MATCH PREVIEW AND SQUAD NEWS: Northern Diamonds vs Thunder
Squad news
Head coach Paul Shaw has named a 13-player squad to travel to York Cricket Club to face Northern Diamonds in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy.
Batter Daisy Mullan is recalled to the squad in place of Phoebe Graham, who has joined Western Storm on loan till the end of July.
The loan spell will allow Phoebe to play First Team cricket after having limited opportunities so far this season with Thunder.
Everybody at Thunder would like to wish her all the best during her loan spell.
Thunder Squad: Ellie Threlkled (c), Danni Collins, Naomi Dattani, Deandra Dottin, Mahika Gaur, Liberty Heap, Laura Jackson, Emma Lamb, Fi Morris, Sophie Morris, Daisy Mullan, Tara Norris, Seren Smale
Match preview
Thunder head across the Pennines to York to tackle champions Northern Diamonds on Tuesday (10.30am) with a definite spring in their step.
Ellie Threlkeld’s side are still bidding for their first win of the competition at the eighth attempt, but they fully believe this is the perfect time to get it after being given an unexpected but timely boost courtesy of a fabulous comeback to tie against Southern Vipers at Southport and Birkdale on Friday.
Ok, fifties for Threlkeld and Tara Norris didn’t contribute to the win they craved in pursuit of 263, but scoring 97 off the last 10 overs with four wickets left and 66 off five with only three in hand has given the team serious confidence.
And what a time to have it. This is arguably the toughest time in the season.
After facing a Vipers side who have won four regional titles in three-and-a-half years, including two RHF Trophy crowns, they face the current holders the Diamonds next up.
“We said in the dressing room that a game like that feels like a win,” said captain Threlkeld, of the Vipers heist.
“The fight we’ve shown with the bat shows what we’re about as a team. Never write the Thunder off!”
The Diamonds know all too well that you should never write Thunder off having been beaten by them heavily last month in the Charlotte Edwards Cup at Blackpool.
The visitors were bowled out for 96, with Thunder winning by seven wickets in 15 overs. It knocked the Diamonds out of contention and qualified Thunder for Finals Day.
It’s a fixture which remains fresh in the minds of both teams, with Diamonds assistant coach Kyle Coetzer saying in preview to this fixture: “It certainly hurt the group, so the girls will want to go out there and put a show on and get their own back really.”
Threlkeld continued: “Hopefully we can now get a few wins on the board, and I’m buzzing as I look forward to the Diamonds game.
“The tie will have helped us create a bit of momentum. And while every game in this competition is a big one, it’s always special to play against a Yorkshire-based team.”
Despite being in an extremely chipper mood, Threlkeld does accept that they do need to brush up on certain areas of their game in order to climb off the foot of the table. Building more partnerships at the top of the order is an obvious one.
“The players are in a good place at the moment, and it’s just a case of fine margins,” added Threlkeld. “We need to tighten up in a few areas, and we won’t be far away at all.”
Thunder have beaten the Diamonds on a trio of occasions since the inception of regional cricket in 2020, but they have all come in the T20 format.
The Diamonds have so far won all four Rachael Heyhoe Flint clashes.
However, this hasn’t been an entirely straightforward defence of their title so far, highlighted by a thumping nine-wicket defeat to league leaders Blaze at Chesterfield on Friday.
They slipped from 55-0 to 185 all out and lost with more than 25 overs remaining.
It was their third defeat in seven games so far, and they sit third in the table on 19 points, just holding onto the final knockout qualifying position with seven games remaining.
They have been hugely reliant on England fringe opener Lauren Winfield-Hill with the bat. She is the leading run-scorer in the competition with 392 and has reached fifty on four occasions this campaign - as many as the rest of the Diamonds squad combined.
With England yet to announce their ODI squad against Australia later this week, it remains to be seen who will be available, with Winfield-Hill and Thunder opener Emma Lamb in contention to surely join Kate Cross and Sophie Ecclestone.
Winfield-Hill, however, did flit in and out of England’s T20 squad last week to play a pair of regional fixtures, so selection may not automatically mean unavailability.
Opposing player to watch
Leg-spinner Katie Levick is someone Thunder will likely have to keep quiet if they’re going to win this fixture.
She has an outstanding regional record against the Red Rose side across both the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy and the Charlotte Edwards Cup, taking 21 wickets against them in nine matches since September 2020.
That run includes a pair of three-wicket hauls and a pair of four-wicket hauls.
In fact, Levick has picked up at least one wicket every time she has played against Thunder.
She has taken 52 wickets for the Diamonds since the start of last season across both competitions. No other bowler in regional cricket has been as prolific.
Previous meeting
Last July, the Diamonds won by six wickets at Sale in this competition en-route to the title.
Emma Lamb’s 82 led Thunder to 235-7, also including 42 for Shachi Pai. Unfortunately, Lauren Winfield-Hill’s 93 then led a commanding response as the Diamonds won by six wickets with more than seven overs remaining. Bess Heath also added an unbeaten 51.
But perhaps more significant was Thunder’s Charlotte Edwards Cup win over the Diamonds at Blackpool last month when the visitors were bowled out for 96 in a seven-wicket win for Thunder.
It qualified the Thunder for Finals Day and knocked the Diamonds out. As aforementioned, that certainly remains fresh in the Diamonds minds. It will Thunder’s too. Fingers crossed for a similar result.