Dates | 29 May 2021 – 25 September 2021 |
---|---|
Administrator(s) | England and Wales Cricket Board |
Cricket format | 50-over cricket |
Tournament format(s) | Round-robin and playoffs |
Champions | Southern Vipers (2nd title) |
Participants | 8 |
Matches | 30 |
Most runs | Sophie Luff (417) |
Most wickets | Kirstie Gordon (16) |
Official website | ECB |
The 2021 Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy was the second edition of the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, an English women's cricket 50-over domestic competition, which took place between 29 May and 25 September 2021. It featured eight teams playing in a round-robin group, followed by a knock-out round. The holders were the Southern Vipers, who won the inaugural competition in 2020. It ran alongside the Charlotte Edwards Cup. The tournament was named after former England captain Rachael Heyhoe Flint, Baroness Heyhoe-Flint, who died in 2017. [1]
Southern Vipers finished top of the group stage, and as a result, they qualified automatically for the final. Northern Diamonds and Central Sparks finished second and third respectively, and so contested the playoff, which was won by the Diamonds to qualify for the final. In the final at the County Ground, Northampton, Southern Vipers won their second Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy in two years, beating Northern Diamonds by 3 wickets with 2 balls to spare.
The Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy was a 50-over cricket tournament created in 2020 so that English women's cricket could be played in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic. [2] A full season was scheduled for 2021, and, due to the popularity of the decision to name the trophy after Rachael Heyhoe Flint, the name was retained. [1] The fixtures took place in two blocks, with the inaugural Charlotte Edwards Cup and The Hundred taking place in between. [3]
The competition featured eight teams that represent regional hubs. Teams played each other once in a group of eight, with the top three qualifying for the knock-out stage. The second-placed team played the third-placed team on the 22 September, with the winner advancing to play the first-placed team in the Final on the 25 September. [4] The Final was played at the County Cricket Ground, Northampton. [5]
The teams were as follows: [4]
Teams received 4 points for a win. A bonus point was given where the winning team's run rate was 1.25 or greater times that of the opposition. In case of a tie in the standings, the following tiebreakers would be applied in order: highest net run rate, team that scored the most points in matches involving the tied parties, better bowling strike rate, drawing of lots. [4]
Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | NR | BP | Pts | NRR |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Southern Vipers (Q) | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 27 | 0.417 |
2 | Northern Diamonds (Q) | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 23 | 1.182 |
3 | Central Sparks (Q) | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 22 | 0.822 |
4 | Lightning | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 0.274 |
5 | South East Stars | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | −0.226 |
6 | Western Storm | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | −0.462 |
7 | North West Thunder | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | −0.620 |
8 | Sunrisers | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1.598 |
Source: [3]
Northern Diamonds 279 (49.2 overs) | v | Central Sparks 283/8 (48.2 overs) |
North West Thunder 291/8 (50 overs) | v | Western Storm 295/9 (50 overs) |
South East Stars 324/7 (50 overs) | v | Sunrisers 189 (39.2 overs) |
Lightning 214/9 (50 overs) | v | Southern Vipers 215/6 (46.5 overs) |
Northern Diamonds 151 (45.5 overs) | v | Lightning 145 (48.1 overs) |
Central Sparks 295/7 (50 overs) | v | Western Storm 254/9 (50 overs) |
South East Stars 137 (39.5 overs) | v | Southern Vipers 138/3 (28.4 overs) |
North West Thunder 247/9 (50 overs) | v | Sunrisers 211 (45.2 overs) |
Western Storm 245/8 (50 overs) | v | South East Stars 249/4 (43.1 overs) |
Sunrisers 53 (29.1 overs) | v | Northern Diamonds 54/1 (7.4 overs) |
Central Sparks 224 (49.2 overs) | v | Southern Vipers 104 (27.5 overs) |
Lightning 259/5 (50 overs) | v | North West Thunder 125 (39.2 overs) |
South East Stars 250/6 (50 overs) | v | Northern Diamonds 254/7 (49.2 overs) |
Sunrisers 206/9 (50 overs) | v | Lightning 210/5 (40.2 overs) |
Central Sparks 203 (49.5 overs) | v | North West Thunder 205/8 (48 overs) |
Western Storm 177 (49.3 overs) | v | Southern Vipers 178/2 (34.5 overs) |
Western Storm 183 (38.1 overs) | v | Northern Diamonds 184/3 (31.1 overs) |
South East Stars 293/9 (50 overs) | v | Lightning 265 (49.2 overs) |
Sunrisers 204/7 (42 overs) | v | Central Sparks 208/4 (37.2 overs) |
North West Thunder 110 (32.5 overs) | v | Southern Vipers 112/7 (33.5 overs) |
Northern Diamonds 294/6 (50 overs) | v | North West Thunder 189/8 (50 overs) |
Central Sparks 229 (49.1 overs) | v | South East Stars 114 (31.3 overs) |
Western Storm 228/7 (50 overs) | v | Lightning 166 (41.2 overs) |
Southern Vipers 309/9 (50 overs) | v | Sunrisers 308/6 (50 overs) |
Lightning 320/6 (50 overs) | v | Central Sparks 296/9 (50 overs) |
North West Thunder 185 (47 overs) | v | South East Stars 130 (35 overs) |
Western Storm 313/4 (50 overs) | v | Sunrisers 277 (44.3 overs) |
Northern Diamonds 256 (48.3 overs) | v | Southern Vipers 260/5 (48.5 overs) |
Northern Diamonds and Central Sparks finished second and third respectively in the group stage, and so contested the playoff. [7]
Play-off | Final | ||||||||
1 | Southern Vipers | 187/7 | |||||||
2 | Northern Diamonds | 176/4 | 2 | Northern Diamonds | 183 | ||||
3 | Central Sparks | 175/7 |
Central Sparks 175/7 (50 overs) | v | Northern Diamonds 176/4 (32.5 overs) |
Southern Vipers finished top of the group stage, and as a result, they qualified automatically for the final. [7]
Northern Diamonds 183 (49.2 overs) | v | Southern Vipers 187/7 (49.4 overs) |
Player | Team | Matches | Innings | Runs | Average | HS | 100s | 50s |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sophie Luff | Western Storm | 7 | 7 | 417 | 69.50 | 157* | 1 | 3 |
Kathryn Bryce | Lightning | 7 | 7 | 353 | 50.42 | 162 | 1 | 2 |
Evelyn Jones | Central Sparks | 8 | 8 | 299 | 42.71 | 100* | 1 | 2 |
Sterre Kalis | Northern Diamonds | 9 | 8 | 290 | 41.42 | 76 | 0 | 2 |
Amy Jones | Central Sparks | 3 | 3 | 282 | 141.00 | 163* | 2 | 0 |
Source: ESPNCricinfo [11]
Player | Team | Overs | Wickets | Average | BBI | 5w |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kirstie Gordon | Lightning | 70.0 | 16 | 15.43 | 4/23 | 0 |
Hannah Jones | North West Thunder | 50.0 | 14 | 17.07 | 5/33 | 1 |
Issy Wong | Central Sparks | 63.5 | 14 | 21.35 | 5/49 | 1 |
Charlotte Taylor | Southern Vipers | 72.0 | 13 | 18.15 | 4/21 | 0 |
Beth Langston | Northern Diamonds | 73.5 | 13 | 20.69 | 2/12 | 0 |
Source: ESPNCricinfo [12]