2023 RHFT Preview: Western Storm v The Blaze
THE MATCH
Western Storm take on The Blaze in the Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Trophy at the Seat Unique Stadium, Bristol tomorrow (Sunday July 2nd).
This 50-over match will get underway at 10:30am.
Tickets for this match are still available.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Everything you need to know about attending this match can be found at the Gloucestershire CCC visitor guide.
Entry to this match is free to full and one-day Gloucestershire Members.
HOW CAN I KEEP UP TO DATE?
You can keep up to date via the Western Storm website.
In addition to this, a report on the day’s play along with quotes will be posted on this website.
TEAM NEWS
Western Storm will be without Heather Knight, Dani Gibson and Lauren Filer who are currently on England duty. Piepa Cleary is in contention to make her debut.
A starting XI will be named from the following players: Sophie Luff (c), Emma Corney, Fran Wilson, Piepa Cleary, Claire Nicholas, Nat Wraith, Alex Griffiths, Nicole Harvey, Mollie Robbins, Chloe Skelton, Sophia Smale, Niamh Holland, Izzy Patel, Katie Jones, Isla Thomson, and Rebecca Odgers.
VIEW FROM THE DRESSING ROOM
Ahead of the match, Western Storm Head Coach, Trevor Griffin said: “It will be great to get going again after what’s felt like quite a long break. The girls are champing at the bit. We’ve had some good training sessions over the last few weeks alongside a few practice games.
“The mood in the camp is good and everyone is looking forward to getting back out on the park together as a team to play some positive and entertaining cricket.
“The break that we’ve had since the Charlotte Edwards Cup has enabled us to refocus our minds and I think the break has been good because it would have been harder to go straight from T20 cricket into 50-over cricket. It’s given us the opportunity to work on our skills and talk about how we want to play.
HEAD TO HEAD
The teams have faced each other on three occasions in the Rachael Heyhoe-Flint competition with Western Storm coming out on top in the first two matches. The third match, which was earlier this season, was abandoned due to rain.
The first match took place at Bristol in 2021 with Storm winning by 62 runs.
Lightning won the toss and elected to field.
Sophie Luff made 70 as Storm posted a total of 228 for seven from their allotted overs.
The hosts then dismissed Lightning for 166 with 8.4 overs to spare.
The second match was held at the Haslegrave Ground, Loughborough last year.
After winning the toss, the hosts elected to field.
Storm posted 260 for nine from their 50 overs, thanks in no small part to 48 from Sophie Luff and 43 from Fran Wilson.
Rain meant that Lightning were chasing a revised target of 242 from 46 overs.
When play was halted, the home side had reached 166 for nine from 34.2 overs giving Storm the win by 75 runs (D/L method).
THE OPPOSITION
THE BLAZE
Captain: Kirstie Gordon
Head Coach: Chris Guest
2022 finish: Sixth
2022 highest runscorer: Kathryn Bryce (233)
2022 highest wicket-taker: Grace Ballinger & Kirstie Gordon (nine)
Key winter moves: Blaze, the new name for the Lightning team that finished sixth last season, have also bolstered their squad by signing World Cup stars Nat Sciver-Brunt and Sarah Glenn to join their England team-mate Tammy Beaumont, with South African all-rounder Nadine de Klerk, capped 61 times for her country across all formats, coming in as an important overseas addition.
Player to watch: The 18-year-old leg-spinner Josie Groves, who made her senior county debut for Northamptonshire aged just 14, is an up-and-coming talent. She has been part of the Lightning squad for two years, played for the England side that finished runners-up in last winter’s inaugural Women’s Under-19 World Cup and signed her first professional contract this year. She took five wickets and recorded a maiden half-century in last season’s competition.
RAINBOW LACES
Rainbow Laces is an annual event in the cricketing calendar that invites players, officials, fans, employees and volunteers to celebrate inclusion with the UK’s LGBTQ+ community.
Started by the charity Stonewall in 2013, it began with asking players to lace their boots with rainbow-coloured laces to heighten LGBTQ+ awareness, and has since grown into an annual national event across many sports.
In cricket, it is taking place from July 2nd to July 9th, 2023.
A number of elite games are taking place across the week, including Vitality Blast and Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy matches taking place on July 2nd; the second Metro Bank Women’s Ashes T20 international against Australia at The Oval on July 5th; and the third Ashes LV= Insurance Men’s Test match against Australia at Headingley on July 6th.
NEXT MATCH
Western Storm’s next match is on Tuesday July 11th when we take on Central Sparks at Moseley CC, Birmingham in the Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Trophy.
