The Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy was an English and Welsh women's cricket domestic competition, named after former England captain Rachael Heyhoe Flint, who died in 2017.[1] The Trophy was held from 2020 to 2024, and was the premier women's 50-over cricket competition in England and Wales. Eight teams took part, each representing a region; these regions comprised multiple counties. The competition used a group or round-robin format, with an annual final match that decided the champions.
In 2018, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced the launch of The Hundred in 2020, which would supersede the existing premier women's T20 cricket tournament, the Women's Cricket Super League. To accompany The Hundred, the ECB announced a plan to launch a new 'regional elite domestic structure for women's cricket', which would include the awarding of 40 new full-time professional contracts for non-England players.[6][7]
These plans were put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy was eventually scheduled to begin in August 2020, with six new teams competing, alongside two teams carried over from the WCSL, Western Storm and Southern Vipers. The trophy was named after former England player Rachael Heyhoe Flint, and was intended to be a one-off, in light of the pandemic.[8][1]
In February 2021, the ECB announced that the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy would continue for the following season, with a slightly altered format (also, a new regional T20 competition, the Charlotte Edwards Cup, was contested by the same eight teams).[4] In the 2021 Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, Southern Vipers and Northern Diamonds again reached the final, and Southern Vipers were again victorious, claiming their second title.[9] In 2022, the Vipers and Diamonds once again reached the final, but this time the Northern Diamonds won by two runs, claiming their first title.[10]
Ahead of the 2023 season, it was announced that the tournament was expanding, with teams now playing each other team home and away.[11] Southern Vipers won the tournament, their third title, beating The Blaze in the 2023 final.[12]Sunrisers defeated South East Stars in the 2024 final.[13][14]
2024 was the final edition of the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy. The ECB reversed the regionalised structure of the competition and replaced it with a new Women's One-Day Cup, using the county structure.[5]
In the 2020 season, the teams were separated into a North and South Group, and each team played six group stage matches, in a double round-robin format. The two group winners played each other in the competition's final.[16][8] In the following two seasons, the eight teams play each other once in a round-robin format. The second and third placed teams competed in a playoff, the winner of which played in the final against the first-placed team.[4][17] In 2023, the tournament was expanded, with teams playing each other twice, home and away, in a double round-robin format.[11] Ahead of the 2024 season, full semi-finals were added, with four teams now qualifying from the group stage.[18]
Teams receive 4 points for a win. A bonus point is given where the winning team's run rate is 1.25 or greater times that of the opposition. In case of a tie in the standings, the following tiebreakers are 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.[19]
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