SOUTHERN Vipers star Georgia Adams admitted her side were “a bowler short” after they posted 226 but failed to limit Northern Diamonds and secure another trophy final.

The Vipers, the back-to-back champions who posted 226 for nine, must now go into Wednesday’s semi-final Eliminator clash with South East Stars in order to keep alive their hopes of the ‘Threepeat’.

If they win, all three RHF Trophy finals will have been contested between the Diamonds and the Vipers, the latter winning the previous two. Having reached four regional finals in all, the Diamonds will now hope to secure their maiden trophy.

England’s Lauren Winfield-Hill led the chase for Diamonds with an unbeaten 125, while Adams – who had enjoyed a steady 72 stand with Vipers’ top-scoring Georgia Elwiss – saw herself stumped by the Diamonds star.

“We were probably a bowler light today. We’ve got a lot of players out to England and through injury,” she said, speaking after the match.

“Lauren batted very, very well for them. We would have liked 250 on the board to give ourselves a good chance.

“We didn’t have enough runs on the board and didn’t bowl as well as we needed to. In all three disciplines, really, we just weren’t firing today.”

Adams continued: “The belief we’ve got in this team and the depth we’ve got, we always believe we can win a game of cricket. That’s one thing we’ve got over other sides.

“We’ll pick ourselves up and go again in the play-off on Wednesday and give ourselves every chance of getting to Lord’s.”

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