During the first 3 seasons of regionals, overseas signings in the RHF Trophy and CE Cup felt somewhat ad-hoc; but increased budgets this year have meant players being signed for longer blocks on a more strategic basis. While some teams have gone down the route of hiring internationally retired superstars, such as Deandra Dottin at Thunder and Dane van Niekerk at Sunrisers (neither of whom have set the summer on fire), others have opted for utility all-rounders, like Erin Burns at Sparks and Nadine de Klerk at Blaze.
Neither Burns nor de Klerk are anywhere near superstar territory – Burns has won just 6 caps in a lengthy career, and while de Klerk has played 60-odd, she had a poor World Cup, taking just 2 wickets and finishing the competition as her side’s most expensive bowler. And yet… here we are – de Klerk finishes the group stages of the CE Cup as its leading bowler, having taken 14 wickets at an Economy Rate under 6, with Burns also making the top 10.
The one semi-retired superstar who has had a successful CE Cup is Anya Shrubsole – with Vipers missing key players throughout the competition due to England red-ball warm-ups ahead of the Ashes, their player-coach has stepped-up with 9 wickets, to keep their campaign alive into Finals Day.
The other key player keeping Vipers hanging in there (and compared with previous seasons, it has been a case of “hanging in”) has been Linsey Smith, who ranks 2nd with a tournament-leading economy rate of 4.89, despite having bowled a lot of overs in the powerplay. (And amazingly, that tournament-leading economy rate for once doesn’t need to be caveated with “minimum x overs bowled” – it is actually the real leading rate!)
In terms of future prospects 20-year old Grace Hall, in her first season with Diamonds, might be one to keep an eye on, having out-bowled a lot of bigger names to make it into the top 10. She isn’t super-quick, but with a slingy, almost round-arm action and (appropriately enough for a true-born Yorkshire lass) a great yorker, she offers something a bit different which England might want to be taking an interest in, in the near future.
| Player | Played | Wickets | Economy |
| 1. Nadine de Klerk (Blaze) | 7 | 14 | 5.84 |
| 2. Linsey Smith (Vipers) | 7 | 10 | 4.89 |
| 3. Katie Levick (Diamonds) | 7 | 12 | 6.26 |
| 4. Anya Shrubsole (Vipers) | 6 | 9 | 5.61 |
| 5. Mady Villiers (Sunrisers) | 7 | 10 | 6.36 |
| 6. Georgia Davis (Sparks) | 7 | 8 | 6.00 |
| 7. Tara Norris (Thunder) | 7 | 9 | 7.32 |
| 8. Bethan Ellis (Sparks) | 5 | 9 | 7.34 |
| 9. Grace Hall (Diamonds) | 7 | 10 | 8.22 |
| 10. Erin Burns (Sparks) | 7 | 9 | 7.69 |
Ranking = Wickets / Economy
CRICKETher 
Great performances from all the top 10, and there were plenty of young bowlers who impressed throughout the group stage. Georgia Davis has been brilliant and Mady Villiers seems to be back with a bang, given her useful batting and outstanding fielding skills. The Blaze bowlers have mostly been really good, Grace Ballinger did well and K. Bryce has come into form after a slow start. Linsey Smith has really worked on her game and could easily play for England. On the other end of the spectrum in terms of expectations, Sophia Smale hasn’t had quite the comp she might have hoped to given last year’s successes, but Storm overall have struggled and that can happen with very young players.
It should be a great finals day – chance of any thundery showers has thankfully reduced now.
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