Marie Kelly

Kelly was born on 9 February 1996 in Birmingham, West Midlands. She has a degree in Sports Science from Loughborough University. Her twin sister, Sian, played for Warwickshire between 2011 and 2017.^[2][4]

Kelly made her county debut in 2011, for Warwickshire against Cheshire. She scored 12 runs and bowled 2 overs for no wicket.^[5] In 2012, in two innings over one weekend playing for Warwickshire Under-17s, Kelly scored 201* and 110* and soon after became a regular in Warwickshire's first team.^[3] She hit her maiden T20 half-century in 2013, against the Netherlands.^[6]

Kelly began captaining Warwickshire in 2015, standing-in for Rebecca Grundy. She became permanent captain of the side in 2016.^[7] In 2019, Kelly led her side to victory in the Twenty20 Cup. Warwickshire topped Division 1 by one point after beating runners-up Lancashire in the final match, with Kelly top-scoring with 76.^[8][3] She also ended the season as the leading run-scorer in Division 1.^[9] Kelly was Warwickshire's leading run-scorer in the 2021 Women's Twenty20 Cup, with 162 runs at an average of 81.00.^[10] She was again Warwickshire's leading run-scorer in the 2022 Women's Twenty20 Cup, with 192 runs at an average of 32.00.^[11] She scored two half-centuries on the same day in a double-header against Gloucestershire, 99 from 61 deliveries in the first match and 60 from 27 deliveries in the second.^[12][13] In the second match, her half-century came from 15 deliveries, which is the fastest recorded fifty in Women's Twenty20 cricket.^[14] She played two matches for Warwickshire in the 2023 Women's Twenty20 Cup, scoring 75 runs and taking two wickets.^[15][16]

Kelly also played in the Women's Cricket Super League, for Loughborough Lightning in 2017 and Southern Vipers in 2019.^[2] She played one match for Loughborough, in which she scored 18 runs against Western Storm. She played five matches for the Vipers, scoring 13 runs at an average of 4.33.^[17][18] In 2020, Kelly was announced as part of the Central Sparks squad for the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy. She was the side's second-highest run-scorer, with 223 runs at an average of 55.75, and scored two half-centuries.^[19] In December 2020, it was announced that Kelly was one of the 41 female cricketers that had signed a full-time domestic contract.^[20]

In 2021, Kelly scored 182 runs for Central Sparks in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, including two half-centuries.^[21] In a Charlotte Edwards Cup match against Southern Vipers, Kelly hit 100* from 53 balls, her Twenty20 high score and first ever century, to help her side to a 6 wicket victory.^[22] She also signed to play for Birmingham Phoenix in The Hundred, but only made one appearance in the competition.^[23] At the end of the season it was announced that Kelly had moved to Lightning, and signed a professional contract with her new side.^[24] She played eleven matches for Lightning in 2022, across the Charlotte Edwards Cup and the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, scoring 197 runs and taking six wickets.^[25][26] She also played seven matches for Trent Rockets in The Hundred, scoring 40 runs.^[27]

In 2023, she played 20 matches for The Blaze (the new name for Lightning), across the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy and the Charlotte Edwards Cup, scoring one half-century and taking three wickets.^[28][29] She moved to Northern Superchargers for The Hundred, scoring 176 runs including one half-century.^[30] She also played for Trinbago Knight Riders in the 2023 Women's Caribbean Premier League, scoring 57 runs and taking six wickets.^[31] In 2024, she played 26 matches for The Blaze, across the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy and the Charlotte Edwards Cup, scoring two half-centuries.^[32][33]

Kelly has also been a part of the Emerging Players Programme, the England Women's Academy and played for the England Under-19s.^[3]