A thirteen-strong squad will travel the short journey to Loughborough for tomorrow’s penultimate Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy fixture, where we will take on table-topping The Blaze at the Haslegrave Ground.
Abtaha Maqsood has returned from Desert Springs, where she helped her Scotland side qualify to the next stage of the World Cup qualifiers, and comes straight back into the Sunrisers matchday squad. Unfortunately Cordelia Griffith, who missed Sunday’s victory, is ruled out for the final two games with a groin injury. We wish her the best in her recovery.
We head into the game after back to back four-wicket home victories, with the latest coming over Central Sparks at the weekend. A strong bowling performance restricted the visitors to 227/8 on a good Chelmsford pitch, with spinners Jodi Grewcock and Jo Gardner picking up two wickets each.
The reply was very controlled the whole way through, with Grace Scrivens (51) and Amara Carr (58) batting in a composed fashion to reach their half centuries. Mady Villiers then stole the show, blasting an entertaining 56 from 46 deliveries to take us within 25 runs of the target, before Gardner and Amu Surenkumar finished it off.
Blaze have been runaway leaders of the competition this summer, winning seven of their twelve games, and have all but cemented their place in the Northampton final next weekend. However, they lost on Sunday to South East Stars, and with Tammy Beaumont, Nat Sciver-Brunt, and Sarah Glenn still away with England, will be looking towards the rest of their squad to bounce back and secure their spot at the top.
The game starts at 10.30am at the Haslegrave Ground in Loughborough. Entry to the game is free for spectators, and it is advised to bring a chair along with you. Dogs are not permitted on site. We wish a safe journey to those who are making the journey over, or you can tune into the Live Stream on Blaze’s YouTube channel, and in our Match Centre, on the day.
Sunrisers have named the following squad:
Grace Scrivens (captain)
Amara Carr
Kelly Castle
Kate Coppack
Ariana Dowse
Jo Gardner
Eva Gray
Jodi Grewcock
Esmae MacGregor
Abtaha Maqsood
Flo Miller
Amu Surenkumar
Mady Villiers
Up next
After tomorrow’s game, we will be making the long journey north to take on Northern Diamonds at Durham on Saturday 16 September in the final game of the 2023 season.
After the conclusion of the group stage, the teams in second and third place will play-off on Thursday 21 September. The winner of that will then face the winner of the group, in the RHFT final on Sunday 24 September, played at Northampton’s County Ground. Tickets are available on their website, at £10 an adult and £5 for children (free for Northamptonshire members).