Back in June 2019, Bryony Smith made her ODI debut for England. In a rain-affected match at Chelmsford, Smith didn’t get a bat (she was carded to come in at 9) but took 1-20 from 8 overs, as England beat West Indies by 135 runs on D/L.

Following that game, I wrote that then-coach Mark Robinson looked to have found a role for Smith, not as the opening batter everyone thought she was, but as a replacement for the soon-to-retire Laura Marsh – a reliable, economical off-spinner spinner, who offered a bit with the bat as a bonus.

So much for my theories… Smith hasn’t played for England since; while England have continued the search for a long-term spin partner for Sophie Ecclestone, having burned through a number of names in the meantime.

Was perhaps Charlie Dean the answer? You certainly wouldn’t have picked her out at the start of the season – she isn’t even one of the 60-odd “full time” professionals we now have in England. But she obviously impressed Heather Knight, who captained her for London Spirit in The Hundred, and clearly saw something more in her.

Her debut was a solid performance in Bristol – she got hit for a few runs, but the important thing is how you respond to that; and her response today was just the one England would have wanted.

Dean came back into the attack with New Zealand having every prospect of winning the game, despite what felt like a decidedly un-generous Duckworth-Lewis adjustment, that cut the overs available by 16%, but the target by only 8%. I know… I know… it is all statistically proven, taking wickets into account as well as overs, but it still FELT harsh.

But I digress…

New Zealand needed 58 runs from 84 balls, with Katey Martin and Brooke Halliday at the crease – I wouldn’t have put money on the Kiwis at that stage… but equally I’d have been a fool to bet against them. Dean was the obvious bowler for New Zealand to target too – her first two overs had gone for 16; but England had to bowl her, with only 4 specialist bowlers plus Nat Sciver in their lineup.

The pressure was all on Dean in that moment.

And how did she respond?

Magnificently!

She bowled her remaining 6 overs straight through, taking 4-20 in the spell: good wickets with good balls, and single-handedly put the game to bed. England simply couldn’t have asked for any more.

Is Charlie Dean the answer to all England’s hopes and prayers? Like the consequences of the French revolution, it is definitely too early too tell. But she has launched her ship on the seas of international cricket, and with a little fortune she could go far.

Good luck, Charlie!

This week:

• Who will join Vipers in the final of the RHF Trophy?
• Will England make changes for the 2nd ODI v New Zealand?
• Will England’s tours to Pakistan and Australia go ahead as planned?
• Mankadding… does Syd have the solution?

At 105-4 at the end of the 30th over of their de-facto “semi final” against Southern Vipers, Northern Diamonds looked to be heading for a gently undulating total of around 175, with Bess Heath on 0 off 1 ball, having entered the fray at the fall of the 3rd wicket two overs before.

Ten overs later, things were looking very, very different, with Heath on her way to a 51-ball 71, which included eight 4s and two huge 6s, turning that gently undulating slope into an imposing cliff for the Vipers batters to climb.

It was 20-year-old Heath’s 3rd significant score in regional cricket since the end of The Hundred, following knocks of 58* and 78*, both against Thunder, in the CE Cup and RHF Trophy respectively, which will have been noted by those on the look-out for England’s next wicket-keeper, who will inevitably be a “batter who can keep” rather than just a wicket keeper.

It was going to take a significant performance from someone for the Vipers to scale “Heath’s Cliff” and that someone was Georgia Elwiss. Out of favour with England’s cricketing management, but with some vocal support from the national women’s football team, watching on from balcony of the Hilton Hotel, where they were staying following their 8-0 thrashing of North Macedonia in Southampton last night, Elwiss carried the Vipers on her shoulders for the second time in a week, hitting 84* to see them home.

In the last two matches, Elwiss has now accumulated 196 runs without being dismissed, after her 112* versus Sunrisers.

“I literally just bat,” said Elwiss after the game. “I don’t even look at the scoreboard. I know that if I can rotate the strike then runs will come. I’ve had a lean run of form over the summer so I felt like I needed to repay the Vipers a little bit, and it’s amazing what happens when you give yourself a chance.”

The chance Vipers have now is to retain the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, having won the inaugural competition last year. Whoever they face in the final – Sparks or Diamonds – won’t make it easy for them; but with Elwiss in great nick, Georgia Adams coming off the back of two consecutive half centuries, and Maia Bouchier back from England duty, they have the batting to climb the wuthering heights of any cliff – Heath’s.. or anyone else’s!

It’s not often that you lose 10 wickets and win the match – England have been bowled out 93 times in ODIs, and they won just 12 of those games – but this was one such time.

England were not the favourites at the innings break, having been bowled out for 241, albeit in the final over. Tammy Beaumont played a gorgeous cover drive early-doors, but it proved not to be a sign of things to come, as England’s batters found it difficult to get going. Beaumont scored 44 runs at a Strike Rate of under 60; while Heather Knight scored the bulk of her runs at a Strike Rate of around 75, only pushing on right at the end – lifting her Strike Rate well over 100 to hit her last 24 runs at 130.

At the 40 over mark, England looked set for a very sub-par 220, which would have made the game much more interesting from New Zealand’s point of view; but the last 10 overs turned things around quite a bit in the context of the match.

It was a very odd final phase of the innings, at least in terms of women’s ODIs, though I think this may be a more common pattern in men’s cricket (???) – England lost their last 5 wickets, which usually means a slump in the run rate, but still managed to hit 67 runs in the last 10 overs – by far their most productive phase of the game.

Nonetheless, even 241 didn’t feel like a par score. Much of the credit has to go to a very disciplined performance from New Zealand, with the ball and in the field. They might not have taken a heap of early wickets, but they bowled tightly and didn’t give much away. The Kiwi’s relay fielding on the boundary was a particular highlight, and something they really have got down to a fine art.

Earlier in the summer, we saw a few times that India would have two fielders chasing the ball on the boundary, but with neither sure what the other was planning to do, both would back out of the dive and the ball would run over the rope between them.

What New Zealand are doing firstly is communicating, so both fielders know which one of them is going to dive, and which will make the throw in; and then executing smoothly so that the diving fielder scoops up the ball and passes it up in one movement to the thrower, who is already in position to carry-through with the throw. It is almost like a rugby play, and I wonder if the cultural dominance of that sport in New Zealand is a factor in helping them visualise this move?

It was going to take a big day out with the ball for England to win the match against the odds, and that’s exactly what they produced, Katherine Brunt leading the way with a remarkable four consecutive maidens in the powerplay. It was a very different Katherine Brunt to the one we’ve seen recently too – this was “Back To Basics” bowling – good pace, pitching it up, bowling at the stumps, forcing the New Zealand openers to defend, defend, and defend some more. This is how Katherine Brunt used to bowl, back in the day when she was making her fearsome reputation; and it was where the game was won and lost really – leaving New Zealand so far behind where they needed to be, that even though they went at a reasonable rate in the middle overs, more so than England had done, they never caught up.

It wasn’t just Brunt though – the rest of the bowling unit needed to deliver, and they did. Nat Sciver bowled 5 overs (the number of overs she probably should be bowling in an ODI) taking 2-10; while Kate Cross and Sophie Ecclestone too bowled economically and took a couple of wickets apiece.

Charlie Dean, on debut, also acquitted herself well – better than it looks from her figures, because although she was slightly expensive, she bowled a lot of balls to Amy Satterthwaite and Lea Tahuhu at the end, when Tahuhu was having a ‘Why not?’ crack at the England attack.

It will be interesting to see where England go from here with Dean. They have been very keen to tell anyone who’ll listen that they are just “having a look” rather than buying, but this is a very intensive series, with 5 ODIs in 11 days, so they are almost certainly going to need to juggle things around a little bit, and my guess is that she’ll have at least one more game in which to stake a claim for a ticket to Australia and New Zealand this winter. There is still plenty of time for her – she is the first player born post-Y2K to play for England – but age shouldn’t be a barrier either – if she’s good enough, she’s good enough. (See also… you know who!!)

Sophie Luff top scored with 70 as Western Storm beat Lightning in Bristol, knocking Lightning out of the RHF Trophy.

Needing a win to maintain their slim hopes of qualification for the semi-final, Lightning won the toss and elected to insert their opponents on a sunny morning at the County Ground.

Fi Morris got off the mark with a lovely cut for 4 off Grace Ballinger, but otherwise it was a sedate start for Storm, with just 11 runs coming off the first 5 overs. However, Morris and Lauren Parfitt picked up the pace in the back-half of the powerplay to reach 10 overs at 38 without loss.

The introduction of Kirstie Gordon in the 11th over brought immediate results, with Morris dismissed for 25, adjudged LBW barely playing a shot to Gordon’s first ball.

The following over saw Parfitt joining Morris back in the shack – well caught over her head at backward point by Beth Harmer; and two shortly became three with Georgia Hennessy popping up a leading edge to offer Sophie Munro a straightforward catch off her own bowling, to leave Storm teetering on 42-3 with Alex Griffiths and Sophie Luff at the crease.

Yvonne Graves troubled both batters – the off-spinner getting some sharp turn off a hybrid pitch which looked to be a lot more “hybrid” than “pitch” at this stage of the season; though she did miss a chance to take the wicket of Griffith, who was on 10 at the time, dropping a return catch which wasn’t a doosie, but was one which you’d expect to be taken at this level.

Storm therefore reached the half-way mark without further loss, at 82-3 – captain Luff doing most of the work with 28 off 49 balls.

The Luff-Griffiths partnership meandered past 50, with Griffiths dropped again by Yvonne Graves off her own bowling on 25. The partnership was finally broken in the 33rd over – Griffiths bowled off her back leg, attempting a Sarah Taylor-esque drive off Kathryn Bryce, for 30.

Dani Gibson’s batting heroics for London Spirit lit up The Hundred, but she had hitherto failed to rediscover that form for Storm since the resumption of regional cricket. She took a bit of time to get going here too, and at one stage was 3 off 11 balls, but she soon began to accelerate, hitting Grace Ballinger for consecutive 4s in the 38th over as Storm finally began to make some hay.

Meanwhile Yvonne Grave’s misfortunes continued – Luff, looking to get to the pitch of the ball to negate the turn, finally missed one on 55, but Abbey Freeborn fumbled the regulation stumping chance.

Gibson, having raced to 29 off 26 balls, was trapped LBW by the returning Kirstie Gordon, who then snagged the big wicket of Sophie Luff for 70 off 11 balls – the skipper chipping to mid on, to leave Storm 181-6 with 7 overs remaining.

Some frantic stroke-play… and even more frantic running between the wickets… from Nat Wraith (13 off 14), Nicole Harvey (19* off 19) and Chloe Skelton (13* off 12, on her professional debut) took Storm well past the psychologically significant 200 mark to finish on 228-7, with Kirstie Gordon the pick of the bowling, continuing to make her case for an England comeback, taking 3-43.

With Lightning needing to score at almost 6 runs an over to get the bonus point win which would make semi-final qualification easier, albeit still a long shot depending on other results, they came out looking to play positively. A little too positively, it turned out, as Sarah Bryce called Beth Harmer for a sharp single, inviting her opening partner to take on the arm of Dani Gibson on the ring – a race which Harmer lost somewhat comprehensively, sending her back to the pavilion for 5.

Sarah Bryce was joined in the middle by sister Kathryn, but she lasted just 8 balls as Lauren Filer got one to swing in sharply, taking the edge and going through to Nat Wraith behind the stumps. Kathryn meanwhile had progressed to 27, but was bowled by Claire Nicholas to leave Lightning reeling at 38-3.

Abby Freeborn and Lucy Higham took the score on to 57 before Freeborn was bowled for 7 in a rush of blood to the head, dancing down the pitch and driving enthusiastically, but right past, a delivery from Nicole Harvey.

With Lightning struggling to get the ball past a tight Storm field, Teresa Graves looked to go aerial instead – hitting the first 6 of the match off Dani Gibson, but then thick-edging the very next ball to give Nat Wraith catching practice behind the stumps.

Lighting actually reached the 25-over mark at 91-5, some 9 runs ahead of where Storm had been at the same stage, but needing to accelerate significantly to win the game, with the bonus point already realistically out of reach.

Lucy Higham showed some stickability, hanging in there for 50 balls, but making just 23 runs – nothing like enough in the context of the match – before being trapped in front trying to reverse-sweep Fi Morris.

Ella Claridge then offered some last-ditch resistance, making 39; but the rest of the tail collapsed around her, with Nat Wraith taking 4 catches as Lightning were bowled out for 166.

Southern Vipers spinner Charlie Dean is included in England’s ODI squad for the up-coming 5-match series against New Zealand, with Sunrisers’ Mady Villiers making way.

Although Villiers has won 17 T20 caps since her debut in 2019, and is one of the best fielders in the world, England have never clearly defined a role for her with either bat or ball. Mark Robinson, the England coach at the time of her debut, always described her as a batter who could bowl, but England have invariably batted her down the order at 9 or 10, and recently she has rarely bowled more than two overs.

Dean, who was selected for the T20 squad but didn’t make an appearance, is likely to bat in a similar position, but will presumably have a more clearly defined bowling role as an off-spinner who looks to turn the ball.

Also retained from the T20 series is Danni Wyatt, who missed out on selection for the ODIs versus India earlier in the summer, and effectively replaces Fran Wilson in the squad. The expectation however would be that Lauren Winfield-Hill comes back into the starting XI to open the batting with Tammy Beaumont.

Kate Cross also returns to the squad. Having played in most of England’s ODIs over the past couple of years, Cross clearly remains part of England’s Ashes and World Cup plans, and with Anya Shrubsole currently nursing a sprained ankle will likely be fighting a 3-way battle for a spot in the XI with Tash Farrant and Freya Davies.

The series begins on Thursday in Bristol, with matches following in Worcester, Leicester, Derby and Canterbury.

Full Squad

Heather Knight (Western Storm)
Tammy Beaumont (Lightning)
Katherine Brunt (Northern Diamonds)
Kate Cross (Thunder)
Freya Davies (South East Stars)
Charlie Dean (Southern Vipers)
Sophia Dunkley (South East Stars)
Sophie Ecclestone (Thunder)
Tash Farrant (South East Stars)
Sarah Glenn (Central Sparks)
Amy Jones (Central Sparks)
Nat Sciver (Northern Diamonds)
Anya Shrubsole (Western Storm)
Lauren Winfield-Hill (Northern Diamonds)
Danni Wyatt (Southern Vipers)

The depth of England’s batting line-up was the difference between the two sides, as England pulled off a series win from the penultimate ball at Taunton.

New Zealand were heading for a total of around 120 until the final four overs. With the big names – Bates, Devine and Satterthwaite – all back in the dugout, England’s bowlers might have felt like they’d already got the job done; but Maddy Green (16 off 14 balls), Brooke Halliday (25 off 16) and Katey Martin (13 off 6) had other ideas, smashing 50 runs from the last 24 balls, leaving Sophie Ecclestone kicking the ground in frustration as her final over went for 16.

It certainly kept things interesting, especially after Nat Sciver and Danni Wyatt holed-out off consecutive balls in the 7th over. But as Heather Knight, back into the side after two games on the bench with a minor hamstring niggle, just wasn’t going to let that happen. Knight just plays whatever game is in front of her, and she plays it so well. So when Amy Jones was in, hitting at a Strike Rate of 168, Knight held back and played the anchor role, going at around 80. But as Dunkley came to the crease Knight turned on a dime, accelerating to a Strike Rate of 135, looking relaxed and confident.

Ball by ball, she manoeuvred England into a position where they didn’t need a big finish, so that even a wobble right at the end, with the loss of first Knight herself and then Bouchier, didn’t prevent them from closing out the match.

Sophia Dunkley again was crucial to this, in an echo of the way she played in the ODI fixture here against India earlier in the summer. In that match, she’d come to the crease with England 4-down and needing 130, and assuredly guided them home. This wasn’t quite in that league, but especially after Bouchier got out it could all have gone south, with just 5 balls left to make 7 runs. Katherine Brunt had a mow at her first ball and missed it, then ran an almost comically panicked single to get Dunks back on strike. Needing 6 from 3 balls, Dunkley however just did her thing – playing two proper cricket shots to get over the line with a ball to spare.

There is definitely an increasing sense that Dunkley is taking up the baton for England’s future. Her consistency and confidence and sheer unflappability remind me of no one so much as Heather Knight in the period she cemented her role in the team 2013-15.

Knight took over the captaincy shortly after.

As the young folks say… just sayin’!

The inaugural edition of the Charlotte Edwards Cup ended in a convincing win for South East Stars in the final on Sunday, who chased down their not-insubstantial target of 139 to win with 5 wickets and 2 overs to spare.

The most notable thing about the game was the convincing way in which they went about the chase – Bryony Smith and Aylish Cranstone putting on a 71-run partnership for the first wicket in the opening 8 overs, which set a platform that not even a middle-innings wobble could disrupt.

For Stars, their path to victory in the tournament was built on mammoth scores, three times hitting 160+ batting first at a level where totals of 120 are still the norm: 175 against Lightning, 167 against Vipers and 165 against Sparks.

This is the kind of attacking, confident batting which we have rarely seen before from homegrown players in women’s domestic T20 cricket. Speaking to captain Bryony Smith after Stars’ win in the final group stage match at Edgbaston, she labelled it “a positive brand of cricket”:

“We wanted to bowl first in all of those games but it just shows we’ve got the bowling to defend any score. We want to go out, go from ball 1. I’m trying to lead that myself and to see the young ones come in and play like that – I’m really proud of them.”

It seems apparent that coach Johann Myburgh has given his players license to play without fear, and they have responded to that.

The roots of this culture, though, go back further than the dawn of regional cricket in 2020 – they began in 2017 when Surrey CCC decided to appoint a full-time coach of their women’s team. Now Regional Director of the Stars, Richard Bedbrook has worked with many of these players for years, overseeing their development.

“There’s a bit of benefit when you’ve been around the game for a while, and you’ve been in the women’s cricket space in this region like I have,” Bedbrook admitted, speaking to CRICKETher after the final. “The regional development centre was operating during the KSL days – and now the likes of Emma Jones, Kalea [Moore], Alexa [Stonehouse] – so many of those players are still teenagers, and it’s a nice proud moment to see them graduating from being much younger players into being inspiring young women who are going to push the envelope of where the game is for the next few years.”

How did Bedbrook feel, watching his team playing in that final in the way that lived up so successfully to the Stars “brand” of cricket? “It was really good to watch. When you get to a final, you’re hoping that the players will stay true to what they’ve been working for for so long. When they’ve been playing the way they’ve been playing in the group games, you worry that they might regress or they might play safe, but the performance today is testament to the work that Mybs [Mybergh] has done and Tom [Lister] as well, our senior talent manager.”

“They’ve worked with the batters all winter and put them into a place where they’re like, this is the way we’re going to play, and we’re not going to avoid that. And this season it’s come off more times than it hasn’t! You need the players to commit to it.”

“We are really proud of just how many players have come forward this year and have contributed. It is very much a squad effort. Every one of them has contributed at certain times, and that’s very pleasing.”

Of course the breakthrough star of the season has been Alice Capsey, who shot to fame in The Hundred but has also turned it on in regional cricket exactly when it mattered: she finished as Stars’ top run-scorer with 203 runs, including an unbeaten 40* in the final, averaging 41 at a strike rate of 131.

Stars may therefore have a dilemma on their hands. It was noticeable just how much Southern Vipers missed Charlie Dean and Maia Bouchier in the semi-final on Sunday: creating players who are so successful that they disappear on England duty is certainly a double-edged sword. Bedbrook, though, seems unconcerned.

“There might be a little bit of time for that to happen – that next step into international cricket is a big one,” Bedbrook said. “The role she gets to play might not be the same as the role she’s playing for us and that takes a bit of adjustment as well. We’re just going to keep making sure that we’re supporting her in her ambitions, and clearly that’s to play for England and do what we can to support that.”

It’s a mark of how ambitious Bedbrook is for his players that he is also keen to emphasise that Capsey may be brilliant now – but in a few years time could be the best player in the world, if she keeps working for it. “She’s a big star in the making,” he says. “One thing we’ve got to make sure she continues to realise is that there’s still a long way for her to go, and that’s not necessarily in the structure and the programme of the game and the levels that she’s got in front of her, but actually getting into those levels above her and being better and better and better, and holding onto some key values to help support her there.”

“We’re enjoying this season that she’s having, and we’re proud of the work that she’s put in, because she’s a better player than she was last year, and that’s what we want to keep pushing for – keep improving.”

For Stars, the focus now comes back onto the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, where they are currently ranked fifth, with work to do if they are to come back into contention for the final on 25 September. The CE Cup medals hanging around their necks will do plenty to spur them on.