It’s a fool’s task to predict the outcome of the last day of the Charlotte Edwards Cup, so
here goes.
Why a fool’s task?
Well, to start with, the spectator arriving at the ground in Derby doesn’t even know who will be playing. It’s one of the inexplicable mysteries of cricket that captains aren’t required to divulge their chosen XI till minutes before the start of play.
The regular excuse given is that so much depends on the state of the pitch and the which weather report is trusted. As for cricketers’ ability to read a pitch, the less said the better. The more they prod and press, the less plausible they sound in their judgement.
With each shortening of the game (from 60 overs to 100 balls!), results have grown less
predictable. Increasing emphasis is placed on risk-taking. For the batter, that risk may bring an early dismissal. For the bowler it can mean being hit out of the ground so often there are no spare balls left.
Now to the new format of Finals Day, Saturday 22 June
At last we have four matches, not three as in the past. It means an earlier start and a much later finish. As I write, we are enjoying the longest day. All four teams have figured in finals days of the past. The line-up looks like this:
11.00 The Blaze v Central Sparks (1st v 4th)
14.30 SE Stars v Southern Vipers (2nd v 3rd)
18.45 Final
Will the winner of the morning match take an advantage from having a break of several hours
before the final, (a quick visit to the Peak District?) or will the winners of the afternoon game be happy to return to the field with the engine still running warm?
The Blaze
Blaze have had a season to remember.
They were a franchise built out of the rubble of an unsuccessful Loughborough Lightning side.
They changed their name, moved their base to Trent Bridge and have progressed ever since. Even though such a major figure as Tammy Beaumont has not found her best form, the Scottish sisters, Kathryn and Sarah Bryce, have led the way; both with the bat, Kathryn with the ball as well, and Sarah with the gloves. Other players have made notable advances since struggling at Loughborough.
Last time out they defeated the team in third place, Central Sparks, by a commanding 5 wickets. It was Marie Kelly who provided the bulk of the runs with 89 not out.
Even so, their unbeaten run, which lasted till the last round with Stars’ victory, must have come as a pleasant surprise to them as much as to their watching fans .
South-East Stars
Stars have form. They won the inaugural version of the Cup three years ago. They warmed up for Saturday’s match by doing their share of demolition, inflicting a first defeat on the leaders, The Blaze, having dismissed them for a paltry 84.
But to underline the unpredictability of T20, don’t forget they were shot out in turn by Vipers for an embarrassing 88.
The captain, Bryony Smith underlines the strangeness of it all. In that first 2021 season she finished top of the bowling honours, taking 14 wickets at an average of under ten. Against Vipers this week, she turned her arm over for the first time in ten matches. Till then she hadn’t felt her services were needed. She came to the rescue, to the extent of taking the vital wicket of Bouchier, who had made the result sure with a magnificent 93.
Southern Vipers
Vipers just happen to be the almost constant winners of every English competition you care to mention (cup-holders in 2022 and 2023). Consistency has not been their watchword this season, but their latest performance, demolishing second-placed SES last weekend, gives Blaze a timely warning.
Like any team run by the Cup’s eponymous leader, it is stocked with England players (see
Allocations below). It needs only two of a list including Danni Wyatt and Maia Bouchier to mount an unreachable target.
Their captain, Georgia Adams, hasn’t recaptured her best form with the bat this year, but she showed her value with a steady 39 this mid-week. All four teams have sensible captains, and Adams is one to have the trust of her entire squad.
Central Sparks
One of the constant difficulties facing head coaches is the availability of contracted players. In Sparks’ case that means Amy Jones. Without her, the batting looks unpredictable at best. Abbey Freeborn, one player to shift from Loughborough to Edgbaston, has shown recent form with 71* and 39, but like many of her team-mates, has lacked consistency.
Eve Jones had led the side well enough to bring them to another finals day, making the best use of the forces available to her. It would be nice to see Issy Wong producing her best form on the big stage.
Sparks can claim to have an identical record to Vipers, which is an achievement in itself.
What else counts?
It’s fascinating to muse on aspects of the Cup, some of which remain more or less unanswerable.
The team finishing top of the table is not bound to win the knock-out sequence. Boo!
Do franchises gain or lose by moving from ground to ground for their home matches?
Do franchises gain or lose by consisting of a large number of constituent counties? (Vipers six (plus the Isle of Wight); Sparks five; Blaze four (plus Loughborough University); Stars two – just Kent and Surrey.
The luck of the toss. Most sides prefer to put the other lot in, so they know what their target is. We’ll see whether any captain is prepared to go against that tradition. “We’ve got the batters – we bat first!”
Now the competition is in its fourth season, inevitably team togetherness is far more marked than in the early days.
Allocations
When we look at the breakdown of players selected to represent England in the coming series against the White Ferns, the odds should swing in one direction only. Affiliations looks like this:
Vipers 7
Stars 2
Storm 2
Blaze 2
Diamonds 1
Sparks 1
Thunder 1
Sunrisers 0
That’s a pretty uneven balance in favour of the squad Charlotte Edwards has managed to keep out of the grasp of seven other head coaches.
