Live Stream: Hampshire Men v Durham, Rothesay County Championship
Watch the live stream of Hampshire Men's Rothesay County Championship match against Durham at Utilita Bowl
Southern Vipers’ captain Georgia Adams is looking forward to an ‘entertaining’ WBBL final against Brisbane Heat at the Adelaide Oval.
Adams has featured in 12 games for the defending champions, Adelaide Strikers, but has only batted five times thanks to an exceptional Strikers top order.
“It’s been great but equally having to sit back and put my feet up a little bit more has been different,” Adams told BBC Radio Solent.
“It’s been a different challenge for me, playing in the lower and middle order, and I have to really be on my toes with the bowling because we’ve for so many different options.”
With her off spin, Adams has taken four wickets in just 12 overs of bowling, whilst only conceding 6.50 runs per over.
Adams’ former Southern Brave teammates Amanda-Jade Wellington and Tahlia McGrath have led the attack for the Strikers, taking 20 and 12 wickets respectively, along with experienced Australian seamer Megan Schutt and up-and-coming spinner Anesu Mushangwe.
Eight Strikers players have bowled more than five overs in their 14 matches, which gives Adams another challenge of having to always be ready to turn the arm over.
She said: “Tahlia McGrath’s done a really good job of captaining because she does have a lot of options on the pitch with her.
“The challenge is always staying ready to bowl and having to do a bit more prep on my fields as well because I don’t know half of the players like I would back in England.”
Having topped the group, Adelaide Strikers will play at their home ground, the Adelaide Oval, which Adams says the team have been ‘desperate’ to do as they’ve never finished in the top spot before.
The Strikers team are also been on Adams donning her lucky attire for the match, something she didn’t know her teammates were aware of.
“I’ve been told I’ve got to put the lucky pizza pants back on,” said Adams, “I’ve gotten away with not wearing them once throughout the whole tournament but they’re undefeated in finals.”
“They’re going to have to make an appearance by demand of the players out here, I was like ‘how did you lot find out about this?’”
Looking ahead to the final, Adams will come up against a Brisbane Heat side containing Northern Diamonds’ Bess Heath, but also a powerhouse batting lineup containing Grace and Laura Harris, along with a bowling attack of Jess Jonassen, and Amelia Kerr.
“Heat have got so much depth and they’ve got batters that can take the game away from you,” Adams said.
“We’ve batted brilliantly but our bowling lineup is pretty phenomenal, we just keep going at teams.”
If the Strikers get over the line on Saturday, they will lift back-to-back WBBL titles, and Georgia Adams will get her hands on a fourth trophy to round off a simply exceptional year.
Full interview courtesy of BBC Radio Solent and is available to listen to here.
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.
Tickets for next summer’s Vipers action go on sale next year, while a Hampshire Cricket Membership entitles free admission to all Southern Vipers matches hosted at The Ageas Bowl.
By registering your interest, you will be able to access tickets as soon as they go on sale. Register your interest for Southern Vipers tickets via the link below.
Memberships for 2024 are now on sale, from the discounted Early Bird price of £190 for a standard membership, whilst junior and young adult memberships start at only £25.
A Hampshire Cricket Membership provides the chance to be part of the Hampshire Cricket family and incorporates a whole host of exciting benefits for 2024.
To see more about Hampshire Cricket’s membership offerings, please visit the link below.
Watch the live stream of Hampshire Men's Rothesay County Championship match against Durham at Utilita Bowl
Hampshire Men return Rothesay County Championship action against Durham at Utilita Bowl over May Bank Holiday weekend
Seven venues have been confirmed to host the tournament in 2026