Player Profile
Whatever Sophie Morris does in her cricketing career, she will always remember the day she took the astonishing figures of 6-0 on her debut for Thunder’s Academy.
The date was May 10, 2022. The fixture was a 20-over friendly against the Lightning Academy from the East Midlands. Sale Cricket Club was the venue.
And, in a flash, left-arm spinner Morris, then 18, ripped the visitors’ batting line-up apart in a 2.1-over spell which understandably captured the headlines.
The Wirral Globe, for example, described her feat as “incredible”.
Morris was born on the Wirral and is a product of Cheshire County League side, Upton CC.
In that Wirral Globe piece, a spokesperson for Upton hailed her “incredible drive and determination”.
Five of her wickets that day were bowled and the other lbw. She claimed three wickets in one particular over, leading Thunder’s senior coach at the time, Paul Shaw, to say: “Six wickets for no runs, it’s almost unheard of isn’t it. I wouldn’t want to say never again because you just never know.
“Sophie bowled really, really well and is a great kid who is really eager to learn. She puts a little bit on the ball, but she just bowls really accurate lines.”
Morris went on to make her senior regional debut for Thunder in 2023.
Including friendlies, she played six times through the summer, claiming as many wickets. That return included another eye-catching performance; 5-12 from four overs in a 20-over friendly victory against Scotland in August.
She played once in each of the Charlotte Edwards Cup and Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy competitions, going wicketless. Thunder beat the Northern Diamonds in the former but lost to the Central Sparks in the latter.
It’s clear Morris has an eye for the spectacular. Added to that 6-0 and 5-12, she also claimed 5-5 from five overs for Thunder’s Academy in a 50-over friendly win against Blaze in 2023.
That came less than a month before her senior debut against the Diamonds in mid-July.
Morris came through the Cheshire women’s age-group system, playing Under 15s and Under 18s cricket for them.
She also made senior county appearances for Lancashire and the Northern Representative XI in 2022.
It will not surprise you to learn that the aforementioned 6-0 is the best recorded return in any match for this exciting twirler, who has a best of 43 to her name with the bat whilst playing for Cheshire’s Under 15s.