Trevor looks back on 2022

2022 saw the return of a familiar face to Western Storm.

Former Head Coach, Trevor Griffin returned to take up the role which had seen him experience success in the KIA Super League.

We spoke with Trevor ahead of him heading to Australia for the latest instalment of the Women’s Big Bash, where he will once again be working with Sydney Thunder.

So, what brought him back to Western Storm?

“There were a number of factors,” he said. “But the main one was linked to the work/life balance. At Sunrisers I was living in Hertfordshire, but my family were still in Devon. We worked out that during a 13-month period, I had just 23 days at home. I just felt that I needed to get that balance right in my life at the time. I’d left Sunrisers before the Western Storm vacancy came up, so everything just seemed to happen at the right time.

“Storm is a team that holds a special place in my heart, and I have a massive, vested interest in the team due to the effort that was put into the squad and Academy during the KIA Super League years. I know the South West well and I’ve got a real passion for cricket in the region. The bottom line is that I’m delighted to be back involved with Western Storm.

“Western Storm were incredibly successful in the KIA Super League, but we have to remember that it’s a very different landscape now. The KSL was a drop-in competition for a five-week period, whereas the new regional structure is an all-year-round programme with players who are contracted to one of the eight regions, but you no longer have the international players that were available during the KSL. That competition and our success in that is very much a part of our heritage, but we have to move on. We can’t dwell on previous success; we need to move on and adapt.

“There is a wealth of talent within our Academy Programme, and Dan Helesfay and Jack Bradbury have done a terrific job there. There’s lots to be working with and lots to be excited about.”

It’s a period of transition for Storm. The success of the KSL era has yet to be matched in the new regional structure. How can Trevor and his team bring back the glory years?

“We are in this sport to win games of cricket,” he explained. “First and foremost, we need to ensure that we have a clear vision of how Western Storm want to play, how we want to entertain, enthuse, and excite our supporters. Within that we need to link in how we develop our players in order to enable them to fulfil their dreams and aspirations. This also includes helping them to understand what it means to be a professional cricketer. As long as we have the foundations and programmes in place to support them, I have no doubt that we’ve got the talent within the group to be able to achieve those goals and be challenging for silverware.

“I want us to be at the forefront of the regional game. I want the other regions to be looking at us and wondering what it is that we are doing to be so successful. I think we had that during the KIA Super League, but we’re not quite there at the moment. I think the regional structure has taken a little longer to bed down here than in some other areas. The geography of our region is huge, and we don’t have one base. That presents challenges and it’s taken a bit of time to get to grips with how to operate best.”

With the popularity of the women’s game constantly increasing, how exciting is it to be involved in women’s cricket at present?

“It’s incredibly exciting. If you go back to the start of the KSL, it was the first time that some of the players had been paid to play cricket rather than having to pay match fees and buy their kit. That opened a new world for the players and that’s continued to grow with the introduction of professional contracts. There’s now a genuine career path for aspiring cricketers, coaches, support staff, umpires and scorers etc.”

What role do the region’s counties have to play in the development of Western Storm players?

“There’s real depth within our Academy programme and it’s really important that we continue to have excellent working relationships with our Counties. It’s key that they understand what we’re trying to achieve and that we can see the strength and depth of the talent that’s coming through. The average age of our squad in our last match this season was just 20. That just shows the number of talented youngsters that we have coming through. It also demonstrates that we’re not afraid to put our young players into the squad.”

With the introduction of the new regional structure and The Hundred, is there still room for the women’s county game?

“There’s a lot of debate about whether the current county system should continue or whether it should change,” said Trevor. “I don’t know what the future of the county game will look like but personally, I think the only way that we will get better as a region is if our players are playing more cricket. Maybe it’s a case that we need to be a little more creative in how we help our best players outside of the senior team and within our Academy play more. The more cricket they play, the more likely they are to be pushing for a place within Western Storm.

“A good example is a player who was involved within our Academy during the KSL. She then moved away from cricket for a few years, but she has now returned to the game. If it wasn’t for the fact that she’d been playing within the county structure, she might not have been noticed. It’s so important that we don’t miss out on players who have the ability to go on and compete at the next level.

“From my perspective, I think it can only be a good thing to maintain the county structure so that we can get more cricket for our best players to be playing.”

The last few England squads have seen a lack of Western Storm representation. Is that something that Trevor is worried about?

“As I said before, my vision is that Western Storm is the leading region in the country,” he said. “That doesn’t just mean consistently competing in finals, it’s also about consistently producing players who go on to perform at the highest level. We want our players to come through the Academy and go on to represent England. Apart from Heather we haven’t seen a lot of that recently, but we have players who want to go on and play for their country. It’s my job, along with our coaches and support staff, to help those players to achieve that goal. The players also need to be brave enough and committed enough to make that happen. We are all working together to make that a reality and I have no doubt that we’ll see our best young players representing the England U19s at the World Cup in January or England A during the summer.”

What does the winter hold for the Western Storm squad?

“The players are currently on a bit of a break and are spending some time with friends and family which is something that they miss out on during the summer. They will be coming back in at the end of October for fitness testing. There will be a block of physical training in November and December and then we’ll start integrating the skills-based work back in just before Christmas.

“We have a couple of players who will be going overseas this winter too. Sophie Luff will be going to Australia, which is a really exciting opportunity for her, whilst Fran Wilson will be playing in the Super Smash in New Zealand.”