRY stars Soumeya Anane and Natasha Hillyer spearheaded a fine opening day victory as Warwickshire women beat newly-promoted Middlesex 6-3 in the Aegon County Cup, Group 1 at Eastbourne.

After the last minute withdrawals of junior internationals Alannah Griffin and Emily Smith through injury, captain Katie Shaw split the experienced pairing, partnering Anane with Katie Malazonia, 18, at first pair while Hillyer played with the highly-rated lefthander Summer Yardley, 17, from Solihull.

Yardley made her County Week debut in style as the pair won three out of three without dropping a set.

Hillyer’s consistency and canny tactics complemented the teenager’s explosive hitting. Anane and Malazonia won two of their rubbers, squeaking through against the Middlesex first pair on two hard-fought tie-breaks, while the Warwickshire thirds Luisa Cowper (Sutton Coldfield) and Leyla Ogan used clever strategy and variation of pace to defeat their opposite numbers in their crucial opening rubber.

Holly Reid, from Moseley, substituted for Cowper in the third rubber and gained valuable experience despite a narrow loss to the Middlesex Firsts.

“I’m really proud of how all the girls kept battling today,” said captain Katie Shaw.

“I had to split our experienced pairing of Soumeya and Natasha to help our youngsters who have far less experience in doubles and on grass - and they did even better than I could have hoped.”