Berkshire’s Carla Rudd starred with the bat as the Beavers beat Sussex by 34 runs at North Maidenhead to ensure their survival in Division 1.

Having elected to bowl first – a decision which looked sensible to the visiting eye, but apparently left the locals raising their eyebrows – Sussex were set a total of 277 to chase, and made a strong start, as Georgias Adams (75) and Elwiss (37) and Izzy Collis (34) played positive cricket at the top of the innings, using the powerplay as a launchpad to set the visitors on course at 133-1 off the first 20 overs.

Berkshire needed some luck, and they arguably got it when Collis was inexplicably given out stumped off Linsey Smith, despite being apparently clearly back in her ground.

Smith then went on to take the wickets of Adams (caught by Fi Morris) and Danni Wyatt (caught by Heather Knight for 12) in a crucial spell which tipped the game back in Berkshire’s favour. An unbeaten 43 from Abi Freeborn proved in vain as Berkshire’s attack shared-around the 9 wickets they needed for maximum bonus points, leaving Sussex 34 short at the close, on 243-9.

But it was earlier in the day that the game had really been won, as Berkshire posted 277-6 from their 50 overs. Rachel Priest (52), Sherissa Gumbs (43) and Heather Knight (50) all contributed, but it was a marvellous 79 off 71 balls from Carla Rudd, coming in at 4 to make her highest score in senior cricket, which was the difference between the teams.

Rudd, who had shown promise as a junior but never quite “made it” as a batsman in senior cricket until today, grew in confidence as her innings progressed, finding the boundary with everything from powerful pulls through midwicket, to dinky scoops over the head of the keeper, before eventually falling to the arm of Danni Wyatt, who ran her out with a direct hit from the edge of the circle at cover.

Afterwards we spoke to Rudd, who told us how important the victory was for Berkshire:

“It was a needed win, to make sure we stay up in the 50-Over County Championship, and it was nice to get it today, so we don’t have to rely on the Kent game next week.”

Rudd partly credits her new-found form to working with former England Test batsman Jason Gallian, who is a fellow coach at Felstead School:

“I’ve spent a lot of time with Jason this winter, doing one-to-one stuff, and I feel like I’ve got a different batting mindset and a few more shots that I can use out on the wicket, so it was nice for me to finally spend a bit of time out there and get some runs on the board.”

“There was a lot of turn out there, especially later on, but once you got in the ball was coming on to the bat quite nicely, and if it was short it was sitting up and ‘holding’ so it was nice, especially playing square of the wicket.”

Going into the final two rounds of the County Championship, 5 sides are in danger of relegation from Division 1: Berkshire, Middlesex and Somerset with 2 wins apiece; Surrey with 1; and Staffs, who have yet to win a game. (Remember – 3 sides are relegated this season!)

Berkshire are in the driving seat, as they have racked-up more bonus points than the other threatened teams; but they also have the toughest run-in – they play Sussex today and Kent on the final day. A win on either day would see them safe; but if not it will come down other results, in which case Staffs could do them a favour by beating Surrey today.

Middlesex play Warwickshire today and Staffs on the final day. Like Berkshire, they need to win one of these games, but they will feel confident about beating Staffs on the final day, so they should be safe.

Somerset have Yorkshire and Warwickshire. Broken record alert… they too need to win at least one of these games – but they are already dependent on other results – if Middlesex beat Warwickshire today, they likely need to win both their remaining matches.

Surrey have Staffs, plus a re-arranged game against Sussex. They need to win both matches, or they will almost certainly go down.

Staffs have Surrey and Middlesex. Although they are currently winless with just 9 points (to Berkshire’s 53), the average points system means they can theoretically survive if they win both their remaining games and if everyone else in the relegation zone loses all theirs – unlikely, but stranger things have happened!

The dust may have barely settled over “Battlefield Chelmsford”, but over at Lords thoughts are quickly turning to KSL 2.0, which has already been penciled-into the calendar, with the same six teams contesting a One Day competition in the weeks leading up to the World Cup, and the Twenty20s in a block afterwards.

Whilst the broad picture is clear, there are a lot of details still to be confirmed, as the ECB embark upon a “comprehensive review” of this year’s competition, taking feedback from everyone involved – including the fans, who can have their say by filling out the survey here!

Rumours abound that one thing we may see next year is a “reshuffle” of the teams, and CRICKETher can confirm that not only is this under consideration, but the ECB are also not currently ruling out the possibility of key players competing in different colours in the One Day and T20 competitions.

The desire to keep the competition balanced is a laudable one, certainly from the perspective of the ECB’s goal of “bridging the gap”; but one area where the KSL has been successful well beyond expectations is in building fanbases – plural!

Prior to the competition, we were asked what “success” might look like in terms of match attendances – we mused that an average “gate” of 500 would be pretty good, given that the number of spectators at a typical county match can often be counted on the fingers of one hand.

That the KSL has far exceeded that, is as much as anything down to the hard yards the players put in – visiting clubs, holding coaching sessions, and working the local media. Loyalties were created; but they are still fragile, and they could be torn apart in a moment – and the easiest way of doing that would be to “rob” a young fan of her favourite player; or (worse still) to give her a new favourite player in the One Day competition… and then snatch her away again in the T20s.

Not to mention that the players generally don’t want to move either – they’ve nailed their colours to their masts, as Charlotte Edwards made pretty clear to us in our interview:

“Don’t try and move any of us… everyone is firmly in allegiance with their team!”

Over the longer term, of course, it might have to happen, but moving key players should be a last resort – not least because right now it isn’t even clear that the KSL is “unbalanced” – no team lost all their games, and no team won them all either. Even Lancashire Thunder, who perhaps looked most in need of “bolstering”, having lost their key England player – Sarah Taylor – could so easily have been a very different story, if Danni Wyatt (average 8) and Hayley Matthews (4) had lived up to expectations with the bat.

Building a brand new competition from scratch is a massive challenge – you aren’t going to get everything right, but in the case of KSL the ECB have gotten pretty damn close. Now, like a fine wine, it just needs time to mature… and that won’t happen if you spend too much time opening up the barrell and mixing stuff around!

For our Team of the Tournament we’ve stuck to the same rules as the KSL itself: 3 overseas and 3 England, with the remainder selected from amongst the county and Academy players.

We’ve tried to pick players in their natural batting position – meaning (unluckily) no spot for Lancashire Thunder opener Emma Lamb – and to include a balanced bowling attack of seamers and spinners.

1. Stafanie Taylor (WS / O)
2. Suzie Bates * (SV / O)
3. Heather Knight (WS / E)
4. Nat Sciver (SS /E)
5. Arran Brindle (SV)
6. Ellyse Perry (LL / O)
7. Katherine Brunt (YD /E)
8. Carla Rudd + (SV)
9. Freya Davies (WS)
10. Alex Hartley (SS)
11. Linsey Smith (SV)

O = Overseas; E = England

The top of the batting order pretty-much picks itself – Stafanie Taylor and our captain, Suzie Bates, were the outstanding players of the tournament; whilst Heather Knight and Nat Sciver were the best performing England players in our batting rankings.

For the all-rounders, we’ve gone for Arran Brindle who had a great tournament with the ball and contributed some quick runs coming in late with the bat; Ellyse Perry, who started poorly, but whose class came-good over the competition as a whole; and Katherine Brunt, who showed she really is an all-rounder at this level, contributing vital runs as well as her usual wickets for the Diamonds.

Carla Rudd is our glove-butler, having had a very tidy tournament behind the stumps for the Southern Vipers, also contributing 4 dismissals – all stumpings.

Finally for our bowlers, we’ve selected a seamer – Freya Davies, who took 5 wickets at a very respectable economy rate of 7.4 for an opening bowler; and two spinners – Alex Hartley and Linsey Smith, whose 4-10 for the Vipers versus the Diamonds were the best figures for a spinner in the tournament.

Charlotte Edwards With The KSL Trophy

The inaugural Kia Super League has reached its conclusion, with Southern Vipers lifting the trophy. The key question now is: what next?

There have as yet been no pronouncements about what the competition will look like next summer, aside from the fact that it will be extended to a 50-over tournament which will take place prior to the World Cup.

This seems to raise more questions than it answers – not least whether the teams will remain the same for the 50-over competition as they are for the 20-over competition, given that very few overseas players are expected to be able to participate.

One person who is sure of where she will be next summer, though, is victorious Vipers captain Charlotte Edwards:

“I’m not moving anywhere!” she said after the final on Sunday. “I’m playing next year. Why wouldn’t you?!”

“I’ve loved having a slightly different role. I’m more of a mentor in this team and I’m enjoying the mentoring side off the pitch as much as anything…I’ve actually enjoyed the captaincy more than I have in the last few years.”

For Edwards, too, the idea that players might move between teams is a difficult one to swallow:

“Don’t try and move any of us! This is better than Super Fours where you got moved every week… Everyone is firmly in allegiance with their team.”

Indeed, the ECB might well look to Super Fours – the previous development competition, begun in 2002, which pitted the best 48 players in England against each other – as a learning experience; the teams were so unsettled that no side could really ever develop a proper fanbase, and the competition became purely a selection exercise towards the end of its life.

Edwards recognises, though, that trying to keep the teams stable creates a “headache” for the ECB:

“We [the Vipers] have lost two England contracted players so we’re going to actually gain two England players in our group. It’ll be interesting to see how they go about that, because there’s going to be certain players who don’t want to move.”

Certainly the need for a balanced competition will need to be balanced carefully by the ECB with sustaining the fan loyalty which has built up over the last few weeks.

It is going to be an interesting 12 months!

Yesterday’s KSL Finals Day was really the story of four captains.

Captain One: Georgia Elwiss, the Loughborough Lightning leader. For some KSL teams – Southern Vipers, Western Storm – their choice of captain was obvious; but for Lightning, it was coach Salliann Briggs who decided on Elwiss, after sitting down with a number of her players to talk it through. And who can argue it was the wrong choice? Briggs knows her players inside out; and Elwiss has the intelligence required of an excellent captain.

But she is also one of the least experienced captains in the competition – and inexperience, in a pressure situation, can find you out. There was one odd decision in particular that stood out: with Storm chasing 125, Elwiss chose to open the bowling with seamer Beth Langston, who conceded just 1 run off her first 2 overs – and then never came back on, even when Storm appeared to be cruising to their target.

“My gut instinct was to keep changing the bowlers around,” Elwiss said by way of explanation after the semi-final. It’s probably not the best maxim to live by. By contrast, Vipers bowled Arran Brindle for four overs straight in the final simply because she was clearly making life difficult for the batsmen.

Captain Two: England’s own Heather Knight. It was, of course, her fifty which guided Storm’s chase in the semi-final; and credit to her for that. But equally, after Storm had lost Stafanie Taylor halfway through their innings in the final, it was probably her responsibility to hang around and see them to a good total. She failed to do that, pulling the ball straight to Katie George at deep backward square leg in the 15th over, and you could tell from the way she slammed her bat as she walked off that she was furious with herself.

Then, after Vipers lost Edwards and Bates, Knight had the opportunity to turn the screw on her opponents as they slowly edged towards their target. With 3 overs to go, they still needed 20 runs, and they also needed their captain to keep her cool. But on the second ball of Anya Shrubsole’s over Knight picked up the ball and, without hope of achieving very much, shied at the stumps, earning Sara McGlashan and Lydia Greenway an overthrow. It was the mark of a captain who seemed to be out of options, and wasn’t quite sure what to do.

Shrubsole’s over went for 14 runs and Vipers surged to victory.

Vipers lift the trophy. Photo credit: Ruth Conchie

Captain Three: Charlotte Edwards – a legend if ever there was one; a player who captained England over 200 times, more than anyone else is ever likely to; a player who is used to captaining on the big stage. Edwards downplayed her own role in the post-match press conference – “This team runs itself; I just pull a few strings”, she said – but she also, tellingly, stressed that “I’ve really sensed the team behind me [during the tournament]”. Only the best captains inspire that kind of loyalty.

Edwards’ knowledge and experience mattered twice-over in yesterday’s final. Firstly, she made the decision to bring Arran Brindle into the attack in the 9th over, and bowl her for four overs straight – a spell in which she conceded just 15 runs, and removed both Stafanie Taylor and Knight from the reckoning. It turned things in the Vipers favour. Another captain might have hesitated to bowl Brindle; might have turned elsewhere. Edwards – good friends with her for so many years now – knew exactly what she was capable of.

And then, of course, there was her 24 off 18 balls to lay the foundations for Vipers’ successful run chase. While Edwards hasn’t shone with the bat during Super League, it showed what she so often displayed for England – that on the days when it really matters, she will come through. “I kept backing myself,” she said, after raising the trophy aloft. “I really enjoyed today. This is what I miss playing in and I love these sort of occasions.”

It’s not that Edwards was seeking revenge – she has said repeatedly that she is not bitter about Mark Robinson’s decision – but if she was, winning the inaugural KSL wouldn’t be a bad way to show Robinson and everyone else that she has damn well still got it. Just in case we ever doubted it.

The Victorious Captain. Photo Credit: Ruth Conchie

But I said four captains – and no, I didn’t lose count! Because Vipers didn’t just have one captain out there on the field yesterday, they had two.

Suzie Bates was instrumental in Vipers’ path to the final, both with the bat – with scores of 25, 15, 45*, 57 and 38 – and in the way she so calmly stepped into Edwards’ shoes halfway through the first game, even when Vipers had just seen their captain limping off the pitch with a likely concussion. Even since she returned to resume the captain’s mantle in the third game, we’ve seen the unfamiliar sight of Edwards – not the most collaborative of captains towards the end of her England reign – being instructed where to field not by a bowler, but by the current New Zealand skipper.

“When you’ve got experience around you,” Edwards said, paying tribute to Bates after the final concluded, “that’s what really helps.” Bates might have been just pipped by Stafanie Taylor for Player of the Tournament, but it was a close run thing. Vipers will surely be hoping that she’ll be back in orange for next year’s Super League.

Both this morning’s semi-final and this afternoon’s final followed a similar pattern – the targets set (124 in the semi-final and 140 in the final) looked slightly light, as the chasing side got off to a strong start; but wickets offered a glimmer of hope for the defending team… only to see that hope fall away at the end.

The semi-final was maybe a little scrappy as nervous players batted with perhaps slightly less positivity than we might have expected – for the Lightning, only Ellyse Perry, and Thea Brookes coming in right at the end, posted strike-rates in excess of 100.

In reply, the Storm appeared to be cruising, but perhaps it was all looking a little too easy, as losses of concentration saw a mini-collapse with 3 wickets falling in 9 balls. With 4 balls left, Georgia Hennessy and Sophie Luff were both on 0 from 0 balls with the scores level. Hope. But thankfully for the Storm, Hennessy had the one shot in her, and kept her head to drive them into the final with a 4 through midwicket.

The final began quietly for the Storm – just 2 runs apiece from the first 2 overs, as Stafanie Taylor (later to be named Player of the Tournament) played it cool before looking to accelerate later on. Such a tactic, however, only works if you are still there to accelerate later on, and once the Storm lost Taylor the run rate began to slow and the momentum never really came, at least partly down to Arran Brindle bowling her 4 overs straight for just 15 runs.

Nevertheless, the Storm’s total of 140 was a deal more than had won the earlier game, so there was hope there, even as Charlotte Edwards and Suzie Bates reached 78 without loss. The Storm needed wickets badly and they got them, with Edwards and Bates falling in quick succession. Again, hope. But with Sara McGlashan and Lydia Greenway coming to the crease together, with over 400 international caps between them, the experience was there in spades to guide the Vipers home.

Afterwards Charlotte Edwards reflected on a summer that began in the most difficult circumstances with the loss of the England captaincy, but has ended with her lifting the Super League trophy:

“I’ve had to deal with quite a lot this summer but the girls have backed me 110%. You hope you get to Finals Day and then put in a performance like that. I think it’s been brilliant to be part of this group for the last 3 or 4 months and watch them grow and develop as players and people has been really special. I’m sure we’ll enjoy tonight celebrating what was a brilliant win.”

Martin Saxon reports from the Cheshire Women’s League Finals Day.

T20 Divisional Competition Final:

Appleton Tigers 94-6 (20; Emma Barlow 25ret, Lorna Starkey 2-13)

Chester Boughton Hall Deemons 96-5 (19.3; Starkey 25ret, Sammi Short 25ret, Kathryn Jackson 2-23)

The Cheshire Women’s League has been holding double-header Finals Days ever since 2008, but today went one better and staged three finals on the same pitch on the same day. The best was certainly saved for last as Western Division T20 champions Chester Boughton Hall sneaked past the target set by Eastern Division winners Appleton with just three balls to spare.

It was 13 year old Hannah Snape who finished the job by lofting experienced Appleton captain Nathalie Long to the midwicket boundary with both the second and third balls of the final over.

Appleton certainly posted a more than decent total batting first, with Emma Barlow getting them off to a good start, and Laura Jackson and Kathryn Jackson adding vital impetus later on.

Lorna Starkey got Chester off to a good start, and when she reached the retirement score of 25, she had scored almost all of the 30 runs that came in the first seven overs. But when two dangerous batsmen in Kate Coppack and Lauren O’Reilly fell cheaply, Appleton looked to be favourites.

Sammi Short, who had played second fiddle to the big hitters earlier on, then took charge and herself reached 25 before being forced to retire – by that stage she had reduced the runs required to single figures. Given that Short had earlier bowled three overs for just three runs, this was another young talent who played a significant part in the Deemons’ victory.

However, two wickets fell to run outs as the pressure mounted, Laura Jackson came back to bowl more miserly overs, and with the lower order at the crease and seven required from five balls, would Chester get over the line? Thanks to Snape’s final flourish the answer was a decisive Yes.

Scorecard

Chester and Appleton have of course met in finals on a number of previous occasions, and given the recent results in those matches, it was no surprise this went right to the wire. Only the first two resulted in decisive wins, and all the others have been genuine nailbiters:

2007 – Knockout Final – Chester won by 97 runs

2008 – Knockout Final – Chester won by 9 wickets

2010 – Knockout Final – Appleton won by 1 run

2010 – T20 Divisional Final – Appleton won by 5 wickets with 1 ball to spare

2012 – T20 Divisional Final – Chester won on faster run rate, after being 1 run ahead of where they needed to be when rain halted play

Senior Knockout Cup Final:

Oakmere Kats 34 (15.2; Lauren Smith 2-8, Hannah Jones 2-10)

Didsbury Swordettes 35-1 (8.5; Smith 17*)

Didsbury have made some formidable totals in T20 cricket this season while batting first, but here the job was all but done in the first eight overs of their bowling innings, as Oakmere imploded.

By the time Hannah Jones and Lauren Smith had taken their caps, having bowled unchanged for four overs each as the opening pair, Oakmere were 19-8. The two young Lancashire spinners had undoubtedly bowled well, with figures of 2-10 and 2-8 respectively, but Oakmere certainly contributed to their own downfall with four run outs.

Australia A all-rounder Smith then hit some fine shots to ensure the Swordettes’ brief run chase was successful.

Scorecard

Development Knockout Cup Final:

Leigh Lionesses 96-5 (20; Georgia Taylor 25ret, Emily Mason 3-9)

Bredbury Saints 73-6 (20; Alex Wilson 26ret, Sarah Perry 3-14)

Division three leaders Leigh retained the Development Cup – the knockout competition exclusively for teams from that division.

The only two experienced players in a very young Leigh side – Nicky Deane and Sarah Perry – fell cheaply, but from 24-3, Georgia Taylor and Rachel Downs batted superbly, rotating the strike well and running well between the wickets, to ensure Bredbury would need almost 100 to win. Emily Mason contributed excellent figures of 3-9 and Alex Wilson conceded just 11 in her four overs.

Abi Barlow and Wilson took the Saints to 28-0 after five overs, but once the first wicket had fallen, things turned Leigh’s way. Perry’s bowling spell then snuffed out any remaining threat from the Stockport side.

Scorecard

The League extends its thanks to Finals Day hosts Timperley CC and umpires Keith Wells, Steve Jackson and Graham Pugh, the last two of which were on the ground from 9.30am, an hour before the first match, until the close of the last match after 7pm.

Very few women’s club leagues offer this type of cup final experience. However the heart-stopping finale to Chester’s T20 Divisional triumph illustrated just how entertaining a Finals Day can be.

James Piechowski reports from the Ageas Bowl.

Result: Southern Vipers (156-4) beat Loughborough Lightning (97) by 59 runs

Both sides may have already qualified for finals day going into this match, but it was far from a dead rubber. The sizeable crowd that turned up on a hot Sunday afternoon in Southampton saw a superb display with bat and ball, and in the field, from the Southern Vipers.

It was still possible for either side to top the table with a win here (or, indeed, Western Storm to spoil the party with a big win of their own at Headingley against the Diamonds, in the event of a close game here). But in the end, the Vipers were not in the mood to let anything slip, and had too much for a Lightning side that may have been a bit unlucky with the bat, but gave probably their weakest display yet otherwise.

The Ageas Bowl pitch, slow as is often the case these days, had a tinge of green on it this time, and seemed to contain more runs for the Vipers, as they got off to a solid start. Charlotte Edwards, who missed the first 2 batting innings for the Vipers due to injury, has since got going with her run-scoring but is still not looking at her fluent best.

It was Suzie Bates, the irrepressible captain of New Zealand, that got Vipers off to a flyer, taking them to 64/1 in the 8th over before falling to Sonia Odedra. Scoring 38 off 24 balls, she drove serenely over the top and along the deck, striking 6 fours and a massive 6 over long-off. Georgia Adams provided capable support, with a cameo of 17 before Sara McGlashan (34*) and Lydia Greenway (29) took over, both testing out the ground-fielding skills of the Lightning by working the ball around adeptly into gaps, running hard for ones and twos. They added 62 together in 8.3 overs, and by the time Becky Grundy bowled Greenway going for another reverse, Vipers had already scored 142. Lightning had hardly been ragged in the field, but after Bates’ blitz, they were simply pulled from pillar to post by two of the women’s game’s great accumulators.

Lightning captain Georgia Elwiss tried everything she could to mix up the bowling and keep the attack unpredictable, and indeed it was the 8th over before Lightning used a bowler for a second over. They are a truly flexible bowling unit – a characteristic obtained by possessing so many quality all-rounders.

But here it was only Odedra (1-20) and Grundy (2-24) who really managed to contain the Vipers. The others delivered a few too many wayward balls. Maybe they have too many bowling options, meaning that on game days, it’s difficult to choose who to turn to. In any event, Vipers finished on 156/4, a daunting total and their highest yet in the KSL.

Lightning got off to a decent start, and it took until the fifth over and the introduction of Linsey Smith (3-16), the slow left-armer, for the wickets to start falling. Smith dismissed Van Niekerk and Devine, both internationals, clean bowled, and went on the take the vital wicket of Eve Jones. Unerringly accurate, Smith attacks the stumps effectively and has enough subtle deception to best top-line batsmen. There is some debate about whether she would be able to continue this at international level, or if she would be rapidly found out. But in either case, she is clearly enjoying herself, and we won’t know what she could do until she is given an opportunity to play with an England development squad. England coach Mark Robinson, who was at this game, would have at least taken note of this upcoming prospect.

It was Eve Jones (33 from 31) who most impressed me for the Lightning, with the bat. Mainly an off-side player, Jones the left-hander has a free-flowing, languid style which is not dissimilar from current England men’s favourite Moeen Ali. Hence, she is very aesthetically pleasing to watch. With her nonchalant, almost casual approach, I have no doubt she will give some chances away, but if she gets in, could score many runs. She was sent back to the dugout by Smith, adjudged lbw, and in came her namesake Amy with the score on 36-3. Eve had scored 33 of those runs.

Ellyse Perry came to the crease in the 5th over, and did not leave until the 18th. She played a customary calm, composed innings. I sense she was somewhat subdued, content to score solidly at a run a ball and anchor the innings. She had hoped for more cameos to support her, and it was only when she started to run out of partners that she decided to go big. Perry managed to hit a couple more boundaries, but it wasn’t enough and in the end she holed out to Brindle (3-24), only finding the safe hands of Suzie Bates in the deep on the leg side.

Arran Brindle, the former England all-rounder, can seemingly do no wrong. She looks dynamic at the crease, missing out on nothing, and is dependable with the ball, proving difficult to get away. Amy Jones, having struggled to get going, was dismissed when she was bowled trying to cut her away. After the fifth wicket was down, Lightning were in the position of needing 83 from 6 overs, an unlikely task, and so it proved. Paige Scholfield and Thea Brookes, having made a very close chase against the Thunder, got no luck this time and in the end Lightning finished tamely, bowled out for 97.

Vipers had produced a brilliant bowling and fielding display, dropping a couple of tough chances, but it was of little concern, as most of the shots that Lightning played in aerial fashion seemed to home in towards a grateful Viper’s hands. The Vipers bowlers’ figures also included 2-11 for Bates, and 1-15 for a continually impressive Katie George.

Vipers go into the KSL final next Sunday at Chelmsford, full of confidence. They are a tough side to beat and can make a solid innings total, from bad starts and good starts alike. In the field they are tight and organised, and give away little with the ball. As for Lightning, they will want to take their learnings and quickly forget this disappointing performance. They can then focus on challenging a strong Western Storm side in their semi-final, so that they take some momentum into a potential return fixture of this match and can – they will hope – take revenge.

New Zealand Cricket have announced that they have reached agreement with the New Zealand Cricket Players Association on new central contracts for the White Ferns women’s team, which will offer more players a lot more money. Combined with the opportunity to play in overseas leagues such as WBBL, this will bring many of the squad much closer to full time professional status.

Previously 10 New Zealand players were on retainers of up to NZD $10,000, which when combined with match fees could bring their income up to around NZD $25,000.

The new contracts cover 15 players, with a retainer of between NZD $20,000 and up to NZD $34,000, and match fees of NZD $400 for ODIs and $300 for T20s, which will see the top players earning well over NZD $40,000, even before WBBL etc..

As a point of comparison New Zealand’s minimum wage for adults is around NZD $32,000, so CRICKETher’s apocryphal Ferrari dealer again isn’t going to get too excited; but especially for the players who currently are outside of the retainer structure, this is going to be a literally life-changing opportunity to put cricket first, which can only be for the good of the wider game both in New Zealand and more generally.