The key statistical facet of the 2022 CE Cup was a substantial step up in run rates from 2021, with first-innings run rates climbing by more than half a run per over from 6.41 to 7.13.

This was partly due to the increased availability of England players – Amy Jones didn’t play at all in 2021, and Danni Wyatt only played two games – but definitely not exclusively. Aylish Cranstone’s Strike Rate improved from 109 to 118; Marie Kelly’s from 128 to 152; and Grace Scrivens’ from 77 to 119, to pull out a few examples.

Amy Jones sits at the top of the tree in 2022 – the leading run-scorer, with 245 runs at a strike rate of over 140. What can we say about Amy Jones that we haven’t said before? Very little! It feels like we’ve read a hundred articles over the years, saying this is the season she finally consistently brings her sparkling domestic form to the international arena… and maybe this time, it is? A Commonwealth Games in her home city* would certainly be the time to do it! (*Yes – I know – Solihull isn’t technically “Birmingham”!)

Aylish Cranstone has been the outstanding domestic player this season – if you want to understand some of the reasons why, it’s worth checking out this brilliant interview with her on the Noughtie Child Podcast, where she talks about her nightmare winter, and how that actually freed her from the shackles of expectation. And the numbers add up – she was the 2nd highest run scorer in the group stages (with finals day still to come) with three 50s, all not out, finishing with an average of 78. She’s one of a number of domestic pros who are starting to close the gap with the internationally contracted players, as the system starts to reap the benefits of professionalisation at the next level down.

Looking at future England prospects, keeper-batter Bess Heath has had a good season with the willow, making a couple of 50s, including one against the comp’s strongest bowling attack, Vipers at Chester-le-Street; but she was, I believe the polite term is “inconsistent” with the gloves. I think England’s next keeper will (rightly) be a batter who can keep competently, rather than the best out-and-out keeper; so Heath remains in pole position for me, but she needs to make sure that she maintains a balance in her development going forwards. I’d really like to see her get a proper opportunity in The Hundred too, but with Alyssa Healy on the Superchargers roster, that’s unlikely I guess, which is… a massive pity from England’s player development point of view.

Another player who really needs to play every match in The Hundred is Grace Scrivens. The teenager has utterly carried Sunrisers with bat and ball this term. The ECB massively dropped the ball by not sending someone down to Sunrisers HQ to tell them to make her captain this season. (I’ve nothing against the player who was given the job… but she isn’t going to captain England one day – Scrivens is!) But the ECB have got the chance to make up for their mistake by sending a strongly worded “suggestion” to Spirit that she plays every game batting at 3 or 4. (And don’t tell me they “can’t” do this – it’s their competition at the end of the day – they absolutely can, and they absolutely should!)

A well-composed innings from Georgia Hennessy proved to be crucial at New Road on Saturday as Western Storm produced a minor upset of sorts against Central Sparks.

Hennessy struck four boundaries in her 47 from 45 balls to guide her side to the finishing line, whilst Dani Gibson’s 14-ball cameo ensured there would be no late twist as she hit 24 not out, as Storm chased down the 135 they needed with seven balls to spare.

There was a time when that sort of chase might have proved too stiff four times out of five in domestic T20 cricket. These days it will probably be knocked off four times out of five, and Hennessy’s patient innings was ample evidence of why as she martialled the pursuit at just the right pace, choosing the right balls to hit, the right balls to nudge and nurdle, the right balls to defend.

Earlier Amy Jones’s 63 had threatened to put Sparks in a commanding position, but although it took the England wicketkeeper just 46 balls it was an innings that felt as though it lacked some of the effortless fluency that oozes from Jones at her best, with too many seemingly well-hit shots finding fielders in the ring. And with no other Sparks batter able to go at quicker than a run-a-ball save for Abby Freeborn – and then only just – the home side’s innings never quite got into its stride.

Hennessy played second fiddle to Fi Morris’s early belligerence as Storm set about the chase, although Sparks will rue a moment of carelessness that might well have turned the course of the contest.

13 had come off Grace Potts’s opening over, but Issy Wong’s first ball from the opposite end rivalled Jenny Gunn’s famous “whiff” for its deceptive lack of pace and bowled Morris comprehensively as she swung way too early. First blood, it seemed, but Morris was evidently wise to the situation, remonstrating immediately, and umpire Naeem Ashraf agreed. Sparks had their field wrong, and an outstretched arm thwarted the celebrations.

Potts and Wong did manage to drag things back though, and after Morris picked out Gwen Davies at point, and then Emily Arlott found Sophie Luff’s edge for Amy Jones to take the catch, the match looked in the balance at 45 for two.

Fran Wilson’s experience in such a situation was the glue that Storm needed, and with Hennessy settled the pair added 57 for the third wicket at a perfect tempo, leaving Gibson to apply the fatal blows with two inventive fours and a mammoth six over deep midwicket.

There was little doubting Storm’s superiority on the day, with Sparks looking somewhat subdued both in the field and with that bat. Wong’s early departure for just two stifled much prospect of an early charge, and whilst the habitually-prolific Joneses batted well enough in their 65-run partnership there was always the sense that runs were being left out there somewhere.

Freeborn couldn’t get going – aside from one towering six over long off – nor could Ami Campbell, nor Davies, in the limited time they were afforded at the crease, and Sparks’ innings neither got bogged down nor took off, meandering along at six-ish an over pretty much throughout, and having lost only four wickets the inability to accelerate on a pitch that didn’t look perfect but didn’t appear to misbehave noticeably either was ultimately a big factor in their defeat.

They will go into Finals Day next Sunday needing to find some ‘oomph’ in their game if they are to get the better of Stars in the semi-final, let alone Vipers after that. They undoubtedly have the players on their day. One way or another, this wasn’t their day.

Katya Witney at Old Trafford

Sophie Ecclestone took career-best figures of 5-15 as the Thunder outclassed Lightning at Old Trafford on Friday.

Tammy Beaumont was still absent from the Lightning line-up but after winning the toss and electing to bat, the Lightning batters’ intent was clear from the off.

Marie Kelly smashed three fours in the first over before she was bowled by Alex Hartley looking to hit the left-arm spinner for a second six over square-leg. Ecclestone then took two wickets in her first over, Ella Claridge and Beth Harmer both playing attacking shots.

Despite the early flurry of wickets, Lightning continued to go after the Thunder’s spinners. Sarah Bryce was dismissed by Ecclestone after hitting her for a huge six in her second over and whilst their intent made for exciting watching, the shot execution was lacking from the batters.

Bethan Ellis top-edged a shorter delivery from Emma Lamb which fell comfortably into the hands of the fielder at backward square leg to leave Lightning 54 for 5 going into the 10th over.

Phoebe Graham combined with Ellie Threlkeld to secure two well-executed runouts, first dismissing Katherine Bryce in the 12th over and Lucy Higham in the 16th. The innings looked to be descending into chaos at 86 for 7 going into the final four.

The visitors were still in with a chance of setting a competitive total if they managed to stem the continual haemorrhaging of wickets but any hopes they may have had were put to bed by Ecclestone in her final over.

She took the wickets of Sophie Munro and Jade Ballinger off the first and fifth balls of her over and was one wicket away from a fifer with just one ball of her spell remaining and the number 11 on strike. Ecclestone did not disappoint on her home turf, snaring Josie Groves stumped around her legs to complete her career-best T20 figures of 5-15 before being mobbed by her teammates.

Whilst entertaining, Lighting were reckless and fell well short of the total they were capable of, having been bowled out two overs short of the 20. They now faced the difficult task of defending just 103.

Thunder lost Boyce early in their chase, LBW to Kelly but the home side clearly intended to continue the attacking theme of the day. Cross drove Ballinger beautifully for four before chipping the ball into the hands of Munro at mid-off two balls later.

After coming in at number four Ecclestone was next to go, missing a sweep-shot to Katherine Bryce and given LBW. Lightning were dragging themselves back into the contest with Thunder 26 for 3 at the end of the fifth.

Where the Lightning’s innings came undone through was continuing to attack despite losing quick wickets, while the Thunder found success by consolidating after their early losses. Lamb and Collins built a 50-run partnership in the middle overs, taking advantage of some loose deliveries from the Lightning spinners. Kelly was taken out of the attack after bowling two high no-balls.

Emma Lamb was the main source of runs, wracking up an impressive 42 off 35 deliveries before falling LBW to Ellis off the last ball of the 10th over.

Despite the loss of Collins, the victory was sealed by the Thunder in the 14th over, Threlkeld and Mullan seeing the home. Both sides put on an entertaining display with the bat but it was the execution of the Thunder batsmen and the superior quality of their spinners which was the difference between the sides.

Follow @KatyaWitney on Twitter

By Jake Perry

The summer may be young, but the Women’s Premier League table is already telling a story. Three teams sit with hundred per cent records after round two of the competition, including Northern Lights, who followed up their WPL-record total of 334/3 at Raeburn Place by going four better against Watsonians at Mannofield. Centuries from Ailsa Lister – off 47 balls – and Megan McColl – her second in two games – powered the Lights to a 258-run win, while Carlton’s opening pair of Abbi Aitken-Drummond and Charis Scott did the same as the champions, too, made a statement after their opening-day loss to West of Scotland.

This weekend sees West travel again to the capital, to meet also-unbeaten Stewart’s Melville at Inverleith. The Edinburgh side has had a quieter but no less emphatic start to the campaign, and after seven- and eight-wicket wins over Watsonians and RH Corstorphine – the latter despite a debut innings of 99 from Bronwyn Sumption – captain Catherine Holland is confident that it can be extended.

“We’ve had a good start,” she said. “It’s great to have [Tasmanian batter] Hannah Short back to help us develop more, individually and as a team, and I’m very pleased with where things are.”

“I’m particularly happy with our batting so far,” she went on. “In the game against RHC our top order contributed a decent amount [153/3 in 20.1 overs, chasing the home side’s 151/8], and with our bowling, some of our younger and developing Scotland players like Molly Paton have really shown that they are capable of doing well.”

After back-to-back league titles before the pandemic, a lack of consistency at crucial moments – coupled with a relentless Carlton – saw Stew-Mel finish as joint runners-up in 2021. The team’s blend of youth and experience, however, using internationals Katie McGill and Katherine Fraser in the top to middle order to support what has been a prolific opening partnership between Catherine and Emma Walsingham, brings both depth and balance to the side.

“It lets me and Emma play in the way we’ve learnt to bat together, and also be comfortable because we know that the likes of Katie, Katherine, Hannah and even some of the younger players like Molly and Jenny [Ballantyne] are ready to come in and back us up,” she said.

“Molly, who I’ve mentioned a few times, is an important player for us, and Jenny can do well with the bat as well. Bowling-wise, Chloe Kiely [also plays a key role in the team].”

Catherine’s own game continues to develop apace. On the day of our conversation, she had appeared at Grange Loan for Scottish Universities against a touring MCC side containing Kari Carswell, taking the wicket of Georgina Macey in the first over of the game. After finishing the 2021 league season with 138 runs and four wickets, Catherine is keen to see where this campaign can take her.

“I’m just looking to be as consistent as I can be across the season,” she said. “Being involved in the Super Series last year [with the Ross XI] was really good for me: it was great seeing how some of the more experienced players play, and getting to work with them and bat and bowl alongside them was an excellent experience. I’d like to be doing that again.”

Before then, though, there is the league to settle, and Sunday’s match is a crucial one for both sides.

“I think it’ll be a good game and I’m looking forward to it,” said Catherine. “Both teams have looked strong this season.”

“But we’ll just go with our usual plan, play to our strengths and hopefully get the win.”

Women’s Premier League – 5 June 2022

Watsonians v Grange (at Myreside)
Dumfries CC/Galloway CC v Carlton (at Gatehouse)
Northern Lights v RH Corstorphine (at Mannofield)
Stewart’s Melville v McCrea FS West of Scotland (at Inverleith)

Follow Jake Perry on Twitter

Katya Witney at Old Trafford

The Southern Vipers charged into the final of the Charlotte Edwards Cup after thrashing the Thunder by six wickets at Old Trafford on Friday night.

With a few drops of rain in the air, Ellie Threlkeld won yet another toss and elected to bat. Despite the Vipers being the favourites having won four from four in the tournament, the return of Kate Cross and Sophie Ecclestone to the side bolstered the home side’s chances.

But the Thunder’s innings failed to ever really get going thanks to some tight bowling from the Viper’s bowling attack. Emma Lamb was dismissed by Freya Kemp in her second over, caught by Georgia Adams at mid-on. The wicket brought Cross to the crease for a short cameo where she hit a four off her third delivery and went on to score 18 before she was dismissed by Charlie Dean.

Ecclestone replaced her England teammate at the crease and crashed a six off her second ball before Georgie Boyce was bowled at the other end by Kemp for just 9 off 23 deliveries. The Thunder were left struggling at 44 for 3 at the halfway stage.

Danielle Collins’ stay at the crease was also short, she was LBW to Dean in the 13th over.

Ecclestone and Threlkeld built a small partnership in the following overs, knocking the singles to take the home side to 82 for 5 in the 17th before Threlkeld was dismissed by Dean, the right-arm off-spinner taking a smart catch off her own bowling.

Laura Marshall then lasted two deliveries before she got a big top edge on a ball from Tara Norris which popped up in the air nicely for Maia Bouchier to take a simple catch.

At the end of their innings, the Thunder had only managed 94 for 6, Ecclestone top-scoring with 28 off 32 balls. Dean starred with the ball, taking 3 for 16 off her four overs. It looked like a near-impossible task for the Thunder to defend their total and the real question was whether the Vipers could chase the total in under 16.4 overs to gain a bonus point victory and automatic qualification for the final.

Wyatt and Adams made a solid start for the Vipers, Wyatt hitting a six off Ecclestone in the third over, slog-sweeping the ball over deep mid-wicket to take her side to 22 for no-wicket.

She was dismissed by Alex Hartley in the fifth over, advancing down the wicket looking to swing into the leg side, but missed the ball completely and was stumped by Threlkeld.

Adams followed two balls later, Laura Jackson taking a smart catch inside the ring to give Cross a wicket, leaving the Vipers at 34 for 2 in the sixth over.

With both openers back in the dugout, Bouchier and Elwiss set about consolidating for the Vipers, working the singles to take their side to 52 for 2 at the halfway stage.

Bouchier was dismissed in the following over by Ecclestone, taking a good catch above her head to complete the caught and bowled. Kemp followed at the end of the 13th over, bowled by Jackson, but at this point, the Vipers were in cruise mode needing just 20 to win.

The victory, bonus point and qualification were wrapped up in the 16th over off the bat of Elwiss who finished with an unbeaten 38.

The Vipers once again didn’t put a foot wrong and deservedly qualify as the best group stage team. They will be back in action on Saturday against the Diamonds, whilst the Thunder will be back at Old Trafford on Friday to face the Lightning.

Follow @KatyaWitney on Twitter

Katya Witney at Headingley

The Northern Diamonds fought back to pull off an important victory against the Thunder at Headingley on Sunday and keep their finals day hopes alive.

Both sides went into the match on level points, well behind the Southern Vipers in group one and looking to bounce back after suffering defeats in the previous round of fixtures.

After electing to bat, Beth Heath and Sterre Kalis made a steady start for the Diamonds before Heath was dismissed for 13 by Emma Lamb in the fourth over.

Kalis looked and kept advancing down the pitch to advance the scoring rate but was unable to get the big shot away. At the halfway stage the Diamonds were 58-1.

Alex Hartley found the breakthrough in the 11th over, dismissing Kalis for 28 and Holly Armitage was clean bowled by Lamb after missing a sweep shot in the following over.

Phoebe Turner took centre stage in the 15th over to dismiss Leah Dobson and Leigh Kasperek in consecutive deliveries. The hattrick ball went straight through Abi Glen, missing the stumps and the keeper to run away to the boundary leaving the Diamonds 85-5 going into the final five.

Hannah Jones executed a smart throw from the boundary to run out Glen in the next over and after hitting three consecutive fours Lindsay Smith was dismissed by Hartley in the 17th.

The last over completed the collapse for the Diamonds, Jones taking the wickets of Turner, Marlow and Levick – all bowled – off the final four balls of the innings. From 78-3 in the 15th over, the Diamonds had collapsed to 124 all out, the Thunder spinners taking seven wickets between them and Lamb as ever bowling with control and picking up a couple of wickets.

Lamb and Boyce began the chase for the Thunder, and both looked in good touch as ever. By the fourth over they had reached 31-0 before, completely against the run of play, Boyce chipped a ball to Smith at cover and had to depart for 16.

Disaster struck for the Thunder in the seventh over as Lamb was run out for 15 thanks to a great throw from Dobson at deep midwicket and after looking untroubled in their respective innings both of the Thunder’s openers were back in the hutch.

Threlkeld was bowled by Katie Levick in the ninth over and was quickly followed by Shachi Pai, also dismissed by Levick for a two-ball duck prompting jubilant celebrations from the Diamond fielders. The home-side looked boosted by the breakthroughs and determined to capitalise.

Kasperek gave her team more reason to believe in the following over, dismissing Laura Jackson for a duck and reducing the Thunder to 52-5 still needing 73 to win at the halfway stage of the innings.

Collins and Marshall looked to rebuild during the middle overs, steadily consolidating a partnership of 25 by the end of the 14th over to give Thunder some hope.

Kasperek dismissed Collins in a bizarre manner in the following over. An edge popped straight up gently off the bat and keeper Heath dove forwards to catch the ball right at Collins’ feat, leaving her standing at the crease questioning whether the ball had been caught while her opponents celebrated around her.

Marshall was run out shortly after for 11 and Graham was bowled by Marlow in the following over. The wheels were well and truly off for the Thunder at 82-8.

Graham was bowled for 20 by Levick in the 19th over and Jones was run out the following ball to round-up proceedings and with the Thunder 99 all-out.

Speaking after the match Lee Kasperek said:

“Whatever runs you get you have to think that it’s good enough. Dani gave us a good pep talk at the interval, as well as Holly and just kind of, you know, tried to fire us up a little bit.”

“Usually coming in bowling in England’s not necessarily that much fun, so today was an absolute treat on a slightly slower pitch.”

“It’s awesome to have experience in the camp and we love playing at Headingley, there are pretty amazing facilities and stuff so it’s been awesome, and we got to train here yesterday.”

“We’ve got the day off tomorrow and then we’ll head up to Durham for the Lightning match and it’s a do or die situation, we’ve got to bring our best performance. I think we’ve just got to take it one game at a time and just look to Durham. We don’t want to look too far ahead and yeah, just give it our all.”

Follow @KatyaWitney on Twitter

By Jake Perry

After an opening weekend which underlined just how competitive the season is likely to be, round two of the Women’s Premier League pits two of the early pace-setters against each other at Hamilton Crescent. West of Scotland go into their game against Dumfries and Galloway on the back of a stunning result at Grange Loan, where despite Abbi Aitken-Drummond’s run-a-ball 70, an opening partnership of 126 between Ellen Watson (81) and Nayma Shaikh (44) and two wickets apiece for Anne Sturgess, Nadia Tolliday and Nayma Shaikh set up a two-run win over reigning champions Carlton. 

Their upcoming opponents, however, were just as impressive in sweeping aside RH Corstorphine by nine wickets at Nunholm. Spinning all-rounder Roshini Prince-Navaratnam took 4 for 26 then scored an unbeaten half-century as the home side chased down its target of 96 with more than thirteen overs to spare: for opening bowler Orla Montgomery, it should be a hotly-contested battle in Partick.

“It’s definitely going to be a tough one, especially as we have a few changes to our team,” she said. “We don’t have Hannah Rainey, Hannah Marshall or Roshini available, although we do have Lorna Jack to come back in.”

“So it’ll be a challenge for sure, but we’re hoping to get some early wickets and see where we go from there.”

The addition of Scotland pacer Rainey, now qualified as a vet and working in Cumbria, has made the Dumfries and Galloway attack a particularly potent one. Alongside Prince-Navaratnam, Hannah Marshall took 3 for 11 – all bowled – in her six overs: with fellow seamers Rosy Ryan and Niamh Muir playing important roles, too, Orla is pleased with the balance of the team.    

“Rosh and Hannah have just moved into the area from England,” she said, “and it was an excellent debut for both of them. It’s great to have Hannah Rainey with us, too, to be able to open up with pace from both ends then slow things down with a bit of spin from Rosh: it worked really well.”

“It was a great performance to get us started. We had a strong team, and it was good to get our season going with a win.”

Seventeen-year-old Orla is looking to impress as part of the Scotland set-up, too, having been named as a non-travelling reserve for national side’s recent trip to Malaysia for the Commonwealth Games qualifier. With the Global Qualifier for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup coming up at the end of the year, the fast bowler is keen to do all she can to keep her name in the frame. 

“We have training on Saturdays up in Dollar at the moment, and then I’m doing gym sessions down here as well as lots of bowling out in the middle, trying to get as much in as possible,” she said. “I’m definitely hoping to get into the travelling squad this time: I’m not really wanting to be a non-travelling reserve again, although that was a real honour being selected for it last time.”

“But my aim is to try and get into the main squad itself if I possibly can.”

Elsewhere on Sunday, Northern Lights play their first home fixture at Mannofield, a week after hundreds from Becky Glen and Megan McColl and an unbeaten 65 from Emma Halliwell took them to a record 334/3 at The Grange. The other victors of last weekend, Stewart’s Melville, travel to RHC after a dominant display with the ball, Iris Conlin taking 3 for 7, Izzy Armstrong 2 for 4 and Erin Bridle 2 for 15 in their seven-wicket victory over Watsonians. With four statement wins last weekend – and a wounded Carlton that will be determined to get their title challenge straight back on course – it promises to be a fascinating round of matches once again.

Women’s Premier League – 29 May 2022

McCrea FS West of Scotland v Dumfries CC/Galloway CC (at Hamilton Crescent)

RH Corstorphine v Stewart’s Melville (at Royal High School)

Carlton v Grange (at Grange Loan)

Northern Lights v Watsonians (at Mannofield)

Follow Jake Perry on Twitter

By Jake Perry

There is a new force to reckon with in the Women’s Premier League this year, with the Aberdeen-based Northern Lights making their debut in what promises to be the most hotly contested competition to date. With Watsonians and Grange now playing as separate entities and plenty of input from national and regional players, the eight-team division marks another important point in the upward trajectory of the domestic women’s game in Scotland.

Northern Lights skipper Megan McColl is in no doubt as to the significance of the moment.

“We’re really excited about having a team representing the clubs from the north,” she said. “It’s a big step forward and we’re going to enjoy playing our first game on Sunday.”

“Having the teams from Edinburgh and Glasgow come up to play cricket here is really important for the women and girls’ game in Scotland. Hopefully the Northern Lights will be the first of many more sides in the future.”

Last year saw virtually all of Scotland’s national players aligned with a WPL club – the only exceptions being Lightning’s Bryce sisters – but the addition of the Lights will make life considerably easier for those based north of the central belt.

“It was good to get involved in women’s cricket first and foremost, having only played men’s club cricket for Arbroath before,” said Megan, who scored 115 runs and took seven wickets in her three games for Watsonians/Grange. “It was great to play and see the different standards of the teams, but to have something in the north now is really good.”

“Along with myself we have Becky Glen, Abbie Hogg and Ailsa Lister [from the national set-up], as well as my sister Kirsty McColl and [Falkland’s] Emma Halliwell who are both part of the Scotland Under-19s. There’s also Zoe Baillie from Forfarshire, who is part of the emerging [group]. So we’ve got a good few Scotland players and up and coming Scotland players which will hopefully be good for our chances.”

While Carlton is again likely to be the team to beat – the depth and bedded-in structure of last season’s double-winners has enabled them to put out a women’s second XI this year – 2018 and ’19 champions Stewart’s Melville will also be amongst the favourites for both league and cup. West of Scotland, Dumfries & Galloway and RH Corstorphine also produced some excellent cricket over the course of the last campaign, as did Watsonians/Grange, who finished third in the final table. Watsonians will be the first to visit Mannofield next Sunday: before then, however, the league’s newest side is looking forward to a trip to a similarly iconic venue.

“It’ll be great to start our season at The Grange this weekend,” said Megan. “It’ll be the first time I’ve actually played there.”

“Hopefully we can make a good start, and come away with a win.”

Women’s Premier League – 22 May 2022

Grange v Northern Lights (at Portgower Place)

Carlton v McCrea FS West of Scotland (at Grange Loan)

Stewart’s Melville v Watsonians (at Inverleith)

Dumfries CC/Galloway CC v RH Corstorphine (at Nunholm)

Follow Jake Perry on Twitter