Western Storm are a women's

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 str ...

team representing

South West England South West England, or the South West of England, is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of the counties of Bristol, Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly), Dorset, Devon, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Cities ...

and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, one of eight regional hubs in English domestic cricket. They play their home matches at the

County Ground, Taunton The County Ground, known for sponsorship reasons as Cooper Associates County Ground, and nicknamed Ciderabad, is a cricket ground in Taunton, Somerset. It is the home of Somerset County Cricket Club, who have played there since 1882. The ground, ...

, the

County Ground, Bristol The Bristol County Ground (also known as Nevil Road and currently known as the Seat Unique Stadium for sponsorship reasons) is a senior cricket venue in Bristol, England. It is in the district of Ashley Down. The ground is home to Gloucestershir ...

and

Sophia Gardens Sophia Gardens ( cy, Gerddi Sophia) is a public park in Riverside, Cardiff, Wales, on the west bank of the River Taff. International test cricket matches and county cricket matches are held in the Sophia Gardens cricket ground, the home of ...

. They are captained by Sophie Luff and coached by

Trevor Griffin Kenneth Trevor Griffin (14 September 1940 – 7 March 2015) was an Australian politician. He was a Liberal member of the South Australian Legislative Council from 1978 to 2002, when he retired from politics. He led the Liberal Party in the Coun ...

. The team is partnered with

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

, Glamorgan,

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

and

Cricket Wales Cricket Wales ( cy, Criced Cymru) is the national governing body of cricket in Wales. It is an umbrella partnership body comprising the Welsh Cricket Association, Glamorgan County Cricket Club, Wales National County Cricket Club, the Welsh Sc ...

. Originally formed to compete in the

Women's Cricket Super League The Women's Cricket Super League (WCSL), known as the Kia Super League (KSL) for sponsorship reasons, was a semi-professional women's Twenty20 cricket competition in England and Wales operated by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). The comp ...

in 2016, Western Storm won the competition twice, in

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

and

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

. When women's cricket in England was reformed in 2020, the Western Storm brand was retained, and they now compete in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy and the

Charlotte Edwards Cup The Charlotte Edwards Cup, initially named the Women's Regional T20, is an English women's cricket Twenty20 domestic competition organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board. The first edition of the tournament took place in 2021. The tourn ...

History

2016–2019: Women's Cricket Super League

Western Storm were formed in 2016 to compete in the new

, representing the South West. In their inaugural season, they came second in the group stage, meaning they progressed to the semi-final, which they won against Loughborough Lightning. However, they lost in the final by seven wickets to the

Southern Vipers The Southern Vipers are a women's cricket team that represent the South of England. The Vipers wear an orange and black kit and play their home matches at the Ageas Bowl and the County Cricket Ground, Hove. They are currently coached by former ...

. One of Western Storm's overseas players, Stafanie Taylor, was both the leading run-scorer and leading wicket-taker, and was subsequently named player of the tournament. In

, Western Storm finished third in the group stage, again progressing to the semi-final, which they won against the Surrey Stars. In a rematch against the Southern Vipers, this time the Storm emerged victorious, winning by seven wickets and claiming their first WCSL title. Western Storm overseas player Rachel Priest scored 72 in the final, and was the tournament's leading run-scorer. In

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

, Western Storm again reached finals day, finishing third in the group stage, but were defeated by the Surrey Stars in the semi-final. Storm's Smriti Mandhana was the leading run-scorer and player of the tournament. In the final season of the WCSL,

, Western Storm won 9 out of their 10 group stage games, topping the group and progressing straight to the final for the first time. There, they faced Southern Vipers in a repeat of the first ever WCSL final. Chasing 173 to win, Storm captain Heather Knight scored 78* as her side were victorious with an over to spare. Western Storm therefore ended the WCSL as the most successful team, with two title wins. Bowler

Freya Davies Freya Ruth Davies (born 27 October 1995) is an English cricketer who plays for Sussex, Southern Vipers, Welsh Fire and England as a right-arm fast-medium bowler. She made her Sussex debut in 2010 at the age of fourteen, and played her first ma ...

was the leading wicket-taker in the tournament.

2020– : Domestic Regional Hub

In 2020, women's cricket in England was restructured, creating eight new 'regional hub' teams, with the intention of playing both 50-over and 20-over cricket. The Western Storm brand was retained after this restructuring, with some differences to the squad and coaching staff. Sophie Luff was named as captain of the side, whilst Mark O'Leary became the coach. Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, the 2020 season was truncated, and only 50-over cricket was played, in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy. Western Storm won 4 of their 6 games, finishing second in the South Group and therefore failing to progress to the final. At the end of the season, six Storm players were given full-time domestic contracts, the first of their kind in England: Sophie Luff, Danielle Gibson, Fi Morris, Georgia Hennessy, Nat Wraith and Alex Griffiths. The following season, 2021, Western Storm competed in both the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy and the newly-formed Twenty20 competition, the

. In the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy the side finished sixth out of eight teams, winning three of their seven matches, including a one-wicket victory in their opening match against North West Thunder. Storm captain Sophie Luff was the leading run-scorer across the whole tournament with 417 runs, including 157 * made in the final match against Sunrisers. In the Charlotte Edwards Cup, Storm narrowly missed out on qualifying for Finals Day on Net Run Rate, finishing second in Group B with four wins from their six matches. Storm bowler Nicole Harvey was the fourth-highest wicket-taker in the tournament, with 12 wickets at an average of 9.41. Ahead of the 2022 season, it was announced that O'Leary was stepping down from his role as Head Coach. Dan Helesfay was appointed as interim Head Coach for the

campaign, with

, who had coached the side between 2017 and 2019, returning to the club to take the role on a permanent basis ahead of the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy. The side finished third in their group in the Charlotte Edwards Cup, with three wins from their six matches. They finished fourth in the group of eight in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, winning three of their matches.

Home grounds

Players

Current squad

As per 2022 season. * No. denotes the player's squad number, as worn on the back of their shirt. * denotes players with international caps.

Academy

The Western Storm Academy team plays against other regional academies in friendly and festival matches across various formats. The Academy selects players from across the South West and Wales regions, and includes some players who are also in the first team squad. Players in the 2022/23 Academy are listed below:

Overseas Players

Lizelle Lee Lizelle Lee (born 2 April 1992) is a South African cricketer who played for the South Africa women's national cricket team from 2013 to 2022. She has played for Western Storm and Surrey Stars in the Women's Cricket Super League, as well as Mel ...

–

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

(2016) * Stafanie Taylor –

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

(2016–2018) * Rachel Priest –

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

(2016–2019) *

Holly Huddleston Holly Rachael Huddleston (born 11 October 1987) is a New Zealand former cricketer who played as a right-arm medium bowler and right-handed batter. She appeared in 36 One Day Internationals and 16 Twenty20 Internationals for New Zealand between ...

–

(2017) * Smriti Mandhana –

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

(2018–2019) *

Deepti Sharma Deepti Bhagwan Sharma (born 24 August 1997) is an Indian cricketer who plays for Bengal, Birmingham Phoenix and India. She is an all-rounder who bats left-handed and bowls right-arm off break and is currently ranked 3rd in the top all-rounders ...

–

(2019)

Coaching staff

* Head Coach:

* Regional Director: Lisa Pagett * Assistant Coach: Dave Roberts * Lead Physiotherapist: Jessie Meaney * Performance Analyst: Andy Payne * Strength & Conditioning Coach: Jack Bennett * Team Operations Executive: Georgina Clark ''As of the 2022 season.''

Seasons

Women's Cricket Super League

Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy

Charlotte Edwards Cup

Statistics

Women's Cricket Super League

* Abandoned matches are counted as NR (no result) * Win or loss by super over or boundary count are counted as tied.

Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy

* Abandoned matches are counted as NR (no result) * Win or loss by super over or boundary count are counted as tied.

Charlotte Edwards Cup

* Abandoned matches are counted as NR (no result) * Win or loss by super over or boundary count are counted as tied.

Records

Women's Cricket Super League

*Highest team total: 185/4, v Lancashire Thunder on 9 August 2018. *Lowest team total: 70, v

on 10 August 2017. *Highest individual score: 106 *, Rachel Priest v

Yorkshire Diamonds Yorkshire Diamonds were an English women's Twenty20 cricket team based in Leeds, Yorkshire. They were formed in 2016 to compete in the inaugural season of the Women's Cricket Super League. They played their home matches at grounds across Yorkshir ...

on 20 August 2017. *Best individual bowling analysis: 5/23,

Anya Shrubsole Anya Shrubsole (born 7 December 1991) is an English cricketer who currently plays for Berkshire, Southern Vipers and the Southern Brave. She played for England between 2008 and 2022, and has previously played domestic cricket for Somerset, ...

on 14 August 2016. *Most runs: 1062 in 36 matches, Heather Knight. *Most wickets: 37 wickets in 36 matches,

Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy

*Highest team total: 313/4, v Sunrisers on 18 September 2021. *Lowest (completed) team total: 177 v

on 12 June 2021. *Highest individual score: 157 *, Sophie Luff v Sunrisers on 18 September 2021. *Best individual bowling analysis: 5/26, Fi Morris v Sunrisers on 5 September 2020. *Most runs: 1,024 runs in 19 matches, Sophie Luff. *Most wickets: 20 wickets in 15 matches, Georgia Hennessy.

Charlotte Edwards Cup

*Highest team total: 169/5, v Sunrisers on 29 May 2022. *Lowest (completed) team total: 106/9 v Northern Diamonds on 10 July 2021. *Highest individual score: 78, Sophie Luff v Sunrisers on 29 May 2022. *Best individual bowling analysis: 3/13, Nicole Harvey v North West Thunder on 25 August 2021. *Most runs: 285 runs in 12 matches, Sophie Luff. *Most wickets: 13 wickets in 12 matches, Danielle Gibson.

Honours

: ** Champions (2) –

References

{{English Domestic Women's Cricket Regional Hubs Women's Cricket Super League teams 2016 establishments in England Cricket in Somerset Somerset County Cricket Club Cricket in Bristol Cricket in Gloucestershire Gloucestershire County Cricket Club Glamorgan County Cricket Club Cricket clubs established in 2016 English Domestic Women's Cricket Regional Hub teams

History

2016–2019: Women's Cricket Super League

2020– : Domestic Regional Hub

Home grounds

Players

Current squad

Academy

Overseas Players

Coaching staff

Seasons

Women's Cricket Super League

Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy

Charlotte Edwards Cup

Statistics

Women's Cricket Super League

Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy

Charlotte Edwards Cup

Records

Women's Cricket Super League

Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy

Charlotte Edwards Cup

Honours

See also

References