Thunder Cup: Sefton Park and Leigh step into the unknown as women’s game continues to expand

Sefton Park’s women celebrate their Lancashire T20 win

Women’s club cricket took another stride forward on Sunday with the first round of Thunder Cup fixtures, featuring two of the region’s biggest success stories.

And while Leigh’s six-wicket win over Sefton Park was notable for a match-winning stand of 133 between Australian Lucy Page and Lancashire Academy prospect Olivia Brinsden, there was plenty of cause for optimism all round.

For Sefton, led by Sarah Culloty, admission to the Thunder Cup has capped a remarkable rise for a section launched just six years ago.

The application process included a presentation at Emirates Old Trafford, and rested heavily on off-field matters such as the health of the girls’ section and the support of the club as a whole, both fields where Sefton excelled.

But they’ve also punched above their weight on the actual field – winning the Love Lane Liverpool Competition’s T20 league and the Lancashire T20 cup last year, and finishing second in the county 40-over league.

“We’re probably at the lower end of the teams who are the Thunder Cup, because we’ve only been going six years, but we argued that each step of the way, we’ve been successful,” said Culloty.

Sunday ticked off another milestone – it was the side’s first ever 50-over match. 

With that in mind, Culloty was delighted with how they applied themselves, particularly in batting their overs after slipping to 17/3 early on.

The skipper made 36 and Abbie Wright an unbeaten 41 from number eight.

Culloty said: “It was a really nice match and it was great to be back playing. 

“It was nice to see a lot of the non-Lancashire or overseas players doing well – we really struggled at the top but I was really chuffed that we batted the full overs. 

“Our lower half put us in a really good position – I never thought we had quite enough and we were always going to have to bowl them out, but the lower order really got us to a good score. 

“There’s so much we can learn from playing with and against the more experienced players.”

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Leigh’s coach, Dave Dove, agreed, saying: “Sefton batted impressively down to the end, and it made it difficult for us. 

“But we had a good partnership between Lucy and Olivia and got on top of the bowling.”

Page, from Melbourne, only arrived in England last week and hit the ground running – or more often not running, as 64 of her 72 came from boundaries.

“Normally when you bring overseas players over in April it takes them a while to adjust to the wickets and the weather,” Dove added. 

“But luckily the wicket was quite good, and it helped her adapt and get into her stride.”

Leigh’s women’s side at Beech Walk

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One big selling point of the Thunder Cup, designed to provide a bridge between the club game and the top level, is the allocation of Lancashire stars to the eight competing clubs.

Sefton have been given Red Rose captain Ellie Threlkeld, of Rainford, and Upton spinner Sophie Morris, along with Academy talents Emilia Lamb, of Newton-le-Willows, and Ormskirk’s Martha Rimmer.

Leigh’s allocation is Brinsden, of Egremont in Cumbria, along with one of their own in Danielle Collins and Staffordshire’s Grace Potts.

Due to county commitments and injury, only Brinsden and Rimmer took the field. But Threlkeld, Morris and Lamb turned up to cheer their side on, and both clubs are hopeful of seeing more of their star names in the future.

Culloty said: “It’s all very new and nobody knew what kind of players we would be getting. 

“And obviously they have to fit it into the rest of their schedules. But it’s caused a lot of excitement.

“It was great having Martha on the field with us – even though she’s quite young, she’s far more experienced than us in cricketing terms. 

“There is a question of balance at the club – we welcome these players, and we want them in the team, but obviously we’ve got a full squad who turn up to training every week and pay their membership fees… we had to talk carefully with our whole women’s section to make sure everyone was on board. 

“But having those players around the club is exciting for the ones who aren’t playing as well.”

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Leigh were also without their skipper Sophie Heaton and star batter Ellie Mason, who made 726 at an average of 121 last year.

But Dove said it was no surprise that Page and Brinsden ended up having the decisive say.

He added: “It’s not just the on-field stuff, it’s the preparation and the way they approach the game that will hopefully rub off on the other players.”

The next round of Thunder Cup matches comes in mid-May – until then, it’s back to the bread and butter.

Leigh are defending the Cheshire League title they won last year, and in 2022 as well. 

Dove said: “We’ve been successful in the league in the last few years and I think it’s important to maintain that consistency. 

“There are some good sides in this cup competition, and we suffered a bit on Sunday because two of our best players were selected to play for Cheshire, and it might depend on factors like that.

“The league is the bread and butter and it’s a good standard in terms of facilities and wickets – we’re not taking our eyes off the league.”

Sefton’s next assignment is a T20 against Hightown St Marys at Croxteth Drive on Sunday followed by a meeting of the club’s two U12 hardball sides – the Sefton Derby, as Culloty put it.

“Our board have been very supportive,” she added. “All this means more matches to fit into a packed schedule.

“It’s great that Lancashire have put this on for us, and the Liverpool Competition have done a lot to support us too.”

from Merseyside Cricket Online https://ift.tt/STHMNan