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Southern Vipers have named a 14-player squad to take on The Blaze in their Charlotte Edwards Cup opener at Utilita Bowl on 18th May
Southern Vipers v The Blaze
Charlotte Edwards Cup
Saturday 18th May 2024 (2:30pm start)
Utilita Bowl
Southern Vipers begin their Charlotte Edwards Cup title defence against last year’s finalists, The Blaze, at Utilita Bowl on Saturday 18th May.
The Vipers, who sit second in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, will be without a large chunk of their squad, with six players – Danni Wyatt, Lauren Bell, Charlie Dean, Maia Bouchier, Freya Kemp, and Linsey Smith – on international duty for the first few rounds.
Blaze, meanwhile, haven’t started the season as they would have hoped, winning just two of their opening six matches, but they too have been hampered by international call-ups with Kathryn and Sarah Bryce playing for Scotland in the Women’s T20 World Cup qualifiers.
They are expected, however, to have England opener Tammy Beaumont at their disposal, who is keen to get back into England’s T20 plans ahead of the World Cup in Bangladesh in October.
Besides the cricket, there’s plenty to pique your interest at Utilita Bowl on Saturday, with DJ Vin playing at the West Gate, with a Family Fun Zone on the Hilltop Terrace, courtesy of Energise Sports.
There will also be an opportunity to have photos and autographs with the players at the bottom of the Shane Warne Stand after the game, and both the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy and Charlotte Edwards Cup will be on display on the West Berm for fans to have their photos with until the first ball is bowled.
Southern Vipers have named a 14-player squad for their CEC opener.
Five players – Danni Wyatt, Lauren Bell, Charlie Dean, Maia Bouchier, and Linsey Smith – are all with England Women, whilst Freya Kemp has been released from the squad to play in the fixture tomorrow.
Abi Norgrove and Ava Lee could both potentially make their CEC debuts for the club tomorrow, whilst Poppy Tulloch is included in a 1st XI squad for the first time.
Emily Windsor will captain in the absence of Georgia Adams who is managing a thigh strain.
Freya Davies (61)
Alice Monaghan (20)
Georgia Elwiss (34)
Abi Norgrove (12)
Nancy Harman (25)
Rhianna Southby † (17)
Freya Kemp (6)
Megan Sturge † (3)
Charli Knott (88)
Mary Taylor (9)
Ava Lee (33)
Poppy Tulloch
Ella McCaughan (8)
Emily Windsor (4)
The Blaze
The Blaze will be looking to right their early season form by getting off to a strong start in the CEC.
They are led by spinner Kirstie Gordon, and will be rejoined by the Bryce sisters after Scotland qualified for the Women’s T20 World Cup for the first time, whilst Nadine de Klerk has continued her strong performances for the east midlands side, as she scored an unbeaten century in Blaze’s win over Western Storm in the RHFT.
Marie Kelly will look to go from ball one, whilst Tammy Beaumont will look to state her case to the England selectors with a mountain of quick runs.
Grace Ballinger, a quick left armer, leads the pace attack alongside de Klerk, with Sophie Munro another seam option; Gordon, Lucy Higham, and England Under 19s leggie Josie Groves are the picks of their spin bowlers.
2023 Season In Numbers:
2nd in CEC
Leading run scorer: Georgie Boyce (200)
Leading wicket taker: Nadine de Klerk (15)
Head-To-Head:
Southern Vipers’ record in Charlotte Edwards Cup matches v The Blaze:
Played
Won
Lost
Tied
No Result
6
5
1
0
0
Recent Meetings:
June 10th 2023 | New Road, Worcester | Vipers won by seven wickets (with 34 balls remaining)
May 29th 2023 | County Ground, Derby | Blaze won by five wickets (with two balls remaining)
May 29th 2022 | Trent Bridge | Vipers won by five wickets (with 20 balls remaining)
May 18th 2022 | Utilita Bowl | Vipers won by 31 runs
August 20th 2021 | County Ground, Derby | Vipers won by seven wickets (with 0 balls remaining)
Tickets
Admission for Southern Vipers v The Blaze at Utilita Bowl is £10 for adults and £7 for Under 17s both when booking online or on the gate.
To purchase tickets for Southern Vipers v The Blaze, please click here.
Match Coverage
A live stream will be available for the match, and a link to the stream will be available in the free-to-download Hampshire Cricket App and at www.utilitabowl.com/cricket.
Both the Hampshire Cricket App and www.utilitabowl.com/cricket will also host a live match centre with scorecard, statistics and insight available
