Sophia Ann Elizabeth Smale (born 8 December 2004) is a Welsh

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er who currently plays for Wales,

Western Storm Western Storm are a women's cricket team representing South West England and Wales, one of eight regional hubs in English domestic cricket. They play their home matches at the County Ground, Taunton, the County Ground, Bristol and Sophia Ga ...

and Oval Invincibles. She plays as a slow left-arm orthodox bowler and right-handed

batter Batter or batters may refer to: Common meanings * Batter (cooking), thin dough that can be easily poured into a pan * Batter (baseball), person whose turn it is to face the pitcher * Batter (cricket), a player who is currently batting * Batter ...

Early life

Smale was born on 8 December 2004 in

Newport Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay Europe Ireland *Newport, County Mayo, a town on the ...

. She attends Haberdashers' Monmouth School for Girls, and plays club cricket for Newport Cricket Club. She has also played hockey for Wales at age group level.

Domestic career

Smale made her county debut in 2021, for Wales against Warwickshire in the Women's Twenty20 Cup. She played four matches for the side in the competition, scoring 47 runs and taking 1 wicket. She was ever-present for the side in the

2022 Women's Twenty20 Cup The 2022 Women's Twenty20 Cup, known for sponsorship reasons as the 2022 Vitality Women's County T20, was the 13th edition of the Women's Twenty20 Cup, an English women's cricket Twenty20 domestic competition. It took place in April and May 202 ...

, playing 7 matches and taking 5 wickets. She took three wickets in four matches in the

2023 Women's Twenty20 Cup The 2023 Women's Twenty20 Cup, known for sponsorship reasons as the 2023 Vitality Women's County T20, was the 14th edition of the Women's Twenty20 Cup, an English women's cricket Twenty20 domestic competition. It was scheduled to take place in A ...

. Smale was named in the

Academy squad for 2021. She scored 83 from 77 balls in a 50-over match against North West Thunder Academy in June 2021. She was again named in the Storm Academy for the 2022 season, but was promoted to the first team squad in May 2022. She made her debut for the side on 18 May 2022, against Sunrisers in the Charlotte Edwards Cup. She went on to play the rest of the Charlotte Edwards Cup campaign for the side, taking four wickets at an average of 28.00. She was also ever-present for the side in the

Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy The Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy is an English women's cricket domestic competition, named after former England captain Rachael Heyhoe Flint, Baroness Heyhoe-Flint, who died in 2017. The first edition of the tournament took place during August ...

, taking two wickets, as well as scoring 133 runs at an average of 44.33. She scored her maiden half-century during the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, scoring 59 against

Northern Diamonds Northern Diamonds are a women's cricket team that represent the traditional areas of the North East and Yorkshire, one of eight regional hubs in English domestic women's cricket. They play their home matches at Headingley, the Riverside, Rose ...

. In July 2022, Smale signed for Oval Invincibles for the

2022 season of The Hundred The 2022 season of The Hundred will be the second season of The Hundred, a professional franchise 100-ball cricket tournament involving eight men's and women's teams located in major cities across England and Wales. The competition will return ...

, as an injury replacement player for Emma Jones. She played all seven matches for the side as they won the competition, and she was the side's joint-leading wicket-taker, with eight wickets at an average of 18.25. During the tournament, she was named as the "summer's breakout star", citing her dismissals of players such as Alyssa Healy and Sophie Devine during The Hundred. At the end of the 2022 season, it was announced that Smale had signed her first professional contract with Western Storm. In 2023, she played 19 matches for Western Storm, across the

and the Charlotte Edwards Cup, and was the side's second-highest wicket-taker in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, with 12 wickets at an average of 28.66. She also scored one half-century, with 56 against North West Thunder. She also played seven matches for Oval Invincibles in

The Hundred The 100 may refer to: Arts and entertainment * 100 (DC Comics), fictional organized crime groups appearing in DC Comics * ''The 100'' (novel series), a 2013–2016 science fiction novel series written by Kass Morgan * ''The 100'' (TV series), 20 ...

, taking five wickets at an average of 21.60.

International career

In October 2022, Smale was selected in the

England Under-19 England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

squad for the

2023 ICC Under-19 Women's T20 World Cup The 2023 ICC Under-19 Women's T20 World Cup was the first edition of the ICC Women's Under-19 Cricket World Cup, hosted by South Africa in 2023. The tournament was moved from its original slot at the end of 2021 to January 2023 because of the COV ...

. She took eight wickets at an average of 9.62 at the tournament, including best bowling figures of 3/11, taken against Ireland.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smale, Sophia Living people 2004 births Cricketers from Newport, Wales Welsh women cricketers Wales women cricketers Western Storm cricketers Oval Invincibles cricketers