The 2023 Charlotte Edwards Cup began with the Vipers in a tricky spot in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy standings.
Sat mid table, and having lost two of their opening four matches, the Vipers needed a strong start in the CEC to regain some confidence.
A first-ever trip to Falkland CC in Newbury did just that.
Despite a quick start from South East Stars openers Bryony Smith and Sophia Dunkley, the Vipers clawed their way back in thanks to a bullet throw from Alice Monaghan in the deep which caught the Stars skipper short.
The next over, Elwiss claimed the wicket of Dunkley, well caught behind by debutant Nicole Faltum.
Regular wickets, with three falling in Lauren Bell’s final over, stunted the Stars’ innings as they finished on 169-6 having been 134-0 in the 15th over.
Maia Bouchier and Danni Wyatt then gave the Vipers a similarly rapid start, smoking 56 runs before the former was run out for 38 off just 18 balls.
Wyatt kept her foot on the accelerator to make 40 from 20, with Faltum and Adams both striking at better than a run-a-ball, before 28 from Elwiss and a nine-ball 20* from Charlie Dean saw the Vipers home with seven balls to spare.
Western Storm then made the trip to The Ageas Bowl on Champions Day, where a stunning spell of swing bowling from Lauren Bell put the Vipers well on top.
She removed Nat Wraith and Dani Gibson, the latter with an exceptional in-swinger to take the inside edge, in the opening over, before Anya Shrubsole had Heather Knight brilliantly stumped down the leg side by Faltum in the second over, and the Storm found themselves 4-3 after just eight deliveries.
Fran Wilson and Sophie Luff began a recovery, but Dean struck to remove the former England batter.
The bowling remained tidy, with only one of the six bowlers going at more than a run-a-ball, as the visitors were restricted to 105-8.
Wyatt and Bouchier then picked up from where they left off at Falkland, with Wyatt smashing three consecutive boundaries in the opening over, with a brilliant yorker from Orla Prendergast brining her innings to a premature end.
Bouchier kept at it though, and struck eight boundaries on her way to 45, before Adams and Elwiss finished the job after just 14.1 overs.
The east midlands beckoned as the Vipers drove up to Derby to face The Blaze, with Freya Kemp making her return to professional cricket after suffering a stress fracture.
A strong Blaze bowling attack, led by South Africa’s Nadine de Klerk, kept the Vipers to 118 all out, with Adams’ 31 being the top score.
Wickets fell with somewhat regularity, with Smith, Shrubsole, Elwiss, and Adams all adding to their tallies, but it was England’s Tammy Beaumont that anchored the home side’s innings, with 49* as the Blaze snuck over the line with just two balls remaining.
Back at The Ageas Bowl, and with four players on international duty, the Vipers hosted Thunder in a hotly contested battle at the top of the table.
Electing to bat first, Thunder struggled with the experience of Smith and Shrubsole, as both bowlers struck early on.
There seemed to be a smell of sizzling meat in the air, with Thunder sensing the opportunity for a barbeque as the Vipers inflicted four run outs on their opponents, with Fi Morris, Seren Smale, Steph Butler, and Olivia Bell all falling short of their ground.
Set only 112 to chase down, Ella McCaughan made an impression at the top of the order, striking her best score in the Charlotte Edwards Cup with 42.
Adams’ 36 took the Vipers close to victory, but trying to hunt down a bonus point proved a little tricky, as Mary Taylor, Nancy Harman, and Freya Kemp all fell looking to end the match quickly.
Georgia Elwiss then walked out to bat and promptly hit the first ball of the 17th over for six to seal victory by four wickets.
Back in the midlands, this time at Edgbaston, the Vipers knew a win would keep them in the hunt for the top spot, despite the unbeaten Blaze continuing their run.
Set a target of 143 after Dean’s 3-27 and Elwiss’ 2-36, the Vipers once again started well, with the score reaching 42 at the start of the sixth over before McCaughan was bowled for 26.
However, Aussie Erin Burns soon got stuck in with her off spin to remove both Faltum and Adams, with Bethan Ellis dismissing Elwiss.
Danni Wyatt was still there though, and watched five wickets fall before she brought up her half-century from 34 balls.
Looking to clear the ropes off Ellis, Wyatt holed out to long off, and the Vipers were in strife at 117-6 with just 15 balls to go.
Needing 12 off the final over proved to be too much, as the Vipers fell seven runs short.
The very next day, the Vipers drove further north to Headingley where they met with the Diamonds.
An innings of two halves is what characterised the Vipers’ batting in the north east.
Having been 59-5 in the ninth over, with only Maia Bouchier and the unbeaten Georgia Adams reaching double figures, the orange and black side then added 95 runs from the final 11.4 overs.
Adams’ anchored the innings, and along with 25 from Windsor and a quickfire 32* from Harman, which included a final-ball six, the Vipers posted 144-6 in their 20 overs.
Then it was over to the Hoof.
Anya Shrubsole struck with her third delivery to clean up Lauren Winfield-Hill, before Dobson was caught in the same over.
She then had the Diamonds captain, Hollie Armitage, caught for two, and the home side were reeling at 5-3 in the fourth over.
Bess Heath threatened to end things quickly, but Mary Taylor struck back to pin her lbw.
Sterre Kalis and Chloe Tryon steadied the ship for the Diamonds, but Elwiss remove the latter before having Katherine Fraser caught second ball, and the Vipers were back in the driving seat.
Kalis then chipped to Adams for 32, and the game was all but in the bag, with the Diamonds needing 39 from the final ten, and victory was sealed by 16 runs.
The seaside played host to the Vipers final group match, as the Sunrisers made the trip to Hove where Linsey Smith spun a way around the side.
She removed Lissy MacLeod with her third ball before trapping Dane van Niekerk lbw to have the visitors 3-2 after 13 balls.
At the end of her second over Smith had a third when Mady Villiers chipped to Elwiss.
A fourth came when Monaghan ran out Amara Carr for a single, but Flo Miller and Cordelia Griffith began the rebuild.
Elwiss then got the breakthrough before Shrubsole removed Griffith for a well-made 65, and the visitors limped to 114-7.
Villiers then struck early, twice, but it was Adams once again who would steal the show with the bat.
She clattered the ball to all parts, with six fours and three sixes to end 63* from just 33 balls, as the Vipers sailed home by five wickets to give them a bonus point.
And so, it was to Worcester for Finals Day, and it was Thunder first up in the Eliminator where Danni Wyatt and Maia Bouchier stole the show.
The duo smashed a combined 23 boundaries, as both players passed fifty, with Bouchier winning the race, raising her bat after only 29 balls.
The hundred stand came up in the 11th over, with Wyatt too reaching her half-century though Bouchier fell soon after.
Quickfire runs from Dean and Elwiss down the order helped propel the Vipers to a formidable total of 191-6 against a side who were making their first ever appearance in any regional knockout.
Shrubsole once again was quick to act, as she removed Emma Lamb with her third delivery.
Smith and Dean then kept things tidy along with Adams as all three added to their wickets column to take out Thunder’s middle order, including Deandra Dottin.
Despite some resistance from Ellie Threlkeld (31) and Sophie Ecclestone (33), the Vipers didn’t let up, sealing victory by 18 runs with Adams claiming two final-over scalps.
Around an hour later, the players took to the field once more, and having led the team out for the final time in a Vipers shirt, Anya Shrubsole pinned Tammy Beaumont lbw with a beauty of an inswinger.
She then had Sarah Bryce caught in the third over as the table-toppers only managed 34-2 in the powerplay.
Georgie Boyce and Kathryn Bryce then fell in consecutive overs before the skies grew darker, and the rain drew in.
Back it was for day two of the Charlotte Edwards Cup final, with Charlie Dean resuming proceedings on a sunny Sunday morning with The Blaze 53-4 in the tenth over.
Struggling to get to grips with the pitch, The Blaze limped to 114-8, with Dean removing Sarah Glenn for seven and Nadine De Klerk for 14.
Yet again, the Vipers openers Bouchier and Wyatt flew out of the blocks, bringing up the fifty partnership after just 28 balls, ending the powerplay with 61 runs on the board.
Bouchier then fell for 25 but Wyatt continued to her 50, smacking 10 fours in the process.
She was dismissed with just 30 runs required from 9.2 overs, and despite the loss of McCaughan, Adams and Kemp safely saw the Vipers home, with a boundary off the bat of the captain doing the job, as the first trophy of the summer was lifted, a day later than planned.
Danni Wyatt was the Vipers’ leading run scorer in the Charlotte Edwards Cup, scoring 273 runs at an average of 45.50 whilst striking at a mammoth 150.00
Anya Shrubsole and Linsey Smith were the joint leading wicket takers for the Vipers, with both picking up 13 scalps, whilst Georgia Adams also made it into double figures along with her 249 runs.
Southern Vipers' fixtures for the 2024 season have been announced!
The Vipers play five times at The Ageas Bowl in 2023, including two double headers with Hampshire Hawks on 30th May and 14th June.
To the Southern Vipers' full fixture list, visit the link below.
