MATCH PREVIEW: Central Sparks vs Thunder
England star Kate Cross is backing “exciting” Thunder to build on the confidence gained from yesterday’s Charlotte Edwards Cup victory over Sunrisers.
Thunder travel to New Road in Worcester to tackle Central Sparks tomorrow (10.30am), their fourth game of seven.
A top three finish for Finals Day qualification is the aim - ironically back at New Road on June 10 - and Cross is confident her and her team-mates can be there.
“A little winning streak now gives us a great chance,” she said.
“We’re at Worcester now and down to Southampton on Wednesday, so we’re on the road for a while. “It’s a really exciting team, and I think this will give us so much belief.”
Cross was superb for 2-20 from her four overs yesterday as Sunrisers were limited to 116-8.
It was only her fifth appearance of a summer which has started in challenging fashion having picked up a tropical disease whilst commentating on the WPL in India in March and has required nine courses of antibiotics. Her latest course of medication finished yesterday.
“I’m ok,” she said. “If I can go 10 days symptom free then I think I’ll have got over it.
“I’m just struggling with being on my feet quite a lot after two months of being in and out of bed and not doing as much training as I would have liked. It hurt to bowl, but I’ll just build it up gradually.
“I think I’ve lost about seven kilos altogether. It’s not great when you’re trying to train for the regional stuff and an Ashes series.
“But fingers crossed I’m over the worst of it. I hope so. I’ve got to be 10 days symptom free. If not, I’ll have to try some more medication.”
Back to Thunder matters, and they were superb yesterday in a seven-wicket win finished off by Liberty Heap’s 46 at the top of the order - the 19-year-old’s best regional score.
The victory, however, was set up by an on-point bowling and fielding display led by Cross and England team-mates Sophie Ecclestone and Emma Lamb, who all shared five wickets.
“I think that was probably our most complete performance,” said Cross.
“We’ve been there and thereabouts, but we’ve lost key moments in games. I thought we were outstanding in the field and how we bowled. We put it all together out there.
“I’m really pleased for the girls because it’s been a tough dressing room having not got that win on the board.
“We wanted to keep them under 120 having struggled to get to that on Thursday. We knew what was a good score having played on that pitch earlier in the week.
“All the bowlers were brilliant. They came at us early, but we had answers for them. Young Mahika Gaur, 17-years-old, holding her nerve and bowling three overs in the powerplay is massive.
“We felt like we were on it from ball one, and everybody played their part.”
The tone for the day was set with only the second ball of the match when Cross bowled South African legend Dane van Niekerk for a duck with a beautiful in-swinger.
“I’ve been doing quite a bit of work to get some more movement in the air,” she smiled. “It’s just about putting it into practice and being brave.
“It’s always nice to take the wicket of someone like Dane. She’s a great player who can take the game away from you. It felt like an important start for us.”
Thunder went into the match without Cross’s best mate Alex Hartley, who announced on Friday that she would be taking an indefinite break from the game to prioritise her mental health.
She announced the news on the No Balls podcast which the pair host, and the popular left-arm spinner was inundated with messages of support, including one posted on Thunder’s social media channels.
Cross added: “I’m really proud of her for making that decision.
“I’ve been there before, and it’s not easy to put yourself first like that.
“When I first met her, she wouldn’t talk about what’s going on. But what she’s done has encouraged a lot of other people to talk as well. We get a lot of positive feedback on that sort of stuff on the podcast. She’ll be back. I’ve no doubt about that.
“It’s just a reminder that there’s more to life than cricket. It’s great, and we love what we do. But it’s just a game at the end of the day. So, yeah, good on her.”
Thunder face a Sparks side who they tied with in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy at Emirates Old Trafford earlier this month. The Sparks have won one and lost two so far.
Opposing player to watch
Former Lancashire women’s captain Eve Jones could pass 2,000 runs in all cricket for Central Sparks in this fixture.
The left-handed opener, who played for the Red Rose women and for Lancashire Thunder in the old Kia Super League, was born in Shrewsbury and has been with Sparks since the start of regional cricket during the 2020 summer.
Since the start of regional cricket, Jones has progressed through to play for the England A team and earned a Big Bash contract to play for Melbourne Renegades over the most recent winter.
In 52 innings for the Sparks, she has scored 1,976 runs at an average of 42.04, including 14 fifties and two hundreds.
The second of those hundreds came against Thunder at New Road in the 2021 Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, the game which Thunder won by two wickets.
Previous meeting
This will be the first meeting of the two teams in the Charlotte Edwards Cup, though we did play out a thrilling Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy tie at Emirates Old Trafford at the start of the month.
It was a rain-affected clash on Duckworth Lewis Stern which saw Thunder bowled out for 234 inside 48 overs, with Sophie Ecclestone top-scoring with a superb middle order 74.
Following a revised target of 224, Sparks finished on 223-9 from 45 overs.
Sparks slipped from 154-3 in the 32nd over 212-9 after 43, and they later needed eight to win against Mahika Gaur off the last over. Kate Cross finished with three wickets and Ecclestone and Tara Norris two apiece.
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