Thunder has announced the overseas player who is going to replace star player Deandra Dottin. The most capped Irish player and their current captain, Laura Delany will be replacing the West Indies all-rounder for the final 4 fixtures in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy.
Deandra Dottin played a total of 7 games for the Thunder this season, scoring a total of 196 runs from 6 innings including 2 fifties. Thunder is definitely going to miss Deandra’s explosivity.
Laura has represented the Irish side for a total of 54 times in the 50 overs format, amassing a total of 971 runs from 49 innings at an average of 22.06. Laura also has an international century to her name which she scored against Netherlands in 2022.
David Thorley, Regional director of Cricket said, “Once we realized that we would be without Deandra for the final four 50-over matches of the season, we felt it was important to replace her experience and run-scoring ability in the middle order and we feel that Laura fits the bill perfectly. After captaining her country for over seven years and making almost 150 appearances on the international stage, Laura will bring vital experience to our squad and we hope that her contributions on the field will help us to finish the season strongly.
Laura will be playing alongside the likes of Emma Lamb, Fi Morris, Naomi Dattani, Eleanor Threlkeld, and many more. Emma Lamb is currently Thunder’s top run scorer with 200 runs from 6 innings at an average of 40. While Naomi Dattani is Thunder’s top wicket-taker, picking a total of 7 wickets from 5 innings.
Thunder currently sit 6th at the points table, winning just 1 game from 10 games. 4 of Thunder’s games were declared as No Result thanks to the rain. While Thunder came close to winning not once but twice, but somehow ended up tying those matches.
Thunder will need some sort of miracle to finish in the top 3 as they are currently 9 points behind the third-placed team South East Stars.
Thunder will now face South East Stars in their next game on 5th September in Guildford. The season was halted as the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy was clashing with The Hundred.
It will be interesting to see how much difference the signing of Laura makes to this team, and whether she will power Thunder to a top 3 finish.
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