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
Grace Road
Haslegrave Ground
County Ground, Derby
John Fretwell Sporting Complex
Queen's Park
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] The side went unbeaten through the group stage of the Charlotte Edwards Cup, but lost in the final to Southern Vipers.[21][22] 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.[23][24] However, they again lost to Southern Vipers in the final.[25]

Home grounds
Venue Games hosted by season
20212223Total
Trent Bridge11125
Grace Road21227
Kibworth Cricket Club Ground–1––1
Haslegrave Ground–2327
County Ground, Derby–1113
John Fretwell Sporting Complex–––22
Queen's Park–––11

Players

Current squad

As per 2023 season.[26][27]

  • No. denotes the player's squad number, as worn on the back of their shirt.
  • ‡ 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
10Nat Sciver-Brunt ‡ England (1992-08-20) 20 August 1992Right-handedRight-arm medium
17Kathryn Bryce ‡ Scotland (1997-11-17) 17 November 1997Right-handedRight-arm medium
21Teresa Graves England (1998-10-10) 10 October 1998Right-handedRight-arm medium
Wicket-keepers
8Sarah Bryce ‡ Scotland (2000-01-08) 8 January 2000Right-handed—
12Tammy Beaumont ‡ 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 ‡ England (1999-08-27) 27 August 1999Right-handedRight-arm leg break
5Josie Groves England (2004-09-05) 5 September 2004Right-handedRight-arm leg break
6Cassidy McCarthy England (2002-07-23) 23 July 2002Right-handedRight-arm medium
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 ‡ England (1997-10-20) 20 October 1997Right-handedSlow left-arm orthodoxClub captain
–Rhiannon Knowling-Davies EnglandUnknownRight-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:[28]

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

Overseas players

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

As of the 2023 season.[3][29]

Seasons

Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy
Season Final standing League standings[30] 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
2023 Runners-up 147403438+0.1732nd Lost to Southern Vipers in the final

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
2023 Runners-up 77000432+1.7651st Lost to Southern Vipers in the final

Statistics

Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy
Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy - summary of results[30]
Year Played Wins Losses Tied NR Win %
2020 6240033.33
2021 7340042.86
2022 7240128.57
2023 16850350.00
Total 3615170441.67
  • 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[31]
Opposition Mat Won Lost Tied NR Win %
Central Sparks6500183.33
Northern Diamonds6240033.33
North West Thunder6220233.33
South East Stars5140020.00
Southern Vipers5140020.00
Sunrisers4310075.00
Western Storm4120125.00

Charlotte Edwards Cup
Charlotte Edwards Cup - summary of results
Year Played Wins Losses Tied NR Win %
2021 606000.00
2022 6150016.67
2023 8710087.50
Total 208120040.00
  • 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 Sparks3120033.33
Northern Diamonds3120033.33
North West Thunder3210066.67
South East Stars3120033.33
Southern Vipers6150016.67
Sunrisers11000100.00
Western Storm11000100.00

Records

Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy

Charlotte Edwards Cup

See also

References
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  2. "Women's Regional T20 2021 - Fixtures". England and Wales Cricket Board. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
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  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.
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