MATCH PREVIEW AND SQUAD NEWS: Lancashire Thunder vs Central Sparks, Charlotte Edwards Cup 2024
Lancashire Thunder v Central Sparks
Charlotte Edwards Cup
Thursday May 30, 2024, 1pm
Emirates Old Trafford
Thunder squad to face Central Sparks:
Ellie Threlkeld (c/wk), Danielle Collins, Phoebe Graham, Liberty Heap, Laura Jackson, Hannah Jones, Emma Lamb, Ailsa Lister, Fi Morris, Sophie Morris, Daisy Mullan, Tara Norris, Seren Smale
Australian overseas Georgia Voll has been ruled out of the rest of the Charlotte Edwards Cup due to a hamstring injury suffered against Northern Diamonds last week.
Fi Morris has revealed her pride at being given the honour of handing Ailsa Lister her Lancashire Thunder cap after the Scotland international made a regional debut in the ongoing Charlotte Edwards Cup a couple of weekends ago.
All-rounder Morris, Thunder’s 2023 player-of-the-year, was filmed for the region’s social media accounts making a presentation speech to highly-rated wicketkeeper-batter Lister ahead of the competition’s opening game against Northern Diamonds at Emirates Old Trafford earlier this month.
Lister, 20, had just returned from a month of international duty in Abu Dhabi, where she had helped her country qualify for the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh later this year.
She was handed a professional contract by Thunder ahead of the start of the season, so it was no surprise that a debut - and, thus, a cap - followed quickly.
Lister has played in all three of Thunder’s opening T20 matches, batting twice in the number six position. She has contributed scores of four and 44 to their tally of one win and two defeats so far.
Speaking ahead of Thunder’s next game, against Central Sparks at Emirates Old Trafford on Thursday (1pm), Morris hailed the youngster’s impact on the squad.
“She’s come into our group with an amazing attitude, and she works so hard and is an amazing cricketer,” she said.
“She hits the ball really hard and in great areas. She can hit 360 and is someone definitely capable of going hitting sixes straightaway, which is exactly what we need in that six or seven spot.
“She’s a brilliant fielder who also gets in the faces of batters, which isn’t something you always get in the women’s game. We can be a bit nice at times.
“That’s quite refreshing to see from her.
“She’s certainly got a bit of Scottish fighting spirit, which is brilliant.
“Above everything, her attitude’s brilliant. She’s really willing to learn, and I just see her going onwards and upwards.
“Like I said in the presentation, she’s an old head on young shoulders and is really mature and switched on for a 19 or 20-year-old.”
On that presentation, Morris added: “It was a proud moment for her. To give her her cap, it was a proud moment for me as well.
“I think they actually mean more than you think they do at the time.
“On reflection, it’s a huge moment for players such as Ailsa, and you should put a little bit of time into thinking about what you’re saying. It was her first game as a fully-fledged professional cricketer, and it was a massive day for her.”
On the same day Lister was handed her Thunder debut and cap, so too was Australian overseas batting all-rounder Georgia Voll. It was Seren Smale who made that presentation.
Unfortunately, things haven’t quite worked out so well for the Queenslander given she sustained an injury whilst getting run out for 19 on debut and hasn’t played since.
Fingers crossed, she is fit enough to return to action against the Sparks at the start of a T20 double header day with Lancashire’s men. They face Durham in the Vitality Blast at 7pm.
Despite that early frustration, however, team-mate Phoebe Graham says the 20-year-old has already made a big impression around the Thunder squad.
“Georgia’s 20-years-old and just oozes confidence. She knows her game inside out and hits a very hard ball,” said fast bowler Graham.
“She’s got a lot of skill, and I think she will be a talent and a name for the future. I also wouldn’t be surprised if she gets a Hundred call-up if there’s some late dropouts in that.
“I haven’t bowled much at her so far, but she hits it hard, as I say, and you have to hold your nerve against her. You’re in the battle against her from ball one.
“We’ll definitely need her bowling as well, and it’s a part of the overall package that she offers. She’s young but canny and knows exactly what she’s doing.
“Off the field, she’s very chilled out and giggly - a lovely girl to have around. She’s fitted in really well.”
Thunder are aiming for win number two, and they come up against a Sparks side who are top of the table with three wins from three games so far.
That included a last-ball thriller against Northern Diamonds at Headingley on Monday.
They are captained by ex-Lancashire women’s batter Eve Jones, who scored a match-winning century at Emirates Old Trafford when these two met in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy earlier this month.
They have Australian batter Courtney Webb as their overseas player.
Thunder sit fourth in the table on five points, eight behind the Sparks. Maintaining that position through to the end of the 10-team group stage would be good enough for Finals Day qualification.
Opposition player to watch
Thunder know all about Sparks captain and batter Eve Jones, whether that’s because of her time playing for the county’s women’s side or whether it’s because she scored that brilliant, aforementioned, match-winning 136 against them in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy at Emirates Old Trafford earlier this month.
Left-handed Jones, 31 and from Shrewsbury, was with the Red Rose between 2017 and 2019 and skippered the county. She also played for Lancashire Thunder in the Kia Super League.
She has England A experience and overseas T20 experience having represented the likes of Canterbury in New Zealand and Melbourne Renegades in Australia.
Busy at the crease, Jones opens the batting in 50-over cricket but has dropped down to bat at four in this Charlotte Edwards competition.
She played the key innings, 26 not out, in pursuit of 81 in 11 overs to beat the Diamonds at Headingley on Monday in a rain-affected game.
Previous meeting
Thunder won the only T20 meeting between these two regions so far, at New Road, almost exactly 12 months ago to the day (May 29).
Emma Lamb top-scored with 64 at the top of the order, anchoring a total of 155-6 having been inserted. From 4-1 in the first over, she shared 91 for the second wicket with Fi Morris, who added 36 to set the innings up. Deandra Dottin finished it off with two sixes in a late 24.
In reply, Thunder also had control of things from the moment Mahika Gaur had Eve Jones caught behind off the first ball of the innings. Sparks failed to recover, finishing on 119-9.
New ball seamer Tara Norris finished with two wickets, but off-spinner Morris was the pick of the bowlers with 2-16 from four overs, sealing a 36-run, bonus point victory.