PLAYER DIARY: Fi Morris reflects on Finals Day, fortress Blackpool and an Ashes summer
The two weekends leading up to and including Finals Day were pretty amazing, I have to say.
First it was Artic Monkeys on the Friday and Coldplay on the Saturday and then winning with Thunder against the Stars at Blackpool on Sunday.
There were a few of us who went to Coldplay, including Kate Cross who knows their manager. We got to meet Chris Martin. What a weekend.
Then it was Finals Day in the Charlotte Edwards Cup the following Saturday.
Let’s reflect on Finals Day first.
We went into that Eliminator game against the Vipers at New Road as underdogs. The Vipers and Charlotte Edwards have so much experience with winning trophies, and Finals Day was just another drop in the ocean for them.
We bowled pretty poorly up top, so to lose by only 18 runs was a brilliant performance chasing 192.
We would have loved to get over the line, but to get to Finals Day and perform the way we did with our highest score of the competition (173-8) showed how far we’ve come.
I’ve spoken before about this group being really special. And, on Saturday, we showed that we can compete at the top level.
That felt like the first step in what should be a really exciting few seasons for Thunder.
We went into that game with so much confidence on the back of beating the Diamonds at Blackpool in what I’ve since described as my favourite game of cricket that I’ve been involved in.
I was doing a talk at a school last week and was asked what is my best ever game. I said that one.
That was just because we needed to win and win well, and we were missing our England players. Diamonds were coming into it at full strength and have been one of the top teams over the last few years.
For us to perform the way we did - for Mahika Gaur and Tara Norris to stand up in the powerplay the way they did - was just so impressive and will do wonders for our confidence for the rest of the season.
That game also proved that the standard’s improved so much across regional cricket.
Last year, the Diamonds may have been able to win a game or two like that without being at their best. Now, the top teams have to perform well to win. That’s how it should be.
I’m sure next time we play Diamonds, they will have something to prove. But that was our day, and we showed what we can do.
It had been a really tough start to the season for us, and we had some good honest conversations.
We said, ‘We have to stick together as a team - that’s the only thing we can control’.
That’s what we did, and I think that’s why we came good with four wins from five at the end of the T20 group.
Music is definitely my happy place, so it was a hell of a weekend to be able to see the Arctic Monkeys at Emirates Old Trafford - I’m a massive fan of them - and then Coldplay at Manchester City.
Crossy managed to get us a few tickets and into the after party afterwards, which was pretty cool.
Apparently, Chris Martin is a big fan of the No Balls Podcast. So Crossy went up to shake his hand, and he said that he recognised her voice straightaway.
Given we went and beat the Stars the following day, maybe we need to meet him before every game!
To be able to contribute personally to Thunder’s success over the last few weeks has been really nice.
The PCA’s Most Valuable Player rankings are not something I look massively at because it’s more important to win games and doing what’s needed in that moment.
But what I would say is the rankings are a concrete way of looking at how far my game’s come since last year. I think was third in the end.
I really struggled last year, didn’t play much and would have been quite low down the rankings.
As I say, though, the fact we did really well as a team was the most important thing. It was just nice to contribute to that.
We had a week off last week, a bit of holiday time, before returning to training this week to build up to the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy starting again on July 2.
We clearly need to win games to get back into the hunt, but I just hope we carry the same intent we did in the T20s. That’s certainly how I want to go about my own batting.
It’s Ashes time for both the men and women over the next few weeks, and both are going to be really exciting series.
With the men, it feels like teams have been a bit shell-shocked by England’s style of play. But I think the Aussies are going to fight fire with fire.
In terms of the women, Australia are an incredible side. And I think England’s best chance of winning the series is to win the Test. They have to go all out to win that.
I was delighted to see my old Western Storm team-mates Dani Gibson and Lauren Filer selected for the Test squad. I think they’re both great selections. They both have that x-factor.
Lauren’s a game changer with the ball - she’s tall, she swings it and is quick. She’s not always been the most consistent, but she’s a wicket-taker. Dani’s had a great season and is probably one of the most talented players I’ve ever seen.
We have three players in that squad - Soph, Crossy and Lamby - and I can see more following from Thunder in the future.
Two players who have really stood out to me are Seren Smale and Liberty Heap.
Lib’s opened the batting in the T20s and is really exciting. She has the natural gift of being able to whack it straight. Seren is more of a 360 player.
Hopefully the opportunities they’ve been give in our side as 18 or 19-year-olds can help them really push on.