Northern Diamonds 120 for 6 (Langston 46*) beat Sunrisers 101 for 7 (Gardner 31, MacDonald 2-11, Armitage 2-18, Langston 2-19) by 19 runs
England A seamer Beth Langston's brilliant all-round display pushed Northern Diamonds towards Finals Day in the Charlotte Edwards Cup as they beat Sunrisers by 19 runs at South Northumberland.
The Diamonds won for the third time in four games to move top of Group Two by three points with two rounds remaining. But they had to do it having slipped to 32 for 5.
Langston's unbeaten 46 off 38 balls led a recovery to 120 for 6, also including Linsey Smith's 30 - a career best T20 score - on a slow pitch.
In reply, Langston took the first two wickets as Sunrisers fell to 10 for 2 and could not recover, stuttering to 101 for7.
Langston, who finished with 2 for 19 from two overs, played for England A in Monday's 50-over friendly with New Zealand, with her chances of adding to six previous senior caps seemingly far from over.
After an early Jo Gardner drop, the Sunrisers were superb as they claimed five cheap wickets.
Opening bowler Kate Coppack, on her first regional T20 appearance, returned 2 for 10 from four overs bowled on the reel. Fellow seamer Naomi Dattani also claimed two of the first five wickets, including Diamonds captain Hollie Armitage miscuing to mid-on. Coppack had Bess Heath caught at cover and Jenny Gunn, so often the Diamonds saviour this summer, caught behind.
The recovery was left to Langston and Smith, the sixth-wicket pair sharing 78 in 9.1 overs. Langston was more aggressive and was strong to the third region, hitting six boundaries. Smith was happy to support with two fours in 25 balls before being run out as the score fell to 110 for 6 in the 19th over.
Dattani hit a couple of leg-side boundaries off Langston at the start of the second over, but revenge came quickly as she miscued the fifth ball of the over to cover before fellow opener Cordelia Griffith was trapped lbw next ball.
Gardner, who top-scored for Sunrisers with 31, and Grace Scrivens started a recovery of their own, taking the score to 38 for 2 after six overs. However, leg-spinner Katie Levick bowled left-handed Scrivens through the gate in the ninth as the Sunrisers slipped to 44 for 3.
Gardner hoisted Armitage's leg-spin over midwicket for six, only to be caught behind off Alex MacDonald's medium pace shortly afterwards as the score fell to 63 for 4 in the 12th over.
That was the first of four wickets to fall for 16 runs as Armitage and MacDonald, again, struck to all but end visiting hopes at 79 for 7 in the 17th.
