Cross looking for another Red Rose win at the double
LANCASHIRE ace Kate Cross has her eyes set on double Roses success over Yorkshire in this summer’s Kia Super League, starting at Emerald Headingley tomorrow.
The England seamer is aiming to make up for previous disappointments in the first two years of the competition, with the Thunder having lost both clashes with the Diamonds.
To add to Cross’s frustration, she missed last August’s defeat at Headingley, the precursor to the men’s Roses later in the day, due to a hip flexor injury.
“I’d actually forgotten about that,” she said.
“I’m not a very injury-prone kind of player, so that mentally challenged me quite a lot.
“I didn’t play any international cricket last summer and was really looking forward to the Super League.
“But I missed the opportunity to play at Headingley in the biggest game of the year before the men’s clash. That was really disappointing.”
Both sides lost their opening matches of this season’s KSL on Sunday – Lancashire against Loughborough at Southport and Yorkshire against champions Western Storm at Taunton.
Therefore, this televised meeting takes on extra importance.
The Diamonds welcome back England all-rounder Katherine Brunt after a back injury ruled her out of Sunday’s opener, but Harmanpreet Kaur’s availability for the Thunder is unclear due to visa issues in India.
“Any time you play Yorkshire, it’s an exciting game,” Cross, who impressed against Loughborough with 1-4 from three overs, continued.
“We’ve not beaten many teams in this tournament to be fair. But if there’s any games we win this year, it’s definitely got to be these two. I don’t know why we’ve struggled against them. Maybe it’s the occasion getting the better of us. I’m not into all the psyche stuff, so I can’t tell you definitively.
“But I’ve been talking to (Australian overseas) Nicole Bolton about the rivalry, so hopefully she’ll pick up on that quite quickly
“The KSL is only in its third year, so rivalries haven’t really been created. But this one speaks for itself, no matter what sport you play.
“People do want to watch this game, and it’s good for the tournament.
“We wind Yorkshire up and they wind us up. It’s probably close to what you see in the men’s game.”
Ironically, Lancashire’s coach and captain combination, Alex Blackwell and Danni Hazell, both played for the Diamonds in the first year of the KSL, with Hazell still playing her regular county cricket for the White Rose.
“I think the fact that Alex has played in the tournament will really help with her coaching,” said Cross. “She’s not got a great deal of coaching experience, but she’s been through almost everything as a player.
“She did wear the blue kit at one point, but we’ll forgive her. “We’ve also stolen Danni from Yorkshire.” This match sees a host of international and domestic team-mates coming up against each other, with Cross having played alongside Diamonds trio Delissa Kimmince, Beth Mooney – both Aussie overseas players – and their captain Lauren Winfield in the Big Bash for Brisbane Heat. Cross added: “DK was my captain over there at Brisbane and Beth was around, too.
“Beth was an emerging player and just pushing for selection in the Australian team when I was there in 2015/16. And she’s had an unbelievable two years and is a serious talent. “Yorkshire have got a strong side. “There’s a lot of girls who’ve played a lot of cricket together. It can work both ways I guess.
“They’ll know a lot about me and I do them.”
I didn’t play any international cricket last summer and was really looking forward to the Super Laegue Kate Cross