Collins and Gaur sign professional contracts with Thunder
Thunder Cricket is delighted to announce that Danni Collins and Mahika Gaur have signed their first professional contracts with the region.
Collins has signed a deal until the end of the current season whilst Gaur has signed a part-time contract until the end of the 2024 campaign.
22-year-old left-handed bat Collins has been a mainstay of the squad since 2020 and has made a total of 29 appearances for Thunder across both the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy and Charlotte Edwards Cup competitions.
Collins has scored a trio of half-centuries in 35 appearances for the Red Rose women. In both 2022 and 2023 she has played a key role in the side that lifted the regionalised County T20 Cup title.
17-year-old tall left-arm seamer Gaur burst onto the scene for Thunder earlier this season, picking up three wickets on her regional senior debut against Western Storm in Cardiff.
Reading-born Gaur initially caught the attention of Thunder coaches during a Lancashire Cricket training session alongside Emirates at the Dubai Expo 2020.
Gaur has since returned to the UK to take a full scholarship at Sedbergh School and recently became the first female player to represent Sedbergh’s First XI.
She is widely regarded as one of the most exciting young talents in world cricket and has already been selected in squads for The Hundred and Fairbreak Invitational competitions. Earlier this month, Gaur was named in the England A squad to face Australia A.
Regional Director of Women’s Cricket for the North West, David Thorley said: “We are really pleased to have agreed terms with two young players in Danni and Mahika to sign professionally.
“Danni has been in both the Lancashire Cricket and Thunder systems for a long time now and this contract is just reward for those years of hard work. We look forward to seeing her continued development over the course of this season.
“Mahika is a really exciting talent, and we are delighted that she has committed her future to stay with us for at least the next two seasons.
“Since first watching her bowl in Dubai, we have all been excited by Mahika’s ability and potential and we are looking forward to watching her game improve over the next few years.”