Tammy Beaumont’s quickfire half-century alongside key runs from Kirstie Gordon and Sarah Bryce saw The Blaze edge past Lancashire Thunder in a thriller at Old Trafford.

Beaumont fired 54 from 28 balls, which included eight boundaries, before Gordon and Bryce shared a 45-run partnership late on saw The Blaze reach Thunder’s total with three balls to spare.

Meg Lanning’s 81* pushed the hosts to 162 despite The Blaze’s quick start with the ball as Charli Knott and Grace Ballinger shared two wickets apiece.

Ballinger came back into the side in the only change for The Blaze from the Yorkshire victory at Trent Bridge as The Blaze won the toss and chose to bowl first.

It paid dividends almost instantly, as Ballinger struck in her first over with Eve Jones picking out Marie Kelly at mid-off to be removed for six.

The strong start continued in the following over as Darcey Carter’s mis-timed pull shot fell nicely to Kathryn Bryce inside the 30-yard circle.

Charli Knott then took the ball to end the powerplay and struck with two wickets in her first four balls.

The Australian all-rounder nipped one past Seren Smale’s outside edge allowing Sarah Bryce to remove Smale’s bails with her first delivery.

Knott then found a second as Lancashire captain Ellie Threlkeld chipped one to Kirstie Gordon for a second-ball duck. It saw the Thunder end the powerplay 33-4.

Ballinger then found her second scalp of the morning just after the halfway stage, as Fi Morris chipped one up for Marie Kelly, and Lancashire were floundering at 62-5.

In need of a partnership after a strong Blaze start, Meg Lanning and Alisa Lister dug in as Lanning moved to a 36-ball fifty.

The pair would continue to hit back at The Blaze attack as they scored quickly. Their partnership moved to 100 with the final ball of the innings as Lanning scored 81* alongside Lister’s 39*.

However, Beaumont completely switched the momentum in the early stages of the chase as she took the game to Lancashire, hitting back-to-back sixes into the stands before smashing Grace Potts to the boundary four times in an over.

Beaumont reached her half-century from 24 balls, including eight boundaries, just after The Blaze reached the end of the powerplay 53-1.

She would fall four balls later, though, for an impressive 54, which put her side back on top.

Kathryn Bryce made a well-battled 22 to see The Blaze 87/3 at the halfway stage.

Thunder managed to slow the run rate down, though, as The Blaze reached 100/5 from 12 overs after Elwiss and Knott fell.

Sarah Bryce found a way to score through quick singles and punishing the bad balls. With five overs left, The Blaze needed 38 runs to win.

Kirstie Gordon followed suit as she hit two fours down the ground to move the requirement to 12 from the final two overs.

With just four runs needed off the final over, Sarah Bryce was caught behind for a fine 32, as she shared a crucial 45-run partnership with Gordon.

However, Lucy Higham held her nerve to hit the winning runs with three balls to spare as The Blaze continued an unbeaten start to the Vitality Blast.