Sunrisers (women's cricket)
English women's cricket team
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Sunrisers were a women's cricket team that represented the London and East region, one of eight regional hubs in English domestic women's cricket. They played their home matches at various grounds, including the County Cricket Ground, Chelmsford.[1][2] They were captained by Grace Scrivens and coached by Andy Tennant.[3][4] The team were partnered with Middlesex, Essex, Northamptonshire, Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bedfordshire and Huntingdonshire, as well as Marylebone Cricket Club.[5]
| ||
| Personnel | ||
|---|---|---|
| Captain | Grace Scrivens | |
| Coach | Andy Tennant | |
| Team information | ||
| Colours | Black and red | |
| Established | 2020 | |
| Home ground | County Ground, Chelmsford County Ground, Northampton Lord's Brunton Memorial Ground | |
| History | ||
| RHFT wins | 0 | |
| CEC wins | 0 | |
| Official website | Sunrisers Cricket | |
| ||
Sunrisers won their first trophy in 2024, winning the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy.[6] At the end of the 2024 season, following reforms to the structure of women's domestic cricket, the team was effectively replaced by a professionalised Essex team.[7]
History
In 2020, women's cricket in England was restructured, creating eight new 'regional hub' teams, with the intention of playing both 50-over and 20-over cricket.[8] Sunrisers were one of the sides created under this structure, representing the London and East region, Middlesex, Essex, Northamptonshire, Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bedfordshire and Huntingdonshire, as well as Marylebone Cricket Club.[5] The side was to be captained by Amara Carr and coached by Trevor Griffin.[9] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 season was truncated, and only 50-over cricket was played, in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy.[10] Sunrisers finished bottom of the South Group in the competition, losing all six of their matches.[11] At the end of the season, five Sunrisers players were given full-time domestic contracts, the first of their kind in England: Amara Carr, Naomi Dattani, Cordelia Griffith, Jo Gardner and Kelly Castle.[12]
The following season, 2021, Sunrisers competed in both the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy and the newly-formed Twenty20 competition, the Charlotte Edwards Cup. The side again lost all of their matches in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, finishing bottom of the eight-team group.[13] For the Charlotte Edwards Cup, Kelly Castle was named as captain of the side.[14] In the first match of the tournament, Sunrisers recorded their first ever victory, beating Western Storm by 7 wickets.[15] However, they did not win another match in the tournament and finished bottom of their group, although they did tie their home match against North West Thunder.[16]
Ahead of the 2022 season, it was announced that Castle was becoming captain of the side in all formats, and that Trevor Griffin was stepping down as Head Coach for personal reasons.[17] Griffin was later replaced by Laura Marsh, taking on the Head Coach role on an interim basis for the 2022 season.[18] The side finished bottom of their Charlotte Edwards Cup group, losing all six of their matches.[19] The side also finished bottom of the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy group, losing all of their completed matches.[20] Sunrisers all-rounder Grace Scrivens was the joint-leading wicket-taker in the competition, with 13 wickets, and the third-highest run-scorer, with 297 runs.[21][22] At the end of the season, it was announced that Andy Tennant had been appointed as the permanent Head Coach of the side.[4]
In June 2023, it was announced that Kelly Castle had stepped down as captain of the side, being replaced by overseas player Dane van Niekerk.[23] After van Niekerk's spell with the side ended in September 2023, Grace Scrivens took over the captaincy.[3] That season, the side finished bottom of the group in the Charlotte Edwards Cup, but won their first matches in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, including a late season winning run to finish fourth in the table.[24][25][26] Ahead of the 2024 season, Scrivens was confirmed as captain in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, with van Niekerk captaining in the Charlotte Edwards Cup.[27] van Niekerk was later ruled out of her stint with the club, meaning that Scrivens captained the side in both formats.[28] The side finished bottom of the group in the Charlotte Edwards Cup.[29] In the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, the side finished fourth in the group stage, going on to defeat Northern Diamonds in the semi-finals.[30] In the final they played South East Stars, and defeated them by 27 runs (DLS) to win their first trophy.[6]
2024 was the side's final season, with reforms to the structure of domestic cricket in England meaning that the side was effectively replaced by a professionalised Essex team.[7]
Home grounds
| Venue | Games hosted by season | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | Total | |
| County Ground, Chelmsford | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 20 |
| Fenner's | – | 2 | – | – | – | 2 |
| County Ground, Northampton | – | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| Merchant Taylors' School | – | 1 | – | – | – | 1 |
| Lord's | – | – | – | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Brunton Memorial Ground | – | – | – | 2 | 3 | 5 |
Players
Current squad
Final squad, 2024 season.[27]
- No. denotes the player's squad number, as worn on the back of their shirt.
- ‡ denotes players with international caps.
| No. | Name | Nationality | Birth date | Batting style | Bowling style | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batters | ||||||
| 4 | Florence Miller |  England | 26 February 2004 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| 6 | Cordelia Griffith | England | 19 September 1995 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| All-rounders | ||||||
| 7 | Kelly Castle | England | 4 September 1997 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| 9 | Jodi Grewcock | England | 30 November 2004 | Left-handed | Right-arm leg break | |
| 11 | Kate Coppack | England | 30 August 1994 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| 14 | Jo Gardner | England | 25 March 1997 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | |
| 22 | Katherine Speed | England | 5 October 2001 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| 29 | Grace Scrivens | England | 10 November 2003 | Left-handed | Right-arm off break | Club captain |
| 44 | Alice Macleod | England | 14 May 1994 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | |
| 64 | Amuruthaa Surenkumar | England | 26 October 2004 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Wicket-keepers | ||||||
| 12 | Jessica Olorenshaw | England | 27 January 2005 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| 17 | Amara Carr | England | 17 April 1994 | Right-handed | — | |
| 83 | Ariana Dowse | England | 8 February 2001 | Right-handed | — | |
| Bowlers | ||||||
| 10 | Eva Gray | England | 24 May 2000 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| 18 | Abtaha Maqsood ‡ |  Scotland | 11 June 1999 | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | |
| 19 | Charley Phillips | England | 8 May 2003 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| 26 | Mady Villiers ‡ | England | 26 August 1998 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | |
| 88 | Esmae MacGregor | England | 31 July 2004 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
Academy
The Sunrisers Academy team played against other regional academies in friendly and festival matches across various formats. The Academy selected players from across the Sunrisers regional hub, and included some players who are also in the first team squad. Players in the 2024 Academy are listed below:[31]
| Name | County |
|---|---|
| Molly Barbour-Smith | Middlesex |
| Olivia Barnes | Kent |
| Prisha Bedi | Essex |
| Evie Booker | Suffolk |
| Hannah Davis | Buckinghamshire |
| May Drinkell | Norfolk |
| Isabella James | Cambridgeshire |
| Bella Johnson | Essex |
| Layla Judge | Middlesex |
| Jessica Olorenshaw | Essex |
| Sarah Pearson | Middlesex |
| Charley Phillips | Hertfordshire |
| Riva Pindoria | Middlesex |
| Mabel Reid | Hertfordshire |
| Amuruthaa Surenkumar | Middlesex |
Overseas players
Saskia Horley – Scotland (2023)[a]
Dane van Niekerk – South Africa (2023)
Nicola Hancock – Australia (2024)
Coaching staff
- Head Coach: Andy Tennant
- Regional Director: Danni Warren
- Assistant Coach: Marc Broom
- Club Coach: Robbie Gunn
- Sports Doctor: Phil Batty
- Head Strength & Conditioning Coach: Calum Burdett
- Performance Analyst: Kieran Phillips
- Psycho-Social Lead: Kate Green
Seasons
Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy
| Season | Final standing | League standings[33] | Notes | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | L | T | NR | BP | Pts | NRR | Pos | |||
| 2020 | Group stage | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1.365 | 4th | DNQ |
| 2021 | Group stage | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1.598 | 8th | DNQ |
| 2022 | Group stage | 7 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | −1.046 | 8th | DNQ |
| 2023 | Group stage | 14 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 32 | −0.006 | 4th | DNQ |
| 2024 | Champions | 14 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 34 | −0.122 | 4th | Won against South East Stars in the final |
Charlotte Edwards Cup
Statistics
Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy
- Abandoned matches are counted as NR (no result)
- Win or loss by super over or boundary count are counted as tied.
| Opposition | Mat | Won | Lost | Tied | NR | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Sparks | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 33.33 |
| Northern Diamonds | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 42.86 |
| North West Thunder | 6 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 16.67 |
| Southern Vipers | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
| South East Stars | 9 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 11.11 |
| The Blaze | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 33.33 |
| Western Storm | 8 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 25.00 |
Charlotte Edwards Cup
- Abandoned matches are counted as NR (no result)
- Win or loss by super over or boundary count are counted as tied.
| Opposition | Mat | Won | Lost | Tied | NR | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Sparks | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Northern Diamonds | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 25.00 |
| North West Thunder | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 |
| South East Stars | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Southern Vipers | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 33.33 |
| The Blaze | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Western Storm | 7 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 14.28 |
Records
Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy
- Highest team total: 308/6, v Southern Vipers on 12 September 2021.[35][36][37][38][39]
- Lowest (completed) team total: 53 v Northern Diamonds on 5 June 2021.[35][36][37][38][39]
- Highest individual score: 118*, Grace Scrivens v Central Sparks on 1 May 2024.[40][41][42][43][44]
- Best individual bowling analysis: 5/25, Sophie Munro v North West Thunder on 30 June 2024.[45][46][47][48][49]
- Most runs: 1,546 runs in 46 matches, Grace Scrivens.[50][51][52][53][54]
- Most wickets: 48 wickets in 37 matches, Mady Villiers.[55][56][57][58][59]
Charlotte Edwards Cup
- Highest team total: 160/5, v Western Storm on 18 May 2022.[60][61][62][63]
- Lowest (completed) team total: 101/7 v Northern Diamonds on 25 August 2021.[60][61][62][63]
- Highest individual score: 79*, Jo Gardner v Southern Vipers on 24 May 2024.[64][65][66][67]
- Best individual bowling analysis: 4/23, Sophie Munro v Western Storm on 19 June 2024.[68][69][70][71]
- Most runs: 574 runs in 28 matches, Grace Scrivens.[72][73][74][75]
- Most wickets: 27 wickets in 24 matches, Mady Villiers.[76][77][78][79]
Honours
- Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy:
- Champions (1) – 2024