Lightning ready for KSL launch
Fri 29 Jul 2016
History will be made this weekend when the inaugural Kia Super League (KSL) kicks-off in Leeds, Southampton and Taunton with all six KSL teams in action for the first time across Saturday and Sunday, including our local side, Loughborough Lightning.
Yorkshire Diamonds captain Lauren Winfield will lead her team out on home soil at Headingley in the opening match of the round-robin Twenty20 competition tomorrow (Saturday 30th July), taking on Loughborough Lightning, captained by England teammate, Georgia Elwiss.
Cricket supporters in Leicester saw Elwiss play for England Women at the Fischer County Ground and there is the opportunity to see her and Lightning against Lancashire Thunder at the Haslegrave Ground on Wednesday (4.30pm start).
Two further games follow on campus against Western Storm and Surrey Stars, games to be played on the Friday afternoons of August 5th and 12th (also 4.30pm starts). Tickets for all three fixtures are great value and can be purchased HERE
"We're hoping for big crowds and we want to encourage more girls to participate in cricket,” Elwiss told BBC Radio Leicester during their live Cricket Show yesterday.
“The Loughborough media team have been great in putting the word out and it's a small ground, so there will be a fantastic atmosphere.
"The facilities are world-class at Loughborough so we've been enjoying the practice and all of the girls are looking forward to a trip to Headingley tomorrow.
"We've been training well, will be looking to make Finals Day and want to win the tournament. Everybody is going to be strong given the format so we're going to have to be at our best."
Elwiss can call upon England colleagues Rebecca Grundy and Amy Jones and also the vast experience of Sophie Devine (New Zealand), Ellyse Perry (Australia), and Dane van Niekerk (South Africa), players that the 25-year-old said have already made their mark.
"It's really important that we bridge the gap between domestic cricket & international cricket and it's fantastic to showcase the talent in the game with the Kia Super League,” she said.
"We have three world-class all-rounders from different parts of the world and it has been invaluable for our younger players to learn from them.
"Our overseas players have been very professional and it's great for the girls to learn their plans, look at how they create an innings, and so on.”
Sonia Odedra, who grew up playing cricket in the Leicestershire league, is also looking forward to the launch tomorrow.
She said: "I live in Leicestershire so I'm one of the locals and it's a great honour to play for Loughborough Lightning.
"We've got some world-class players and a nice mix of England Academy, England and overseas players so we're looking quite strong.
"We've been training for two full weeks and done well in a couple of warm-up games so it's been going well. We're looking forward to getting started now."
Following Yorkshire Diamonds v Loughborough Lightning, Sunday (31st July) will then see the Southern Vipers led by Charlotte Edwards and Heather Knight’s Western Storm, two completely new cricketing entities, play their first ever matches. They host Natalie Sciver’s Surrey Stars at the Ageas Bowl and Lancashire Thunder, captained by New Zealand’s Amy Satterthwaite, in Taunton.
In total the Kia Super League will feature 15 group matches over a 16 day period from Saturday 30th July to Sunday 14th August, with all six teams bidding to qualify for Finals Day on Sunday 21st August at the Essex County Ground, Chelmsford.
On the eve of this historic moment for women’s cricket in England, ECB’s Director of England Women’s Cricket, Clare Connor, has written a blog on ECB.co.uk to reflect on the creation of the Kia Super League, providing an insight into the competition objectives and what we can look forward to over the next three weeks:
She said: “It’s a new venture, a competition built entirely from scratch. It has required new ways of working, it’s created new team identities and new squads of players.
“We wanted to create a competition that would underpin the future strength of the England team – especially with the privilege and huge opportunity that lies ahead in hosting the ICC Women’s World Cup in the summer of 2017.
“I hope the cricketing public, and the public in general, will see this competition as a bold step for our sport and join us for the ride, starting this weekend in Leeds, Southampton and Taunton. We’re smashing some exciting new boundaries for women’s cricket – and it should be a lot of fun.”
* Leicestershire CCC is honoured to be part of hosting the ICC Women’s World Cup in 2017. Stay tuned to www.leicestershireccc.co.uk for more information about the tournament in the coming months.
Thanks to the ECB for the photograph of the six captains at the competition launch, including Georgia Elwiss.
