Western Storm

Western Storm were formed in 2016 to compete in the new Women's Cricket Super League, representing the South West.[6] In their inaugural season, they came second in the group stage, meaning they progressed to the semi-final, which they won against Loughborough Lightning.[7] However, they lost in the final by seven wickets to the Southern Vipers.[8] 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.[9]

In 2017, Western Storm finished third in the group stage, again progressing to the semi-final, which they won against the Surrey Stars.[10] 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.[11] In 2018, Western Storm again reached finals day, finishing third in the group stage,[12] but were defeated by the Surrey Stars in the semi-final.[13] Storm's Smriti Mandhana was the leading run-scorer and player of the tournament.[14]

In the final season of the WCSL, 2019, Western Storm won 9 out of their 10 group stage games, topping the group and progressing straight to the final for the first time.[15] 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.[16] Western Storm therefore ended the WCSL as the most successful team, with two title wins. Bowler Freya Davies was the leading wicket-taker in the tournament.[17][18]

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.[19] 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.[20] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 season was truncated, and only 50-over cricket was played, in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy.[21] Western Storm won 4 of their 6 games, finishing second in the South Group and therefore failing to progress to the final.[22] 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.[23]

The following season, 2021, Western Storm competed in both the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy and the newly-formed Twenty20 competition, the Charlotte Edwards Cup. 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.[24][25] 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.[26][27] 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.[28] Storm bowler Nicole Harvey was the fourth-highest wicket-taker in the tournament, with 12 wickets at an average of 9.41.[29]

Western Storm celebrate a wicket against North West Thunder in May 2023.

Ahead of the 2022 season, it was announced that O'Leary was stepping down from his role as Head Coach.[30] Dan Helesfay was appointed as interim Head Coach for the Charlotte Edwards Cup campaign, with Trevor Griffin, 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.[31] The side finished third in their group in the Charlotte Edwards Cup, with three wins from their six matches.[32] They finished fourth in the group of eight in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, winning three of their matches.[33] In 2023, they finished sixth out of eight in the Charlotte Edwards Cup and bottom of the group in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy.[34][35]

As per 2023 season.[36]

• No. denotes the player's squad number, as worn on the back of their shirt.
• ‡ denotes players with international caps.

No.	Name	Nationality	Birth date	Batting style	Bowling style	Notes
Batters
11	Rebecca Odgers	England	(2003-02-10) 10 February 2003	Right-handed	Right-arm off break
35	Fran Wilson ‡	England	(1991-11-07) 7 November 1991	Right-handed	Right-arm off break
63	Sophie Luff	England	(1993-12-06) 6 December 1993	Right-handed	Right-arm medium	Club captain
All-rounders
5	Heather Knight ‡	England	(1990-12-26) 26 December 1990	Right-handed	Right-arm off break
18	Isla Thomson	England	(2004-07-24) 24 July 2004	Right-handed	Right-arm medium
20	Chloe Skelton	England	(2001-06-20) 20 June 2001	Right-handed	Right-arm off break
25	Alex Griffiths	Wales	(2002-06-12) 12 June 2002	Right-handed	Right-arm medium
27	Niamh Holland	England	(2004-10-27) 27 October 2004	Right-handed	Right-arm medium
28	Danielle Gibson ‡	England	(2001-04-30) 30 April 2001	Right-handed	Right-arm medium
34	Isobel Patel	England	(2004-11-21) 21 November 2004	Right-handed	Right-arm medium
74	Emma Corney	England	(2003-09-15) 15 September 2003	Right-handed	Right-arm medium
Wicket-keepers
37	Nat Wraith	England	(2001-10-03) 3 October 2001	Right-handed	—
38	Katie Jones	England	(2005-12-28) 28 December 2005	Right-handed	—
Bowlers
2	Nicole Harvey	England	(1992-09-18) 18 September 1992	Right-handed	Right-arm leg break
8	Claire Nicholas	Wales	(1986-09-08) 8 September 1986	Right-handed	Right-arm off break
13	Gemma Lane	England	(2003-05-13) 13 May 2003	Right-handed	Right-arm medium
14	Mollie Robbins	England	(1998-10-04) 4 October 1998	Right-handed	Right-arm medium
16	Sophia Smale	Wales	(2004-12-08) 8 December 2004	Right-handed	Slow left-arm orthodox
24	Lauren Filer ‡	England	(2000-12-22) 22 December 2000	Right-handed	Right-arm medium

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 2023/24 Academy are listed below:[37]

• Lizelle Lee – South Africa (2016)
• Stafanie Taylor – West Indies (2016–2018)
• Rachel Priest – New Zealand (2016–2019)
• Holly Huddleston – New Zealand (2017)
• Smriti Mandhana – India (2018–2019)
• Deepti Sharma – India (2019)
• Orla Prendergast – Ireland (2023)
• Piepa Cleary – Australia (2023)

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

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

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

• Highest team total: 185/4, v Lancashire Thunder on 9 August 2018.[42]
• Lowest team total: 70, v Southern Vipers on 10 August 2017.[43]
• Highest individual score: 106*, Rachel Priest v Yorkshire Diamonds on 20 August 2017.[44]
• Best individual bowling analysis: 5/23, Anya Shrubsole v Yorkshire Diamonds on 14 August 2016.[45]
• Most runs: 1,062 in 36 matches, Heather Knight.[46]
• Most wickets: 37 wickets in 36 matches, Freya Davies.[47]

• Highest team total: 313/4, v Sunrisers on 18 September 2021.[48][49][50][51]
• Lowest (completed) team total: 89 v South East Stars on 1 May 2023.[48][49][50][51]
• Highest individual score: 157*, Sophie Luff v Sunrisers on 18 September 2021.[52][53][54][55]
• Best individual bowling analysis: 5/26, Fi Morris v Sunrisers on 5 September 2020.[56][57][58][59]
• Most runs: 1,278 runs in 29 matches, Sophie Luff.[60][61][62][63]
• Most wickets: 27 wickets in 22 matches, Lauren Filer.[64][65][66]

• Highest team total: 186/8, v Northern Diamonds on 19 May 2023.[67][68][69]
• Lowest (completed) team total: 105/8 v Southern Vipers on 26 May 2023.[67][68][69]
• Highest individual score: 78, Sophie Luff v Sunrisers on 29 May 2022.[70][71][72]
• Best individual bowling analysis: 4/23, Danielle Gibson v Central Sparks on 4 June 2023.[73][74][75]
• Most runs: 435 runs in 19 matches, Sophie Luff.[76][77][78]
• Most wickets: 21 wickets in 18 matches, Danielle Gibson.[79][80][81]