In Bates and Beaumont, Southern Vipers have the tools to rebuild in 2019

KSL TEAM GUIDE: After finishing bottom of the pile last year, the Vipers need to establish early momentum - and they certainly have the firepower to do just that

Overseas players: Suzie Bates (New Zealand), Stafanie Taylor (West Indies), Sophie Molineux (Australia)

Titles: 1 (2016)

Finals Days: 2

Coach: Nick Denning. The former Berkshire coach has been in charge of Vipers since 2016, having previously coached in Hampshire’s youth system.

Captain: Tammy Beaumont takes over the reins for the first time and comes into the tournament in decent form, having hit her maiden Ashes hundred in the recent ODI series against Australia. The 28-year-old will be keen to erase the memory of a dismal 2018 campaign when Vipers finished bottom of the table.

Past performances

In 2016, the Southern Vipers won the KSL after beating Western Storm by seven wickets in the final. They won all but one of their group games.

They were then runners-up in 2017 after losing to Western Storm. However, it was a very disappointing 2018 KSL for the Vipers which saw them finish bottom of the table.

Out of the 10 games played they only recorded two wins and lost seven of their matches. 

^{Suzie Bates}

Players to watch

Suzie Bates and Tammy Beaumont are the Vipers’ players to watch in this year’s tournament.

New Zealand international Bates offers great expertise and experience with both bat and ball. Her significant and consistent contributions to the Vipers led to her becoming player of the year for both the 2016 and 2017 seasons. She also became the first player to score a KSL century and is currently ranked No.1 in the ICC T20I batting standings.

If the Vipers are going to have a successful tournament, Bates is going to need to be at the top of her game.

Beaumont’s record speaks for itself. She has established herself as one of the best batters in women’s cricket and has become one of England’s most consistent performers. She is No.4 in the ODI batting rankings and has delivered time after time in all formats of the game.

She was also England’s 2017 World Cup hero as she scored 410 runs, more than anyone else in the tournament.

Her highest T20I score is 116 off 52 balls against South Africa in 2018. One of her stand-out performances in last year’s KSL was her 64 off 37 balls to help earn the Vipers one of their two wins.

Strengths

The Southern Vipers’ key strength is their attacking batting style.

Key to this are Beaumont, Danni Wyatt, Bates and Stafanie Taylor who have all established themselves as some of the world’s most destructive batters.

Bates and Taylor are ranked one and two respectively in the ICC T20I stangins, largely thanks to their consistency at attacking from the off.

Wyatt and Beaumont have established themselves as England’s star opening batters and time after time they have led from the front. Wyatt's strike rate has catapulted her to be one of the world’s best attacking batters.

Weaknesses

Lack of consistency. After two excellent KSL campaigns in 2016 and 2017, their performances in 2018 did not match the capability of the squad.

With just two wins recorded in last year’s tournament, there is plenty of work to be done this time around, and the creation of momentum will be key to a successful campaign.

^{Tammy Beaumont}

Chances

After last year’s disappointing KSL, it’s going to take a big shift in performances to get the Vipers back in contention for the trophy this year.

However, with the strength in the batting line-up, it could be just what they need to push on in this year’s competition and fight for a place at finals-day. However, a probable finish is the group-stage.

Did you know?

Suzie Bates represented New Zealand in women’s basketball during the 2008 Summer Olympics.

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