Southern Vipers Quintet Hugely Impress On International Duty

Southern Vipers batters Danni Wyatt, all-rounders Charlie Dean and Freya Kemp, and fast bowler Lauren Bell all played their part in a hugely successful summer of international cricket.

England Women’s season was kicked off by a one-off test match against South Africa, where Lauren Bell made her international debut.

In the heavily rain-affected match, Bell took two important wickets, first trapping Lizelle Lee lbw, before Marizanne Kapp chipped the Vipers bowler to Tammy Beaumont at mid-off.

The ODIs followed where Dean quickly got into the groove, as she took eight wickets in three matches, with a best of 4-53 in the second ODI, where she was joined in the wickets column by Bell on her ODI debut.

Danni Wyatt was also in the mood, as she scored 55 runs at a strike rate of 220, before she scored 69 runs at a strike rate of 130 in the IT20 series, scoring 39 off just 24 balls in the second match, and 30 off 25 in the third.

This summer saw not one but two international debuts for Southern Vipers players, as Freya Kemp joined the England ranks in the third and final IT20 against South Africa, where she took the wicket of Anneke Bosch for 17, before she followed it up by dismissing Tamzin Brits for 59 to finish with figures of 2-18.

Then came the Commonwealth Games, with Wyatt, Bouchier and Kemp playing all five matches.

Maia Bouchier struck an unbeaten 21 and hit the winning runs as England cruised to victory against Sri Lanka in their opening match, as crowds flocked to Edgbaston to see women’s cricket in a multi-sport event for the first time in its history.

Further wins came against South Africa and New Zealand, before a narrow defeat to India where Danni Wyatt smashed 35 off 27, and Freya Kemp took 2-22.

A loss in the third place play-off meant that England left the Games medal-less, but 17-year-old Kemp ended the tournament as England’s leading wicket taker, ahead of the veteran Katherine Brunt, 20 years Kemp’s senior.

The Hundred then took centre stage in August, as Wyatt, Bouchier, Kemp and Bell all made the final, as Southern Brave went to Lord’s for the second consecutive year, whilst Charlie Dean led the way at London Spirit.

India came to town, and Lauren Bell was handed her third England cap of the summer, as she made her IT20 debut in Chester-le-Street, where the Three Lions romped to a convincing nine-wicket win.

The second match of the series saw the Vipers lead the way for England, as Freya Kemp became the youngest ever woman to score an IT20 fifty for her country, whilst Maia Bouchier raced to 34 off 26 balls.

The two players saved England from the mire as they put on 65 runs together for the sixth wicket, before Lauren Bell bowled four overs and only conceding 23 runs, when everyone else went at over seven runs per over.

Another victory in the third IT20 gave England the series win before a three-match ODI series rounded off the summer.

A series England might want to forget as they succumbed to a 3-0 defeat, but the Vipers still shined throughout.

Wyatt was second best with the bat in the opening match, as her 43 was only bettered by Alice Davidson-Richards’ half-century, before the Vipers batter scored her own fifty in the second, top scoring with 65 off just 58 balls.

Lauren Bell and Freya Kemp both picked up a wicket apiece, with the latter making her first outing in ODIs, before she took two wickets in three balls in the final match at Lord’s, first castling Jhulan Goswami for a golden duck, before she had Renuka Singh Thakur caught, also for a duck.

As England struggled with the bat, Dean stepped up, and was determined to get England over the line at the Home of Cricket.

She put on 35 for the final wicket with Freya Davies as fell just three runs shy of her maiden international fifty, as India won the match by just 16 runs.

Watch Danni, Maia, Charlie, Freya and Lauren in action for England at The Ageas Bowl next July, as The Ashes comes to the south coast.

England play Australia in an ODI on the 16th July 2023, in the most historic of international cricket contests.

The ballot closes at 11:59pm on Tuesday 18th October, so don't miss your chance to secure tickets to England Women v Australia, and England Men v New Zealand.

The best way to watch Freya and the rest of the Southern Vipers is with a Hampshire Cricket membership.

Memberships for 2023 are now on sale, from £180 for a standard membership, whilst junior and young adult memberships start at £25.

A Hampshire Cricket Membership provides the chance to be part of the Hampshire family and incorporates a whole host of exciting benefits for 2023.

Members are at the heart of everything that happens at Hampshire Cricket and The Ageas Bowl, and the Club continuously look to improve the Membership offering.