Charlotte Edwards Cup: Finals Day preview

ELIZABETH BOTCHERBY reflects on the standout moments and performances of the Charlotte Edwards Cup ahead of the inaugural Finals Day on Sunday, September 5

If there were any concerns surrounding how the women’s regional competitions would fare in the wake of the success of The Hundred, the second half of the Charlotte Edwards Cup has, on-field at least, surely assuaged them.

Heading into the final round of fixtures on Bank Holiday Monday, six of the eight competing teams were still involved in the race to qualify for Finals Day. Two of the four matches remained in the balance heading into the final over - one coming down to the very last ball, a bonus point proved crucial for Northern Diamonds at Filkin’s Lane and Western Storm were eliminated on net run rate.

Now, just three teams – South East Stars, Northern Diamonds, and Southern Vipers – remain in contention to be crowned the inaugural Charlotte Edwards Cup champions on Sunday, September 5 at Southampton's Ageas Bowl. But before getting too caught with that, it’s time to reflect on what’s happened in the tournament so far.

Perhaps the story of the competition has been the emergence of Sunrisers. Trevor Griffin’s side headed into the T20 cup with bad form in abundance, failing to win a single match since their formation in 2020.

However, at the 11th attempt, Sunrisers finally broke their duck, defeating Western Storm by seven wickets to briefly top Group B. They picked up a further two points in a round five tie against Thunder, a match they can consider themselves unfortunate not to win, and briefly threatened to stun Northern Diamonds’ title ambitions after reducing Dani Hazell’s side to 32 for 5 in round four. The most improved side, hands down.

In the same category, Lightning have also experienced something of a turnaround. Out of their depth in the first half of the season, the East Midlands side were twice skittled for sub-90 scores and failed to pick up a single point. However, in their final three outings, they thrice passed 120 runs and came within one ball of defeating Southern Vipers, a clear demonstration that the gulf between teams in the women’s regional structure is shrinking.

Other notable matches include Central Sparks’ shock victory over Southern Vipers, memorable for Marie Kelly’s 53-ball century, and Thunder’s 71-run demolition of Sunrisers at Emirates Old Trafford which saw the north-west outfit set the highest score of the competition to date (186).

Speaking of Old Trafford, it was there that Emma Lamb scored the first triple-figure knock of the Charlotte Edwards Cup, smashing 111 not out off 61 balls. The allrounder was the standout player in competition's first four matches, scoring 218 runs and taking nine wickets – a haul which saw her fast-tracked into England’s XI to face New Zealand at Chelmsford for her international debut.

Eve Jones picked up the mantle in the second half of the tournament, scoring three consecutive half-centuries to catapult herself to the top of the run-scoring charts, with 276 runs at an average of 55.20.

Charlotte Edwards Cup Finals Day: All you need to know

With the ball, South East Stars allrounder Bryony Smith has taken a competition-leading 13 wickets in 21.5 overs, including best figures of 4 for 15 against Lightning, while Western Storm’s Nicole Harvey finished her tournament with 12 wickets. The 28-year-old, who was diagnosed with sepsis 12 months ago, took eight of those wickets for the loss of just 50 runs in her final three matches – alongside Jones, she is probably the player most unlucky to not be competing at Finals Day.

The absence of the majority of England’s centrally contracted players has been a blow for the competition, with international series’ against India and New Zealand limiting their participation. However, while this has deprived their respective teams, fans and the competition of their talents and star appeal, it has opened the door for young players to shine.

Southern Vipers duo Charlie Dean and Maia Bouchier, for example, have earned England call-ups off the back of their domestic form. 20-year-old Dean has taken the only five-for to date, demolishing Central Sparks’ tail with her right-arm spin in round two, while Bouchier has scored 104 runs, including one half-century, in four innings.

Teammate Lauren Bell has been one of the standout bowlers, taking four wickets at a team-leading economy of 5.42; teenager Alice Capsey (South East Stars) has 163 runs and seven wickets in five matches; Leah Dobson and Bess Heath, whose combined age is 39, twice opened the batting for Diamonds, with the latter scoring an unbeaten half-century in her side’s must-win clash with Thunder… the list of individual stars goes on.

^{Lauren Bell has been one of the standout bowlers during the group stage}

Looking ahead to Finals Day, South East Stars are the favourites to lift the trophy. Winning all three of their post-Hundred matches, the Stars overturned a six-point deficit to overtake Vipers and top Group A, their unreachable 21-point haul earning them automatic qualification for the final. They have scored in excess of 160 runs in their past three outings and are unbeaten when batting second, restricting their opponents to sub-120 knocks on both occasions.

And even without England trio Sophia Dunkley, Freya Davies and Tash Farrant, they have no shortage of talent, with stars Capsey, Bryony Smith and Alice Davidson-Richards ably supported by the likes of Dani Gregory, Emma Jones and Phoebe Franklin.

They will face the winner of Northern Diamonds versus Southern Vipers, two sides heading into Finals Day with identical records (four wins, two draws).

Diamonds struggled for consistency in the group stage, requiring a bonus-point victory over Thunder and a superior net run rate to pip Western Storm to first place in Group B. Twice they have suffered catastrophic top-order batting collapses, slipping to 32 for 5 and 62 for 6 against Sunrisers and Storm, respectively, while also falling short in a routine 119-run chase against Thunder in round one. However, they’ve made it to Finals Day and will be high on confidence after chasing a 91-run target in 12.2 overs in round six.

Podcast: Charlotte Edwards Cup - Finals Day preview

Their squad is brimming with talent, with Lauren Winfield-Hill, Jenny Gunn, Katie Levick, Alex MacDonald, Beth Langston and Dutch powerhouse Sterre Kalis at their disposal. So star-studded is their XI, it’s easy to forget they can call upon Nat Sciver and Katherine Brunt when England aren’t in action. 34-year-old Gunn could be Diamond’s match-winner on Sunday. A triple threat, she offers highly economical bowling, a safe pair of hands in the deep, and valuable middle-order firepower with the bat. However, if Heath can recreate her blistering half-century against Thunder, the youngster could hold the key to Diamonds setting or chasing intimidatingly high targets.

Southern Vipers took maximum points from their opening three matches before suffering two defeats in the second half of the tournament to sneak into the eliminator as the best second-placed side. They will be without three key players on Finals Day, with Dean and Bouchier joining Danni Wyatt in England’s white-ball squad. However, with the likes of Georgia Adams (201 runs), Georgia Elwiss (100 runs, nine wickets), Tara Norris (12 wickets), and Charlotte Taylor (eight wickets) in their starting XI, they remain a genuine title threat.

And despite their recent poor form, the Vipers do have the edge in their head to head with Diamonds. In last season’s 50-over final, the only meeting between the two sides since the regional restructuring, Southern Vipers triumphed by 38 runs and Taylor picked up 6 for 34 for the ball. A psychological win ahead of an eliminator match which, on paper, is too close to call.