Match Preview: Northern Diamonds v Western Storm
THE MATCH
Western Storm take on Northern Diamonds today in the Charlotte Edwards Cup at Emirates Riverside.
This T20 match will get underway at 2:30pm.
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.
HEAD TO HEAD
Northern Diamonds are currently top of Group B with 12 points from four matches, whilst Western Storm are third with nine points from the same number of fixtures.
The last time that the two sides met was earlier this year at the Cooper Associates County Ground. It was a dramatic match which saw the Diamonds come out on top by just one wicket.
After being put in, Storm made 106 for nine from their 20 overs.
Two wickets each for Danielle Gibson, Alex Griffiths and Nicole Harvey ensured that this went right down to the wire, but the visitors claimed the winning runs from the final ball of the match with one wicket to spare.
TEAM NEWS
Head Coach, Mark O’Leary will pick the starting XI from the following players: Sophie Luff (c), Fi Morris (vc), Katie George, Georgia Hennessey, Danielle Gibson, Nat Wraith, Alex Griffiths, Nicole Harvey, Lauren Parfitt, Lauren Filer, Mollie Robbins, Emma Corney, Steph Hutchins, Emily Edgcombe, Niamh Holland and Bethan Gammon.
THE OPPOSITION
NORTHERN DIAMONDS
Coach: Danielle Hazell
Captain: Hollie Armitage
Overseas: Sterre Kalis (Netherlands – full competition) was overseas last summer, but she now qualifies as a local player via a pre-settled status visa.
Key player: Katie Levick – Sterre Kalis, Hollie Armitage and Linsey Smith were considered. But leg-spinners are gold dust in T20. Levick is the most prolific bowler in English women’s domestic cricket with 236 wickets.
Flies under the radar: Jenny Gunn – With bat and ball, the England legend continues to shine with little fuss. Must carry a spade in her kitbag because she often digs the Diamonds out of trouble down the order!
Rising Star: Leah Dobson – Scarborough-born batter, 19, yet to make her Diamonds debut. Once smashed 161 off 81 balls opening for Yorkshire Under 17s. Given a chance, she could be fun to watch.
The Season Ahead: Diamonds director of cricket James Carr has described their start to the 50-over Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy as “imperfectly perfect”. They have won three out of four games so far and sit top of the table, but two of those wins (Lightning and Stars) were come-from-behind successes and could easily have been defeats. In short, there is plenty of room for improvement.
The Diamonds look well suited for T20 cricket, with power and innovation with the bat and variety with the ball. It would be no surprise to see them challenging at the business end of the competition, and they start with a blockbuster ‘Roses’ clash with Thunder at Emerald Headingley on Saturday afternoon. For the early stages of the competition, they will be without Katherine Brunt, Nat Sciver and Lauren Winfield-Hill due to England ODI duty, but they have shown previously they can cope with their absence.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW
If you are attending the match please visit the Official Durham website for further matchday information.
NEXT MATCH
Western Storm’s next match is on Monday August 30th when we travel to Fenners, Cambridge to take on Sunrisers in the Charlotte Edwards Cup.
