Match Preview: Western Storm v Sunrisers
THE MATCH
Western Storm take on Sunrisers 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 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
The two sides met twice in last year’s Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Trophy with Western Storm coming out on top on both occasions.
The first clash took place at the Cloudfm County Ground, Chelmsford in September.
Sunrisers won the toss and elected to field.
An impressive 85 from Sophie Luff and 43 from Alex Griffiths ensured that Storm posted a total of 265 for six from their 50 overs.
Jo-Anne Gardner made 54 but Fi Morris claimed five for 26 to help dismiss Sunrisers for 179 with five overs remaining as Storm won by 86 runs.
Storm completed the double over Sunrisers later that month at the Bristol County Ground when they came out on top by 47 runs.
Sunrisers won the toss and elected to field.
Georgia Hennessey smashed her way to 105 and Alex Griffiths added 80 as Storm reached 288 from their allotted overs.
Hennessey was the pick of the bowlers too, claiming two for 29 as Sunrisers were all out for 241 with six balls remaining.
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 game, Western Storm Captain, Sophie Luff said: “The change of format has probably come at a good time for us and we’re really excited to be starting this competition.
“It’s great to be starting and what is the home of cricket in my opinion. It’s always great to be in Taunton and hopefully we will get a good crowd. We want to start the competition well and we want to be challenging for that final place.
“There’s no doubt that we can challenge in this competition. There’s a lot of talent in the squad and this is a great opportunity for them to go out there and express themselves. I see T20 as a format where it only takes a couple of good innings to get your name out there so hopefully the girls can take that with both hands.”
THE OPPOSITION
SUNRISERS
Coach: Trevor Griffin
Captain: Amara Carr
Key player: Naomi Dattani – Sunrisers need someone to stand up and former Western Storm player Dattani has the talent to do so with bat and ball. She has T20 winning pedigree – with Women’s Twenty20 Cup and KSL winner’s medals.
Flies under the radar: Cordelia Griffith – The batter has had a few starts without going big in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy but scored 187 runs across four T20 innings for Middlesex this summer.
Rising Star: Kelly Castle – The Essex captain has been the surprise package of the Trophy with six wickets and a fifty. Her low skiddy action will be useful in or out the powerplay.
The Season Ahead: The Sunrisers are still pointless across two seasons of the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy but a change of format could, they’ll hope, mean a change in fortunes.
One massive positive for the Sunrisers is the recent T20 form of their batting line-up – with Naomi Dattani, Grace Scrivens and Cordelia Griffith making up three of the top eight top run scorers in the county matches earlier this summer. Another is that they took Trophy table-toppers and holders Southern Vipers to the final ball of a recent warm-up match, only to lose by a run.
The bowling attack is capable of skillful bowling, if they can tidy up their extras problem, and the batting has plenty of talented quick scorers – with Lissy Macleod, Jo Gardner and the aforementioned trio all able to clear the boundary. If they hook it together then they might not remain pointless long.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW
If you have been successful in the Member ballot and 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 Sunday July 4th against Thunder in the same competition at Chester Boughton Hall CC, Chester.
