The Charlotte Edwards Cup will get below method for a 3rd season on Thursday when Sunrisers and Central Sparks meet within the first sport of the 2023 competitors.
All eight groups will play their opening sport over the primary six days of this 12 months’s 20-over cup as Southern Vipers bid to defend the title they gained in 2022.
Vipers don’t start till Tuesday with a house fixture in opposition to South East Stars, the inaugural winners in 2021.
Western Storm have an opportunity of early headway with two video games in three days.
The 23-day competitors is because of finish with Finals Day at New Street, Worcester on Saturday, 10 June.
Opening fixtures
18 Could: Sunrisers v Central Sparks (Chelmsford, 18:30 BST)
19 Could: Northern Diamonds v Western Storm (Headingley, 18:30 BST)
20 Could: South East Stars v The Blaze (Beckenham, 14:30 BST)
21 Could: Western Storm v Thunder (Taunton 14:30 BST)
23 Could: Central Sparks v Northern Diamonds (Edgbaston, 11:00 BST)
23 Could: Southern Vipers v South East Stars (Falkland CC, Newbury, 11:00 BST).
The groups
Southern Vipers
2022: Winners
Captain: Georgia Adams
Abroad participant: Nicole Faltum (Australia)
2022 prime run-scorer: Danni Wyatt (221)
2022 prime wicket-taker: Charlie Dean (12)
Can the Vipers repeat their 2022 kind? Final 12 months they had been flawless within the Charlotte Edwards Cup – seven video games, seven wins – however heavy defeats by Sunrisers and Central Sparks early on on this 12 months’s 50-over Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy have raised eyebrows. On paper they’re nonetheless as sturdy as ever, particularly if Wyatt, Dean and Bell fireplace.
Key winter strikes:
Out have gone key gamers Paige Scholfield, Tara Norris and the retired Carla Rudd however Linsey Smith (Diamonds) provides high-quality together with her left-arm spin and Rhianna Southby (South East Stars) has already proven off her fast fingers behind the stumps within the 50-over match. Melbourne Stars’ Nicole Faltum gives respectable cowl.
Participant to observe: Maia Bouchier
Having been unused within the Girls’s T20 World Cup earlier this 12 months, the batter has been reminding England onlookers of her brutal greatest already this summer season – with two fifties already. Most likely one of the best cowl driver exterior of Laura Wolvaadt in ladies’s cricket and one of many most secure pair of fingers within the sport.
Central Sparks
2022: Overwhelmed finalists
Captain: Eve Jones
Abroad participant: Erin Burns (Australia)
2022 prime run-scorer: Amy Jones (289)
2022 prime wicket-taker: Grace Potts (12)
Will the arrival of Erin Burns assist the Sparks recover from the road and clinch the trophy after their close to miss final season?
With England stars Amy Jones and Issy Wong more likely to be accessible, Sparks may have loads of confirmed top-level means to assist convey one of the best out of the rising expertise round them.
Key winter strikes:
The signing of vastly skilled Australian all-rounder Burns will inject high quality and nous into all division of the aspect.
Participant to observe:
Emily Arlott has adopted Olly Stone’s route from Norfolk to the West Midlands and will nicely emulate his rise into the England arrange. An aggressive seamer who retains the batters below strain, the 25-year-old will probably be key to the Sparks’ hopes.
South East Stars
2022: Semi-finals
Captain: Bryony Smith
2022 prime run-scorer: Aylish Cranstone (235)
2022 prime wicket-taker: Bryony Smith (11)
England seamer Tash Farrant is being eased again gently following a critical again harm final season, having bowled solely 12 overs in 4 RHFT appearances up to now. A star-studded batting line-up ought to assure runs, however a match and firing Farrant could be key.
Key winter strikes:
Paige Scholfield moved to Stars from Southern Vipers over the winter and already has two centuries, her first-ever in Record-A cricket, amongst 300-plus runs within the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy. The 27-year-old South African all-rounder will look to hold that confidence into the shorter format.
Participant to observe:
Sophia Dunkley had an underwhelming Girls’s Indian Premier League stint, however her unbeaten hundred for Stars of their RHFT defeat by Northern Diamonds this week suggests she could have discovered her mojo. A shoo-in for England today, if Dunkley is at her explosive greatest, Stars may very well be match favourites.
Northern Diamonds
2022: Second (Group B)
Captain: Hollie Armitage
Abroad participant: Chloe Tryon (South Africa)
2022 prime run-scorer: Hollie Armitage (151)
2022 prime wicket-taker: Katie Levick (15)
Can the Diamonds add the lacking piece of their jigsaw?
Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy champions final 12 months, they’re but to style success in T20 cricket.
Having been overwhelmed finalists in 2021, they failed to succeed in Finals Day final 12 months – and concentrating on this competitors fashioned an enormous a part of their winter preparation.
Key winter strikes:
Jenny Gunn (retired) and Linsey Smith (Vipers) have departed, however the signing of South Africa worldwide all-rounder Tryon provides expertise and firepower to a youthful wanting squad. Batter Rebecca Duckworth has signed from Thunder, whereas Scotland Underneath-19s captain and all-rounder Katherine Fraser has joined.
Participant to observe:
England A star Bess Heath might additional increase her popularity. The Diamonds back-up wicketkeeper to Lauren Winfield-Hill, the pair might open the batting collectively. Heath, 21, mixes energy with innovation. She spent a part of the winter with Melbourne Stars within the Massive Bash. It could be no shock to see her graduate by means of to senior worldwide cricket.
Western Storm
2022: Third (Group A)
Captain: Sophie Luff
2022 prime run-scorer: Sophie Luff & Georgia Hennessy (158)
2022 prime wicket-taker: Danielle Gibson & Claire Nicholas (6)
Will Storm be capable to rating enough runs to render themselves aggressive? A batting line-up already been weakened by the departure of Georgia Hennessy, Fi Morris and Katie George, may very well be additional denuded by the absence of former England captain Heather Knight and talismanic skipper Sophie Luff, who’s recovering from a fractured thumb and will miss the beginning of the marketing campaign.
Key winter strikes:
Hit by the departure of a number of established gamers, together with star bowler Anya Shrubsole, Storm replenish their ranks with Eire worldwide Orla Prendergast to play in all competitions for everything of Could and June. The 20-year-old all-rounder has already made a constructive influence within the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy and her continued good kind will probably be key for Storm within the shorter format.
Participant to observe:
Appointed vice captain this 12 months, all-rounder Dani Gibson has lastly come of age. Chosen as a travelling reserve for the England group ultimately winter’s ICC T20 World Cup, the Bristolian has emerged as a pivotal determine for Storm. Gibson’s intelligent variations render her a key performer, whether or not with the brand new ball or bowling on the dying, whereas her means to clear the sector and discover the boundary, and up the scoring charge, means she is a drive to be reckoned with at quantity 5 within the batting line-up. She could greatest be deployed as a pinch-hitter greater up the order.
Thunder
2022: Third (Group B)
Captain: Ellie Threlkeld
Abroad participant: Deandra Dottin (West Indies)
2022 prime run-scorer: Emma Lamb (191)
2022 prime wicket-taker: Hannah Jones (9)
Can Thunder flip round a irritating begin to the summer season wherein they’ve gone winless of their first 5 50-over matches – two defeats, a tie and two video games rained off.
However they haven’t but made it past the group phases of any regional competitors as they once more search their maiden title. It’s hoped that England trio Kate Cross, Sophie Ecclestone and Emma Lamb will probably be accessible for the overwhelming majority of this competitors forward of the Ashes.
Key winter strikes:
Six gamers have joined Thunder for 2023, together with three on full-time contracts, all-rounders Naomi Dattani and Fi Morris and seamer Tara Norris, who gained this competitors with Vipers final 12 months. Steph Butler and Hannah Rainey have added depth to the squad however are but to debut. Former West Indies star all-rounder Dottin has returned.
Participant to observe:
A nickname of “The World Boss” signifies you need to control Dottin. A canny seamer and an exhilarating batter, she has to carry out if Thunder are to problem. Bajan Dottin scored the first-ever ladies’s T20 worldwide century when she crashed 112 off 45 balls on the 2010 World Cup for West Indies v South Africa.
Sunrisers
2022: Fourth (Group A)
Captain: Kelly Fort
Abroad participant: Dane van Niekerk (South Africa)
2022 prime run-scorer: Naomi Dattani (157)
2022 prime wicket-taker: Kelly Fort & Grace Scrivens (7)
The one method is up for Sunrisers, having misplaced all six of their T20 fixtures final 12 months and 10 of their final 11. Growing a extra ruthless mentality will probably be essential. Final season they surrendered profitable positions too typically, most notably in opposition to Western Storm when 4 overthrows offered their opponents with a last-ball victory.
Key winter strikes:
Dane van Niekerk’s determination to name time on her worldwide profession in March was eagerly welcomed within the Sunrisers camp, with the previous South Africa captain rapidly snapped up for the complete match. Sunrisers will hope Van Niekerk’s glittering T20 report – with 65 wickets and shut on 2,000 runs for her nation – can galvanise their marketing campaign.
Participant to observe:
Van Niekerk’s arrival brings one other choice to an already well-stocked spin cupboard, however the stand-out classic might nicely be leg-spinner Abtaha Maqsood. The Scotland worldwide has already caught the attention together with her flight and variation within the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy this season and may show an efficient weapon within the post-powerplay overs.
The Blaze (previously Lightning)
2022 end: Fourth (Group B)
Captain: Kirstie Gordon
Abroad gamers: Nadine de Klerk (South Africa)
2022 prime run-scorer: Tammy Beaumont (136)
2022 prime wicket-taker: Piepa Cleary (7)
Underneath their earlier identification as Lightning, the East Midlands aspect gained just one match in 12 over the primary two seasons of the Charlotte Edwards Cup and the take a look at will probably be to see if their enchancment in 50-over cricket – they’re early-season leaders within the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy – can translate to the shorter format.
Key winter strikes:
The dearth of top-level expertise that labored in opposition to Lightning has been addressed, with England’s Sarah Glenn and Nat Sciver-Brunt becoming a member of team-mate Tammy Beaumont within the Blaze squad together with South African all-rounder Nadine de Klerk, who was a part of the group that knocked out England on the semi-final stage of the T20 World Cup in February.
Participant to observe:
Nadine de Klerk’s contribution to The Blaze’s nice begin within the 50-over competitors has included a career-best seven for 33 in opposition to Northern Diamonds and she or he brings a high-quality T20 pedigree, having helped South Africa attain the ultimate of the T20 World Cup after taking the important thing wicket of latest team-mate Nat Sciver-Brunt within the semi-final defeat of England.
Phrases equipped by ECB Reporters’ Community.
