Yesterday, Central Sparks had also announced their squad for the Rachel Heyhoe Flint Trophy. The Women’s tournament is named after former England captain Rachael Heyhoe Flint, Baroness Heyhoe-Flint, who died in 2017.
The tournament will comprise of 8 teams, pooled into two groups, competing in a series of one-day matches to be played between 29th August to 19th September. The top team from each group will advance to the finals to be played on 26th September to determine the overall winner of the tournament. The one-off tournament is expected to provide much-needed match practice to England domestic players after the suspension of cricket for several months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2️⃣ more sleeps!! 💥👏
Today we’ve been busy with final preparations for the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, including practicing our #CovidCelebration! 👊
🎥 of @thea_brookes 🤜💥🤛 @chloehill1996 #sparkswillfly #ignitingthespark pic.twitter.com/MDNPOghyyd
— Central Sparks (@CentralSparks) August 27, 2020
The two groups are named ‘North Group’ and ‘South Group’ and include the following teams:
North Group: Central Sparks, Lightning, Northern Diamonds and Thunder
South Group: South East Stars, Southern Vipers, Sunrisers and Western Storm
The Central Sparks team, comprising of Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, and Staffordshire, have named their 15 players who will be representing these squad from these regions.
💥 We give you the @CentralSparks!! 💥
The girls are ready to sparkle and represent the West Midlands in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint trophy! 🏏🏆#sparkswillfly #oursparks #ignitingthesparks pic.twitter.com/Fx3owuEJgs
— Central Sparks (@CentralSparks) August 27, 2020
Following players will represent Central Sparks in the competition:
Evelyn Jones (Shropshire)
Evelyn Jones is a 28-year old left-handed batter who has represented Lancashire in the domestic one-day side before featuring in the Kia Super League for Lancashire Thunder. She has had limited success in her career so far and will hope to change her fortunes in this tournament.
Marie Kelly (Warwickshire)
Representing Warwickshire in the one-day competitions last year, this 24-year old batter’s only innings of note so far is her half-century against Surrey. She also featured in the Kia Super League last year, playing for Southern Vipers, but did not have any notable contribution. She will look forward to displaying her capabilities in this tournament.
Issy Wong (Warwickshire)
Issy Wong is a promising fast bowler aged just 19. She played for Warwickshire in the last season in the 50-over format, where she picked up 4 wickets for 25 runs against Yorkshire. She subsequently earned a call-up to the Southern Vipers side in the Kia Super League. She will look to impress again in this competition.
Clare Boycott (Worcestershire)
This 26-year old from Worcestershire has been performing consistently as an all-rounder for her side in the last 2 seasons. In her last 10 matches for Worcestershire, she has racked up 235 runs scoring 3 half-centuries out of which 2 were back-to-back. She has also picked up 7 wickets in those 10 matches. Although she has not played in the Kia Super League yet, she has finally been handed a place in this tournament which is very well-deserved.
Poppy Davies (Staffordshire)
Playing with Staffordshire since 2017, Poppy Davies has had a good record as a wicket-keeper. She has claimed 6 catches and 4 stumpings in her last 10 outings. She can also bat if required and has shown her ability scoring 39 runs against Worcestershire way back in 2018. Her record makes her the first-choice wicket-keeper in the squad for this tournament.
Gwenan Davies (Worcestershire)
Aged 26 years, Gwenan Davies started playing with Yorkshire Diamonds in the 2018 Kia Super League. She only played one game in the last 50-over cricket season before joining Surrey Stars for the 2019 edition of Kia Super League. A wicket-keeper, she has not got many opportunities yet and it remains to be seen how many matches she will play in this tournament.
Chloe Hill (Worcestershire)
Aged 23 years, Chloe Hill is the third wicket-keeper for this tournament. She has played for Worcestershire in the one-day seasons in 2018 and 2019. Her record as a keeper is modest, having claimed 3 catches and 2 stumpings in her last 10 outings. However, she can also bat and has scored an unbeaten 48 in the last match she played, against Essex in June 2019.
Georgia Davies (Warwickshire)
Georgia has represented Warwickshire in the last 2 seasons of the domestic one-day competition. Playing as a wicket-keeper, she has claimed 4 catches and 2 stumpings in her last 10 games and gets another opportunity through this tournament to add to her tally.
Milly Home (Shropshire)
Hailing from Shropshire, Milly Home last played competitive cricket in 2016 before taking a break until now. She has scored a half-century and 2 innings in the thirties in her last 10 innings but it remains to be seen if this break can make it difficult to get back into rhythm.
Anisha Patel (Warwickshire)
Anisha Patel has played in the 50-over domestic season since 2018. As a bowler, she has had a good record claiming 9 wickets in her last 10 outings. She gets another look-in for this tournament.
Grace Potts (Staffordshire)
Grace Potts has represented Staffordshire in the 2018 and 2019 domestic one-day season. Playing as a seamer, she has claimed 4 wickets from 8 matches. Her last assignment was representing England Academy in July 2019 where she picked up 3 wickets in 2 games.
Liz Russell (Warwickshire)
Liz Russell has represented Warwickshire in the last 2 seasons of the domestic one-dayers. Aged 26 years, she has a handy seamer, picking up 10 wickets in her last 10 games including taking 3 wickets for 17 runs against Sussex in the 2019 season. She will be expected to fill in a few overs in this tournament.
Emily Arlott (Worcestershire)
Emily Arlott has had a decent run with Worcestershire in 2018 and 2019 domestic one-day setup picking up 16 wickets in her last 10 games including a four-for and 2 three-fors. She will be an important bowler for her side in this competition.
Hannah Baker (Worcestershire)
Hannah Baker is a bowler who played for Worcestershire last year. She also played for the England Academy side and will now be representing The Central Sparks side in this tournament.
Thea Brookes (Warwickshire)
Playing for Southern Vipers in the Kia Super League last year, this 27-year old has not got another opportunity to play in this tournament.
The Central Sparks will begin their campaign on 29th August and will play their first game against Diamonds at Edgbaston.
