Charlotte Edwards Cup team of the week: Who makes our round two XI?

The Cricketer looks at the star performers from round two of the Charlotte Edwards Cup…

Eve Jones (Central Sparks)

49 v South East Stars

The Central Sparks captain played a lone hand in her side’s defeat by South East Stars: her 49 accounted for almost half her team’s runs. Without Amy Jones, who starred early on in the domestic campaign, Sparks’ batting has failed to consistently fire.

Marie Kelly has been a semi-regular contributor, but her cheap dismissal meant that Milly Home (14) and Steph Butler (15) were the only other players to reach double figures. Needless to say, Jones needs those around her to find form.

Leah Dobson (Northern Diamonds)

44* v Sunrisers

Leah Dobson didn’t feature in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy last year or, indeed, in its early rounds this summer. However, she was in the runs in just her second outing for Northern Diamonds, chasing 117 to beat Sunrisers.

Together with Sarah Taylor, Dobson amassed an unbeaten 80-run partnership, hitting two sixes in her 52-ball knock, with England off-spinner Mady Villiers nullified by the pair.

Georgia Adams (Southern Vipers)

37 v Lightning

The Southern Vipers captain has developed into one of the most consistent run-scorers on the domestic circuit.

Her innings – 37 off 38 deliveries – was far from her most eye-catching, but it helped to set up another comfortable victory for her side. Adams hit five boundaries in her knock, having opened up and outlasted her partner Danni Wyatt.

^{Georgia Adams was in the runs once again for Southern Vipers}

Sarah Taylor (Northern Diamonds)

43* v Sunrisers

Sarah Taylor rolled back the years at Chelmsford, coming to the crease after Northern Diamonds had lost a pair of early wickets and leading her new side to victory with a minimum of fuss.

Alongside Dobson, they put on 80 in exactly 13 overs, with Taylor the more destructive of the duo: her 43 came off just 35 balls. Earlier – and it is easy to take this for granted – she went through her 20 overs with the gloves without conceding a bye.

Fi Morris (Western Storm)

19 & 2-21 v Thunder

Western Storm won an unusual game against Thunder, with Alex Hartley winning the toss and opting to bat before the rain came down and left Storm with a straightforward DLS-adjusted chase.

Morris was key, however, in ensuring they got over the line: having earlier taken 2 for 21 with the ball, she came out to open the batting with a clear objective in mind. She had scored 19 of the first 21 runs in just eight balls, with a target of just 36, when her wicket fell. But by then, she had gone a long way to sealing an important victory.

Charlie Dean (Southern Vipers)

28 & 1-15 v Lightning

A cricketer having a solid all-round season. As wickets fell around her in the second half of Southern Vipers’ innings against Lightning, she ticked along at a strike rate of 116.67, ensuring Vipers’ final total was comfortably greater than anything their opponents might chase at Arundel.

Still only 20 years of age, this was another terrific performance. Having picked up five wickets against Central Sparks in the first set of T20 matches, she claimed 1 for 15 in her four overs.

^{Grace Gibbs led South East Stars' chase}

Grace Gibbs (South East Stars)

33* v Central Sparks

Primarily a bowling allrounder, Grace Gibbs makes it into this composite team for her display with the bat last week.

Faced with an awkward chase against Central Sparks, she arrived at the crease when South East Stars were 33 for 3, with Issy Wong and Emily Arlott – two of the emerging stars on the domestic circuit – running in. However, Gibbs struck two sixes in her unbeaten 33, guiding Stars to their second successive victory.

Jo Gardner (Sunrisers)

42* v Northern Diamonds

Ordinarily, Sunrisers might look back on a defeat like theirs with plenty of disappointment and regret: after all, the top order had struggled once again, finding themselves 48 for 6 in the 12th over.

That they made it to 116 for 7 was almost entirely down to Jo Gardner, who came to the crease at 41 for 5 and departed for 41 – only once she had given her team a fighting chance. The excellence of Dobson and Taylor ensured Northern Diamonds didn’t throw away their early advantage, but Sunrisers’ belated sense of fight will have pleased head coach Trevor Griffin.

Jenny Gunn (Northern Diamonds)

3-25 v Sunrisers

She’s still got it! Bowling the third over of the match, Jenny Gunn began Sunrisers’ collapse, picking up the wickets of Naomi Dattani and Grace Scrivens to complete a double-wicket maiden, before returning at the death to end Gardner’s resistance. Figures of 3 for 25 for the former England allrounder.

^{Jenny Gunn rolled back the years for Northern Diamonds}

Tara Norris (Southern Vipers)

4-14 v Lightning

A vital cog in the wheel of Charlotte Edwards’ side, Norris’ left-arm angle has made her a regular wicket-taker ever since the formation of the regional structure. However, having taken just one in her last four games, this was a welcome return to normality for Norris.

She claimed the key scalp of Kathryn Bryce before running through Lightning’s tail to pocket herself a four-wicket haul and complete a comfortable victory for Vipers.

Charlotte Taylor (Southern Vipers)

2-13 v Lightning

Taylor’s hold on domestic batters in the last 12 months has continued into the Charlotte Edwards Cup. She dismissed Sarah Bryce and Teresa Graves for her latest scalps, conceding just 13 runs in the process from her four overs with the new ball.

It has been a remarkable rise in the last year; opposition players appear not to have worked out how best to negate her threat. Despite her action, she is far more of an arm-ball bowler than a traditional off-spinner.