Western Storm vs Southern Vipers: A 14-player squad has been named for Southern Vipers’ Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy match against Western Storm at the Seat Unique Stadium, Bristol
Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy
Saturday 4th May 2024 (10:30am start)
Seat Unique Stadium, Bristol
Southern Vipers travel to the west country as they take on Western Storm in the latest round of Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy fixtures.
The Vipers won three on the trot after they defeated Thunder in a thrilling contest at Wormsley, where Alice Monaghan and Nancy Harman saw the team over the line with three wickets in hand.
Linsey Smith continued her excellent start to the season, which has seen her called up to the England Women’s IT20 squad to face Pakistan, as she picked up three wickets in her ten overs, conceding only 19 runs.
Georgias Adams and Elwiss shone with the bat, with the captain making 51 and all-rounder Elwiss scoring 43 off just 45 balls.
Storm come into Saturday’s match off the back of an exhilarating DLS win against then-table toppers South East Stars at Taunton.
The green and black side made 236 off 36 overs in response to Stars’ 298-5 (44), with Sophie Luff and Fran Wilson both making half-centuries.
Nat Wraith’s 40* off 28 balls, and Amanda-Jade Wellington’s 30 off 16 was enough to see the Storm eight runs ahead on DLS when the heavens opened and the Storm were declared the victors.
The last time the two sides met, at Millfield School in 2023, Maia Bouchier scored her Vipers best of 71, with Georgia Adams also passing 50 and Freya Kemp scoring 47, as the Vipers chased down their DLS target of 240 with 4.2 overs to spare.
Southern Vipers Squad
Western Storm vs Southern Vipers: The Vipers have named a star-studded lineup for their trip to Bristol, with four centrally contracted England players available.
Maia Bouchier, Charlie Dean, and Freya Kemp all return, along with Danni Wyatt and Freya Davies.
Alice Monaghan, Nancy Harman, Finty Trussler, and Abi Norgrove all miss out.
| Georgia Adams Captain (1) | Ella McCaughan (8) |
| Maia Bouchier (16) | Linsey Smith (51) |
| Freya Davies (61) | Rhianna Southby † (17) |
| Charlie Dean (22) | Megan Sturge † (3) |
| Georgia Elwiss (34) | Mary Taylor (9) |
| Freya Kemp (6) | Emily Windsor (4) |
| Charli Knott (88) | Danni Wyatt (28) |
Western Storm
Western Storm vs Southern Vipers: The Storm finished bottom of the RHFT last season, but have already won as many games this year as they did throughout 2023.
Captain Sophie Luff and Fran Wilson, formerly of England, are the backbone of their batting lineup with Alex Griffiths at the top, but with the return of England players ahead of their series against Pakistan, they will also have Heather Knight to call upon.
In the bowling department, spin trio of Sophia Smale, Chloe Skelton, and overseas signing Amanda-Jade Wellington, lead the attack, and Storm will welcome back England’s Dani Gibson and Lauren Filer to be the pace attack.
2023 Season In Numbers:
- 8th in RHFT
- Leading run scorer: Fran Wilson (404)
- Leading wicket taker: Chloe Skelton (14)
Western Storm Squad:
Sophie Luff (Captain), Dani Gibson, Heather Knight, Fran Wilson, Nat Wraith (†), Katie Jones (†), Alex Griffiths, Lauren Filer, Niamh Holland, Jess Hazell, Mollie Robbins, Gemma Lane, Amanda-Jade Wellington, Chloe Skelton, Sophia Smale, Ellie Anderson, Claire Nicholas, Lola Harris, Imogen Cooper, Emily Geach
Head-To-Head:
Southern Vipers’ record in Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy matches v South East Stars:
| Played | Won | Lost | Tied | No Result |
| 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Recent Meetings:
- July 15th 2023 | Millfield School | Vipers won by four wickets (with 26 balls remaining)
- May 6th 2023 | 1ST Central County Ground | No result
- September 9th 2022 | 1st Central County Ground | No result
- June 12th 2021 | Taunton | Vipers won by eight wickets (with 91 balls remaining)
- September 13th 2020 | Utilita Bowl | Vipers won by 32 runs
Tickets
Tickets for Western Storm v Southern Vipers are available at the advance prices of £10 for adults, £8 for over 60s and students, and £5 for U16s.
For more information, please visit gloscricket.co.uk.
Match Coverage
A live stream will be available for the match, and a link to the stream will be available in the free-to-download Hampshire Cricket App and at www.utilitabowl.com/cricket.
Both the Hampshire Cricket App and www.utilitabowl.com/cricket will also host a live match centre with scorecard, statistics and insight available throughout the match.
Weather Forecast
Western Storm vs Southern Vipers: Please follow the link to view the latest weather forecast for Bristol: https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/2654675.