Rosa Simkin (@rosatalksball) – 20/09/24
Date – 21/09/24
Time – 10:30 BST (GMT+1)
Location – Uptonsteel County Ground, Leicester
Where to Watch – YouTube
My Prediction – South East Stars Win
My Tournament Guide – https://rosatalksball.com/2024/04/18/the-rachael-heyhoe-flint-trophy-complete-guide-everything-you-need-to-know/
Women’s Regional cricket is facing its curtain call, as the final showdown in the current era takes place tomorrow at Leicester. Sunrisers and the South East Stars will battle it out to get their names engraved in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy for their first and final time in its current form, as the new Project Darwin era arises as the game is handed back to the Counties. But which of the two sides will come out on top in their last clash? For Sunrisers, the opportunity brings the first final in their 4 year history, for Stars their second but the desire to enter the transition with such a huge success will be equally rife among both sides.
Allow me to take you through the tie, from its history and the players involved to the stats and expectations, as we witness one last duel.
Order of Content – Head to Head (2024 Fixtures), The Squads, Sunrisers (Bio, The Semi Final, 2024 stats so far, players to watch), South East Stars (Bio, The Semi Final, 2024 stats so far, players to watch) & The final standings of the group stage.
Head to Head (ALL GAMES IN RHFT) – 8 Games; Stars (8 Wins), Sunrisers (0 Wins)
The Squads (Updated When Match Day Squads Revealed):
Sunrisers – Grace Scrivens (C), Amara Carr, Kelly Castle, Kate Coppack, Jo Gardner, Eva Gray, Jodi Grewcock, Cordelia Griffith, Esmae MacGregor, Lissy Macleod, Flo Miller, Sophie Munro, Amu Surenkumar & Mady Villiers
Stars – Maddie Blinkhorn-Jones, Priyanaz Chatterji, Kira Chathli, Tilly Corteen-Coleman, Aylish Cranstone, Alice Davidson-Richards, Phoebe Franklin, Dani Gregory, Chloe Hill, Emma Jones, Charlotte Lambert, Ryana MacDonald-Gay, Bethan Miles, Kalea Moore, Paige Scholfield, Bryony Smith & Alexa Stonehouse
Sunrisers
As far as comebacks go, the Sunrisers have certainly completed a historic one. Their first thirty two competitive games saw just one victory, with their first three seasons amounting to the wooden spoon in the RHFT. The story since the 2023 season, and the introduction of Andy Tennant has been revolutionary, however, with a platform of six wins in the 2023 Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy built upon in 2024, with their seven victories in fourteen games amounting to a debut semi-final clash via a fourth place finish and now a debut final at their last opportunity. For Sunrisers, this would mean a first victory against the Stars in 50-Over cricket, with the London & South East Region taking victory in all previous eight ties against their local rivals.
The Semi-Final:
Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy Semi-Final One
Northern Diamonds: 232/8 – Marlow 63 (102), Kalis 49 (75), Levick 2/45
Sunrisers: 234/3 – Gray 2/52, Griffith 68 (89), Grewcock 63* (68)
Sunrisers won by 7 wickets (with 38 balls remaining)
After electing to bat, Diamonds innings was built around a steady start thanks to Kalis and Marlow, finding themselves 138/3 just past the halfway stage, followed by a dramatic fall of wickets owing to a succesful Sunrisers squeeze, with six of seven bowlers used by captain Scrivens finding a wicket, therefore significantly stunting the momentum for the Diamonds side; Jodi Grewcock and Kate Coppack were the pick of the bowlers, with 1/26 and 1/29 respectively. However, a late flourish from Phoebe Turner with 32* from 15, including four 4s in the second to last over off Eva Gray boosted the Diamonds total to 232/8. The chase was as straight forward as can be from a Sunrisers perspective, however, with the bulk of the runs shared between opening batter Scrivens with 56 from 73, number three Cordelia Griffith with 68 from 89 and Jodi Grewcock with 63* from 68, who took her side over the line in just 43.4 overs, overcoming 2022 champions Diamonds!
2024 Stats So Far:
Top 5 Run Scorers:
- Grace Scrivens – 514 Runs (14 innings); 46.72 Avg & 70.31 SR
- Cordelia Griffith – 363 Runs (12 Innings); 30.25 Avg & 74.08 SR
- Jodi Grewcock – 363 Runs (14 Innings); 30.25 Avg & 72.45 SR
- Jo Gardner – 221 Runs (11 Innings); 20.09 Avg & 61.73 SR
- Lissy Macleod – 206 Runs (8 Innings); 34.33 Avg & 83.06 SR
Top 5 Wicket Takers:
- Mady Villiers – 17 Wickets (94.0 Overs); 4/36 BB, 25.35 Avg & 4.58 Econ
- Jodi Grewcock – 17 Wickets (110.4 Overs); 3/28 BB, 25.47 Avg & 3.91 Econ
- Kate Coppack – 15 Wickets (86.3 Overs); 3/26 BB, 25.86 Avg & 4.48 Econ
- Sophie Munro – 14 Wickets (42.2 Overs); 5/25 BB, 14.14 Avg & 4.67 Econ
- Nic Hancock – 14 Wickets (50.0 Overs); 3/15 BB, 15.00 Avg & 4.20 Econ
Players To Watch:
Jodi Grewcock – The Sunrisers set-up is certainly not short of young talent, and 19-year-old all rounder Grewcock is prime evidence of that fact. Her name brands both the top five lists, with her tricky leggies taking 17 scalps at joint first and her bat providing 363 runs.
Grace Scrivens – Scrivens is arguably one of the greatest talents the Regional format has created since its induction, the former England U19 World Cup skipper is currently the youngest full time regional captain on the circuit at 20-years-old. Her leadership, paired with her ability at the top of the order with 514 50-over runs this season have enabled the sucess of Sunrisers in the longer format and pushed them towards their first ever final.
Cordelia Griffith – Cordelia Griffith has certainly made a name for herself across formats in 2024. The 29-year-old opening bat was a part of the 2024 Hundred winning London Spirit side, with her role as a pinch hitter in the powerplay one of the highlights of their campaign. From a Sunrisers perspective her skill-set and experience have provided the side with 363 runs this season, and her contributions at the top of the order could be the difference between trophy and defeat.
South East Stars
The South East Stars look to cap off a succesful 2024 season, with their first silverware since their Charlotte Edwards Cup success in its debut season back in 2021. The side fell short in this year’s Charlotte Edwards final clash with The Blaze back in May, and secured a home semi-final after a comfortable 2nd place finish, with a six point margin separating them and third placed Vipers at the conclusion of the group stage. The side have historically underperformed from a 50-over perspective, with tomorrow’s clash with Sunrisers being their first final in the five seasons of the trophy, despite holding the ammunition of arguably one of the strongest squads country-wide. The stats this time round are however in their favour, with the side never failing to beat Sunrisers in competitive 50-over cricket, and with their strengthened side from an already succesful semi-final, I’d argue the only potential barrier they face is the dodgy weather forecast the Final and reserve day have to contend with.
The Semi-Final:
Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy Semi-Final 2
Southern Vipers: 220/9 – Harman 38 (50), Elwiss 3/39
South East Stars: 221/7 – Corteen-Coleman 3/33, Davidson Richards 90* (109), Moore 52* (52)
SE Stars won by 3 wickets (with 7 balls remaining)
After winning the toss away at Beckenham and electing to bat the Southern Vipers put on 220/9 in their 50-overs owing to key contributions from their middle-late order following the early wickets of their top three and recovery from 36/3. Nancy Harman, Georgia Elwiss and stand in skipper Emily Windsor acted as conductors to the rebuild with 38, 34 and 30 respectively. From a Stars point of view, it was a day of success from their young talent with the spin of Corteen-Coleman taking 3/33 and the pace of Stonehouse taking 2/53 in their restrictive bowling innings. The chase, however, was far from straight forward, after being left 55/4 including the loss of their top three in the 15th over. Alice Davidson-Richards was the hero, as she scored 90* (109) in a 2 and a half hour period at the crease, with her 90 run partnership with Kalea Moore, who contributed a one a ball 52* helping to guide the side over the line in dramatic fashion with just one over remaining.
2024 RHF Stats So Far:
Top 5 Run Scorers:
- Alice Davidson-Richards – 557 Runs (14 Innings); 42.84 Avg & 84.65 SR [1st Overall]
- Bryony Smith – 402 Runs (11 Innings); 36.54 Avg & 87.20 SR
- Aylish Cranstone – 317 Runs (13 Innings); 26.41 Avg & 102.25 SR
- Sophia Dunkley – 293 Runs (5 Innings); 97.66 Avg & 83.00 SR
- Tash Farrant – 280 Runs (7 Innings); 46.66 Avg & 85.36 SR
Top 5 Wicket Takers:
- Ryana MacDonald-Gay – 21 Wickets (69.2 Overs); 5/31 BB, 15.80 Avg & 4.78 Econ
- Kalea Moore – 17 Wickets (88.1 Overs); 3/10 BB, 24.82 Avg & 4.78 Econ
- Alexa Stonehouse – 15 Wickets (66.0 Overs); 4/27 BB, 22.60 Avg & 5.13 Econ
- Phoebe Franklin – 13 Wickets (94.4 Overs); 3/49 BB, 35.46 Avg & 4.86 Econ
- Danielle Gregory – 11 Wickets (109.4 Overs); 3/47 BB, 47.00 Avg & 4.71 Econ
Players To Watch:
Ryana MacDonald-Gay – MacDonald-Gay was one of the rising stars to make her debut England appearence in the recent series vs Ireland and that acts as a testiment to her form in recent years. Her right-arm pace has seen a combined – across all three formats this season, with the 20-year-old nearing the top of the overall wicket tallies and easily tops Stars with 21.
Paige Scholfield – The middle order bat was one of the stars of the recent Hundred tournament for Oval Invincibles, scoring 71 from just 40 balls in their opener vs Phoenix and she recently made her debut for England across white ball formats, scoring 95 runs in the multiformat series vs Ireland. The 28-year-old will be hoping to reflect her recent form for Stars, as she currently sits just outside their top five 50-over scorers this season.
Tilly Corteen-Coleman – The 17-year-old spinner has made headlines this season across formats as she’s burst onto the scene in dramatic fashion. She took six wickets for Southern Brave, including some major scalps in The Hundred following her recruitment in the main stages of the draft earlier this year by Charlotte Edwards, prior to her professional debut. For Stars she was their stand-out during their T20 campaign, with 16 wickets including a 5/19 including 4 in 4 vs Diamonds.
2024 Standings At Conclusion of Group Stage:
*All images used are property of Rosa Simkin (@rosatalksball) unless stated otherwise)*
