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English women's cricket team From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Blaze, previously known as Lightning, are a women's cricket team that represent the East Midlands region, one of eight regional hubs in English domestic women's cricket. They play their home matches at various grounds, including Trent Bridge and Grace Road.[1][2] They are captained by Kirstie Gordon and coached by Chris Guest.[3] The team carries over many elements of the WCSL team Loughborough Lightning. They are partnered with Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Lincolnshire.[4]
![]() | ||
Personnel | ||
---|---|---|
Captain | Kirstie Gordon (2023–) | |
Coach | Chris Guest | |
Team information | ||
Colours | Red and yellow | |
Established | 2020 | |
Home ground | Trent Bridge Grace Road Haslegrave Ground County Ground, Derby John Fretwell Sporting Complex Queen's Park | |
History | ||
RHFT wins | 0 | |
CEC wins | 1 | |
Official website | The Blaze | |
|
The Blaze won their first title in 2024, winning the Charlotte Edwards Cup after defeating South East Stars in the final.[5]
In 2020, women's cricket in England was restructured, creating eight new 'regional hub' teams, with the intention of playing both 50-over and 20-over cricket.[6] The team, then known as Lightning, were one of the sides created under this structure, effectively replacing the Women's Cricket Super League team Loughborough Lightning and representing the East Midlands, partnering with Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Lincolnshire, as well as Loughborough University.[4] The side was to be captained by Kathryn Bryce and coached by Rob Taylor.[7] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 season was truncated, and only 50-over cricket was played, in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy.[8] Lightning finished bottom of the North Group in the competition, winning two of their six matches.[9] At the end of the season, five Lightning players were given full-time domestic contracts, the first of their kind in England: Kathryn Bryce, Sarah Bryce, Bethan Ellis, Lucy Higham and Abigail Freeborn.[10]
The following season, 2021, Lightning competed in both the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy and the newly-formed Twenty20 competition, the Charlotte Edwards Cup. In the Charlotte Edwards Cup the side finished bottom of their group, losing all six of their matches.[11] In the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, Lightning finished fourth in the group of eight, winning three of their seven matches.[12] In the final match of the season, Lightning scored 320/6 in their victory over Central Sparks, with the Bryce sisters, Kathryn and Sarah, sharing a 207-run partnership, the highest across the competition.[13] Lightning bowler Kirstie Gordon was the leading wicket-taker in the competition, with 16 wickets.[14] Rob Taylor left his role as Head Coach at the end of the season, and was later replaced by Chris Guest.[15][3]
Lightning again finished bottom of their group in the Charlotte Edwards Cup in 2022, but did win their first Twenty20 match, beating North West Thunder by 5 wickets.[16][17] In September 2022, it was announced that Nottinghamshire CCC would become the new host of the team, replacing Loughborough University, and it was also announced that the name of the team would change.[18] The side finished sixth out of eight in the 2022 Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy.[19]
In November 2022, it was announced that the team had been renamed The Blaze.[20] Kirstie Gordon was named as the side's new captain in April 2023.[21] The side went unbeaten through the group stage of the Charlotte Edwards Cup, but lost in the final to Southern Vipers.[22][23] They also qualified for the knockout stages in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, finishing second in the group, before defeating South East Stars in the play-off.[24][25] However, they again lost to Southern Vipers in the final.[26]
Venue | Games hosted by season | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | Total | |
Trent Bridge | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
Grace Road | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
Kibworth Cricket Club Ground | – | 1 | – | – | 1 |
Haslegrave Ground | – | 2 | 3 | 2 | 7 |
County Ground, Derby | – | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
John Fretwell Sporting Complex | – | – | – | 2 | 2 |
Queen's Park | – | – | – | 1 | 1 |
As per 2024 season.[27]
No. | Name | Nationality | Birth date | Batting style | Bowling style | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Batters | ||||||
4 | Georgie Boyce | ![]() | 4 October 1998 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
11 | Bethany Harmer | ![]() | 30 October 2000 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | |
23 | Marie Kelly | ![]() | 9 February 1996 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | |
– | Prisha Thanawala | ![]() | 16 November 2001 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | |
All-rounders | ||||||
10 | Nat Sciver-Brunt ‡ | ![]() | 20 August 1992 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
17 | Kathryn Bryce ‡ | ![]() | 17 November 1997 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
21 | Teresa Graves | ![]() | 10 October 1998 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
84 | Orla Prendergast ‡ | ![]() | 1 June 2002 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | Overseas player |
– | Bella Howarth | ![]() | Unknown | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
– | Brianna Ray | ![]() | 16 November 2003 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
Wicket-keepers | ||||||
8 | Sarah Bryce ‡ | ![]() | 8 January 2000 | Right-handed | — | |
12 | Tammy Beaumont ‡ | ![]() | 11 March 1991 | Right-handed | — | |
25 | Michaela Kirk | ![]() | 30 June 1999 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | |
33 | Ella Claridge | ![]() | 28 September 2002 | Right-handed | — | |
35 | Bethan Gammon | ![]() | 10 March 2001 | Right-handed | — | |
– | Scarlett Hughes | ![]() | 18 June 2002 | Left-handed | — | |
Bowlers | ||||||
1 | Grace Ballinger | ![]() | 3 April 2002 | Left-handed | Left-arm medium | |
3 | Sarah Glenn ‡ | ![]() | 27 August 1999 | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | |
5 | Josie Groves | ![]() | 5 September 2004 | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | |
6 | Cassidy McCarthy | ![]() | 23 July 2002 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
7 | Lucy Higham | ![]() | 17 October 1997 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | |
22 | Sophie Munro | ![]() | 31 August 2001 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | On loan at Sunrisers |
24 | Kirstie Gordon ‡ | ![]() | 20 October 1997 | Right-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | Club captain |
– | Rhiannon Knowling-Davies | ![]() | Unknown | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
– | Charley Phillips | ![]() | 8 May 2003 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | On loan from Sunrisers |
The Blaze Academy team plays against other regional academies in friendly and festival matches across various formats. The Academy selects players from across the East Midlands region, and includes some players who are also in the first team squad. Players in the 2024 Academy are listed below:[28]
Name | County |
---|---|
Hayva Abbott | Nottinghamshire |
Maria Andrews | Derbyshire |
Libby Armitage | Lincolnshire |
Olivia Baker | Nottinghamshire |
Flora Davies | Leicestershire |
Evee-Mae Hicklin | Nottinghamshire |
Bella Howarth | Essex |
Rhiannon Knowling-Davies | Nottinghamshire |
Brianna Ray | Leicestershire |
D'Nica Roff | Leicestershire |
Lara Shaw | Derbyshire |
Prisha Thanawala | Leicestershire |
Amy Wheeler | Staffordshire |
Annie Williams | Nottinghamshire |
Season | Final standing | League standings | Notes | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
P | W | L | T | NR | BP | Pts | NRR | Pos | |||
2021 | Group stages | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –1.139 | 4th | DNQ |
2022 | Group stages | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | –1.072 | 4th | DNQ |
2023 | Runners-up | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 32 | +1.765 | 1st | Lost to Southern Vipers in the final |
Opposition | Mat | Won | Lost | Tied | NR | Win % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Central Sparks | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 83.33 |
Northern Diamonds | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 33.33 |
North West Thunder | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 33.33 |
South East Stars | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 20.00 |
Southern Vipers | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 20.00 |
Sunrisers | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 75.00 |
Western Storm | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 25.00 |
Opposition | Mat | Won | Lost | Tied | NR | Win % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Central Sparks | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 33.33 |
Northern Diamonds | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 33.33 |
North West Thunder | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 66.67 |
South East Stars | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 33.33 |
Southern Vipers | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 16.67 |
Sunrisers | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
Western Storm | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
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