The 2020 Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy was the first edition of the

Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy The Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy was an English and Welsh women's cricket domestic competition, named after former England captain Rachael Heyhoe Flint, who died in 2017. The Trophy was held from 2020 to 2024, and was the premier women's 50-ov ...

, an English

women's cricket Women's cricket is the team sport of cricket when played by woman, women. Its Laws of cricket, rules are almost identical to those in the game played by men, the main change being the use of a smaller cricket ball, ball. Women's cricket is b ...

domestic competition, which took place between 29 August and 27 September 2020. It featured eight teams in two groups, and had a final. The tournament was named after former England captain

Rachael Heyhoe Flint, Baroness Heyhoe-Flint Rachael Heyhoe Flint, Baroness Heyhoe Flint, ( Heyhoe; 11 June 1939 – 18 January 2017) was an English cricketer, businesswoman, and philanthropist. She was best known for being captain of England from 1966 to 1978, and was unbeaten in six ...

, who died in 2017. The competition was won by

Southern Vipers The Southern Vipers were a women's cricket team that represented the South of England. The Vipers wore an orange and black kit and primarily played their home matches at the Rose Bowl and the County Ground, Hove. They were coached by former ...

, who beat

Northern Diamonds Northern Diamonds were a women's cricket team that represented the traditional areas of the Northumbria (modern), North East and Yorkshire, one of eight regional hubs in English domestic women's cricket. They primarily played their home matches ...

in the final.

Background and format

Edgbaston - view of new stand from the north

The Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy was a 50-over cricket tournament created in 2020 so that English women's cricket could be played in spite of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. All matches took place

behind closed doors Behind Closed Doors may refer to: Film, television and radio Film * ''Behind Closed Doors'' (1929 film), an early talkie starring Virginia Valli * Behind Closed Doors (1961 film), ''Behind Closed Doors'' (1961 film), an Italian comedy film by Dino ...

due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The

England and Wales Cricket Board The England and Wales Cricket Board, aka ECB, is the Sports governing body, national governing body of cricket in England and Wales. It was formed on 1 January 1997 as a single governing body to combine the roles formerly fulfilled by the Test ...

made some matches available to watch online, and the final was shown live on

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British broadcasting of sports events, subscription sports channels operated by the satellite television, satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television ...

. The competition was named after former England captain

, who died in 2017. The competition featured eight teams, who represented regional hubs, which were formed during an overhaul of the English women's domestic cricket structure. The teams were separated into a North and South Group, and each team played six group stage matches, in a double round-robin format. The two group winners played each other in the competition's final. The competition began on 29 August, and ended with the final on 27 September. Originally the final was scheduled for 26 September at the ground of the team with the most points, but the fixture was moved back to 27 September to avoid a clash with an England women's T20 match against the West Indies.

Edgbaston Edgbaston () is a suburb of Birmingham, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It lies immediately south-west of Birmingham city centre, and was historically in Warwickshire. The Ward (electoral subdivision), wards of Edgbaston and Nort ...

was chosen as the venue for the final.

Teams

The teams were as follows: ;''North Group'' *

Central Sparks Central Sparks were a women's cricket team that represented the West Midlands region, one of eight regional hubs in English domestic women's cricket. They primarily played their home matches at Edgbaston and New Road. They were captained by E ...

(representing

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

, Herefordshire,

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

and

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

) *

Lightning Lightning is a natural phenomenon consisting of electrostatic discharges occurring through the atmosphere between two electrically charged regions. One or both regions are within the atmosphere, with the second region sometimes occurring on ...

(representing

Loughborough University Loughborough University (abbreviated as ''Lough'' or ''Lboro'' for Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a public university, public research university in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. It has been a university sinc ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

and

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

) *

(representing

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city in north east England **County Durham, a ceremonial county which includes Durham *Durham, North Carolina, a city in North Carolina, United States Durham may also refer to: Places ...

and

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

) *

North West Thunder North West Thunder, commonly referred to as Thunder, were a women's cricket team that represented Lancashire and North West England, one of eight regional hubs in English domestic women's cricket. They played their home matches at various groun ...

(representing

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

and

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

) ;''South Group'' *

South East Stars South East Stars were a women's cricket team that represented the London & South East region, one of eight regional hubs in English domestic women's cricket. They played their home matches at various grounds, including the County Cricket Ground ...

(representing

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

and

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

) *

(representing

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

, Isle of Wight and

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

) * Sunrisers (representing

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfor ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

Huntingdonshire Huntingdonshire (; abbreviated Hunts) is a local government district in Cambridgeshire, England, which was historically a county in its own right. It borders Peterborough to the north, Fenland to the north-east, East Cambridgeshire to the e ...

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

and

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

) *

Western Storm Western Storm were a women's cricket team that represented South West England and Wales, one of eight regional hubs in English domestic cricket. They primarily played their home matches at the County Ground, Taunton, the County Ground, Bristol ...

(representing Glamorgan,

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

and

Cricket Wales Cricket Wales () 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 Schools Cricket Asso ...

)

Squads

Each team had a squad of 15 players, and players on England central contracts were available for the competition. All players were paid for participating in the competitions, excluding those already on central contracts. After the squad announcements, England centrally contracted players were added to their teams. England players on a regional retainer contract were assigned to their regional team, and centrally contracted players were assigned appropriately. England players in the squad for the West Indies series were only available for the first two rounds of fixtures. Southern Vipers were the first team to announce their squad. Their regionally contracted players were Lauren Bell,

Georgia Adams Georgia Louise Adams (born 4 October 1993) is an English cricketer who is the captain of Sussex Women cricket team, Sussex and Southern Vipers, as well as playing for Southern Brave, Adelaide Strikers (WBBL), Adelaide Strikers and New South Wal ...

Tara Norris Tara Gabriella Norris (born 4 June 1998) is an American cricketer who currently plays for Sussex and London Spirit. She plays as a left-arm medium bowler. She has previously played for Loughborough Lightning, Southern Vipers, North West Thunder ...

, and Paige Scholfield. Northern Diamonds' squad included former England international cricketer

Jenny Gunn Jennifer Louise Gunn (born 9 May 1986) is an English former cricketer who plays as a right-arm medium bowler and right-handed batter. She appeared in 11 Test matches, 144 One Day Internationals and 104 Twenty20 Internationals for England ...

and Dutch international cricketer Sterre Kalis. Their centrally contracted players were

Hollie Armitage Hollie Jade Armitage (born 14 June 1997) is an English cricketer who currently captains Yorkshire and Northern Diamonds, as well as playing for Northern Superchargers. An all-rounder, she plays as a right-handed batter and right-arm leg break ...

and

Beth Langston Bethany Alicia Langston (born 6 September 1992) is an English cricketer who played six matches for the England women's cricket team: twice in 2013 and four times in 2016. Predominantly a medium-pace bowler, she began her cricket career with Essex ...

. South East Stars were captained by

Tash Farrant Natasha Eleni Farrant (born 29 May 1996) is an English cricketer who currently plays for Surrey, Oval Invincibles and England. She plays as a left-arm fast-medium bowler. She has previously played for Southern Vipers in the Women's Cricket Su ...

, and their 14 women squad included England players

Sophia Dunkley Sophia Ivy Rose Dunkley (born 16 July 1998) is an English cricketer who plays for Surrey, Welsh Fire, Melbourne Stars and England. A right-handed batter and right-arm leg break bowler, she made her county debut in July 2012 for Middlesex, hav ...

Alice Davidson-Richards Alice Natica Davidson-Richards (born 29 May 1994) is an English cricketer who plays for Surrey and Northern Superchargers. A right-handed batter and right-arm pace bowler, she made her county debut for Kent in 2010. She made her debut for Englan ...

, and

Bryony Smith Bryony Frances Smith (born 12 December 1997) is an English cricketer who plays for Surrey, Trent Rockets and Hobart Hurricanes. A right-handed batter who bowls off spin, she made her county debut for Surrey in 2014. She has played eight T20Is and ...

. Lightning's squad included Scottish sisters

Kathryn Kathryn is a feminine given name and comes from the Greek meaning for 'pure'. It is a variant of Katherine. It may refer to: In television and film: * Kathryn Beaumont (born 1938), English voice actress and school teacher best known for her Disn ...

and

Sarah Bryce Sarah Jennifer Bryce (born 8 January 2000) is a Scottish cricketer who plays for the national cricket team as a wicket-keeper-batter. At the domestic level, she plays for the Watsonian cricket club, for English teams The Blaze (formerly known ...

. North West Thunder's squad included England cricketer Alex Hartley, as well as

Georgie Boyce Georgie Eva Burton Boyce (born 4 October 1998) is an English cricketer who currently plays for The Blaze. She plays as a right-handed batter. She has previously played for Nottinghamshire, Lancashire, Lancashire Thunder, North West Thunder and ...

and

Ellie Threlkeld Eleanor Threlkeld (born 16 November 1998) is an English cricketer who currently plays for Lancashire and Manchester Originals. She plays as a wicket-keeper and right-handed batter. She previously played for Lancashire Thunder and North West Th ...

who received regional retainers. Western Storm were captained by

Sophie Luff Sophie Natasha Luff (born 6 December 1993) is an English cricketer who plays for Somerset and Southern Brave as a right-handed batter. Career Luff came from a cricketing family in Lympsham, near Weston-super-Mare; both her father and brother ...

, and their squad included regionally contracted players Fi Morris and Danielle Gibson. Central Sparks' squad included regionally contracted players

Evelyn Jones Evelyn Jones (born 8 August 1992) is an English cricketer who currently plays for Lancashire and Manchester Originals. She plays primarily as a left-handed opening batter, as well as bowling left-arm medium. She has previously played for Shropsh ...

, Marie Kelly and

Issy Wong Isabelle Eleanor Chih Ming Wong (born 15 May 2002) is an English cricketer who currently plays for Warwickshire, Birmingham Phoenix and England as a fast-medium bowler. She has previously played for Central Sparks, Southern Vipers in the Women ...

. Sunrisers were captained by Amara Carr, and their squad included regionally contracted players

Naomi Dattani Naomi Dilip Dattani (born 28 April 1994) is an English professional cricketer who plays for Hampshire and Western Australia. She has previously played for Surrey Stars, Western Storm, Sunrisers, London Spirit, Trent Rockets, Middlesex Women, ...

, Cordelia Griffith who received regional retainers, and also included England international cricketer

Fran Wilson Frances Claire Wilson (born 7 November 1991) is an English cricketer. A right handed batter and right arm off break bowler, she was born in Farnham in Surrey and plays for Birmingham Phoenix. She previously played for Somerset, Middlesex, Kent ...

and

Mady Villiers Mady Kate Villiers (born 26 August 1998) is an English cricketer who plays for Essex Women cricket team, Essex, Sunrisers (women's cricket), Sunrisers and Oval Invincibles as a right-arm off spin, off break Bowling (cricket), bowler. In July 201 ...

Standings

Teams received 4 points for a win. A bonus point was given where the winning team's run rate is 1.25 or greater times that of the opposition. In case of a tie in the standings, the following tiebreakers were applied in order: highest

net run rate Net run rate (NRR) is a statistical method used in analysing teamwork and/or performance in cricket. It is the most commonly used method of ranking teams with equal points in limited overs league competitions, similar to goal difference in foo ...

, team that scored the most points in matches involving the tied parties, better bowling strike rate, drawing of lots.

North Group

South Group

Group stage

The fixture list was compiled so that every team played twice on the

August Bank Holiday The August Bank Holiday or Summer Bank Holiday is a public holiday in the United Kingdom, part of the statutory bank holiday provision. Originally, the holiday was held on the first Monday of August across the country, but was changed in the lat ...

weekend. Source:

North Group

---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----

South Group

---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Final

Statistics

*Highest score by a team:

– 303/5 (50 overs) v

(19 September). * Top score by an individual:

– 154 * (155) v

(13 September). * Best bowling figures by an individual: Charlotte Taylor – 6/34 (10 overs) v

(27 September).

Most runs

Source: ESPNCricinfo

Most wickets

Source: ESPNCricinfo

References

External links

Series home at ESPN Cricinfo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

2020 in English women's cricket