LOUGHBOROUGH Lightning made it three wins from four Women’s Kia Super League matches with an emphatic 41-run victory over Yorkshire Diamonds at the Hazlegrave Ground in Loughborough.

After posting a total of 143-6 from their 20 overs, with opener Rachael Haynes leading the way with 50 as she and Sophie Devine put on 80 in 10 overs for the first wicket, Lightning restricted the struggling Diamonds to 101-9 as their quartet of spinners again played a major role.

Only Thea Brookes, playing against her former team-mates, offered any real threat, and her 30 off 22 balls, including three sixes, came too late to make a difference to the outcome as Diamonds slumped to a third defeat in four matches, with their other fixture being washed out without a ball bowled.

All-rounder Devine clinched the player-of-the-match award by adding 2-19 from her four overs to 30 runs with the bat as she and fellow strike bowler Jenny Gunn limited Diamonds to just 19 runs in the powerplay overs.

But there were equally impressive performances from their slow bowlers, with leg-spinner Sarah Glenn, off-spinner Lucy Higham and left-armers Linsey Smith and Kirstie Gordon all among the wickets.

The 20-year-old Scot Gordon, in her first KSL after an outstanding county season with Nottinghamshire, claimed 2-10 from three overs to increase her haul to six in the tournament so far.

Although they had more than enough in the end, Lightning were slightly disappointed not to have posted a larger total after such a strong opening partnership between overseas stars Haynes and Devine.

Left-hander Haynes, who captained Australia to an Ashes victory Down Under last year, made an assertive 40-ball half-century, and big-hitting New Zealander Devine a typically aggressive 30 off 24 balls.

There were boundaries aplenty for Lightning’s home crowd to cheer - nine of them in the powerplay as Haynes set the tone - pushing the score to 53 without loss in the first six overs, of which 30 came in two overs off inexperienced leg-spinner Helen Fenby and Alice Davidson-Richards, although Fenby was unlucky to have Devine dropped at cover on eight.

There was a setback for Lightning when Devine, who had smashed a mighty six over cover off the Australian Delissa Kimmince, was caught behind trying to run a ball from canny leg-spinner Katie Levick down to third man, and then Haynes was brilliantly caught by Chamari Atapattu at deep midwicket in Levick’s next over.

Elyse Villani, the second of Lightning’s Australian batters, made sure any loss of momentum was short-lived, however, smiting 17 off just eight deliveries, but it was after she was run out, beaten by Beth Langston’s superb throw in the 14th over, that runs became more difficult to come by.

Diamonds struck another important blow when Amy Jones holed out to long-on off Langston thanks to another excellent catch, this time by Davidson-Richards, and Lightning found the boundary only twice in the last seven overs and were grateful for some fine running between the wickets by Georgia Adams and skipper Georgia Elwiss in adding 30 for the fifth wicket.

Brunt, who bowled Adams in the final over, was the pick of seven bowlers used by Diamonds, going for just three an over, although Langston came back well after conceding 16 in her first two overs and Levick bowled few loose deliveries.

Diamonds felt it was a target within their reach but having lost openers Lauren Winfield and Beth Mooney to comfortable catches during a powerplay in which they managed only two boundaries, they were always fighting a losing battle.

Brunt tried to force her side back into contention with a brief show of intent but she was leg before to Glenn for 12 and Diamonds were never able to mount a meaningful recovery.