Western Storm has announced the 14-member squad for the upcoming Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Trophy. Eight regional teams will compete against each other for the honour of lifting the prestigious title. Western Storm will begin their campaign against South East Stars on Saturday, 29th August. Sophie Luff will lead the squad which includes experienced and young talented players.
The tournament will start from August 29 and the final will take place on September 26. Meanwhile, none of the games will be broadcast live on TV, but the ECB has confirmed that they are likely to make some games available via online streaming. The tournament will replace the 20-over Kia Super League, which has been played for four years.
Notably, the Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Trophy has been designed to fill the gap which has been created because of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak and its effect on the sporting event.
After the announcement, Head Coach, Mark O’Leary said: “Training has been going well and the players have been outstanding. The majority of the squad are taken from the region and we believe that’s really important. To be able to pick from the best of the talent from across the whole of the South West and Wales is extremely exciting.”
The head coach added, “This is a new era and a new competition, but Western Storm has a distinct identity of fielding players who care deeply about this region. That’s really important because Western Storm had such a great fanbase which we hope will remain in place because that genuinely inspires the players. We want to promote home-grown players and we want girls to see that Western Storm can provide a route for them to achieve their goals. We want to give young players something to aspire to.”
“We have a young squad, but I think that the majority of the teams are in the same position. I’ve done an awful lot of scouting and I’ve been overwhelmed by the quality that is available in the region. I’m excited to see how this group will develop.”
Lisa Pagett, the Regional Director of Women’s Cricket, said: “I’m really excited by the squad we have put together. There’s a great blend of senior players mixed in with some really exciting young talent from across the region.”
Lisa shared, “It’s obviously been a challenging phase for lots of different reasons, and in an ideal world, we would have had a bit longer to have seen players in action. However, having seen the group train together and witnessed how quickly they have progressed in a very short space of time leaves me in no doubt that we have the right group of players to be competitive in the Rachel Heyhoe-Flint Trophy.”
The Western Storm squad for Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Trophy:
Sophie Luff (Captain), Fi Morris (Vice-Captain), Danielle Gibson, Claire Nicholas, Alex Griffiths, Georgia Hennessy, Nat Wraith, Lauren Filer, Steph Hutchins, Lauren Parfitt, Emily Edgcombe, Niamh Holland, Emma Corney, Abbie Whybrow
