The Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy Complete Guide – Everything You Need To Know

Rosa Simkin (@rosatalksball) – 18/04/24

The 2024 women’s cricket season officially kicks off this Saturday, 20th of April with the first of the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy fixtures taking place. This raises the question, what is the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy; how does it work, who is involved, how do you keep up to date? So here’s a complete guide with everything you need to know, whether you’ve been a fan of the women’s regional game since its formation or if you’re new to the circuit this guide has got you covered as we enter a historic year for the game.

Order of Content – what is women’s regional cricket?, The formation of the RHFT, How it works, Who is involved?, Champions through the years, Players to watch, 2023 Stats, How to follow the tournament, 2024 opening fixtures & Key Dates.

This piece is a part of my mega pre-season preview coverage here on Rosa Talks Ball, whether through my written articles or podcast you can find links to competition guides, team previews, the word on Project Darwin, word from player’s from each of the eight regional sides as well as much more here:

2024 Women’s Regional Cricket Preview Coverage – List

What is women’s regional cricket?

In 2018 the England and Wales Cricket Board upon announcing the launch of The Hundred in 2020 announced a plan to launch a new “regional elite domestic structure for women’s cricket”, which for the first time would see non-England players awarded professional contracts at a domestic level, previously only centrally contracted players had the opportunity to be professional.

Regional cricket is the first tier professional game in England. It is made up of eight regional hubs, all of which cover an area of the country and the counties within it. These are: Central Sparks (Warwickshire & Worcestershire), Northern Diamonds (Durham & Yorkshire), North West Thunder (Lancashire), South East Stars (Kent & Surrey), Southern Vipers (Hampshire & Sussex), Sunrisers (Essex, Middlesex & Northamptonshire), The Blaze (Derbyshire, Leicestershire & Nottinghamshire) and Western Storm (Glamorgan, Gloucestershire & Somerset).

In it’s current format, the ECB allocates each of the eight sides a £250,000 player budget with the recommendation they use it to fund ten professional contracts at an average salary of £25k each, however they leave it up to each individual region to allocate the funds how they see fit. In addition, the professional counties tied to each region (listed above), can if they wish fund additional contracts.

The Formation of The Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy:

Despite the delay of The Hundred due to the pandemic, the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy was eventually scheduled to kick off in August 2020, with six new teams competing (listed above) as well as two teams being carried over from the Kia Super League; Southern Vipers & Western Storm.

The name comes from former England player Rachael Heyhoe Flint, a pioneer for the women’s game.

Despite the intention being that the tournament would only run once, in 2020 due to the pandemic in February 2021 it was announced that it would continue, alongside a new Regional T20 Competition. We now enter our fourth and potentially final year of the tournament, due to the ongoing discussions surrounding Project Darwin.

How it Works:

Group Stage:

• Double round robin format.
• Meaning each of the eight team plays 14 matches between April 20th and September 7th, playing each other twice, home and away.

Finals:

• One of the minor changes made to the tournament ahead of this year is that the top 4 will advance to the knock-outs, rather than the top 3.
• The top 4 teams will advance to the semi-finals, with both taking place on September 14th.
• The final will take place at Leicestershire’s Grace Road on September 21st.

Who is Involved?

(Squad/Team Previews will be linked when released – press on team name)

Central Sparks – West Midlands Hub (linked to Warwickshire & Worcestershire)

Northern Diamonds – Yorkshire & North East Hub (linked to Durham & Yorkshire)

Thunder – North West Hub (linked to Lancashire)

South East Stars – London & South East Hub (linked to Kent & Surrey)

Southern Vipers – South Hub (linked to Hampshire & Sussex)

Sunrisers – London and East Region Hub (linked to Essex, Middlesex & Northamptonshire)

The Blaze – East Midlands Hub (linked to Derbyshire, Leicestershire & Nottinghamshire)

Western Storm – South West England & Wales Hub (linked to Glamorgan, Gloucestershire & Somerset)

The Champions Through The Years:

2020 – Southern Vipers (Northern Diamonds 2nd)

2021 – Southern Vipers (Northern Diamonds 2nd)

2022 – Northern Diamonds (Southern Vipers 2nd)

2023 – Southern Vipers (The Blaze 2nd)

The competition has pretty much been a one way street since its formation in 2020, however I suspect we could see a different name on the trophy this time round.

2020 saw the Vipers take an easy victory against Diamonds at Edgbaston in Birmingham. After losing the toss and being put in to bat Vipers reached 231/10 from 49.5 overs; with Georgia Adams scoring 80 (102) at the top. They then finished the job in the field, bowling Diamonds out for just 193 from 42.2 overs. Charlotte Taylor was the stand out with the ball and eventually player of the match for her 6/34 from 10 overs.

2021 saw a much closer clash in Northampton, after winning the toss and electing to bat first the Diamonds scored 183/10 from 49.2 overs. Ami Campbell top scored with 60 (73) and Georgia Adams was in the wickets with 4/35 from 10. Despite a low chase for Vipers, it was not a straight forward one with both openers achieving ducks. However Emily Windsor with 47* (97) and Tara Norris with 40* (44) helped Vipers over the line with just 2 balls remaining.

2022 saw the same two battle it out once more, this time at Lord’s in London. Vipers one the toss, electing to have a bowl. Lauren Winfield-Hill scored runs at the top with her 65 (87) laying the foundation for Diamonds to reach 215/9 from their 50 overs. Bess Heath with 44 (60) and Leah Dobson with 34 (50) also provided crucial knocks, with Georgia Adams in the wickets once more taking 3/34 from 7 overs. Vipers started their chase well with Bouchier scoring 48 (73) and Adams reaching 70 (96). However, the death bowling from Diamonds was brilliant, with them taking 4 in the final 3. Katie Levick took two in the final over to help seal Diamonds victory by 2 runs. Revenge finally for Diamonds.

2023 saw a new name coming up against Vipers in The Blaze. The final in Northampton once more was slightly affected by rain. After loosing the toss the new contestants were put in to bat, scoring just 200/8 from their 48 overs. Tammy Beaumont the stand out with 76 from 104 deliveries batting 2. Linsey Smith was in the wickets, after making the swich from Diamonds to Vipers prior to the season, taking 3/30 from her 10. Unfortunately for The Blaze the total wasn’t enough despite early wickets, with Vipers chasing it down in just 40.2 overs ending on 203/5 and gaining their 3rd. Emily Windsor was the hero once more with 57* from just 53 balls.

Players To Watch:

Central Sparks – Georgia Davis & Davina Perrin

Northern Diamonds – Lizzie Scott

Thunder – Seren Smale

South East Stars – Bryony Smith

Southern Vipers – Emily Windsor & Charli Knott

Sunrisers – Ariana Dowse & Cordelia Griffith

The Blaze – Grace Ballinger

Western Storm – Fran Wilson & Sophia Smale

2023 Player Stats:

Top Wicket Takers:

1. Georgia Davis (Central Sparks) – 27 Wickets, 99.4 Overs, 14.77 Average & 4.00 Economy
2. Katie Levick (Northern Diamonds) – 24 Wickets, 99.0 Overs, 18.12 Average & 4.39 Economy
3. Dani Gregory (South East Stars) – 21 Wickets, 74.0 Overs, 17.80 Average & 5.05 Economy
4. Georgia Adams (Southern Vipers) – 20 Wickets, 110.0 Overs, 24.15 Average & 4.39 Economy
5. Linsey Smith (Southern Vipers) – 19 Wickets, 111.0 Overs, 19.94 Average & 3.41 Economy
6. Grace Ballinger (The Blaze) – 18 Wickets, 100.4 Overs, 23.44 Average & 4.19 Economy
7. Katie George (Central Sparks) – 18 Wickets, 92.2 Overs, 25.77 Average & 5.02 Economy
8. Alice Davidson-Richards (South East Stars) – 15 Wickets, 61.2 Overs, 20.53 Average & 5.02 Economy
9. Ryana MacDonald-Gay (South East Stars) – 15 Wickets, 67.0 Overs, 23.60 Average & 5.28 Economy
10. Olivia Bell (Thunder) – 14 Wickets, 37.4 Overs, 9.28 Average & 3.45 Economy

Top Run Scorers:

1. Lauren Winfield-Hill (Northern Diamonds) – 663 Runs, 14 Innings, 51.00 Average, 95.80 SR
2. Georgia Adams (Southern Vipers) – 546 Runs , 12 Innings, 49.63 Average & 82.22 SR
3. Eve Jones (Central Sparks) – 440 Runs, 12 Innings, 44.00 Average & 59.70 SR
4. Paige Scholfield (South East Stars) – 439 Runs, 13 Innings, 39.90 Average & 96.06 SR
5. Emily Windsor (Southern Vipers) – 408 Runs, 11 Innings, 45.33 Average & 81.60 SR
6. Fran Wilson (Western Storm) – 404 Runs, 11 Innings, 40.40 Average & 90.58 SR
7. Abbey Freeborn (Central Sparks) – 401 Runs, 12 Innings, 36.45 Average & 63.05 SR
8. Grace Scrivens (Sunrisers) – 398 Runs, 10 Innings, 39.80 Average & 69.33 SR
9. Hollie Armitage (Northern Diamonds) – 384 Runs, 13 Innings, 32.00 Average & 85.33 SR
10. Ella McCaughan (Southern Vipers) 331 Runs, 13 Innings, 25.46 Average & 60.73 SR

Most Wicket Keeper Dismissals:

1. Sarah Bryce (The Blaze) – 17 Dismissals (12 Catches & 5 Stumpings)
2. Kira Chathli (South East Stars) – 17 Dismissals (16 Catches & 1 Stumping)
3. Rhianna Southby (Southern Vipers) – 15 Dismissals (10 Catches & 5 Stumpings)

Most Catches:

1. Georgia Adams (Southern Vipers) – 11
2. Marie Kelly (The Blaze) – 9
3. Paige Schofield (South East Stars) – 9
4. Ami Campbell (Central Sparks) – 8
5. Eva Gray (Sunrisers) – 7

How To Follow The Tournament:

Streams:

All games of the tournament will be streamed on YouTube across the Regions channels. No games are currently scheduled for TV coverage.

Rosa Talks Ball:

That’s right! I’ll be covering the whole of the women’s domestic season including and not limited to the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy and Charlotte Edwards Cup.

My coverage will include match day coverage; previews and reviews, player & team analysis, the latest interviews with stars from across the game and much much more.

You can follow the tournament on this website, as well as across all social media platforms (@rosatalksball).

2024 Key Dates:

Tournament Months:

April, Early May, Late June, July, August & September.

Key Dates:

Semi-finals – Saturday, September 14th (Location TBC)

Final – Saturday, September 21st (Leicester)

2024 Opening Fixtures

Central Sparks vs The Blaze (10:30, Edgbaston – Birmingham)

Tickets – mStepTracking=true”>https://tickets.edgbaston.com/selection/service?productId=10228747841428&gtmStepTracking=true

Northern Diamonds vs Thunder (10:30, Seat Unique Riverside Ground – Durham)

Tickets – FREE ENTRY

South East Stars vs Southern Vipers (10:30, The Kent County Cricket Ground – Beckenham)

Tickets – FREE ENTRY

Western Storm vs Sunrisers (10:30, Sophia Gardens – Cardiff)

Tickets – https://shop.ticketing.cm.com/glamorgan-ccc/event/34153c21-a599-491f-ae2a-95fdb2670bd8