The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has announced the playing schedule and team names for the six hosts that will compete in the inaugural Women’s Cricket Super League.
This summer, 90 of the most talented female players from England and across the world will come together to play for one of the following six teams:
| Team Name | Host Details |
| Lancashire Thunder | Lancashire Cricket Board with partners |
| Loughborough Lightning | Loughborough University |
| Southern Vipers | Hampshire Cricket with partners |
| Surrey Stars | Surrey County Cricket Club |
| Western Storm | Somerset County Cricket Club, Gloucestershire County Cricket Club, University of Exeter |
| Yorkshire Diamonds | Yorkshire County Cricket Club |
Other key aspects of the schedule (below) released by the ECB today include:
- The inaugural season of the Women’s Cricket Super League will see the six new teams take part in a round-robin Twenty20 competition from Saturday 30th July to Sunday 14th August. The tournament will feature 15 group matches in 16 days and climax with a finals day on Sunday 21st August.
- At least 11 matches to be played at seven First Class venues including: the Ageas Bowl (Southern Vipers), the Bristol County Ground and the Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton (Western Storm), Emirates Old Trafford (Lancashire Thunder), Headingley (Yorkshire Diamonds), the Kia Oval (Surrey Stars) and the Essex County Ground (finals day)
- A good spread of fixtures are scheduled throughout the group stage, with matches on ten of the 16 days and at least one match to be played on all three of the encompassing weekends
The opening weekend of action will see Yorkshire Diamonds host Loughborough Lightning at Headingley on Saturday 30th July, followed on Sunday 31st July by Southern Vipers taking on Surrey Stars at the Ageas Bowl, and Lancashire Thunder travelling to the Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton to play Western Storm.
After the last round of group matches on Sunday 14th August, the Essex County Ground in Chelmsford will host a finals day on Sunday 21st August to decide the winner of the inaugural competition.
ECB Director of England Women’s Cricket, Clare Connor, said: “Today represents another huge step towards delivering our vision of creating a dynamic, inspirational and high quality domestic women’s game in England. This time last year the Women’s Cricket Super League was simply a concept, and now we have six exciting new teams, some innovative partnerships and a fixture list that includes at least 11 matches being played at seven different First Class grounds across the country.
“As each stage of the process unfolds, we keep striving to push new boundaries. We are now looking forward to working with the six teams over the next few weeks to reveal their kits, colours and brands, as well as the central competition logo and branding.â€
The key aims of the Women’s Cricket Super League include the development of ever higher standards for the England women’s team with greater competition for places, alongside inspiring more women and girls to play cricket at all levels. It will offer new opportunities, a new narrative for the game and new role models, as well as a network of six new teams linked to their communities.
The six selected hosts provide a strong geographical spread and encompass diverse partnership working from across the cricket and educational landscapes. In total, seven First Class counties, five Non-First Class counties and three universities are involved, creating a collaborative, imaginative and wide-ranging project.
The Women’s Cricket Super League will expand from only including Twenty20 (T20) cricket in 2016 to incorporating both T20 and 50-over formats in future seasons. All six teams have been awarded hosting rights for a four-year period from 2016-2019 inclusive.
Women’s Cricket Super League 2016 Match Fixtures:
Sat 30 July
Loughborough Lightning v Yorkshire Diamonds –Â (Headingley, 14.30)
Sun 31 July
Lancashire Thunder v Western Storm –Â (Cooper Assoc County Ground, Taunton, 14.30)
Southern Vipers v Surrey Stars –Â (Ageas Bowl, 14.00)
Wed 3 Aug
Lancashire Thunder v Loughborough Lightning –Â (Haselgrave, 16.30)
Thurs 4 Aug
Surrey Stars v H v Yorkshire Diamonds –Â (Kia Oval, 18.30)
Fri 5 Aug
Lancashire Thunder v Southern Vipers –Â (Blackpool CC, 14.30)
Loughborough Lightning v Western Storm –Â (Haselgrave, 16.30)
Sun 7 Aug
Surrey Stars v Western Storm –Â (Bristol County Ground, 14.30)
Mon 8 Aug
Southern Vipers v Yorkshire Diamonds –Â (Ageas Bowl Nursery Ground, 14.00)
Tues 9 Aug
Lancashire Thunder v Surrey Stars –Â (Guildford CC, 14.30)
Fri 12 Aug
Loughborough Lightning v Surrey Stars –Â (Haselgrave, 16.30)
Western Storm v Southern Vipers –Â (Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton, 17.30)
Lancashire Thunder v Yorkshire Diamonds –Â (Emirates, Old Trafford, 18.00)
Sun 14 Aug
Southern Vipers v Loughborough Lightning –Â (Ageas Bowl, 14.00)
Lancashire Thunder v Yorkshire Diamonds –Â (Emirates, Old Trafford, 18.00)
Report courtesy of the ECB
