The Blaze (women's cricket)

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]

The Blaze
Personnel
CaptainKirstie Gordon (2023–)
CoachChris Guest
Team information
Colours   Red and yellow
Established2020
Home groundTrent Bridge, Nottingham
Grace Road, Leicester
Haslegrave Ground
County Ground, Derby
History
RHFT wins0
CEC wins0
Official websiteThe Blaze

Playing kit

History

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.[5] 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.[6] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 season was truncated, and only 50-over cricket was played, in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy.[7] Lightning finished bottom of the North Group in the competition, winning two of their six matches.[8] 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.[9]

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.[10] In the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, Lightning finished fourth in the group of eight, winning three of their seven matches.[11] 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.[12] Lightning bowler Kirstie Gordon was the leading wicket-taker in the competition, with 16 wickets.[13] Rob Taylor left his role as Head Coach at the end of the season, and was later replaced by Chris Guest.[14][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.[15][16] 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.[17] The side finished sixth out of eight in the 2022 Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy.[18]

In November 2022, it was announced that the team had been renamed The Blaze.[19] Kirstie Gordon was named as the side's new captain in April 2023.[20]

Home grounds
Venue Games hosted by season
202122Total
Trent Bridge1113
Grace Road2125
Kibworth Cricket Club Ground–1–1
Haslegrave Ground–235
County Ground, Derby–112

Players

Current squad

As per 2023 season.[21][22]

  • No. denotes the player's squad number, as worn on the back of their shirt.
  • double-dagger denotes players with international caps.
No. Name Nationality Birth date Batting style Bowling style Notes
Batters
4Georgie Boyce England (1998-10-04) 4 October 1998Right-handedRight-arm medium
11Bethany Harmer England (2000-10-30) 30 October 2000Right-handedRight-arm off break
23Marie Kelly England (1996-02-09) 9 February 1996Right-handedRight-arm off break
All-rounders
17Kathryn Bryce double-dagger Scotland (1997-11-17) 17 November 1997Right-handedRight-arm medium
21Teresa Graves England (1998-10-10) 10 October 1998Right-handedRight-arm medium
32Nadine de Klerk double-dagger South Africa (2000-01-16) 16 January 2000Right-handedRight-arm mediumOverseas player
–Nat Sciver-Brunt double-dagger England (1992-08-20) 20 August 1992Right-handedRight-arm medium
Wicket-keepers
8Sarah Bryce double-dagger Scotland (2000-01-08) 8 January 2000Right-handed—
12Tammy Beaumont double-dagger England (1991-03-11) 11 March 1991Right-handed—
25Michaela Kirk South Africa (1999-06-30) 30 June 1999Right-handedRight-arm off break
33Ella Claridge England (2002-09-28) 28 September 2002Right-handed—
Bowlers
1Grace Ballinger England (2002-04-03) 3 April 2002Left-handedLeft-arm medium
3Sarah Glenn double-dagger England (1999-08-27) 27 August 1999Right-handedRight-arm leg break
5Josie Groves England (2004-09-05) 5 September 2004Right-handedRight-arm leg break
7Lucy Higham England (1997-10-17) 17 October 1997Right-handedRight-arm off break
22Sophie Munro England (2001-08-31) 31 August 2001Right-handedRight-arm medium
24Kirstie Gordon double-dagger England (1997-10-20) 20 October 1997Right-handedSlow left-arm orthodoxClub captain
–Cassidy McCarthy England (2002-07-23) 23 July 2002Right-handedRight-arm medium

Academy

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 2023 Academy are listed below:[23]

Name County
Hayva AbbottNottinghamshire
Libby ArmitageNottinghamshire
Olivia BakerNottinghamshire
Evee-Mae HicklinNottinghamshire
Bella HowarthEssex
Amelia KempHertfordshire
Rhiannon Knowling-DaviesNottinghamshire
Ella PorterNottinghamshire
Brianna RayLancashire
D'Nica RoffLeicestershire
Prisha ThanawalaLeicestershire
Maddie WardNottinghamshire
Amy WheelerStaffordshire

Overseas players

Coaching staff
  • Head coach: Chris Guest
  • Regional Director: James Cutt
  • Assistant coach: Jon Bateson
  • Team Operations Executive: Sally Clarke

As of the 2022 season.[3][24]

Seasons

Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy
Season Final standing League standings[25] Notes
P W L T NR BP Pts NRR Pos
2020 Group stage 6240008-0.1134th DNQ
2021 Group stage 73400113+0.2744th DNQ
2022 Group stage 72401111–0.6306th DNQ

Charlotte Edwards Cup
Season Final standing League standings Notes
P W L T NR BP Pts NRR Pos
2021 Group stages 6060000–1.1394th DNQ
2022 Group stages 6150004–1.0724th DNQ

Statistics

Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy
Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy - summary of results[25]
Year Played Wins Losses Tied NR Win %
2020 6240033.33
2021 7340042.86
2022 7240128.57
Total 207120135.00
  • Abandoned matches are counted as NR (no result)
  • Win or loss by super over or boundary count are counted as tied.
Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy - teamwise result summary[26]
Opposition Mat Won Lost Tied NR Win %
Central Sparks4300175.00
Northern Diamonds404000.00
North West Thunder4220050.00
South East Stars202000.00
Southern Vipers202000.00
Sunrisers22000100.00
Western Storm202000.00

Charlotte Edwards Cup
Charlotte Edwards Cup - summary of results
Year Played Wins Losses Tied NR Win %
2021 606000.00
2021 6150016.67
Total 12111008.33
  • Abandoned matches are counted as NR (no result)
  • Win or loss by super over or boundary count are counted as tied.
Charlotte Edwards Cup - teamwise result summary
Opposition Mat Won Lost Tied NR Win %
Central Sparks202000.00
Northern Diamonds202000.00
North West Thunder2110050.00
South East Stars202000.00
Southern Vipers404000.00

Records

Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy

Charlotte Edwards Cup

See also

References
  1. "Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy Fixtures". England and Wales Cricket Board. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  2. "Women's Regional T20 2021 - Fixtures". England and Wales Cricket Board. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  3. "Guest appointed as new Lightning Cricket Head Coach". Loughborough University. 1 December 2021. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  4. "Loughborough Selected as Host for Women's Cricket". Loughborough University. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  5. "ECB launches new plan to transform women's and girls' cricket". England and Wales Cricket Board. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  6. "Taylor appointed as new Head Coach for Lightning Cricket". Loughborough University. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  7. "Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy: The special-edition 50-over competition explained". the Cricketer. 11 August 2020. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  8. "Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy 2020/Table". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  9. "Forty-one female players sign full-time domestic contracts". England and Wales Cricket Board. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  10. "Charlotte Edwards Cup 2021/Table". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  11. "Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy 2021/Table". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  12. "Bryce sister-act powers Lightning as Sparks face play-off roulette". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  13. "Records/Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, 2021/Most Wickets". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  14. "NEWS: Lightning Seek Replacement Coach As Rob Taylor Departs". CricketHer. 20 October 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
  15. "Tammy Beaumont's 59 leads Lightning to first-ever Charlotte Edwards Cup win". ESPNcricinfo. 21 May 2022. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  16. "Charlotte Edwards Cup 2022/Table". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  17. "Nottinghamshire to Become Women's Regional Host for East Midlands". Trent Bridge. 16 September 2022. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  18. "Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy 2022/Table". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  19. "Trent Bridge - Based Women's Regional Team Announced as 'The Blaze'". England and Wales Cricket Board. 11 November 2022. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  20. "Captain Gordon Prepared for Challenge as New Season Nears". Trent Bridge. 17 April 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  21. "The Blaze Announce Contracted Players Ahead of 2023". Trent Bridge. 22 November 2022. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
  22. "The Blaze: In Profile". Trent Bridge. 28 November 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  23. "Introducing The Blaze Academy". Trent Bridge. 23 December 2022. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  24. "Loughborough alumnus appointed Lightning's new Regional Director of Women's Cricket". Loughborough University. 31 January 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
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