Player Profile

Tilly Kesteven will never, ever forget Monday May 26, 2025.

Kesteven, in only her fourth professional appearance, hit a stunning 77 off 60 balls to help Lancashire Thunder win the Vitality County T20 Cup title with a final victory over Surrey at the Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton. 

Her innings earned her the player-of-the-match award and a bottle of sparkling wine as a prize to go with it. 

Well, no doubt, she certainly added some fizz to Lancashire’s top order! 

Not that the Red Rose necessarily needed any more, for more experienced opening pair Emma Lamb and Eve Jones had been sparkling at the start of the summer. Unfortunately, however, Jones went down with a side strain in the week leading up to Finals Day and someone needed to step up and fill the void.

That’s exactly what left-handed Kesteven did. 

What made her final knock against Surrey even more impressive was that in the semi-final defeat against The Blaze only a few hours earlier, the 20-year-old had been run out without facing a ball. 

A tall and imposing figure at the crease, Kesteven was extremely strong and powerful down the ground having impressed with heavy runs in Academy cricket over the last few years. 

Born in Crewe, she was schooled in Sandbach before going to Loughborough University. 

She played age-group cricket for Cheshire at Under 15s, 17s and 18s and has been on the Thunder Academy programme since 2021. She plays her club cricket at Porthill Park in Newcastle-Under-Lyme. 

Kesteven has been playing senior county cricket since 2019, representing Cheshire, Cumbria and the Northern Representative XI in the old county structure. 

She debuted for the Red Rose in 2022 in T20 cricket and last year in 50-over cricket. Earlier this summer, she played for an England Development XI.

In May 2024, Kesteven opened the batting for Loughborough University Women and scored an unbeaten 91-ball 100 in a 30-over win against Cambridge.

That is her only recorded career century to date. She also scored 85 not out at number three in April of this year for Thunder Academy against their Southern Vipers counterparts in a T20 clash at Newton-le-Willows. Kesteven captained that match as well.

Interestingly, the CricketArchive website records 11 scores of 50 or more which Kesteven has posted at various levels, starting for Cheshire Under 15s in mid-summer 2019.

And that trophy-winning County Cup knock against Surrey, which will live long in the memory, is the third highest of those.