The Charlotte Edwards Cup – the premier T20 women’s domestic competition in England – kicked off on the 18th with the Central Sparks vs Sunrisers, followed by a record breaking fixture between the Northern Diamonds a day later, and the South East Stars versus The Blaze to finish the round off.
Shining Sparks success over Sunrisers
Central Sparks vs Sunrisers at County Ground, Chelmsford
Central Sparks (137 ao in 19.5/20) won by 23 runs. A Jones 51 (34), K Castle 3-24 (4), M Villiers 3-28 (4)
Sunrisers (114 ao in 19/20). C Griffith 53 (46), E Arlott 4-23 (4), G Potts 2-13 (4)
Starting XI’s:
Central Sparks starting XI: Eve Jones ©, Davina Perrin, Amy Jones (WK), Erin Burns, Ami Campbell, Abbey Freeborn, Katie George, Emily Arlott, Issy Wong, Georgia Davis, Grace Potts.
Sunrisers starting XI: Grace Scrivens, Alice Macleod, Cordelia Griffith, Amara Carr (WK), Mady Villiers, Flo Miller, Eva Gray, Kelly Castle ©, Kate Coppack, Abtaha Maqsood.
The Central Sparks’ line-up was the same from their previous fixture in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy to open up the Charlotte Edwards Cup. The Sunrisers bid Scotland international Saskia Horley a farewell before their start of the CE Cup, with Flo Miller returning to the XI for the T20 competition.
Innings report:
Central Sparks’ innings was opened up by Eve Jones and 16-year old England U19 rep Davina Perrin, the latter out for a 2-ball duck caught behind by Sunrisers keeper Carr off Coppack. Amy Jones kicked off her CE Cup stint with a stellar innings of 51 from 34 with 9 fours. Players around her however didn’t stick for long with Eve Jones bowled by Scrivens falling for 15 in the 4th and Australian overseas Erin Burns out for 7 two deliveries before the end of the powerplay, stumped by Carr off Castle.
Kelly Castle and Mady Villiers tore up the rest of the Sparks’ order cheaply, Campbell (11 from 12) and George (0 from 1) were bowled by the Sunrisers skipper — George’s departure was swiftly followed by Abbey Freeborn’s dismissal in the next ball. Villiers made the breakthrough removing top scorer Amy Jones from the equation in the 14th. Emily Arlott was caught by Gray off Villiers for 13 from 15 in the 19th, and with Scrivens bowling the final over to Georgia Davis and Grace Potts — Potts to be run out on the penultimate delivery by Flo Miller to leave the Sparks innings on 137 all out. Sunrisers’ bowling attack proved strong once again for the side, restricting the Sparks to a par total.
It was a slow start for the Sunnies, with their star opener Grace Scrivens out early for just 3 runs. Alice Macleod had made a handy contribution but had to depart at the end of the 4th as a result of a caught behind by Amy Jones off Katie George. With both openers gone, Cordelia Griffith and Amara Carr were able to build a healthy 57 run partnership in their rebuild attempts. Carr was trapped lbw by Potts, a wicket that triggered a domino effect of wickets.
Griffith, top scoring for the Sunrisers with 53 off 46, fell victim to Emily Arlott; she wouldn’t be the first one either. Arlott’s big over came in the 19th, dismissing Jo Gardner and Kelly Castle bowled for single digit scores, and finished the game off for the Sparks with the final Sunrisers wicket of Scotland international Abtaha Maqsood. Sunrisers were 114 all out after Arlott registered the Sparks’ 2nd best CE Cup figures, and an all round bowling fight back from the West Midlands based unit to secure their first win of the season.
Dashing Diamonds dominate vs Western Storm
Northern Diamonds vs Western Storm at Headingley, Leeds
Northern Diamonds (218-3 in 20/20) won by 32 runs. L Winfield-Hill 98 (56), H Armitage 74 (36), L Dobson 25 (18).
Western Storm (186-8 in 20/20). D Gibson 52 (30), A Griffiths 31 (18), K Levick 2-25 (3).
Starting XI’s:
Northern Diamonds starting XI: Lauren Winfield-Hill, Leah Dobson, Hollie Armitage ©, Bess Heath (WK), Chloe Tryon, Sterre Kalis, Katherine Fraser, Abi Glen, Lizzie Scott, Katie Levick, Grace Hall.
Western Storm starting XI: Nat Wraith (WK), Dani Gibson, Orla Prendergast, Fran Wilson, Sophie Luff ©, Alex Griffiths, Lauren Filer, Niamh Holland, Katie Jones, Sophia Smale, Chloe Skelton.
Phoebe Turner and Jess Woolston were key members in the Diamonds’ outing in Scarborough for the RHFT, but were unable to pick up a place in the opening game of their side’s T20 campaign. Grace Hall was in the XI to make her senior T20 debut, with Scotland U19 and International team allrounder Katherine Fraser on her Diamonds T20 debut. Western Storm have had plenty of rained-off fixtures, with their last played game being versus SE Stars in the RHFT. Opener Emma Corney and offspinner Claire Nicholas miss out to the back-from-injury Sophie Luff and Katie Jones.
Innings report:
It was a comprehensive win for the Diamonds at home Headingley, smashing the highest team total in the Charlotte Edwards Cup by nearly 30 runs beating the Thunder’s 186–1 vs Sunrisers in 2021. Lauren Winfield-Hill put up a valid argument for a re-emergence in the England squad — just in time for the Women’s Ashes. Opening up the innings with a slow staring Leah Dobson — who soon picked up the pace to be dismissed for 25 from just 18, a delivery before the end of the powerplay — Winfield-Hill saw the side to the 17th over, caught by Gibson off Skelton for a bitter 98 off 56, an overwhelming deal of 4s in her innings with 21 coming from her stay at the crease.
Skipper Hollie Armitage put up a staggering 139 run partnership alongside Winfield-Hill, scoring a quick-fire 74 off 36 with an equal amount of 4s & 6s (6). Chloe Tryon and keeper Bess Heath saw out the end of the innings with some handy runs to boost their already mammoth total. Sophie Luff used 7 bowlers with a mostly pace attack in an attempt to make a game saving breakthrough. Filer, Prendergast and Skelton were the only wicket takers with a wicket apiece.
It was always going to be an uphill battle for the Western Storm to chase down a record 219 runs — but they’d given it a good crack. Nat Wraith and Dani Gibson started proceedings up, Wraith coming off a fine stint with Somerset in the Women’s T20 County Finals Day. It wasn’t to be for her that night, caught by Hall off Scott for just 16 — though 3 fours in her time. Prendergast was also cleaned up fairly quickly, caught behind off Scott for 14 from 7. Though extracting 12 runs from Grace Hall in the first over, it was the Storm 2 down after the powerplay in comparison to the Diamonds’ 1.
Gibson gone!
Brilliant caught on the run by Tryon at long-on off Hall, 52. It's 121-5 after 13 overs. 219 target.
That's a massive moment in this game. Debut wicket for Grace Hall 🎉 #TheNorthernWay💎 pic.twitter.com/zqPy9KaeZB
— Northern Diamonds💎 (@North_Diamonds) May 19, 2023
The Storm had more runs in hand for the majority of the game, despite losing more wickets. Runs were consistent from players across the board but weren’t enough to match the record breaking Diamonds. Dani Gibson top scored with 52 (30), Alex Griffiths lower down in the middle order beginning up an important 31 (18). Grace Hall took 2–41 on debut, with Scott, Levick and Glen all taking 2 as well. While not a winning total for the team in green, their total matched previous CE Cup best of Thunder’s 186–1 — a big positive for the losing side.
Burning Stars set The Blaze alight
South East Stars vs The Blaze at Kent County Cricket Ground, Beckenham.
South East Stars (160-8 in 20/20). P Franklin 53 (43), A Davidson-Richards 24 (13), N De Klerk 3-21 (3).
The Blaze (161-5 in 19.2/20) won by 5 wickets (4 balls left). G Boyce 63* (38), T Beaumont 48 (31), P Scholfield 2-26 (4).
Starting XI’s:
South East Stars starting XI: Bryony Smith ©, Sophia Dunkley, Tash Farrant, Paige Scholfield, Phoebe Franklin, Kira Chathli (WK), Alice Davidson-Richards, Ryana MacDonald-Gay, Kalea Moore, Freya Davies, Dani Gregory.
The Blaze starting XI: Tammy Beaumont, Marie Kelly, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Georgie Boyce, Kathryn Bryce, Sarah Glenn, Nadine De Klerk, Sarah Bryce (WK), Lucy Higham, Kirstie Gordon ©, Grace Ballinger.
The Blaze finally have England’s Nat Sciver-Brunt in their ranks alongside international teammate Sarah Glenn. Sophie Munro comes out of the side to make way for Sciver-Brunt. Aylish Cranstone was a member of the Stars’ XI at Scarborough the week prior, instead Kent offspiner Kalea Moore played her first game this season in this Blaze fixture.
Innings report:
Bryony Smith got the Stars off to a rapid start, extracting 14 runs from Grace Ballinger. Smith’s time at the crease would soon end as quick as it started, caught by Marie Kelly with Kirstie Gordon the wicket-taker for 18 off 9. Tash Farrant was interestingly promoted to 3 to bat alongside Dunkley, her innings not lasting long either as she was trapped lbw by Ballinger for nought.
Dunkley had only faced 4 deliveries in 3 overs, when yet another partner had to depart — this time Scholfield sending it to England duo Sarah Glenn off Nat Sciver-Brunt for 4. Phoebe Franklin to the crease, with a partnership finally forming for the Stars at home. A wicket maiden from Glenn in the 7th halted the proceedings temporarily with Dunkley bowled for 20 off 18. Franklin and Chathli pulled the Stars from 48–4 to 116–5 in 11 overs in a 68 run partnership that saw Chathli make 24 off 27 before she was cleaned up by The Blaze’s overseas import Nadine De Klerk.
Franklin carried her bat to the 19th over, pulling up a top scoring 53 off 43, with 7 fours in the mix before falling bowled by Sciver-Brunt, with Alice Davidson-Richards seeing the side to the final over with a quick cameo of 24 off 13. De Klerk bowled the final over to see the end of Davidson-Richards and new batter Kalea Moore, finishing with 3–21 from 3. The South East Stars put 160–8 on the board, the newly-founded, dominant Blaze eagar to chase it down.
Tammy Beaumont and Marie Kelly were the opening pair for The Blaze, Beaumont with the majority of the strike. Bryony Smith kept the batters in check in the first over, only conceding 3 runs. Freya Davies would soon face the brunt of Beaumont after a 13 run over. Kelly was unable to get going in a similar fashion, caught out by Davidson-Richards off Scholfield for 5.
The wicket brought Nat Sciver-Brunt to the crease, The Blaze’s batters seeing out the power play for 51–1. It wouldn’t be long until Scholfield struck again, dismissing Sciver-Brunt for 19 off 17. MacDonald-Gay also picked up a key wicket for the Stars, in-form opener Beaumont removed for a quick-fire 48 from 31 with 7 fours. This left The Blaze 83–3 requiring 78, not a huge challenge with the names left in the batting order.
Big 6⃣ for Georgie Boyce!
Watch the live stream here ➡️ https://t.co/8D25dIvfHN #FiredUp 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Z3dLaioEw3
— The Blaze 🔥 (@TheBlazeCricket) May 20, 2023
Kathryn Bryce was unable to get going as she was dismissed sharply caught behind off Davidson-Richards by Chathli. Sarah Glenn was next in at 6 with a similar fate — caught by ADR off Phoebe Franklin. Georgie Boyce and Nadine De Klerk saw the game to the end, Boyce finishing the game off in spectacular fashion with an impressive knock of 62 off 37. De Klerk wasn’t left with much to do, picking up 16 from 15 in a joint effort to get her side over the line by 5 wickets with 4 balls remaining. Paige Scholfield was the pick of the Stars bowling line up, taking 2–26; including the key wicket of Nat Sciver-Brunt.
