Knight chases more glory for Storm on T20 Finals day
The England captain seeks Hove support as the Women’s Kia Super League is decided today
Apart from the fourth quarter-final between Somerset and Nottinghamshire, forced by rain into today’s reserve day, the male game takes a back seat while the Women’s Kia Super League T20 finals are staged at Hove: first Surrey Stars against Western Storm, followed by the winners against Loughborough Lightning.
Heather Knight, England’s World Cup-winning captain, leads Western Storm as they seek to win twice in one day. “Hove has a great connection to the women’s game and they’ve always supported us brilliantly down here,” Knight said. “I still remember the noise from Lord’s [when England beat India in the World Cup final last summer] and how special it was and how much of a difference it made.”
Last year, Knight’s Western Storm beat local team Southern Vipers. “I don’t know if we’ll get the Hove supporters on our side but as long as they’re loud they’ve played their part,” Knight said.
The first game, starting at noon, features Sarah Taylor, England’s wicketkeeper-batsman, who now plays for Surrey Stars even though she is a Sussex girl. She attended Brighton College and took part in Kwik Cricket tournaments on the Hove outfield.
“I’ll have quite a few of the family in on Monday – my parents, sister, brother-in-law, aunt and uncle will all be cheering me and the Surrey Stars on,” Taylor said. “I love being back at Hove. It’s always been my home ground and there’s nothing as special as getting the chance to do what you love in front of people you love.
“I’ve played there every year since I was about 15 – and I would have been even younger than that when I was playing in Kwik Cricket tournaments – and it’s just a special place to play. I was lucky enough to score a hundred when we played here earlier in the summer against South Africa and it was right up there in my career highlights. Winning the Kia Super League at Hove with the Surrey Stars would be special as well.”
The winners of the first game will face Loughborough Lightning, captained by another Sussex player, Georgia Elwiss. Lightning have gone straight into the final after winning seven of their 10 league matches.
England Women suddenly have an abundance of left-arm spinners to choose from, while Jack Leach is the only candidate in town for England’s male team. Sophie Ecclestone is the incumbent yet Lightning’s Kirstie Gordon, aged 20, has been the leading wickettaker among all spinners in this year’s tournament, with the best average and economy-rate as well. Gordon began at Huntly Cricket Club in Aberdeenshire as a young girl, where she had to stand out among the boys to get a game. “I didn’t really play in a proper girls’ team apart from softball or Kwik Cricket until Scotland Under-17s, but I loved playing anyway, even in the men’s teams,” Gordon said.
But she had to endure “a hellish time” after discovering she would effectively have to abandon her Scotland career if she wanted to play in the Women’s Kia Super League. If she had not relinquished her status as a Scotland player she could only have signed for Lightning as one of their three overseas players – and there was little chance of that, given the amount of talent that Australia have to offer, and to a lesser extent India, New Zealand, South Africa and West Indies.
Having played more than 60 times for her country, for whom she made her debut at only 14, it was a wrench to leave Scotland. “It was really hellish deciding which way I wanted to go,” Gordon added. “As things stand I can’t go back but took the jump because I have always wanted to play professional cricket.
“It’s a shame because in the men’s game Scotland players can play as domestic players in the Vitality Blast and continue to play for Scotland. Cricket Scotland are trying to get the rules changed but at the moment, in women’s
cricket, you can’t do that.
“My ambition is to play for England. It could not have gone much better for me, really. I’ve never been on telly or anything like that before and bowling at some of the world’s top players there are a lot of nerves.
“And I’ve been lucky that the partnership I’ve had with Linsey Smith has worked really well. Some people wondered if having two left-arm spinners in the same team would work but we complement each other very well.”
Soon, especially if Lightning win the final, England coach Mark Robinson might think the same.