Author: Syd Egan

NEWS: Sophia Dunkley Awarded Full England Contract

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South East Stars batter Sophia Dunkley has been awarded her first full England contract, replacing Kirstie Gordon in the 17-player contracted squad.

Dunkley made her England debut at the T20 World Cup in the West Indies in 2018, and has subsequently made 15 T20 international appearances, most recently last winter during England’s tour of New Zealand. Having made a fine start to the regional season, scoring 104* and 92 for South East Stars, she is widely expected to be a significant part of England’s plans for the next 18 months and beyond.

Dunkley was named as one of South East Stars’ regionally contracted players last year, so technically the Stars now appear to be one contracted players short (all regions in theory should have five centrally funded “pros”); while Kirstie Gordon has moved over to Lightning, who now have a 6th “pro” on their books.

Gordon’s “parachute” move to Lightning illustrates an additional, hitherto unsung benefit of the regional system: it means she avoids the fate of Tash Farrant, who went directly from “England Pro” to “Unemployed” within weeks of losing her England contract in 2019.

Assuming she doesn’t make any further England appearances, Gordon would requalify for Scotland next summer; though if she chose to represent Scotland anew, she would be ineligible to ever play for England again without special dispensation from the ICC. (See section 2 of the ICC’s Eligibility Regs.)

The latest set of England contracts will run until October 2022, to align them with the regional contracts (which run annually between October and October) and ensure that it is easier for players to smoothly transition between the two set-ups.

England Contracted Players (May 2021 – October 2022)

  • Tammy Beaumont (Lightning)
  • Katherine Brunt (Northern Diamonds)
  • Kate Cross (Thunder)
  • Freya Davies (South East Stars)
  • Sophia Dunkley (South East Stars)
  • Sophie Ecclestone (Thunder)
  • Georgia Elwiss (Southern Vipers)
  • Sarah Glenn (Central Sparks)
  • Katie George (Western Storm)
  • Heather Knight (Western Storm)
  • Amy Jones (Central Sparks)
  • Nat Sciver (Northern Diamonds)
  • Anya Shrubsole (Western Storm)
  • Mady Villiers (Sunrisers)
  • Fran Wilson (Sunrisers)
  • Lauren Winfield-Hill (Northern Diamonds)
  • Danni Wyatt (Southern Vipers)

RHF TROPHY: The Race To Be England’s Next Top Wicket Keeper

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When Heather Knight and Lisa Keightley sat down this weekend to pick England’s squad for the upcoming series versus India, the second name on the team sheet, after “Knight, H” was probably “Jones, A”. We can talk at length about who the “best” wicket keeper in the world is, but there is little argument that Amy Jones is in the top two, alongside Australia’s Alyssa Healy; and is currently an automatic pick for England.

For so long the Sorcerer’s Apprentice to Sarah Taylor, Jones has blossomed since Taylor’s retirement, and has now amassed over 100 England caps. But she will be 28 next week and while her days certainly aren’t “numbered”, the question now needs to be asked as to who will succeed her in 4-6 years time when she retires?

This dilemma comes about particularly because there is currently no successor in the England squad – should Jones get injured, England would turn to Tammy Beaumont or Lauren Winfield-Hill to fill in. (Interestingly, Winfield-Hill has been keeping her eye in behind the stumps for the Diamonds in the first 3 rounds of the RHF.)

So, who are the key candidates in the RHF “Proving Ground”?

Three can be ruled out instantly: Carla Rudd (Vipers), Amara Carr (Sunrisers) and Gwenan Davies (Sparks) are all in their late 20s – however good they are, they aren’t going to succeed Jones. The remaining hopefuls are therefore: Sarah Bryce (Lightning), Ellie Threlkeld (Thunder), Nat Wraith (Storm), Rhianna Southby (Stars) and Bess Heath (Diamonds).

Below are their stats to date in the RHF, across both seasons.

Player Team Age Dismissals Runs
Sarah Bryce Lightning 21 5 419
Ellie Threlkeld Thunder 22 9 127
Nat Wraith Storm 19 8 140
Rhianna Southby Stars 20 4 42
Bess Heath Diamonds 19 8 37

Though we are talking about wicket keepers, perhaps the key column here is actually not Dismissals but Runs – all the top international sides these days will prefer a competent keeper who can bat over brilliant glove-work – that’s the reason England would turn to Beaumont or Winfield-Hill if Jones was injured.

This suggests that if she can maintain her form with the bat, Sarah Bryce is currently in pole position. Of course, her allegiance is currently with Scotland, but in a joint interview with her sister Kathryn by ESPNCricinfo’s Matt Roller, neither sister ruled out switching to England, which (because they both live in England) would not require a qualification period.

Bryce’s runs are the standard the others need to aspire to in order to get their names in the hat alongside her. Wraith and Threlkeld both have 50s in the bag in the RHF which prove they can bat, but they’ve both got to convert their starts more regularly. With so much regional cricket being played this season, they will have every opportunity to prove themselves and make that case, as will Southby and Heath, the latter of whom has yet to play this season.

Of course, the actual answer to the original question could be “None of the above”. It is not inconceivable that Amy Jones continues for another 8 years, and her eventual successor is someone who isn’t even on the regional radar yet.

Whoever it turns out to be, Amy Jones will inevitably be a hard act to follow, and the England selectors may need to kiss a few frogs before they find their new princess. Just one thing is certain: England need a wicket keeper – you can’t take to the field without one – so it will be fascinating to see who steps up in the RHF over the next couple of years.

RHF TROPHY: Vipers v Lightning – Paige Scholfield… And How Blocking Out A Maiden Won The Game

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It’s the 45th over of the Vipers’ innings, and they are 202-5 – needing just 13 runs to overhaul Lightning’s total of 214-9.

In perhaps a last throw of the dice, Lightning captain Kathryn Bryce takes the ball herself. It means she won’t bowl the final over; but unless she can produce a bit of magic, she knows the game won’t go that far anyway. And if anyone can produce that bit of something special, it’s her – last season’s top-ranked bowler in the competition.

At the other end of the pitch waits Vipers pro Paige Scholfield, playing her first List A match after having undergone back surgery over the winter. Scholfield is 32*, and although the Vipers’ claim to “bat all the way down” has a degree of plausibility, if you are the opposition, the next wicket gets you into the tail.

In her heart, Scholfield probably knows this too – though she won’t admit it to the likes of us! But it is very much on her – the Vipers have never lost in the RHF… and it is her responsibility to ensure that streak lives to die another day.

Kathryn Bryce has had a week she’d surely rather forget, with Scotland crushed 3-1 by Ireland in Belfast; but every over is a new over, and the first ball is a good one – a yorker on Scholfield’s toes, played to short mid on. No run. The second ball is similar – a low full toss. Again, no run. The third gives Scholfield an inch of width on the off side, but she can’t take advantage, and it’s another dot. The fourth is another good length delivery, which Scholfield can only play straight back to Bryce; while the fifth give Scholfield something to play at, but she hits it straight to the fielder at midwicket.

Five balls; five dots.

And now, the Sliding Doors moment…

In another world, very like the one we live in, Scholfield – who has had the reputation since breaking into the Sussex team as a teenager as a bit of a “See ball; hit ball” kind of player – looks up at the scoreboard, which hasn’t moved in 7 deliveries going back into the previous over, and starts to feel the pressure. She sees a gap in the field over mid on, and decides then and there, that’s where it’s going. As Bryce bowls, she takes a big step down the pitch, but Bryce sees her coming and holds it back just a bit – Scholfield’s huge swing of the bat takes a leading edge, and the ball balloons up into the air, with Bryce taking the catch herself – the first of 5 wickets to fall in the space of two overs, as Vipers collapse and Lightning go on to record what turns out to be only the third most unlikely victory of the day in the RHF.

But this is, of course, not that world. The Paige Scholfield of today is no longer that “See ball; hit ball” teenager – she does the maths, and calmly blocks Bryce’s final delivery. Bryce will have the maiden; but ultimately the Vipers will have the game, taking 9 off the following over to make Bryce’s next over a formality. And though the wicket of Emily Windsor gives a hint of what might have occurred, Vipers close out the win with 3 overs to spare.

Yesterday morning, Central Sparks Director of Cricket, Laura MacLeod expressed her hope on Twitter that this season we would “move the game forwards with skill & power with the bat, control and guise with the ball, agility and anticipation in the field”. Others saw those hopes played out in spades that afternoon, with remarkable come-back wins for Western Storm, and for MacLeod’s own Sparks. We weren’t at those games, but it didn’t mean we couldn’t witness, nevertheless, a little of that same skill, control, and guise… albeit carefully disguised as a determined block, in one ball faced by Paige Scholfield.

MATCH REPORT: Surrey & Hampshire Share A Pair

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The points were shared between Surrey and Hampshire in the latest round of T20 Cup action at Totton & Eling CC in Southampton, with Surrey winning the first match by 4 runs, and Hampshire the second by a DLS adjusted 11 runs.

On a day that was warmer than recent weekends, but which still couldn’t truthfully be described as “warm”, Surrey got off to a racing start batting first in the opening game. Thanks to Alice Capsey (17 off 17) and Amy Gordon (33 off 32) they pillaged 44 runs from the first 5 overs; but the loss of Capsey – caught behind, hanging her bat out to a ball from Gemma Lane which lifted outside off stump – was the beginning of a very long end for Surrey. Having gone at a run rate of nearly 9 in the first 5, they managed considerably less than half that thereafter, finishing on 104 all out off the final ball, with Hampshire’s new secret weapon – mystery spinner Finty Trussler – taking 3 wickets in the last over to top the bowling figures with 3-15.

It was a total which was going to take a fine performance in the field from Surrey to defend; but that’s exactly what they produced – typified by Amy Gordon who took 3 catches in the outfield, including a stunning one-hander over her left shoulder to dismiss Abbie Whybrow in the penultimate over. Despite an innings of 46 not out from Charlie Dean, and a last-ball maximum from Sophie Mitchelmore, Hampshire finished 4 short for the loss of 7 wickets.

With Hampshire batting first in the second game, they chose to bump Mitchelmore up the order, and she didn’t disappoint, making 43* off 42 balls, as Hampshire posted 120-5.

Surrey’s reply was interrupted by rain, eventually leaving them with the task of reaching a DLS adjusted 102 from 16 overs. But with Trussler again in the wickets, taking 3-16, they fell well short, finishing on 90-9 to leave honours even on the day.

MATCH REPORT: Finty Makes Minty As Hampshire Beat Sussex

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Hampshire rebounded from a brace of defeats to Middlesex on the opening day of the county season with two wins against Sussex at the Aldridge Academy in Brighton, thanks to 7 wickets from 17-year-old newcomer Finty Trussler, and 50 runs from the bat of opener Ella Chandler.

Afterwards, Hampshire skipper Charlie Dean told CRICKETher:

“It was a tough start last weekend, but it is good to bounce back with a couple of really good wins.”

“It was a touch pitch to play on, and I think that showed from the scores that were set, but we managed to adapt to it slightly better and ended up on top.”

“Ella was brilliant – it’s good that she can bat through, and she’s really using that role at the top of the order.”

“Finty debuted against Middlesex last weekend – she’s a really exciting leg-spinner, and I think that showed with her figures.”

Having won the toss and elected to bat in the opening game, Chandler and Maia Bouchier got Hampshire off to a racing start. Vipers pro Tara Norris appears to have put on a yard of pace over the winter, but Chandler and Bouchier turned it to their advantage to hit her opening over for 9; and by the end of the powerplay Hampshire had reached 43-2, going at over 7 an over.

Hampshire couldn’t quite keep up that scoring rate, losing wickets periodically through the middle overs; but with Chandler playing the anchor role, batting through to the 18th over for 41 off 50 balls, they finished up on a respectable 114-8.

In reply, Sussex lost Georgia Adams early, bowled by Gemma Lane; but this brought Sarah Taylor to the crease. Taylor reached a characteristically effortless 28 off 24 balls, and looked to be threatening to take the game away from Hampshire, until she was bowled by Charlie Dean with one that kept low.

This opened things up for Trussler to come on and rip through the lower order, taking 4-12 from her 4 overs, including a magnificent low running catch at deep mid on from Western Storm pro Fi Morris to dismiss Millie Taylor – one of no less than four Taylors involved in the match – Millie, twin sister Mary, Southern Viper Charlotte and former England wicket keeper Sarah.

Sussex were eventually bowled out for just 67 from 18 overs, Hampshire winning by a massive 47 runs.

After winning her second toss of the day, Charlie Dean invited Sussex to keep batting, and they made a slightly better fist of things the second time around, reaching 90-5 – Sarah Taylor making 29* off 28, and Georgia Adams 29 off 44, as Trussler picked up another 3 wickets for 13 runs.

In the chase, Ella Chandler was soon into her stride again, but her innings was cut short after she was hit on the helmet by a bouncer that didn’t bounce from Tara Norris, leading her to sensibly retire not out for 9, due to the possibility of concussion.

This left it to Charlie Dean and Fi Morris to scamper home, which they did with 5 overs to spare, for the loss of just 1 wicket – Dean finishing 26* and Morris 47* off 41, to give Hampshire their second win of the day.