INTERVIEW: Warwickshire’s Katie George On Being A “Calm Presence In Turmoil”

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Taking on the captaincy of a club mid-season is always tricky. Doubly so when they’ve just fired their existing skipper.

That’s the situation Warwickshire’s Katie George finds herself in, after she returned to the club last week fresh from a month representing London Spirit in The Hundred and was immediately launched into a dramatic few days.

Monday – head coach Ali Maiden informs the squad via Zoom that Georgia Davis is parting ways with the club and been placed on gardening leave until her contract expires at the end of the season. Tuesday – the squad reassemble at Edgbaston, train, and try to come to terms with the news. Wednesday – Warwickshire face Yorkshire in a One-Day Cup match, with George at the helm.

“I don’t think it’s easy for any team,” George tells CRICKETher. “Obviously, like the England men with Stokes, when you lose your captain it does affect things.

“I’m definitely not trying to be G [Davis]. I can’t be. She’s a brilliant girl and I wish her all the best.

“Any feelings towards that stuff is allowed to be there. It’s not like it’s been dismissed or anything like that.

“But I think there is a real sense of, let’s be in it together, this group of players, and then move forward.”

Davis has represented the Bears since 2015, and was unveiled as their first ever professional captain at the start of the 2025 season.

But CRICKETher understands that the level of disagreement between her and Maiden this year about both selection and the overall future of the team was so high that any future relationship was felt to be untenable.

A spokesperson for the club told CRICKETher: “The Club initiated renewal talks with Georgia in April 2026 and offered updated terms to stay. Despite numerous attempts to engage in discussion, Georgia did not choose to engage in any discussions until June 2026, by which time alternative recruitment plans had been made and the contract offer was rescinded.”

Warwickshire are also rumoured to be losing keeper-better Abbey Freeborn and all-rounder Bethan Ellis to Glamorgan at the end of the season, while seamer Em Arlott has announced her departure to Yorkshire.

Amidst the upheaval, George is clear about her own role:

“I think I can bring a little bit of stability and calmness for the next five weeks. It’s important we come together as a team and come together as a group and we’re in it together, and have that collective goal of trying to get these trophies.

“My plan is to try and have that calm presence in a little bit of turmoil.”

George herself recently signed a two-year contract extension with the club, meaning she will remain at Edgbaston at least until the end of 2028.

But she says that the possibility of her taking on the club captaincy on a permanent basis has not yet been discussed.

“Personally, I wouldn’t want that conversation now,” she says. “I don’t think it’s right. I don’t think it’s respectful.

“If I get asked, then that’s something I’ll think about. But for now, it’s about these five weeks.

“As someone that wants to be involved in all three facets of the game it would be a decision to be made for myself as well. And honestly, I don’t know the answer right now.”

Left-arm seamer George played two ODIs and five T20s for England as a teenager back in 2018, but a series of back injuries left her future career hanging in the balance.

She joined Warwickshire’s previous iteration as Central Sparks back in 2023, and praises the club for their support of her recent transition into a batting all-rounder who has made her mark in the No 4 position, hitting scores of 98 and 127 in the One-Day Cup this season.

But she has never given up on bowling.

“People ask me why I keep trying to bowl, and it’s just my passion. It’s what made me fall in love with cricket. It was watching Jimmy Anderson bowl at Sachin Tendulkar at Lord’s, waking up at 5AM to go and watch because my dad decided it was a good idea.

“That love doesn’t go away. It’s tricky because it’s taken a lot from me, but the love for it’s still there.”

Being handed the new ball midway through The Hundred for London Spirit – the culmination of several long, hard periods of rehab – was therefore particularly special.

George says she started the competition not knowing if she would be able to bowl at all. “I hadn’t bowled for over a year. I only bowled off a full run-up once before The Hundred. I was in Regents Park bowling during the World Cup when I was supporting [girlfriend and England bowler] Issy Wong. Thanks to her for picking the ball up for me!

“The first time I bowled at a left-hander was [Phoebe] Litchfield in Leeds, so it was crazy. And I hadn’t really thought about it until I was at the end of my mark and I was like, sh*t. This isn’t optimal.”

The encounter ended with George having the Aussies overseas caught at deep midwicket – a satisfying moment for the English seamer. 

“I feel like I’ve smiled playing cricket again,” she says.

As for what comes next? Well, her bowling workload is still being carefully managed by Warwickshire… sort of.

“Sometimes we have three 50-over games in seven days. So do I not bowl in one of those? They’re sensible conversations to be having, which I think are the right conversations.

“But if it’s a must win game, we obviously throw it out the window because I’m getting f*cking stuck in. That’s me. And I never want to lose that.”

As Warwickshire look for their next permanent captain, they could do a lot worse.

EXCLUSIVE: Katie George And Charis Pavely Sign Contract Extensions With Warwickshire

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Warwickshire all-rounders Katie George and Charis Pavely have signed contract extensions with the club, which will keep the pair at Edgbaston until the end of the 2028 season.

Left-arm seamer George has struggled with injuries over the past couple of years but has fully earned her spot as a pure batter, with highest scores of 98 and 127 from the No 4 position in the One-Day Cup this season. After she returned to bowling for London Spirit during The Hundred, there are hopes she can find some stability as a genuine all-round option over the next two years.

Katie George. Photo credit: Don Miles.

The 21-year-old Pavely was better known for her left-arm spin until this season, but struck back-to-back hundreds in the One-Day Cup in April / May and is now firmly established as an all-rounder in the side. She recently earned an England call-up for their upcoming series v Ireland.

George told CRICKETher: “I’ve been at Edgbaston for a while with the Sparks and then Warwickshire, so it definitely feels like home. I’m grateful that I’ve been given the opportunity here to shift into a bit more of a batting all rounder, and be allowed the space and be given the confidence to do that.”

The news will be welcomed amid a period of transition for the club which has seen current captain Georgia Davis placed on “gardening leave” until her contract runs out at the end of the season, Em Arlott agreeing to join Yorkshire, and Abbey Freeborn and Bethan Ellis departing for Glamorgan this winter.

George was this week named as interim captain until the end of the season, overseeing the end of the County Cup and the final few rounds of the One-Day Cup, but says that no decision has been made about who will lead the club come 2027.

George told CRICKETher: “We don’t know what the plan is through the winter. My role is very clear: I’m going to get us through the next month. My plan for that is to try and have that calm presence in a little bit of turmoil.

“It’s important we come together as a team and we’re in it together, and have that collective goal of trying to win these trophies.”

CHESHIRE LEAGUE FINALS DAY: Georgians Dominate Senior Knockout Final, While Chester 2s Edge The Development Final

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Martin Saxon reports

Senior Knockout Final: Didsbury 110-5, Stockport Georgians 111-0

Cheshire captain Ellie Mason led Stockport Georgians to a big victory in the final of the League’s flagship knockout competition, held at Northwich CC.

Didsbury reached 22-0 in the four powerplay overs, but while this may have looked like a good platform, the run rate of 5.5 from this phase turned out to be exactly the same as the rate over the full innings – the expected acceleration never arrived.

Mason took the first two wickets in the space of three balls in the 10th over, with the score on 52, and went on to record 3-20. Spinner Amelie Batey also played a vital role in restricting the scoring in the middle overs, bowling four overs for 16 runs.

Although Hannah Marshall made 16 not out from nine balls in the dying overs, and Roshini Prince-Navaratnam carried her bat for 57, the general feeling was that this score would be significantly under par, given the batting power in the Georgians line up.

Didsbury only hit nine boundaries, all fours, during their entire innings, and even on one of the county’s bigger grounds, this looked inadequate. Georgians duly matched this boundary total in 37 balls as Mason and Gaby McKeever serenely moved the score to 49-0 by this stage – 17 came from the fourth over and 11 from the sixth. The pair continued their largely untroubled progress to the target, with Didsbury never getting much of a sniff of a wicket – there was one dropped catch, and a catch from a free hit, but that was it for Didsbury in the field. The winning run finally came off the final ball of the 14th over, with Mason on 63 from 49 balls with nine fours and two sixes, and McKeever unbeaten on 40 from 37 deliveries.

Development Knockout Final: Whalley Range 74, Chester Boughton Hall 2nd XI 78-8

Chester seconds, who finished their Division 3 West campaign as champions with just a single loss, saw off the challenge of Whalley Range, who are currently unbeaten in Division 3 East. It was the expected close contest between two teams who are not used to losing, although it was perhaps surprising that the scores were as low as this.

Whalley Range never truly got on top of the Chester attack, with the top score being just 20, from Amelia Tariq, and no one after the top three reached double digits. Bella Williams has been in the runs of late, but here she underlined her skill as a bowler with a 4-14 return. Ffion Jones’ 2-12 in four overs was also a fine effort.

Some tight bowling, very much backed up by the fielders, reduced Chester to 39-5 in reply, suggesting that defending a low total might be possible. Meg Cureton and Jones produced the stand they needed, taking the score to 62, and although three further wickets fell, there was no final twist in the tale, with Jones remaining steadfast for a vital 14 from 44 balls as victory was completed from the first delivery of the final over. Neha Biju and Noreen Aslam-Latif each took two wickets for Whalley Range.

This occasion also marked the first occasion when two female umpires – Emma Mallinson and Fiona Shone – had officiated at the League’s finals day.

The CRICKETher Weekly – Episode 335: Litchfield Hundred Dismissal; Georgia Davis; Kate Cross

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This week:

  • Was Litchfield incorrectly given out in The Hundred final?
  • Is it right for MCC to control the laws now they have a commercial stake in The Hundred?
  • Georgia Davis placed on gardening leave by Warwickshire
  • Kate Cross retires

Portugal women’s cricket team fundraiser:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-portugals-womens-cricket-team-make-history

THE HUNDRED: Player Rankings

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Batting

Batting Rankings Matches Runs Dot % Single % Boundary % Strike Rate
1. Phoebe Litchfield 10 303 38 25 31 168
2. Sophia Dunkley 9 301 35 29 27 164
3. Annabel Sutherland 9 315 24 46 19 154
4. Nat Sciver-Brunt 6 197 21 44 25 168
5. Smriti Mandhana 7 232 38 34 19 140
6. Georgia Voll 8 250 34 42 16 125
7. Ellyse Perry 7 223 31 44 20 138
8. Marizanne Kapp 7 187 31 48 18 143
9. Freya Kemp 8 192 30 43 17 139
10. Laura Wolvaardt 9 229 34 47 13 112
11. Chinelle Henry 8 178 34 41 17 139
12. Maia Bouchier 9 200 37 40 17 118
13. Amelia Kerr 7 173 34 38 16 135
14. Georgia Wareham 8 163 32 42 20 141
15. Sophie Devine 4 130 30 41 22 165
16. Lizelle Lee 9 183 56 19 20 117
17. Nadine de Klerk 8 165 36 40 13 126
18. Jemimah Rodrigues 6 143 28 42 14 132
19. Beth Mooney 9 163 38 39 14 114
20. Amy Jones 8 155 42 33 17 119
Ranking = Runs * Strike Rate ©CRICKETher/cricsheet.org

Bowling

Bowling Rankings Matches Wickets Dot % Boundary % Wide % Economy
1. Charlie Dean 8 12 45 9 2 5.60
2. Sam Bates 9 13 47 11 2 6.41
3. Marizanne Kapp 7 11 53 10 4 5.82
4. Sophie Molineux 8 11 40 10 1 5.85
5. Deepti Sharma 9 13 33 11 1 7.28
6. Tilly Corteen-Coleman 9 13 34 13 2 7.34
7. Hannah Baker 10 11 43 12 2 6.24
8. Issy Wong 9 12 40 14 5 6.93
9. Annabel Sutherland 10 11 40 13 3 7.19
10. Grace Potts 8 11 52 21 0 7.33
11. Heather Graham 8 11 33 13 3 7.68
12. Sophie Ecclestone 7 8 51 11 2 5.66
13. Charley Phillips 7 9 42 14 7 6.65
14. Ashleigh Gardner 9 11 32 15 2 8.13
15. Kim Garth 9 9 49 15 2 6.88
16. Sophia Smale 8 7 38 9 3 6.12
17. Mady Villiers 7 9 32 18 3 8.09
18. Jess Jonassen 10 8 38 15 1 7.42
19. Hayley Matthews 8 10 29 18 5 9.30
20. Georgia Adams 8 6 32 6 0 5.93
Ranking = Wickets / Economy ©CRICKETher/cricsheet.org

THE HUNDRED FINAL: SunRisers Leeds v Trent Rockets – Into The Hundred-Verse

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The first movie in the rebooted “Hundred” franchise ended with rockets being fired into the rising sun, which probably sounded a lot more exciting in the initial pitch-meeting than it eventually looked on-screen.

SunRisers Leeds had got close to Trent Rockets when they met in the group stages, taking it to the final set chasing 139 and falling just 5 short after Annabel Sutherland hit a somewhat academic 6 (with 12 still required) off the final ball.

But SunRisers failed to bring any of that game to Lord’s for today’s final, never recovering from losing 3 wickets in the powerplay, and setting Rockets just 92 to win, which they achieved at a canter.

https://bsky.app/profile/crickether.com/post/3mt7gxau3dc2l

Lord’s is the lowest-scoring of all the Hundred grounds, with an average 1st innings total of just 120 across the seasons, compared with Edgbaston at the other end of the scale, where a typical score is 134. But it’s hard to blame the pitch for today’s performance, given that Rockets chased down the target at a rate which would have seen them rack-up a massive 170 had they maintained it across 100 balls.

Bryony Smith’s role at the top of the order for SunRisers is obviously very much the same role she plays at Surrey, to go hard or go home – but this season in The Hundred has mostly been the latter, and Kim Garth clearly had her number – Smith had no clue what to do with a delivery speared in to her ankles, and gave up an easy catch to Nat Sciver-Brunt on the ring.

Lauren-Winfield Hill’s first delivery was a wide but that was as good as it got for her, as a “rocket” of a ball from Garth had her heading back to the pavilion for a golden (though perhaps that should be goldenish due to the wide?) duck. As she walked through the gate that leads up to the Long Room, Winfield-Hill took just a moment to look around her, in a manner which hinted that perhaps she might know something we don’t. I’m sure she will finish the season for Yorkshire, but perhaps she realises time is finally catching up with her in her 36th year?

Having therefore not got off to the accelerated start they’d have hoped for, it was all on Phoebe Litchfield and Annabel Sutherland to make the running for SunRisers. They have both had good Hundreds, with Sutherland being named Player of the Tournament after finishing as the leading run-scorer, with Litchfield just behind her in second place. But Litchfield, like Maia Bouchier, does seem particularly vulnerable to the odd brain-fade; and she was caught at short fine trying to ramp a ball from Charley Phillips that was never in a month of Sundays going to be travelling fast enough to play that shot.

And in many ways, that was… as our American friends (most of them still are our friends… I think!) say… “the ball game”. Sutherland obviously felt she needed to play a more conservative “anchor” innings and try to see it through; but with Deepti chewing up balls at the other end on her way to a pedestrian 12 off 16, it was leading them down a road there would be no coming back from.

Dani Gibson did eventually realise that risks needed to be taken, and took advantage of a run of leg-side deliveries to find the boundary 3 times in a row; but then went looking for the same shot again off a delivery on a very different line, and again was caught on the ring. The rest of the wickets fell like dominos, and 9 balls went unused as SunRisers were bowled out for 91.

It was another in a long list of under-par first innings scores in this comp, and they’ve generally been followed by the team batting second proceeding to drearily game-manage their way to the target in a fashion that calls to mind “that” Batman film – you know the one, starring George Clooney!

So we should at least be thankful that Trent Rockets responded by going out and playing positively. Sophia Dunkley led the way with a cracking 41, though it is a pity she didn’t finish the job – a mere 15 more would have put her at the top of the run tree ahead of Sutherland and Litchfield.

SunRisers 91 v Rockets 92-2 #The100 🏏

— CRICKETher (@crickether.com) 2026-08-16T15:23:26.029Z

Nonetheless the start Dunks and Beth Mooney had given Rockets ensured that the result was so little in doubt that they spent the entire innings on 99% win probability, which the loss of those couple of wickets towards the end didn’t dent in the least.

It was, as Sutherland admitted afterwards, a win that Rockets deserved – they dominated the table and had the numbers to back that up, particularly with the bat. Dunkley was the standout, but beneath her it was very much a team effort with NSB, Sophie Luff, Beth Mooney and Ash Gardner all chipping in; whilst with the ball, Sam Bates (who, remarkably, has the same number of Australia caps that I do – ie. none!) finished as the joint leading wicket-taker, backed up by Ash Gardner, Kim Garth and Charley Phillips – the latter mixing it with the international stars in her first season in this (or any other) franchise competition.

Rockets had never made the final before this year, but assuming that teams will be able to retain most of their players for the next couple of seasons, following roughly the model of the IPL/WPL, they look like they will be the team to beat next season, and into the Hundred-Verse.

THE HUNDRED: SunRisers Leeds v Southern Brave – Fireworks Optional

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Earlier today, ECB CEO Richard Gould and MD of The Hundred Vikram Banerjee spoke to the media, displaying a staggering degree of denial about the problems which the total rebrand of The Hundred has generated.

Anyone who has followed this comp (and has eyes) understands there has been a drop-off in attendances. Anyone who has been on social media in the last few weeks will have witnessed the feeling of disillusionment many previous fans of The Hundred have felt in the face of brand new team names and shirt colours.

Gould, though, said he was “very, very happy with ticket sales” and mentioned seeing “loads of people” wearing MSG shirts out in Manchester earlier this week – shirts which the franchise are giving out for free, by the way. “I’ve seen a lot more positive engagement now that we’ve got this change of ownership,” Gould added. “Now that we’ve got engaged owners, engaged clubs, I think that’s rubbing off on the supporters.

When I asked about the disappointing decline in the percentage of fans who are turning up in time to watch the women’s match – crowd ratios between the women’s and the men’s games have dropped by about 3% – Banerjee basically didn’t engage with the question. Instead he pointed to an increase in broadcast viewership for the women’s matches and said that the competition has been “another really positive step forward for women’s cricket”.

In a way, it’s a shame we didn’t get to do this press conference after the Eliminator, which attracted an attendance of just 10,271 – the lowest in four years of the comp.

Women’s Eliminator Attendance: 10,271 – the lowest in 4 years 🏏

— CRICKETher (@crickether.com) 2026-08-14T15:36:04.696Z

The public will draw their own conclusions; personally, I would have more respect if those at the top of the tree honestly engaged with what has gone wrong, given that this has clearly been (by many visible metrics) a disappointing edition of the Women’s Hundred.

(As usual, I’ve paid no attention whatsoever to the men’s, but I imagine many of the same issues apply.)

Anyway, onto today’s semi-final. It was always going to be difficult to live up to last year’s equivalent match, in which Northern Superchargers (remember them?) hit 214 runs and Davina Perrin whacked the innings of a lifetime. But arguably we got the Eliminator this competition deserved: Southern Brave put just 114 on the board, and SunRisers then almost (but not quite) made a mess of chasing it.

The Hundred Eliminator at The Oval 🏏

— CRICKETher (@crickether.com) 2026-08-14T14:52:25.438Z

There were no fireworks before the women’s game (thankfully – we were all baking in the heat); and there were few fireworks to be found during the match either. Lizelle Lee dominated the strike in Brave’s powerplay, facing 20 balls to Maia Bouchier’s 5, in what was a very Lee innings: a lot of power, not quite so much brain, and she was eventually undone by a smart piece of bowling from Hannah Baker.

From there, Brave’s strike rate took a huge dip, only recovering right at the end as Charli Knott – who in many ways has been a fortuitous injury replacement for Brave, replacing an out-of-form Jemimah Rodrigues – hit 25 off 21.

Brave 114-7 v SunRisers 116-5 #The100 🏏

— CRICKETher (@crickether.com) 2026-08-14T15:51:41.784Z

The question is whether Lee’s rapid-fire runs with the bat make up for her slip-ups behind the stumps, which were pretty embarrassing today – of the 18 extras conceded by Brave, 8 were byes.

Brave have dug themselves out of several holes with the bat during this tournament by absolutely nailing it with the ball, and there were two windows of opportunity here to do similar. SunRisers quickly found themselves 13 for 2, with the tournament leading run-scorer Phoebe Litchfield one of those back in the dug-out after coming down the track to Issy Wong in a rare brain fade.

Then, with just 20 runs needed from the last 25 balls, there were a few nerves jangling when Wong found herself on a hat-trick, bowling Lauren Winfield-Hill with one that kept low and trapping Dani Gibson leg-before when she unnecessarily swiped at her first ball.

Even for Brave’s bowlers, though, defending such a low total proved a bridge too far, as Official Adopted Northerner Jess Jonassen and decent cameo from Deepti Sharma did the necessary.

Afterwards, Jonassen reflected that SunRisers had benefited from having a tougher route to qualification than Brave across the back-end of the competition:

“We essentially played four knockout games before we came to a genuine knockout match. So we knew that we were hardened under previous pressure, and we knew that we just needed to come out and try and play the same way that we had those other games and try hard not to do anything too different.”

For Brave, time to take stock and reflect on how they might tweak personnel next season to bolster their squad – recruiting another wicketkeeper might well be near the top of the list?

Hopefully, the conversations in their dressing room tonight are a bit more honest than the one Gould and Banerjee had with the media at the start of the day.