When is it? Where is it? Who are the players to watch? The Cricketer has all of the information you need to know ahead of the inaugural Charlotte Edwards Cup Finals Day
The inaugural Finals Day of the Charlotte Edwards Cup, a T20 competition for the eight domestic women’s regional teams.
Finals Day will take place on Sunday, September 5, 2021. The eliminator will begin at 12pm BST followed by the final at 4pm BST.
Both matches will be held at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton, the home of the Southern Vipers.
Three teams will compete for the trophy in Southampton: South East Stars, Southern Vipers and Northern Diamonds.
South East Stars progressed straight through to the final after finishing top of Group A and achieving more points (21) than Group B table-toppers Northern Diamonds (17).
The Stars will face the winner of the eliminator between Southern Vipers and Northern Diamonds, with the Vipers qualifying for Finals Day as the best second-placed team.
What didn’t happen in the group stage? Here goes…
Before the women’s regional season paused for The Hundred, Southern Vipers were in imperious form, topping Group A with three wins from three and a huge 15 points on the board. South East Stars sat six points back in second position, comfortably defeating Central Sparks and Lightning before suffering a seven-wicket humbling at the hands of the Vipers.
Third-placed Central Sparks had one win under their belt, defeating Lightning by six wickets in a low-scoring affair at Grace Road, while winless Lightning, twice bowled out for sub-90 runs, were all but out of Finals Day contention at the halfway stage.
However, post-Hundred everything changed. South East Stars crushed Lightning by 28 runs in their fourth match of the season while Central Sparks stunned Southern Vipers for the second time in 2021, winning by six wickets with six balls to spare in Hove.
Smelling blood when they arrived in Southampton, Stars then swept to a 20-run victory over Vipers to overhaul their points deficit and climb to the top of the table. Sparks, meanwhile, completed the double over Lightning to move onto 12 points, just three behind Vipers with one game to go.
In Group B, meanwhile, it was chaos. Thunder topped the table with nine points after three matches, defeating Northern Diamonds, who lay a point further back in second, and Sunrisers. Western Storm sat third with a bonus-point victory over Thunder to their name while Sunrisers were fourth with four points, picking up their first win as a team at the 11th attempt.
Two rounds later, it was all change. Western Storm moved into pole position, defeating Thunder and Northern Diamonds post-Hundred to top Group B with 13 points. Northern Diamonds, themselves picking up four points in a nervy 19-run win over Sunrisers in round four, were second with 12 points, while Thunder were third with 11, a last ball tie against Sunrisers rescuing two valuable points.
Heading into the final round fixtures, six teams – South East Stars, Southern Vipers, Central Sparks, Western Storm, Northern Diamonds, and Thunder - were still in contention, mathematically at least, for Finals Day qualification.
Jenny Gunn took 4 for 15 as Northern Diamonds defeated Thunder in round six
South East Stars booked their place in the final with a routine 26-run victory over Sparks and their 21-point haul put them out of reach of the rest of the competition.
Over in Group B, Northern Diamonds, knowing a bonus point win was their best hope of qualification, went after Thunder from ball one, restricting them to just 90 runs before chasing down the victory in 12.2 overs to pick up maximum points and send their net run rate skywards.
That left Western Storm requiring either a bonus point win of their own against Sunrisers to finish first or an unlikely Lightning win over Southern Vipers to qualify in second place. However, despite defeating Sunrisers by five runs, they failed to get the required bonus point and missed out on first position on net run rate. Southern Vipers defeated Lightning off the final ball of their match to qualify as the best second-placed side, amassing 19 points to Western Storm’s 17. Like I said, chaos.
Unfortunately, due to Covid-19, all three teams will be without their England players. Northern Diamonds will miss Nat Sciver and Katherine Brunt while Southern Vipers (Danni Wyatt, Maia Bouchier and Charlie Dean) and South East Stars (Freya Davies, Sophia Dunkley and Tash Farrant) will have three absentees apiece.
Northern Diamonds
If anyone is going to star on Finals Day, it’s Jenny Gunn. The veteran allrounder was on fire against Thunder, returning to the attack in the 14th over to dismiss Kate Cross before taking three wickets in four balls in the penultimate over to prevent the home side from reaching three figures. The 35-year-old has taken a team-leading nine wickets in 2021 and is also a handy middle-order batter.
With the bat, all eyes should be on wicketkeeper Bess Heath. The 20-year-old missed the first half of the season through injury but burst into life against Thunder, scoring 58 runs from 40 balls, including 10 fours, to secure the bonus point for her side. She’s also lightning quick between the stumps so expect some hard running from the youngster.
South East Stars
Two words: Alice Capsey. The 17-year-old shot to fame during The Hundred and has continued her good form on her return to the domestic circuit, scoring 99 runs and taking 4 for 37 against Lightning and Southern Vipers combined. The only question is, will she be fit after missing her side’s final group game through injury?
Alice Davidson-Richards could be the other crucial allrounder for Stars, particularly if Farrant remains absent. The former England international bludgeoned 41 runs off 25 balls against Lightning while also returning to form with the ball during The Hundred, with seven wickets for Northern Superchargers.
Southern Vipers
Captain Georgia Adams holds the key to Vipers’ success. If she’s without regular top order comrades Wyatt, Dean and Bouchier, the run-scoring responsibility will fall entirely on her shoulders. She hasn’t been at her best in 2021 – her 201-run tally is low by her standards – but did score a fine unbeaten 88 (60 balls) against Central Sparks in round four.
With the ball, it’s got to be Charlotte Taylor, another player who hasn’t quite captured her best form in the Charlotte Edwards Cup but has wickets in her arsenal. And if you cast your minds back to last season’s Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy final against Northern Diamonds, the 27-year-old took 6 for 34 to steer her side to victory. Certainly food for thought.
Georgia Adams on her way to 88 not out against Central Sparks
Expect cloudy skies punctuated by sunny intervals in Southampton with temperatures peaking around 21 degrees Celsius.
Keep up to date with the forecast here.
Yes. Adult tickets cost £10 while under-17s can watch the match for £5. Family tickets (two adults, two under-17s) are also available for £25.
For more information, click here.
TV and streaming information is yet to be confirmed.
BBC Radio Solent will offer ball-by-ball commentary for both matches, with coverage starting at 11.15am.
The Cricketer will carry live scorecards and reports. Visit our Women’s Regional Hub for more.