The Cricketer runs the rule over the Central Sparks squad ahead of the 2022 Charlotte Edwards Cup and Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy campaigns
Captain: Eve Jones
Head coach: Lloyd Tennant
Home grounds: Edgbaston (Birmingham), New Road (Worcester)
Team background: The West Midlands based side draw their players from two major counties – Warwickshire and Worcestershire – as well as Herefordshire, Shropshire and Staffordshire. This season's squad is dominated by Warwickshire players.
Lightning's Abbey Freeborn is a new arrival, with Marie Kelly heading in the opposite direction. Ami Campbell has also moved to Central Sparks from Northern Diamonds.
What happened last season?
Central Sparks were one of the standout sides in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, finishing third in the table before being eliminated by Northern Diamonds in the play-offs. Eve Jones' side won five of their seven matches, including a thrilling two-wicket win over Northern Diamonds to start the season and a 120-run win over Southern Vipers. Surprise defeats against Thunder and Lightning, however, were costly hiccups.
In the Charlotte Edwards Cup, they finished third in Group A, winning and losing three matches apiece. They were over-reliant on Eve Jones' runs (276), with the skipper one of only two players – the other being Marie Kelly – to score more than one hundred runs. And she was also the standout batter in List A cricket, scoring 299 runs, including one century and two half-centuries, while Gwen Davies scored 193 runs.
With the ball, Issy Wong topped the charts in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, taking 14 wickets, while Emily Arlott and Ria Fackrell each took 11 wickets. Georgia Davis, meanwhile, led the way in the Charlotte Edwards Cup, taking eight wickets and conceding just 4.58 runs per over.
Eve Jones leads Central Sparks [Mike Hewitt/Getty Images]
Who are the England stars?
Sarah Glenn and Amy Jones are Central Sparks' two England players.
Leg-spinning allrounder Glenn has over 30 England caps to her name, appearing for both England and England A during the winter tour of Australia, but opted out of the 2022 World Cup. With the ball, she is both a regular wicket-taker and highly economical, taking six wickets and conceding just 3.75 runs per over in four Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy appearances last season. However, she is more than just a spinner, blasting 118 runs from the middle order, most notably her match-winning knock of 71 not out against Northern Diamonds.
Jones, meanwhile, is a big-hitting wicketkeeper-batter and multi-format international who has been described as "technically, the best [wicketkeeper] in the world" by England fielding coach, Michael Bates. She made just three appearances for Sparks in 2021 but scored two centuries on her way to 282 runs – a haul only Eve Jones could better. Behind the stumps, she added five catches and one stumping thanks to her aggressive positioning and sharp hands.
Who are the old heads?
Eve Jones leads the way with the bat for her side, scoring 299 runs in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy – only Sophie Luff and Kathryn Bryce scored more – and anchoring her sides throughout the innings. In the Charlotte Edwards Cup, she is a ruthless, big-hitting opener, scoring 276 runs, including 31 fours and six sixes. And as well as dominating the run charts and captaining the side, she also chips in with wickets, taking seven scalps in 2021 – an essential cog.
Wicketkeeper-batter Gwen Davies (256 runs) and bowler Liz Russell, a stalwart of the Warwickshire side, add valuable experience to a young side. The latter does, however, struggle for consistency.
Ami Campbell, who joins the club from Northern Diamonds, faces the tricky task of replacing Marie Kelly's runs. Fortunately, she is a proven performer with the bat, scoring 223 runs at 31.85 in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy last season, including 26 fours and five sixes, and she appears to be a player for the big occasions, posting back-to-back centuries in the play-off against Central Sparks and the final against Southern Vipers.
Issy Wong offers firepower with the ball [Mike Hewitt/Getty Images]
Who are the young players to watch?
Issy Wong is the standout name in the Sparks squad, with the young pacer making no secret of her desire to become the first English woman to bowl above 80mph. She was her side's star seam bowler in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, taking 14 wickets and posting best figures of 5 for 49 against Northern Diamonds. Her new-ball partnership with fellow quick Emily Arlott can be expected to rip a few batting orders apart in both formats next season. Wong is also a threat with the bat, showcasing her middle-order finisher potential with boundary-laden knocks for Sydney Thunder and Birmingham Phoenix in 2021.
Georgia Davis was arguably Sparks' unsung hero last year, taking 17 wickets overall (including a team-leading eight wickets in the Charlotte Edwards Cup), and appears to be in good T20 form heading into 2022 after taking 13 wickets in the Women's County Championship – only her Warwickshire and Sparks teammate Anisha Patel (15) took more. Fellow spinner Ria Fackrell is also worth keeping an eye on after taking 11 List A wickets last season and like Wong, she is also a threat with the bat.
Then there's young Davina Perrin. Making her debut for Central Sparks last season at the age of just 15, batter Perrin made four appearances in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, scoring 92 runs and top-scoring with 43 against South East Stars. In the 2022 Women's County Championship, she scored 242 runs at 34.57 – a haul only Georgia Boyce, Georgina Macey and Grace Scrivens could better.
Squad: Eve Jones (c), Emily Arlott, Hannah Baker, Clare Boycott, Thea Brookes, Gwen Davies, Poppy Davies, Georgia Davis, Ria Fackrell, Sarah Glenn, Chloe Hill (Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy only), Milly Home, Amy Jones, Anisha Patel, Davina Perrin, Grace Potts, Liz Russell, Issy Wong, Ami Campbell, Abbey Freeborn, Steph Butler
Fixtures
Charlotte Edwards Cup: May 14 – Western Storm (A), May 18 – South East Stars (A), May 21 – Sunrisers (H), May 29 – South East Stars (H), June 1 – Sunrisers (A), June 4 – Western Storm (H)
Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy: July 2 – Southern Vipers (H), July 9 – Western Storm (A), July 16 - Northern Diamonds (H), July 23 – Thunder (A), September 9 – Lightning (H), September 11 – South East Stars (A), September 17 – Sunrisers (H)
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