Match Preview: Western Storm v Northern Diamonds
THE MATCH
Western Storm take on Northern Diamonds in the Charlotte Edwards Cup at the Cooper Associates County Ground tomorrow (Saturday).
This T20 match will get underway at 2:30pm.
Tickets are still available for this match and can be purchased via the link below and also at the St James Street Gate on matchday.
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
Western Storm and Northern Diamonds both go into the match with four points and identical records in Group B of the Charlotte Edwards Cup so far. Both sides have played two, won one and lost one.
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.
VIEWS FROM THE DRESSING ROOM
Ahead of the fixture, Mark O’Leary said: “I was pleased by how we bounced back from the Sunrisers defeat. We were ruthless against Thunder last time out and the girls were outstanding. Hopefully we can build on that and take the momentum forward.
“Momentum is key in T20 cricket and our focus is on beating whoever is put in front of us. We need to make sure that we are doing the basics as well as we can because T20 can be a bit of a lottery if you don’t do that. If we can implement everything that we’ve done in practice then I think that we should get another win under our belt.
“It’s brilliant to be playing at Taunton again. It’s a great venue for us and there’s always a good atmosphere. Everyone always makes us feel really welcome and it’s somewhere that we love to play our cricket.”
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 refer to the FAQ page below for everything that you need to know:
ENTRANCE TIMES AND GATES
If you have been successful in acquiring a ticket for this match, please can we request that you enter the Cooper Associates County Ground via the St James Street Gate which will open at 1:30pm.
WI-FI
Don’t forget that our ground-wide Wi-Fi network is fully operational.
The Wi-Fi is completely free of charge and to connect all you have to do is select the option: “_WeAreSomerset” in your settings and enter a valid email address.
You can also update your preferences or unsubscribe at any time.
With the new Wi-Fi you can browse the internet around the Cooper Associates County Ground. This means, for example, that our matchday live stream can be accessed without using your data, meaning instant replays of all the action on the field are available at no extra cost to you.
NEXT MATCH
Western Storm’s next match is on August 25th against Thunder in the same competition at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff.
