The ECB’s announcement yesterday of the venues for the men’s “City T20” league effectively confirms the hosts for this competition, and by implication the shape of the aligned women’s tournament which is expected to replace the Kia Super League from 2020.

The 8 venues are:

• Hampshire
• Warwickshire/ Birmingham
• Yorkshire
• Surrey
• Middlesex
• Lancashire
• Glamorgan
• Nottinghamshire

Although no official announcement has been made by the ECB regarding the future of the KSL, a recent job advertisement posted on the ECB’s web site indicated that the board were “exploring launching a women’s competition running in parallel with the same format and the same team brands [as the men]” and the fact that Kia’s sponsorship of the Super League was recently renewed only until 2019 strongly suggests that the word “exploring” might be better understood in this case as “we are going to do this, whether you like it or not”!

Assuming that an aligned women’s competition is in the works, the implications will vary very much on a team-by-team basis.

The Southern Vipers and Surrey Stars will both morph almost seamlessly into the new City T20 structure – validating the investments that Hampshire and Surrey have been putting in, presumably partly on the assumption that this was exactly what would eventually happen.

Things are a little different at the two “Roses” teams, because Yorkshire and Lancashire Cricket Clubs have both been a bit more hands-off, leaving responsibility for KSL effectively sitting with the folks who run the local Boards. Traditionally, women’s county cricket has been run in the first-class counties by the amateur “Boards” responsible for recreational cricket, not the professional (men’s) “Clubs”. But nevertheless for the non-marquee players things should pretty much carry on as normal.

Where things will most definitely not “carry on as normal” is at the Western Storm. Although the Storm have built up a substantial fan-base of “Storm Troopers” who coloured Finals Day green last September, they have no obvious successor team and their players will all have to wonder where, or even if, they will be playing from 2020 – Wales might not be far from Somerset “as the x-wing flies” but it is a heck of a drive in a landspeeder!!

Things are maybe a little less dark at the Loughborough Lightning however, because of their proximity to Nottinghamshire. With the facilities available at Loughborough, it is possible that the Lightning will effectively just become the “Not-Nottinghamshire* Outlaws” and could even continue playing at Loughborough; whilst some of the fringe players at the Lightning might be excited to take advantage of the opportunities which will also open up at the Midlands’ other franchise – Warwickshire.

* The ECB have indicated that the City T20 teams will not have geographical names.

The White Ferns squads have been announced for their up-coming ODI and T20 series versus the West Indies, with coach Haidee Tiffen keeping a firm eye on the future as New Zealand look towards a home World Cup in 2021.

The ODI squad includes two potential debutantes: left-arm seamer Kate Heffernan and batsman Lauren Down, with Tiffen saying:

“We see an immense amount of potential in Kate, particularly as we look ahead a bit further to a World Cup in New Zealand in 2021… and we also think [Lauren’s] one for the future – she’s explosive with the bat and is a terrific fielder across the park.”

After a successful Women’s Big Bash with the Melbourne Renegades where she placed 12th in our bowling rankings with 15 wickets at a shade over 6, Hayley Jensen earns a recall to the T20 squad; but despite Tiffen saying that the squads were “picked on form” there is still no room for keeper-batsman Rachel Priest, despite her scoring over 250 runs at a Strike Rate of 119 in WBBL.

Meanwhile spinner Erin Bermingham has decided to take an indefinite break from international cricket and was not available for either squad.

ODI Squad

• Suzie Bates (c) (Otago Sparks)
• Sophie Devine (Wellington Blaze)
• Lauren Down (Auckland Hearts)
• Kate Ebrahim (Canterbury Magicians)
• Maddy Green (Auckland Hearts)
• Holly Huddleston (Auckland Hearts)
• Leigh Kasperek (Otago Sparks)
• Amelia Kerr (Wellington Blaze)
• Katey Martin (Otago Sparks)
• Anna Peterson (Auckland Hearts)
• Hannah Rowe (Central Hinds)
• Amy Satterthwaite (VC) (Canterbury Magicians)
• Lea Tahuhu (Canterbury Magicians)

T20 Squad

• Suzie Bates (c) (Otago Sparks)
• Sophie Devine (Wellington Blaze)
• Natalie Dodd (Northern Spirit)
• Maddy Green (Auckland Hearts)
• Kate Heffernan (Otago Sparks)
• Hayley Jensen (Melbourne Renegades)
• Leigh Kasperek (Otago Sparks)
• Amelia Kerr (Wellington Blaze)
• Katey Martin (Otago Sparks)
• Anna Peterson (Auckland Hearts)
• Hannah Rowe (Central Hinds)
• Amy Satterthwaite (VC) (Canterbury Magicians)
• Lea Tahuhu (Canterbury Magicians)

Whilst younger England women decided to take a pass on this season’s WBBL, after a gruelling six months which included the World Cup, Kia Super League and the Women’s Ashes; Katherine Brunt soldiered back to Perth for a third successive year, and promptly set about showing the world that fast bowling still has a place in the women’s game, taking 23 wickets at an Economy Rate (4.83) bettered only by Marizanne Kapp (4.72). Brunt and Kapp were in fact the only two bowlers to deliver an Economy Rate of under 5 – a feat no one at all achieved last season – and that despite a huge 8% increase in runs bashed by the batsmen in WBBL03.

Last year’s leading wicket-take Sarah Aley also took 23 wickets, but ranks No. 2 due to a lower Economy Rate; whilst Dane van Niekerk made it to No. 3 with 20 wickets at 5.57, despite playing just 12 games before heading back to South Africa for their international series with India.

The leading non-international bowler was Sam Bates. Another in the long tradition of spinners who started out as fast bowlers, only turning to spin after catastrophic injury threatened to end her career, Bates finished the season with 16 wickets at 5.87, opening the bowling for the Sydney Thunder.

Bowling Ranking = Wickets / Economy

If you were writing a brief history of WBBL03, you might not even mention Elyse Villani. She didn’t lift the trophy (Ellyse Perry), score the most runs (Prerry, again, with 552), hit the biggest hundred (Ashleigh Gardner’s 114 on the opening weekend v the Stars) or finish the season with the highest Strike Rate (Beth Mooney, at 144). And yet, there she is – at the top of the rankings, having hit almost as many runs as Perry, at a much better Strike Rate.

At Nos. 2 and 3, Beth Mooney and Alyssa Healy also leapfrog Perry at No. 4 thanks to their superior Strike Rates. Mooney in particular will probably look back on this season with some disappointment, after the Heat were narrowly pipped to the semi-finals by the Strikers. (They say the table never lies, but in the battle for 4th place this year it is certainly being somewhat economical with the truth – the Strikers might have finished two points ahead, but only because the Heat lost their final match chasing a little too hard to up their Net Run Rate.) Nonetheless Mooney has taken the opportunity to underline her outstanding performances in the Women’s Ashes T20s and nail-down her spot at the top of the Aussie’s T20 batting order ahead of WWT20 in the West Indies later this year.

The highest-ranking non-international player was “Young Gun” Sophie Molineux at No. 13 – you’d have thought her chances of making WWT20 are pretty-much zero with the Southern Stars so chock-full of batting talent, but it will be interesting to see if they give her a go at some point in any one of the 500 warm-ups they have scheduled over the next few months.

Batting Ranking = Runs * Strike Rate

When: Friday @ 4.10am in the UK

Where: BT Sport

Adelaide Strikers

Batting

In Form

• Suzie Bates – After bombing in the first two editions of WBBL, coming 7th and last, the Strikers needed a big signing for WBBL03, and the New Zealand captain has not disappointed – scoring 420 runs at a Strike Rate of 110.
• Sophie Devine – Now in her 3rd season with the Strikers, Devine has had her best WBBL yet – posting 348 runs at 118.

Watch Out For

• Bridget Patterson – Patterson is 23 now, and dreams of playing internationally have probably long-since sailed – though as 33 year old Sarah Aley would testify, you should never say never – but coming in at 5, she has been making a good habit of hitting a useful quick 20 or 30, to finish the group stages with 213 runs at 112.

Bowling

In Form

• Amanda-Jade Wellington – With 16 wickets at an Economy Rate of 6.49, Wellington is the Strikers’ leading wicket-taker.
• Sophie Devine – Emphasising her all-round value, Devine is only 1 wicket behind Wellington, with 15 wickets at 6.29.

Watch Out For

• Megan Schutt – Schutt might not have taken as many wickets this year as she would have liked, but she has been by far the Strikers most economical bowler, with 11 wickets at 5.85, playing a crucial role in pegging-back the Strikers opponents in the PowerPlay overs.

Sydney Sixers

Batting

In Form

• Alyssa Healy – With 378 runs (including a century) at a huge Strike Rate of 141, Healy’s numbers mask the fact that she has been a bit hit or miss this season, with a couple of ducks in amongst a number of single-figure scores. However, she has come good at the right time, with 106 and 63 in Sixers last two group games against… the Strikers!
• Ellyse Perry – Perry has racked-up exactly 500 runs so far in WBBL03, in her usual manner – she starts slowly but makes up for it later. The trick is to get her out for 20 off 30 balls… or she’ll punish you with 50 off 40!

Watch Out For

• Erin Burns – Burns’ move from the Hurricanes to the Sixers seems to have worked out well for everyone… except the Hurricanes, who have really missed her! With 260 runs at 116, she has been a crucial backstop when the bigger names have struck-out.

Bowling

In Form

• Dane van Niekerk Marizanne Kapp Sarah Aley – With the Sixers two key bowlers (Dane van Niekerk, with 20 wickets; and Marizanne Kapp, with her unbelievable Economy Rate of 4.72) having both disappeared back to South Africa for international duty, there is a huge burden on Aley to perform in the post-season; but with 18 wickets at 6.37 she has shown that if anyone can step up, she can.
• Sarah Coyte – Coaxed out of retirement to replace Kapp, Coyte has bowled like she’s never been away – taking 5 wickets in two games, at an Economy Rate of 4.00.

Watch Out For

• Kim Garth – The Irish bowling all-rounder has mostly had to play second-fiddle to her more established team-mates in this WBBL, filling in her overs here and there, but has still managed to take 10 wickets – that’s (whisper it!) twice as many as a certain “Ellyse Perry” has chalked-up this season, and at a better Economy Rate (6.12 vs 7.08) too!

When: Thursday @ 4.10am in the UK

Where: BT Sport

Perth Scorchers

Batting

In Form

• Elyse Villani – The captain has led from the front this season with 481 runs at a Strike Rate of 134.
• Nicole Bolton – Has made her case for a return to the Southern Stars T20 side she was dropped from in 2016, with 440 runs at 101.

Watch Out For

• Lauren Ebsary – The 34-year-old veteran has played a crucial role down the order for the Scorchers, with 155 runs at 117.

Bowling

In Form

• Katherine Brunt – The leading wicket-taker in WBBL03, with 22 wickets; and the lowest Economy Rate in the competition*, going at just 4.61 runs per over.
• Piepa Cleary – With 12 wickets and an Economy Rate of 6.02, her medium pace has kept things tight in the middle overs.

Watch Out For

• Nat Sciver – The England all-rounder hasn’t had a great WBBL with the ball, taking just 4 wickets at 7.78 – so she is due a performance, and she likes a big stage!

Sydney Thunder

Batting

In Form

• Rachel Haynes – The Southern Stars stand-in skipper might not actually be Meg Lanning, but she has been doing a pretty good impression recently – leading the Aussies as they retained the Women’s Ashes, and scoring 425 runs in WBBL, at a Strike Rate of 121.
• Alex Blackwell – The Thunder captain has been her usual solid presence in the middle order, making 329 runs at 99.

Watch Out For

• Naomi Stalenberg – She might have slipped slightly out of the limelight recently, with the emergence of Beth Mooney and Ashleigh Gardner; but she has still made 226 runs at 115 in WBBL03, with a top score of 48.

Bowling

In Form

• Rene Farrell – With 17 wickets at 5.85, the semi-retired Southern Star (she quit ODIs but remains theoretically available for T20 selection) continues to show that whatever “it” is… she’s still got it!
• Sam Bates – The young left-arm spinner has had a break-out season for the Thunder, taking 16 wickets at 5.78.

Watch Out For

• Belinda Vakarewa – Vakarewa narrowly missed-out on Women’s Ashes selection this time, but she has had a good WBBL with 11 wickets at an impressive Economy Rate of 5.53 – is this her big chance to make a case to add to her 1 (so far) international cap?

——————–

* Minimum 10 overs bowled!

After the long World Cup summer, followed immediately by the Women’s Ashes, the English contingent at the WBBL was reduced to just 5 this season – so at (roughly) the half-way point in the season, how have they all been doing?

The leading English player this term has undoubtedly been Katherine Brunt at the Scorchers, who has taken 11 wickets at a very economical 4.78 runs-per-over – this ranks her 2nd overall in WBBL, behind only Dane van Niekerk with 16 wickets at 5.37.

Also at the Scorchers, Nat Sciver ranks 10th overall with the bat, having hit 197 runs at a Strike Rate of 132. (Though to put this in a little perspective, 8 players have scored over 50 runs at a better Strike Rate.) However, Sciver has been much less successful with the ball – she has bowled 22 overs in all (only one less than Brunt) but has taken just 2 wickets, conceding an expensive 9.45 runs-per-over.

Opening the batting with Suzie Bates for the Strikers, Tammy Beaumont has been a solid performer, averaging 24; whilst at the Stars, Georgia Elwiss has made herself a reliable presence in the middle-order, including a match-winning (and player-of-the-match-winning) 59* against the Renegades last weekend.

Finally, Lauren Winfield has had a bit of a nightmare with the Hurricanes, who are propping-up the table without a win so far. Winfield started the season opening the batting, but has subsequently slipped down into the middle-order – it doesn’t seem to have helped much though, and she currently averages just 9 with a top score of only 15.

Tammy Beaumont
Adelaide Strikers
Runs: 195
Highest Score: 46
Strike Rate: 98

Katherine Brunt
Perth Scorchers
Runs: 68
Highest Score: 29
Strike Rate: 81
Wickets: 11
Economy: 4.78

Georgia Elwiss
Melbourne Stars
Runs: 118
Highest Score: 59*
Strike Rate: 105
Wickets: 2
Economy: 7.94

Nat Sciver
Perth Scorchers
Runs: 197
Highest Score: 84
Strike Rate: 132
Wickets: 2
Economy: 9.45

Lauren Winfield
Hobart Hurricanes
Runs: 72
Highest Score: 15
Strike Rate: 80

JANUARY: Rachael Heyhoe Flint Died on 18th January – at which ground did she make her highest Test score of 179?

• The Oval

FEBRUARY: Who won the World Cup Qualifying Tournament in Colombo?

• India

MARCH: Who was the highest run-scorer in the Rose Bowl ODI Series between Australia and New Zealand?

• Beth Mooney

APRIL: Rene Farrell announced her ODI retirement in March, after how many ODIs?

• 44

MAY: Which New Zealander scored 122 off 78 balls against Middlesex in the County Championship?

• Sophie Devine

JUNE: Who were the first team to win a match at the World Cup?

• New Zealand

JULY: Who ran out Sarah Taylor for 54 in England’s narrow World Cup semi-final win v South Africa?

• Dane van Niekerk

AUGUST: Lancashire won the Women’s County Championship, but who came second by just 1 point?

• Yorkshire

SEPTEMBER: The Western Storm won the Kia Super League – who was their leading wicket taker?

• Stafanie Taylor

OCTOBER: With the Women’s Ashes in progress, what was the series points score on the last day of October?

• Australia 4 – 2 England

NOVEMBER: Who recorded their first ever ODI victory over New Zealand on November 5th?

• Pakistan

DECEMBER: Who replaced injured Heather Knight as captain of Hobart Hurricanes in WBBL?

• Corinne Hall