As another domestic season draws to a close in England, the counties prepare for their long winter hibernation… but what kind of a world will they wake up to next spring? The truth is that nobody – not even those “in the know” – actually knows.

What we do know is that the ECB are clearly determined to press ahead with the 50-Over Kia Super League; but where this leaves the counties – especially the Div 1 counties, who share a lot of players with KSL – nobody is quite sure: the ECB are currently conducting a review of this year’s KSL, from which will emerge a strategy for next year, but this means that at the moment there is quite simply no information.

Information, however, abhors a vacuum, and in its place, rumours fly uncontrollably. In the past few weeks we’ve heard speculation covering every base from: (a) the County Championship will be effectively abolished in its current “national” form, and replaced by a regional competition; to (z) the KSL-50 will be played on Wednesdays to allow all the players to continue to play the County Championship on Sundays.

Meanwhile the counties themselves are trying to draw up winter training programs, but the information vacuum has left them writing them up on a blackboard… in black chalk… in the dark!

Berkshire, for example, want to build over the winter, but they simply don’t know which players they will have – they have already lost 3 of the squad to “retirements” – Amanda Potgieter, off to start a new life in New Zealand; Alex Rogers, off to do the same in Australia; and Rachel Hardy, off to college in America on a football (soccer) scholarship. Now they face the possibility of maybe losing Heather Knight, Linsey Smith, Carla Rudd, Lissy Macleod, Fi Morris and Daisy Gardner too – all to KSL-50.

That’s pretty-much their entire 1st XI, which is sad, but ironically not actually the real point – it is that word “maybe” which is killing them. How can they even select their winter training squads, let alone book gyms and nets, when they don’t know which players they’ve got, or which competitions they will be competing in?

Sussex meanwhile are potentially in even more of a pickle – they have massively restructured and professionalised their women’s program, taking the “business” side of it fully into Sussex CCC, and building a new “Women’s Academy” – a huge investment, presumably based on the premise that county remains the seat of elite women’s cricket in this country. Are they now potentially about to have the rug pulled away from beneath their feet and discover that that is no longer the case, if the county championship is indeed effectively consigned to a regional development structure?

Again, we emphasise, these are all “ifs” – nobody knows – but to quote John Cleese’s character in the movie Clockwise – “I can take the despair – it’s the hope I can’t stand” – and that’s how the counties feel right now.

Answers are needed… and they are needed soon.

Guest reporter Ben Gardner was at the Oval on Thursday to watch a composed innings by Tammy Beaumont.

Tammy Beaumont walks out with Bryony Smith, bats in hand. Surrey Stars are chasing 134, and defeat will make it almost impossible to qualify for Finals Day. They are the most bowler-heavy team in the tournament, with most of the run scoring responsibility falling on the shoulders of Beaumont, and her England teammate Nat Sciver. In a format famous for its smash and grabs and 10 ball cameos, playing with responsibility its own special challenge, but it is one that Beaumont will thrive on.

It is Beaumont who takes strike for the first over. The bowler is Katharine Brunt, who is breathing fire, having smashed one of the longest sixes in the competition minutes previously. Beaumont leaves the second ball of the innings, and then nudges a single. Her opening partner, 18 year old Bryony Smith, follows her lead, and leaves the first two balls she faces. It is the first over of a T20 innings, but apart from the colour of the clothing, you wouldn’t know it wasn’t a Test match.

After 4 overs of their innings, Surrey are handily placed on 26/0. But 16 of those came off one Spragg over, containing 5 wides, and you get the sense she won’t bowl again. Surrey have seen Yorkshire Diamonds slip away after a strong start, and know that this could be the best time to bat; with pace on the ball, in the Powerplay. Brunt, who has conceded just 3 off 2 overs, returns to bowl her third. Smith so far has 1 off 7 Brunt balls.

Backward point. Midwicket. Cover. Cover. On both sides of the wicket, off front and back foot, Smith hammers Brunt. In front of over 2000 people, this 18 year old has announced herself in spectacular fashion. She has taken her time and exploded. Smith will later say Beaumont talked to her between every ball, giving advice. If just one of those pieces of advice was to give herself a chance, to make sure she’s seeing it properly before going for it, Beaumont deserves credit. It is certainly the example she set with her own innings.

At the end of the Powerplay, Surrey have 50, and the required rate is barely over a run a ball. They are well ahead of the game, but there is much left to be done. Too cautious an approach could see the rate spiral, but taking undue risks could lead to a collapse, and Beaumont plays it to perfection.

Her running is superb, turning twos into threes, and even stealing singles for her partner; when Nat Sciver nudges one behind her on the leg side, Beaumont calls confidently and scampers straight away, knowing she is running to the danger end, and backing herself to make it.

It is Sciver who will finish the game, ending on 29 off 24. But it is a cameo enabled by Beaumont’s strike rotation; from the start of Sciver’s innings until the start of the 16th over, she faces 18 balls while Beaumont faces just 7. From the end of the Powerplay up to this point, Beaumont faces 19 balls, scores just one boundary, but still scores 18 runs. It is a masterclass in keeping the scoreboard ticking over, and Beaumont never seems to be struggling to see where the next run will come from.

Beaumont’s acceleration, as with much else in her innings, is timed perfectly. She picks the bowler and the over, targeting Stephanie Butler’s spin in the 16th. She dabs and reverse sweeps her to the boundary on 3 occasions. At the start of the over, Stars needed a run a ball, ahead for sure, but with the game still a contest. By the end, they need just 15 off 24, and they’ll win with 11 balls to spare.

It is not just the pacing of this innings that Beaumont has timed well recently. At the beginning of the summer, with the England team in a state of flux, it was Beaumont who stepped up with 342 runs in 3 innings against Pakistan. Although she made her debut in 2009, she had not managed to fully establish herself, but the retirements of Charlotte Edwards and Lydia Greenway, and Sarah Taylor’s break from cricket meant that almost overnight she became one of the side’s most capped players. She is thriving on the extra responsibility.

In some ways it is not a surprise. Her skills suit responsibility well. She is able to bide her time while still scoring runs and then explode, which makes her ideally suited to play a senior batter’s long innings. It is heartening for both Surrey Stars and England to have a player who only seems to improve as more and more is expected of her.

This was one of those games that neither team, nor any one player, really dominated; but overall the Stars came out on top because they were able to somehow eke out those few extra runs here and there which got them over the line first – Tammy Beaumont (47) made a few more runs that Hollie Armitage (43); Bryony Smith (31) made a couple more than Lauren Winfield (29); Alex Hartley (2-18) was that bit less expensive than Jenny Gunn (2-19).

The “Over by Over” graph (above) is interesting because it shows the Diamonds cruising along at a pretty steady pace throughout their innings, at a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 10 per over.

In contrast, the Stars innings was all highs and lows – three Diamonds overs (1, 10 and 18) conceded just one run apiece, whilst 3 others (2, 5 and 16) went for 15 or more.

From the Diamonds’ perspective, perhaps eliminating 2 of those 3 expensive “peaks” could well have won them the game; but to be fair only in hindsight could you have predicted that Katherine Brunt, whose first two overs had conceded just 1 and 3, would suddenly go for 17 off Bryony Smith in her third; or that Steph Butler, who had bowled 2 overs for 10 up to that point, would disappear for 15 off Tammy Beaumont in her third.

Afterwards, 18-year-old Bryony Smith, who has stepped up to the opening role for the Stars after injury ruled out the more experienced Kirstie White, spoke to CRICKETher, having scored 31 priceless runs at the top of the Stars order:

“I’ve been opening for Surrey in county Twenty20. I like to open with the powerplay – one of my strengths is to hit through the gaps; and to bat with someone like Tammy, who has obviously got a wealth of experience, is really good – every ball we’d be talking – it’s good to have someone like her down the other end.”

“We were very disappointed after Sunday [losing to the Vipers] but we’re pleased for the team to get back on the board.”

First up: what an impressive effort by Loughborough to get a crowd of over 500 to their first KSL game. No, it wasn’t anywhere near the biggest crowd we’ve seen so far, but the Haslegrave ground isn’t one anyone could ever stumble over by chance and it’s pretty clear that the Lightning PR efforts have paid off big-time. Good on them.

Added to that, it was by far the best atmosphere at any of the KSL games which we’ve been at so far. There was music, bunting, people sitting on the boundary, and a real holiday atmosphere – only added to by the pink deckchairs around the boundary! Plus, there was an announcer-come-compere, whose between-overs commentary was evidently designed to make the game accessible to those who might not have seen much cricket before. We admit, we were sceptical about Loughborough being awarded a franchise – not any longer!

Secondly, this was clearly the game of the Super League (so far!) This is everything the competition should be – hard-fought, edge-of-the-seat stuff. A bit of a shock result in the end but that’s no bad thing at this stage of the competition – it just serves to blow it wide open.

In terms of the cricket itself, this was clearly a batsman’s game – as Amy Satterthwaite said speaking to us after close of play, “it was a great wicket”, and the outfield was pristine. However, Lancashire Thunder did nothing today to dispel the idea that they’ve got a very long tail – no one below number 4 got into double figures. Sure, you’ll win some T20s when your top 4 do their stuff, but you’ll lose a whole heap more. It’s got to be a worry for them going forward.

From a Lightning perspective, it was baffling that Georgia Elwiss chose to bring Ellyse Perry back on to bowl the 19th over after she’d just been tonked for 15 runs in the 17th. Actually Lightning had clawed it back somewhat in overs 13-16 with Sonia Odedra particularly doing a good job to only concede 5 runs off her 1 over of the day. So why persist with Perry? She couldn’t find her length at all today. It seemed a bit captaincy-by-reputation rather than captaining based on what is in front of you.

On Lightning’s performance with the bat, the key point to stress is that Paige Scholfield and Thea Brookes made the game into a game. Lightning were 88-7 when they came together and they could easily have holed out for 10 or 15 – in which case we’d be talking about a total wipeout by Thunder. It’s pretty much what Yorkshire Diamonds did on Saturday – by the time they were 6 wickets down they looked like they’d given up; and it turned into a walkover. Players might often talk in platitudes in post-match press conferences, but when Scholfield said today: ““We always go into batting with a positive mindset; the game’s never over until the last ball” – for once, it sounded like the player really meant it!

It’s a point made all the more impressive by the fact that Scholfield admitted after close of play that her first thought on walking out to bat in front of the 500-strong crowd was: “I’m so nervous!” Brookes said that while she was feeling “pretty devastated”, “getting within 7 runs of winning in the final over was massive…I’m over the moon for what [Paige and I] have come in and done for the team.”

One final point – it’s the small things that tell you something about a person, and it didn’t go unnoticed by us that Mark Robinson made a particular point of leaving the ECB shindig taking place in the Performance Centre after the match ended to come over and shake hands and commiserate with Scholfield and Brookes. A really lovely gesture.

Guest reporter Ben Gardner was there at the Ageas Bowl for yesterday’s KSL match to witness an important moment for Suzie Bates.

After 14 balls, Katie George’s Kia Super League campaign is going about as well as she could have dreamed. She has conceded just 3 runs, and all that is missing is a wicket or two. She looks every inch as if she belongs at this highest level.

Her 15^th ball is driven square by Nat Sciver for 4. It is the shot of the day so far, and there is no shame in conceding a boundary against a player of Sciver’s quality and explosiveness. But it is possible that just for a second the doubts creep in, or that she channels the frustration into trying just that bit too hard.

Her next ball is the worst ball she will bowl, by a long way. It is also the closest she will come to getting a wicket. A high full toss is lobbed to vacant square leg, but the fielders converging fail to call, or to listen. Both women, and the ball, end up on the ground.

We have seen such accidents end in serious injuries. There is a long delay. The Vipers fielders stand around doing not much, sipping drinks. The two players walk away from the incident, eventually, but one of them walks off the pitch. She is Charlotte Edwards, captain, star player, and probably the player Vipers least wanted to lose.

When such potentially horrific accidents occur, the match at hand gets pushed away from the front of a player’s mind. And when your team is on top, it can stay that way even when play resumes. It is in some ways understandable, but in a T20, when the course of a match can change in the space of one over, this can be fatal.

Whatever is going through George’s head, and it could be nothing, as she has done so little wrong, she manages to finish the over adequately, conceding just a couple from the last two balls. Still the over has cost 10.

The next over is bowled by Fi Morris. There is a deserved wicket, but also a half chance attacked not as vigorously as it would have been 15 minutes ago. An attempted boundary save goes awry, and Sciver is still there.

19 runs have come from the last two overs, over a third of Surrey Stars’ runs up to that point. Southern Vipers are still on top, but slightly less than they were. They were coasting, but now they are just starting to drift.

In Edwards’ absence, even in this team of stars, Suzie Bates is the obvious choice to take the reins. She is Wisden’s Leading Female Cricketer in the World, and the captain of New Zealand.

Bates senses that something needs to be done. The previous two overs feel perhaps like the kind that, with hindsight, we could end up crediting as a turning point. But Bates knows that there is no crisis, yet, and to act as if there is would be the surest way of creating one. No harsh words or rousing speeches are needed.

Instead she brings herself into the attack, and gets Sciver off strike with her first ball. Bates waves her arms about, manoeuvring the field, reengaging players’ minds and bodies. Her bowling is only tight, no more, but the focus and energy she displays transfers itself to the rest of the team, and the intensity is on show for the rest of the innings.

Bates reintroduces George for the 18^th over. George has bowled well enough to fully justify the decision, but it is still a brave call. Her last over went for 10 and injured the captain, and George is only 17. But Bates’ decision is completely vindicated. George is superb. The over also costs 3.

Bates bowls the 19^th herself, and gives up only 6. Surrey Stars make just 83.

It would be a mistake to say Bates seized the game by the scruff of the neck; she didn’t, and any attempt to do so would have been foolhardy. She merely rested a hand on the tiller and gently ushered her team back to the course it had been on. All she did was shuffle her bowlers and fielders, and maintain her standards with the ball in hand, but it was enough.

Bates will continue to lead with the bat, but again, not in the way we would usually think. Instead of trying to smash the way to the target herself, which she might well have been able to, she plays the role of old pro to Georgia Adams’ dashing youngster. Adams top scores with 41 off 43, while Bates makes 25, content with rotating the strike and offering words.

After the game, Adams says: “Suzie guided me through that innings… kept me calm, kept me level out there.”

This was the biggest day so far of so many of these players’ careers, and we could have looked back on Edwards walking off and called this added pressure a contributory factor in a reversal of fortunes. But Bates kept them calm, kept them level. She will surely have more explosive and eye catching performances this season. But in its own way, this might end up being the equal of any of them.

If the purpose of the Super League is to give some of the younger county prospects a chance to show what they can do, then today was a day when two of them did just that for the Vipers.

Seventeen year old Katie George had played just 27 times for Hampshire prior to today. Several of those games were in Div 3 of the County Championship, and none were higher than Div 2, so really this was her first ever match at this level, and she excelled – bowling 17 dots in her 4 overs. She might be disappointed she didn’t take a wicket, but if you can bowl 70% dots, you don’t need to take wickets in T20!

Then we had a fantastic contribution from Georgia Adams, eclipsing even Wisden’s Leading Women Cricketer in the World, Suzie Bates out in the middle. Adams has a lot more experience than George admittedly, playing for Sussex in Div 1, but for a long time she seemed to be a specialist in playing a couple of pretty shots and then getting out cheaply. Not today – in the biggest game of her life, she hung in there, and had a bit of luck being dropped by Marizanne Kapp, but you have to make the luck count, and “Gads” did today – top-scoring with 41 off 43 balls.

Afterwards, Georgia Adams spoke to our editor, Raf Nicholson:

“It’s another level. Looking out and playing at such a huge ground and a Test ground is brilliant, and looking round and seeing so many people, it’s completely new to me. I’ve never played anything quite like this.”

“Suzie guided me through that innings… the whole way through – her knowledge of the game and of the bowlers that we were facing – as batter it helps so much to have an extra bit of info – it kept me calm and kept me level out there.”

A couple of standout performances today from two overseas stars – Sophie Devine (52) with the bat, and Dane van Niekerk (4 overs for 13) with the ball – will get the plaudits, but it was a team effort which won the Lightning this match.

The batting contributions of two county players – Eve Jones (12 off 12) and Paige Scholfield (13 off 9) added 25 critical runs at the end of their innings, which not only created a much more “pressure” score for the Diamonds to chase, but also ultimately grabbed the bonus point too.

Then the Lightning were excellent in the field – Georgia Elwiss in particular saving run after run between extra cover and mid off.

The Diamonds meanwhile let the pressure get to them after a good start – they were going at 10 an over initially, but this rapidly evaporated. Lauren Winfield can have no real complaints about her run out… though she did, very publically; and it is difficult to believe that her frustration didn’t actually add to the pressure on the batsmen that followed her in.. and out again!

Wickets begat wickets and eventually, by about the start of the 16th over, Diamonds tails were really drooping – they had given up and it was only a matter of whether they would get enough to deny the Lightning the bonus point; which they definitively failed to do – falling 17 runs short of even that target.

Afterwards Sophie Devine had this to say:

“I was fairly nervous – coming off a winter in New Zealand you are always a little bit scratchy, with not playing much outdoors. We’ve had a couple of warm up games, but in the first real hit-out it is nice to get some runs on the board, although we were probably 15 or 20 runs short. It probably didn’t help when I ran out Ellyse Perry, and I’m sure I’ll cop that, but we bowled fantastically well. Yorkshire came out really hard at us, so it was a great team effort to peg it back in the middle overs and I thought [Becky] Grundy was outstanding – she obviously fires-up which is motivating, being in the field with someone who is so passionate.”

Lizzy Ammon has a piece in today’s Times headlined: “New era for women’s game begins but stars are paid only £20 a day”. [Link (£)]

The piece raises a number of questions about the Kia Super League, arguing that “the competition is facing the challenge of poorly paid players, low attendances and no TV deal.”

These are certainly legitimate issues to  raise, but they also ignore the other side of the story.

Take the issue of money: it is quite true that there isn’t much of it – no one is going to be dashing off to their Ferrari dealer with their KSL pay cheque, that’s for sure! But £150 is £150 more than anyone gets for playing in the Women’s County Championship; and for players like Katie Levick and Daisy Gardner, this is the first time they have ever been paid at all, for something that they basically consider a hobby!

As for low attendances, we will have to wait and see exactly what transpires, but I’d be happy to bet that even the lowest KSL crowd will dwarf the numbers we usually see for the County Champs, where beyond friends and family, you can usually count the crowd on the fingers of one hand.

And the TV… well yes, that is disappointing; especially if it really was the case that Sky were “concerned about the quality of the cricket”, because that is the one thing which they really don’t need to be worried about – KSL has the stars to ensure the cricket is going to be amazing. But again, the County Championship has never been broadcast, so we haven’t lost anything by the lack of a TV deal, we are just exactly where we have always been!

Do we wish it was on TV, drawing big crowds, and paying the players a bit more? Absolutely! So do the players. (So do the ECB, believe it or not.)

And we do understand that the KSL all looks pretty small potatoes when seen through the prism of even the men’s county game, let alone something like the IPL.

But would we rather be here with “something”, or back where we were a year ago with “nothing”? Looked at from that perspective, the real story of the KSL is one of remarkable progress in a very short space of time; and for that, the ECB deserve credit where it’s due.