Anya Shrubsole is an English former cricketer who played as a right-arm medium pace bowler and right-handed lower-order batter. She played for England between 2008 and 2022, and played domestic cricket for Somerset, Berkshire, Western Storm, Southern Vipers, Southern Brave and Perth Scorchers. She made her England debut in 2008, and was Player of the Match in the 2017 Women's Cricket World Cup Final. In 2018, she became the first woman to appear on the cover of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. In April 2022, Shrubsole announced her retirement from international cricket. In June 2023, she announced her intention to retire from all forms of cricket after the 2023 season of The Hundred.
The Women's Cricket Super League (WCSL), known as the Kia Super League (KSL) for sponsorship reasons, was a semi-professional women's Twenty20 cricket competition in England and Wales operated by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). The competition featured six franchise teams, partnered with a variety of county teams and boards and universities, and was envisaged as a means to bridge the gap between amateur domestic cricket and the increasingly professional international game.
The Southern Vipers are a women's cricket team that represent the South of England. The Vipers wear an orange and black kit and primarily play their home matches at the Ageas Bowl and the County Cricket Ground, Hove.
The Surrey Stars were an English women's Twenty20 cricket team based in South London that competed in the English women's Twenty20 competition, the Women's Cricket Super League. The Stars played their home matches at The Oval and Woodbridge Road, Guildford. They were captained by Nat Sciver and coached by Richard Bedbrook, working with Surrey's Director of Women's Cricket Ebony Rainford-Brent. The Stars won the 2018 Women's Cricket Super League, beating Loughborough Lightning in the final at the County Cricket Ground, Hove. In 2020, following reforms to the structure of women's domestic cricket, some elements of the Surrey Stars were retained for a new team, the South East Stars.
Lancashire Thunder were an English women's Twenty20 cricket team based in Manchester, Lancashire that competed in England’s women's Twenty20 competition, the Women's Cricket Super League. Thunder played their home matches at Old Trafford and various grounds across the North West. They were captained by Kate Cross and coached by Mark McInnes, working with General Manager Bobby Cross. In 2020, following reforms to the structure of women's domestic cricket, some elements of Lancashire Thunder were retained for a new team, North West Thunder.
Loughborough Lightning were an English women's Twenty20 cricket team based at Loughborough University. They were formed in 2016 to compete in the inaugural season of the Women's Cricket Super League. They primarily played their home matches at the Haslegrave Ground. They were coached by Rob Taylor and were captained by Georgia Elwiss. The team was partnered with Loughborough University. Together with the netball team and the women's rugby union team, the cricket team was one of three women's sports teams based at Loughborough University that used the Loughborough Lightning name. In 2020, following reforms to the structure of women's domestic cricket, some elements of the Loughborough Lightning were retained for a new team, named just Lightning and representing a broader region.
Western Storm are a women's cricket team representing South West England and Wales, one of eight regional hubs in English domestic cricket. They primarily play their home matches at the County Ground, Taunton, the County Ground, Bristol and Sophia Gardens. They are captained by Sophie Luff and coached by Trevor Griffin. The team is partnered with Somerset, Gloucestershire, Glamorgan, Devon, Cornwall, Wiltshire and Cricket Wales. Originally formed to compete in the Women's Cricket Super League in 2016, Western Storm won the competition twice, in 2017 and 2019. When women's cricket in England was reformed in 2020, the Western Storm brand was retained, and they now compete in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy and the Charlotte Edwards Cup.
The 2016 Women's Cricket Super League, or 2016 Kia Super League for sponsorship reasons, was the first season of the Women's Cricket Super League (WCSL), a semi-professional women's cricket competition in England and Wales. The competition, run by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), consisted of six franchise teams playing in a Twenty20 format. Each team featured three or four players contracted to the England women's cricket team and three overseas international players. Three teams qualified from the league stage of the competition; the Southern Vipers went directly into the final, while the Loughborough Lightning and Western Storm met in a semi-final.
The 2017 Women's Cricket Super League, or 2017 Kia Super League for sponsorship reasons, was the second season of the Women's Cricket Super League (WCSL), a semi-professional women's cricket competition in England and Wales. The competition, run by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), consisted of six franchise teams playing in a Twenty20 format. The Southern Vipers were the defending champions, but lost in the final to Western Storm.
The 2018 Women's Cricket Super League, or 2018 Kia Super League for sponsorship reasons, was the third season of the Women's Cricket Super League (WCSL), the semi-professional women's cricket competition in England and Wales. The competition, run by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), consisted of six franchise teams playing in a Twenty20 format. Western Storm were the defending champions.
Linsey Claire Neale Smith is an English cricketer who plays for Sussex, Southern Vipers, Northern Superchargers, Sydney Sixers and Otago. A slow left-arm orthodox bowler, she originally played for Berkshire before moving to Sussex ahead of the 2017 season. In October 2018, she was named in the England women's cricket team squad for the 2018 ICC Women's World Twenty20 tournament, and made her Women's Twenty20 International cricket (WT20I) debut in the tournament against Bangladesh.
The 2019 Women's Cricket Super League, or 2019 Kia Super League for sponsorship reasons, was the fourth and final season of the Women's Cricket Super League (WCSL), the semi-professional women's cricket competition in England and Wales. The competition, run by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), consisted of six franchise teams playing in a Twenty20 format. The tournament was scheduled to be replaced by the Women's Hundred and a new regional domestic structure from the next season, although the full implementation of this was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Surrey Stars were the defending champions. Western Storm defeated Southern Vipers by 6 wickets to win the 2019 title.
Georgia Louise Adams is an English cricketer who is the captain of Sussex and Southern Vipers, as well as playing for Southern Brave, Adelaide Strikers and New South Wales. Adams has previously played for Loughborough Lightning in the Women's Cricket Super League and Oval Invincibles in The Hundred. Adams is an all-rounder.
The Blaze, previously known as Lightning, are a women's cricket team that represent the East Midlands region, one of eight regional hubs in English domestic women's cricket. They play their home matches at various grounds, including Trent Bridge and Grace Road. They are captained by Kirstie Gordon and coached by Chris Guest. The team carries over many elements of the WCSL team Loughborough Lightning. They are partnered with Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Lincolnshire.
Northern Diamonds are a women's cricket team that represent the traditional areas of the North East and Yorkshire, one of eight regional hubs in English domestic women's cricket. They play their home matches at Headingley, the Riverside, Roseworth Terrace, North Marine Road and Clifton Park Ground. They are captained by Hollie Armitage and coached by former England cricketer Danielle Hazell.
Katie Ann Levick is an English cricketer who has played for Yorkshire, Yorkshire Diamonds, Northern Diamonds and Birmingham Phoenix. She is a leg spin bowler, and is the leading wicket taker in Women's County Championship cricket.
The Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy is an English and Welsh women's cricket domestic competition, named after former England captain Rachael Heyhoe Flint, Baroness Heyhoe-Flint, who died in 2017. The first edition of the tournament took place during August and September 2020, with the Southern Vipers beating the Northern Diamonds in the final. Initially started as a one-off tournament, in February 2021 the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced it would return for the 2021 season as a permanent part of the women's domestic structure in England and Wales, alongside the Charlotte Edwards Cup.
The 2019 season was Loughborough Lightning's fourth and final season, in which they competed in the final edition of the Women's Cricket Super League, a Twenty20 competition. The side finished second in the group stage, winning seven of their ten matches, therefore progressing to the semi-final. However, they lost to Southern Vipers in the semi-final by 5 wickets.
The 2019 season was Southern Vipers' fourth season, in which they competed in the final edition of the Women's Cricket Super League, a Twenty20 competition. The side finished third in the initial group stage, winning 4 of their 10 matches, therefore progressing to the semi-final, where they beat Loughborough Lightning by 5 wickets. In the final they played against Western Storm, but lost to them by 7 wickets.
The 2020 season saw Southern Vipers compete in the new 50 over Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy following reforms to the structure of women's domestic cricket in England. The side topped the South Group of the competition, winning all six of their matches, therefore progressing to the final, where they played Northern Diamonds. The Vipers went on to become the inaugural winners of the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy as they won by 38 runs, with bowler Charlotte Taylor taking 6/34. Taylor was the leading wicket-taker in the tournament, with 15 wickets, whilst Vipers captain Georgia Adams was the leading run-scorer, with 500 runs.
