The Vipers’ quest to regain the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy began in front of a home crowd at The Ageas Bowl as they took on Sunrisers side desperate to win their first match in the competition.
The match also saw the return of Linsey Smith to the Vipers, with wicket-keeper Rhianna Southby becoming the 45th player to don the orange and black.
England U19 captain Grace Scrivens set the tone for the visitors with 67 before Smith had her stumped.
Jodie Grewcock and Mady Villiers also picked up half-centuries as the Sunrisers made a strong 288-7, with Smith picking up 3-50 in her first bowl for the Vipers since 2017.
Maia Bouchier then showcased the best of her abilities, smashing a 48-ball 57, but leg spinner Abtaha Maqsood proved to be the difference as she took 5-30 as the Vipers were bowled out for just 162.
Not a great start to the season.
However, a trip to Beckenham proved a fruitful one, with Ella McCaughan, Maia Bouchier, and Georgia Elwiss all made fifties as the Vipers posted 287-6 as the Stars handed the ball to nine of their players.
Lauren Bell then decimated the Stars top order as she took 4-37 – her second best RHFT figures – as she was on a hat-trick twice in the innings.
Tidy bowling from Linsey Smith, Alice Monaghan, and Georgia Elwiss kept the pressure on before Dean set about cleaning up the tail with 3-18 as the Vipers claimed an easy victory by 158 runs.
A visit to the Chilterns was up next, as the Vipers travelled to Wormsley to play Central Sparks.
On a wet morning, Adams won the toss and put the home side in, and Charlie Dean picked up the opening scalp with just her second ball.
Spin seemed the way to go, as captain Adams took 4-30 from her ten overs as the Sparks were restricted to just 183-9.
A tough start with the bat followed, as the Vipers found themselves as 46-4 in the 15th over, with McCaughan, Elwiss, Wyatt, and Bouchier all back in the pavilion.
Cue Adams and Dean with a 115-run stand for the fifth wicket, with the captain notching up her first half-century of the summer, ably supported by the all-rounder’s 42.
When both players fell in consecutive overs, they had taken the Vipers to within 21 runs of victory, but with only four wickets in hand.
Emily Windsor, on her return to the side, guided the Vipers home with the help of Rhianna Southby to secure victory by three wickets with 8.5 overs to spare, as we had our first dose of ‘winning runs Windsor’ of 2023.
Western Storm then made the trip to the seaside as Hove played host to its first RHFT match of the summer, although conditions were much like that at the time of writing, as play was abandoned without a ball bowled.
Four days later against the Sparks, the weather had improved along the south coast, allowing Ella McCaughan to record her second fifty of the year, although the rest of the Vipers’ batting performance couldn’t follow suit, as Australian Erin Burns picked up 5-36.
A target of 181 is what bestowed the Sparks, and despite Elwiss’ 2-27 from ten overs, the visitors knocked off the runs with 8.4 overs and six wickets in hand.
The RHFT then sat in the sidelines as the Charlotte Edwards Cup played out, the Vipers reigning victorious for the second time running, and the team returned to 50-over action at Chelmsford against the Sunrisers.
A much-depleted team, with six players unavailable on international duty – Bell, Bouchier, Dean, and Wyatt all in Ashes action, whilst Adams and Smith represented England A – Emily Windsor led a side containing Academy debutants Ava Lee, Megan Sturge, and Abi Norgrove, with 18-year-old Mary Taylor leading the pace attack.
The youngsters held their own against a Sunrisers side led by Dane van Niekerk, with Taylor picking up 2-39 and Lee 2-43, whilst the seniority of Elwiss claimed 3-37, as the Vipers were set 255 for victory.
Captain Windsor stepped up to the plate with 84, although no-one could quite stay with her, and despite a 26-ball 34 from Alice Monaghan, the Vipers ended up second best, finishing 28 runs shy.
Adams and Smith then returned for the Vipers next match against Thunder at Southport.
Opting to bat first, McCaughan and Norgrove set the platform for the Vipers, with an 85-run opening stand as the latter was dismissed just two runs shy of a maiden fifty.
Windsor then continued from where she left off at Chelmsford with 49, before Smith freed her arms, smacking 42 runs off just 33 balls, and along with cameos of 16 and 11 from Mary Taylor and Rhianna Southby, the Vipers posted a strong 262-8.
Vipers debutant Maitlan Brown then struck in her second over to remove England international Emma Lamb for just five, with spinners Smith and Lee keeping the Thunder batters tied down – their 20 overs conceded just 64 runs.
However, Thunder captain Ellie Threlkeld anchored the home side’s recovery with a run-a-ball 60, but when she was dismissed with 30 runs still needed off 13, the Vipers started to smell victory.
Tara Norris, however, had other ideas.
The former Viper smacked 51 from just 27 balls, taking 15 runs off the final over, leaving the scores tied on exactly the same – 262-8 – as the points were shared in the north west.
The south coast side then had to take a boat to their next match, as the Vipers paid their first visit to the Isle of Wight as the table-topping Blaze were the opposition.
Maia Bouchier returned from international duty, and repaid the Vipers with 40 from 52 at the top of the order, whilst captain Adams anchored the innings.
She recorded her second highest score for the Vipers, finishing on 94 not out, with the final over not being quite long enough to score the 14 runs she needed to reach three figures.
The Blaze then got off to a rapid start, with boundaries flowing off the bats of Marie Kelly and Sarah Bryce, as their racked up 115 for the first wicket before the latter edged behind off the bowling of Adams.
Regular wickets kept the Vipers interested, and when Smith picked up two in two in the 44th over, the game was suddenly in the balance.
However, with just 31 runs needed, the visitors took just another five overs to reach their target of 260, with the Vipers’ hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages in even more doubt.
Back in Great Britain, the Vipers headed out west to Millfield School, just around the corner from Glastonbury, as they took on Western Storm, hoping for the rain to stay away.
The weather did play a role, although only a couple of overs were knocked off the allocation.
Tidy bowling from the visitors, with only one bowler going at more than a run-a-ball, kept the Storm to 230-5, with Smith and Adams picking up a couple each as they continued their battle at the top of the team’s wicket table.
A sprightly start from Bouchier then put the Vipers in the driving seat, as the opener rocked up 71 – her highest score in orange and black – in just 72 balls, with Adams making 59 from 66 at the other end.
Freya Kemp then smacked the ball to the boundary rope eight times in her 36-ball 47, only being dismissed as she looked to eye up her 50, as Alice Monaghan finished the job with a four from her second ball.
Arundel played host to its first match of the summer, and while play was abandoned halfway through the first innings, there was still enough time for Mary Taylor to produce a seed to clean up Lauren Winfield-Hill.
After many of the team lifted another trophy with Southern Brave, the Vipers rejoined for a lengthy trip to Newcastle where South Northumberland CC played host to their match against Northern Diamonds.
A strong partnership between Ella McCaughan (47) and Georgia Adams (82) set a platform for the Vipers, although they couldn’t quite capitalise on their position, as seamers Lizzie Scott and Grace Hall picked up seven of the eight wickets to fall.
However, Emily Windsor showed what she had been working on during her time at Welsh Fire, as she scored 39 at quicker than a run-a-ball.
In reply, the Diamonds started slightly sluggishly but keeping up with the rate enough to think that a target of 262 wouldn’t trouble them too much, especially with captain Hollie Armitage leading from the front.
However, economical figures of 1-34 from Adams and 1-32 from Lee put the pressure on the Diamonds.
With Armitage nearing her century, the run rate for the Diamonds kept climbing, and the home side needed 15 from the final two overs, which became nine from the last.
A half-fit Georgia Elwiss, suffering from a lower back problem, bowled the final over off a shortened run up, and successfully defended the nine needed, conceding only five and picking up the wicket of Leah Dobson, as the Vipers ran out winners by just three runs, despite an unbeaten 106 from Armitage, and the home side having five wickets in hand.
The Vipers then travelled back to Arundel where Adams and Windsor once again showcased their abilities.
The captain was the standout performer once more, with 71 from just 70, whilst Windsor smashed 59 from 67.
A falter at the end of the innings once again left the Vipers feeling they were a few runs short, setting Thunder 238 for victory.
However, a strong start from the Vipers soon put things in their favour, as Linsey Smith struck three times in the first eight overs, with Mary Taylor cleaning up Seren Smale, as the visitors found themselves 22-4.
Adams then got in on the act dismissing Irish all-rounder Laura Delaney before Fi Morris and Daisy Mullan set about steading the ship.
A quick 50 from Morris was ended by Lee who picked up 1-36, before Taylor returned to clean up the tail to end with career-best figures of 4-39 as the Vipers won comfortably by 64 runs.
A home tie against the Stars was up next, as the Vipers kept climbing up the table to threaten the visitors, along with the Blaze.
The Vipers mustered up another innings of maybes, with McCaughan (44), Adams (49), and Kemp (39) all getting starts, and along with Smith’s 51 – her first professional fifty – the Vipers posted 254, being bowled out with ten balls unused.
Early wickets once again got the home side off to a strong start, with Smith dismissing both Bryony Smith and Kira Chathli for single figures.
Regular scalps in the middle overs kept the Vipers in the hunt, as Adams, Lee, and Monaghan all claimed two each, and despite a quickfire half-century from Aylish Cranstone, the Vipers ended victorious by 58 runs.
So then it was to Loughborough, as the Vipers took on the Blaze in the final group match of the competition.
A bonus point win, and with a large enough shift in net run rate, would see them straight through to the final.
Despite the early wicket of McCaughan, the Vipers posted a strong total of 288 thanks to 64s from both Bouchier and Elwiss, with another half-century from Windsor and 40 from Adams.
Kemp and Dean, back from England duty, also chipped in, with 25 and 21 respectively off 18 balls each.
Mary Taylor then continued to show why she is a future star, as she dismissed Lizelle Lee in the very first over, and claimed two more wickets – both caught by Southby – to finish with 3-15 from seven overs.
Standing up to the stumps for all 39.1 overs, Southby claimed four catches, along with assisting two run outs, as the Blaze collapsed to 162 all out, giving the original orange and black side a 126-run victory, and sending them straight through to the final at Northampton.
The two sides would meet the next week, and for the second time in a regional final.
After rain delayed the match for around an hour, the won the toss and chose to bowl first, with Blaze skipper Kirstie Gordon stating she would’ve chosen to bat anyway.
Linsey Smith was quick to snap up the opportunity with the ball, striking with her first delivery to remove Lizelle Lee before picking up the wicket of Marie Kelly in the same over.
Two-fors from Dean and Adams in the middle ensured the Blaze didn’t get away, despite Tammy Beaumont’s 76, with Ava Lee spinning a web around the England opener.
After a rain-reduced 48 overs, the Blaze posted 200 – 17 more than the Diamonds managed in the thrilling final at the same ground in 2021.
A double strike from Kathryn Bryce put some nerves in the Vipers camp, as they were reduced to 4-2 in the fourth over, but Georgias Adams and Elwiss put a stop to any more inroads from the Blaze.
The latter reached her third fifty of the summer, and her second in as many games, before home-grown Northamptonshire spinner Josie Groves sent both Elwiss and Adams back to the pavilion in the same over, with Dean following suit not long after.
109-5 with 22 overs to go, and the Vipers found themselves in a spot of bother.
But for the second time in a RHFT final at Wantage Road, it was Emily Windsor who would steal the headlines.
Along with Freya Kemp, who’s mature innings of 32* would win praise amongst teammates and head coach Charlotte Edwards, Windsor reached her fourth fifty of the summer, before creaming a drive through the covers for four to seal victory with 7.4 overs to spare, as winning runs Windsor rounded off a historic double for the Vipers.
With 546 runs, and five fifties, Georgia Adams led the way for the Vipers with the bat, scoring her runs at an average of just under 50.
The skipper was also the team’s leading wicket taker in the tournament, with 20 scalps to her name, one better than the returning Linsey Smith, with a best of 4-30.
2023 also saw six new Vipers, with the likes of Rhianna Southby, Nicole Faltum, Abi Norgrove, Megan Sturge, Ava Lee, and Maitlan Brown all debuting for the club, with a total of 20 players being required across the season.
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.
