MATCH PREVIEW AND SQUAD NEWS: South East Stars vs Lancashire Thunder, Charlotte Edwards Cup 2024
South East Stars vs Lancashire Thunder
Charlotte Edwards Cup
Friday May 24, 2024, 2:30pm
The Kent County Cricket Ground, Beckenham
Thunder squad to face South East Stars:
Ellie Threlkeld (c/wk), Alice Clarke, Danielle Collins, Phoebe Graham, Liberty Heap, Laura Jackson, Hannah Jones, Emma Lamb, Ailsa Lister, Fi Morris, Daisy Mullan, Tara Norris, Seren Smale, Georgia Voll
Phoebe Graham says Sunday’s opening day win over Northern Diamonds and last season’s run to Finals Day has left the Lancashire Thunder squad brimming with confidence as they tackle their Charlotte Edwards Cup T20 campaign.
Thunder were beaten semi-finalists last season and started this year’s competition with a dominant eight-wicket win over their cross-Pennine rivals at Emirates Old Trafford.
Fast bowler Graham struck once with the ball as one of a number of individual contributions.
Graham has been speaking ahead of Friday’s second round trip to Beckenham to take on 2021 champions South East Stars (2.30pm).
The Stars also won their opening match on Sunday when they beat hosts Western Storm by just four runs at Bristol in defence of a battling 132-9 total.
“We expect success in this format,” said Graham. “And we have that mindset going into every game.
“We want to win every game.
“It’s a good place to be in.
“Sunday was exactly how we wanted to go about our business in the T20 competition. We were clinical, professional and did everything we set out to do.
“We have that air of confidence walking out onto the pitch in T20 having done well last season, and that’s the confidence we’ve needed to almost create that foundation.
“You can sense it in the environment that this is our format.
“We all have belief and confidence in each other as a group, which is nice to be a part of.”
Thunder limited the Diamonds to 109-5, with Graham, Kate Cross, Mahika Gaur and Fi Morris all striking once amidst a polished bowling and fielding display.
Lamb then hit her unbeaten 44 at the top of the order, well backed up by Seren Smale’s unbeaten 30.
Reflecting on that game, Graham said: “Getting three wickets in the powerplay, including their two main batters - Lauren Winfield-Hill and Hollie Armitage, was key.
“We still had to be clinical from there, and we did that.
“Lamby is back to her best. She had her back operation in January having struggled with a lot of pain last season. It’s really nice to see her in full flow and oozing with confidence, and giving some of that confidence to someone such as Seren Smale, who has been unbelievable with the bat.
“It was a really good performance.”
Thunder had started the season with only two wins from six in the first block of 50-over Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy matches.
It wasn’t the start they were looking for, but they played better cricket than the results suggest. Having been involved in a number of close games, it would have been no surprise to see the four wins and two defeats, for example, rather than the other way around.
“It’s not the start we would have wished for, but we weren’t a million miles away in a number of those games,” assessed Graham.
“You can feel it coming together.”
The season so far has been an encouraging one for Graham, the 32-year-old Yorkshire-born quick. She has taken five wickets in six appearances so far.
Last season, she struggled for game time, playing only five RHF Trophy matches for Thunder - four of them in September. She also spent time on loan with Western Storm through the middle of the season.
Now, under new coach Chris Read, she is back in the mix and an important cog in the bowling wheel.
“I didn’t start how I’d have liked to last year, and it took me until September to fight my way back into the team,” she said.
“Through the winter, I worked hard and was determined to start the season how I finished last year, if not better. That was my mindset all through the winter.
“It’s the nature of sport. Mahika (Gaur) took her opportunity and was brilliant last year. She went on and played for England, and she’s an unbelievable talent.
“But, if you have the grit and determination, the will to succeed, you can ride those waves.
“You know your own capabilities as a cricketer.
“I’ve played at regional level for a number of years and played in finals (for the Northern Diamonds), so I knew what I was capable of. It was just about finding my own consistency.
“The great thing about last year, added to the loan, was that there was much more second-team cricket to play. That hadn’t happened before in women’s cricket.
“It’s been the norm in men’s cricket, but not women’s up until last year.
“It’s just another avenue for players to recapture form and impress.”
Despite not playing a Charlotte Edwards Cup fixture last year, she did play for Lancashire in the County T20 competition and for the Manchester Originals in the Hundred.
“I played a lot of second-team T20s last year as well and came off the back of a good winter in New Zealand the winter before last,” she said.
“I’m really clear on my game-plans and my options in T20.
“I love playing this format, and it’s something we focused a lot on over the winter as a group.”
The Stars will likely field England batter Sophia Dunkley at the top of their order. She’s in fine form having struggled in international cricket over the winter.
They have started the season well, with five wins from seven across both 50-over and T20 cricket.
Graham added: “It should be a really good game.
“They have some powerful hitters, but sometimes they can be quite predictable in terms of where they’re going to hit it. If we can hold our nerve and and stay calm, execute our plans, we have a really good shot of winning the game.”
Thunder will be without Graham’s fellow seamer Cross, who has linked up with England’s ODI squad for their series against Pakistan.