18-year-old Lucy Higham from Leicestershire has been invited to train with Loughborough Lightning as they prepare for the start of the Kia Super League season.
Higham currently plays for Leicestershire Vixens County Cricket team, and has also been part of the England U19 Women’s Development Program.
Speaking during a fielding-specific session with the Lightning team, Higham commented: “I got a call off Sall Briggs the other week and it was a proud moment. It’s a great chance for me to improve my cricket at a higher standard, training with the quality players and coaching staff down here, along with the addition of the overseas players.”
Higham is particularly excited about the prospect of training with World T20 star and headline signing Ellyse Perry. As a bowling all rounder like Perry, Higham is eager to learn as much as she can from one of her biggest role models.
“My main aim is to just better my cricket. They are a lot stronger and hit the ball a lot harder. Hopefully the experience will allow me to challenge for a place in the Lightning squad next season.”
Speaking of Higham’s invitation to train with Lightning, Head Coach of the Leicestershire Women’s squad, Tom Leonard said:
“Lucy most definitely deserves this opportunity, she is one of the hardest working members of the squad and has performed consistently when coming through the age groups and subsequently over a number of years for Leicestershire Women. She was rewarded with a place on the England Development Programme and has come on leaps and bounds – and now her inclusion in the Lightning training squad shows what an exciting prospect Lucy is.”
Also from Leicestershire, Russell Cobb will be part of the backroom staff for Loughborough Lightning, leading their community plan.
Cobb has coached the Loughborough MCCU for the past four years, wining many trophies as well as representing UK universities at the Redbull Campus Cricket World Finals in India last year, where Loughborough finished as runners-up.
Prior to that he played over 150 times for Leicestershire CCC, before going on to coach the side for over a decade, spending a total of 34 years at Leicestershire CCC as a player, coach or development coach.
Of Lightning’s involvement in the brand new Kia Super League competition, Cobb commented: “I see the introduction of the KSL as a great opportunity to challenge ourselves in the elite environment. Sall has done a great job working with Loughborough students and now we are able to benchmark ourselves in all departments against the best.”
You can get tickets to see Loughborough Lightning in action in the inaugural season of the KIA Super League this August by heading here.
Report courtesy of Loughborough University.
