Suzie Bates: "We Need Five Wins From Five"

Southern Vipers skipper Suzie Bates admits Saturday’s Kia Super League game against Loughborough Lightning is a must-win for her side.

Last year’s beaten finalists and the 2016 winners are in danger of making an early exit from the competition after losing four games since beating Surrey Stars on the opening day of the tournament.

They are bottom of the table after losing to Yorkshire Diamonds on Thursday and face another tough task against a Lightning team who are top of the table after their nine-wicket win over Surrey on Thursday.

Bates said: "Before Thursday we said 'no more slip ups' but we lost the game and it's a simple equation now - we need five wins from five. Sometimes when you've got no option but to win it makes you play more positively.

“There were some improvements on Thursday but it’s not nice to be losing.

“It just shows when you haven't been in winning form a bit of doubt creep into the things you do. To be 15 runs short on Thursday was frustrating, but the positive is that that's the best we've batted all season.

The Vipers’ batting will be boosted by the return of Tammy Beaumont, who has missed the last two games whilst serving the six-day mandatory concussion protocol after she was hit on the head in last Sunday’s game against Lancashire Thunder.

Beaumont said: “It’s been frustrating to miss cricket when your team have been struggling a bit.

“In the last few games we have been losing wickets too regularly. We need someone in the top four to be there at the end and we certainly need to win on Saturday. We can’t afford to lose any more games.

“We’re going to have to turn up and play some good cricket otherwise we’re going to be out of the competition before the last weekend which will be hugely frustrating.”