MATCH PREVIEW: The Blaze v Lancashire Thunder
Ellie Threlkeld has hailed the standard of cricket during the first year of the county-led professional women’s era in England.
The Blaze v Lancashire Thunder
Vitality Blast
Thursday June 19, 2025, 2.30pm
The Uptonsteel County Ground, Grace Road
The Lancashire Thunder captain has been a constant in Red Rose colours through many different eras since her first senior career appearance in 2013.
Then aged 14, wicketkeeper-batter Threlkeld made her debut for Lancashire in T20 cricket during the 2013 summer.
The Knowsley-born star is closing in on 250 senior career appearances for all teams across all formats, including for Manchester Originals in the Hundred.
Threlkeld has played county cricket for Lancashire in the non-professional era, while she has also played in the Kia Super League for Lancashire Thunder, for Thunder in regional cricket and for Lancashire in the professional county era, which started at the beginning of this summer.
In fact, since the start of the KSL in 2016, Threlkeld has not missed a game for Lancashire Thunder, Thunder and Lancashire’s women, playing 121 successive matches.
The latest came for the Red Rose in yesterday’s Vitality Blast defeat against Surrey at The Kia Oval, while her 122nd game in a row for all of those aforementioned teams comes this afternoon in the same competition as the county bid to bounce back against The Blaze (2.30pm) at The Uptonsteel County Ground, Grace Road in Leicester.
While this summer is the first that all teams - eight in Tier 1 - have had squads entirely made up of full-time contracted pros, professional domestic cricket has been played in this country since 2020 when teams were fielded under the banner of regions rather than counties.
Asked about the increase in standard, or otherwise, 26-year-old Threlkeld said: “I think this has been the biggest jump, to be honest, from year to year.
“This year, it feels like proper cricket, especially the batting.
“Teams are coming at you a lot more, and teams have got real depth in their squads.
“As a player, you want to play the best standard of cricket possible and test yourself against the best. I feel like the standard is getting better, and the game is growing, which is great.
“It's been really good to have the England girls around in the first part of the season as well. That strengthens it even more.
“Our England girls (Kate Cross, Sophie Ecclestone, Mahika Gaur and Emma Lamb) are a real asset to have around, so that's been great.”
Threlkeld and her team-mates fell short of chasing 172 against leaders Surrey in South London yesterday, losing by 53 runs. Emma Lamb stood out with 64 in a 118 all out reply to 171-9, while Threlkeld made 32.
It was their fourth loss in seven games, and they remain outside the top-four Finals Day qualifying places in the table at the halfway point in their campaign.
They will now aim to topple the third-placed Blaze, who triumphed in the return fixture at Emirates Old Trafford at the end of May.
Like yesterday at The Kia Oval, Thunder are involved in a double header day. Yesterday, it was with Surrey’s men, today it is with Leicestershire’s men.
The Blaze have won four of six matches so far in the Blast and have two games in hand on the Bears in second and Surrey. Captained by spin-bowling all-rounder Kirstie Gordon, they have Australian all-rounder Heather Graham as their overseas player.
The Blaze won last year’s regional Charlotte Edwards Cup T20 title.
Opposition player to watch
England leg-spinner Sarah Glenn is having an impressive summer, taking 17 wickets from 10 appearances across all formats for club and country.
Glenn has taken three wickets in a match on four occasions, including once for England in a T20I against the West Indies at Taunton earlier this month.
A tall leg-spinner, aged 25, who can give it a whack with the bat, Glenn has taken one wicket in each of three appearances against Lancashire this season.
Glenn has played 91 times for England in both white-ball formats, mostly T20s, and has taken 112 scalps. Her T20 record for her country reads 89 wickets in 73 appearances, including a best of 4-12.
That best of 4-12 also represents Glenn’s career best in all T20 cricket.
The Blaze have other threats with the ball, but Thunder will go a long way to winning this game if they can keep Glenn quiet in Leicester.
How’s Stat!
Eve Jones is closing in on 3,500 career T20 runs. Lancashire’s left-hander is currently sat on 3,463 from 169 matches.
Jones has scored 15 fifties in this format for teams such as Lancashire, Central Sparks, New Zealanders Canterbury and Melbourne Renegades from Australia.
That includes a best of 93 not out.