Match Preview: Southern Vipers v Western Storm, RHFT

Southern Vipers v Western Storm

Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy

Sunday 30^th June 2024 (10:30am start)

1^st Central County Ground, Hove

Southern Vipers return to 50-over action at the 1^st Central County Ground in Hove on Sunday as they look to make strides to bring back the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy for a final time under their current moniker.

They will aim to put their semi-final defeat in the Charlotte Edwards Cup behind them with eight group games still to play in the RHFT.

In their last 50-over match, the Vipers were defeated by table-topping Sunrisers at Radlett in an exhilarating clash that went down to the final over, where Georgia Elwiss recorded a half-century.

Storm were beaten by their wooden spoon rivals, The Blaze, despite a quickfire 73 from 54 from Nat Wraith.

Southern Vipers Squad

Southern Vipers have named a 14-player squad.

Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier, Charlie Dean, and Danni Wyatt are all on international duty with England Women as they play New Zealand.

Ava Lee and Abi Norgrove return to the squad.

Alice Monaghan remains injured.

Western Storm

Western Storm will be looking to get out of their rut, having won two of their six games so far.

Their previous defeat against The Blaze will hurt after a 139-run partnership between centurion Nadine de Klerk and Ella Claridge ended their first part of the campaign.

The two times they’ve visited the 1^st Central County Ground, they weren’t able to walk out onto the pitch to play – the first following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, and the second due to torrential rain.

Amanda-Jade Wellington continues her stint at the club where she has taken 21 wickets across her 15 matches, but they will be without Heather Knight, Dani Gibson, and Lauren Filer, all of whom are on international duty for England Women’s series against New Zealand.

2024 Season In Numbers:

• 7^th in RHFT
• Leading run scorer: Sophie Luff (255)
• Leading wicket taker: Sophia Smale (10)

Head-To-Head:

Southern Vipers’ record in Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy matches v Sunrisers:

Recent Meetings:

• May 4^th 2024 | Seat Unique Stadium | Vipers won by four runs
• July 15^th 2023 | Millfield School | Vipers won by four wickets (with 26 balls remaining)
• May 6^th 2023 | 1^st Central County Ground | No result
• September 9^th 2022 | 1^st Central County Ground | No Result
• June 12^th 2021 | Taunton | Vipers won by eight wickets (with 91 balls remaining)

Tickets

Tickets for Southern Vipers v Western Storm are available from £10 for adults, £3 for Under 18s and just £1 for Under 14s.

To secure your place at the 1^st Central County Ground, 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 throughout the match.

Weather Forecast

Please follow the link to view the latest weather forecast for Hove: https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/2646504.