Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy Final: A Look Back

The Southern Vipers are looking to defend their Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy title for a third time in as many years as they face Northern Diamonds, also for the third time in three years.

The final, taking place at Lord’s for the first time, will round off the women’s domestic season a day after the English international summer comes to an end.

With the bright orange side aiming to win their third consecutive title, we take a look back at the previous two finals ever since the women’s regional hubs were introduced.

2020

The inaugural season of the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy was heavily truncated by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the new women’s regional domestic hub setup eventually got underway on the 29^th August.

The final, held at Edgbaston, unearthed a star in Charlotte Taylor, as she took 6-34 to help bowl the Diamonds out for 193, as the Vipers secured victory by 38 runs.

Captain Georgia Adams set the tone for the Vipers with 80, and put on an opening stand worth 100 with Ella McCaughan who made 35.

Maia Bouchier chipped in with 28 at just shy of a run-a-ball, with Emily Windsor making 37, as the Vipers were bowled out for 231, one ball short of a full fifty overs.

The Diamonds got off to a solid start in reply, with 20s from then-captain Lauren Winfield-Hill and current captain Hollie Armitage, but it was Bouchier who first got the breakthrough before Taylor started to wreak havoc, and wickets became a regular occurrence.

From the 15^th to the 17^th over, Taylor picked up her first two wickets of Armitage and Alex MacDonald, before trapping England veteran Jenny Gunn lbw for nine.

Another two wickets for Taylor came in the form of keeper Bess Heath for a duck, and former England bowler Beth Langston for 21, but Dutch international Sterre Kalis was still at the crease.

With the score on 172-8, Kalis holed out to Adams at mid-on, and Taylor completed her six-wicket haul, with the skipper rounding things off as Phoebe Graham skied the ball which landed in the safe hands of Paige Scholfield.

2021

On a difficult batting pitch at Northampton, Emily Windsor had the starring role in a low-scoring thriller that went down to the final over.

Captain Adams had the plaudits for much of the first innings, as her 4-35 helped bowl the side in blue out for 183, with only Ami Campbell making it past 50, with makeshift opener Linsey Smith the next best with 31.

The Vipers’ reply couldn’t have got off to a worse start, as Adams was cleaned up second ball by Langston, and McCaughan fell to the same fate in the seamer’s second over.

Maia Bouchier settled the ship with 33, but a partnership of any substance was difficult to come by.

With the score on 93-5 when Gaby Lewis fell for 24, the Vipers were halfway to their total but behind the rate with 28 overs gone.

The evergreen Jenny Gunn then picked up two in two as Paige Scholfield chipped a ball to cover where Armitage was waiting, and Carla Rudd was trapped lbw.

Enter Tara Norris.

The pair of Windsor and Norris edged away at Diamonds total, the former nudging and nurdling the ball into games, whilst the former looked to do the bludgeoning.

With three overs remaining, the partnership had passed fifty, but the defending champions still required more than a run-a-ball to win back-to-back titles.

In the crucial 49^th over, Norris reverse swept Smith for four, and a single off the final ball meant that just two runs were required for victory.

A single off the second ball of the final over brought Windsor back on strike on 43, and two balls later, she clipped Langston past mid-on for four, arms aloft, and the celebrations began.

The Vipers had completed a remarkable comeback, as they won their second Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy by three wickets, with just two balls remaining.

Tickets for the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy are available from £15 for adults and £5 for Under 16s via the link below.

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