Loughborough Lightning were an English women's Twenty20 cricket team based at Loughborough University. They were formed in 2016 to compete in the inaugural season of the Women's Cricket Super League. They primarily played their home matches at the Haslegrave Ground. They were coached by Rob Taylor and were captained by Georgia Elwiss. The team was partnered with Loughborough University. Together with the netball team and the women's rugby union team, the cricket team was one of three women's sports teams based at Loughborough University that used the Loughborough Lightning name. In 2020, following reforms to the structure of women's domestic cricket, some elements of the Loughborough Lightning were retained for a new team, named just Lightning and representing a broader region.
History 2016–2019: Women's Cricket Super League
Loughborough Lightning were formed in 2016 to compete in the new Women's Cricket Super League, partnering with Loughborough University and playing across the Midlands. In the first season of the WCSL, the Lightning finished 3rd in the group stage, progressing to the semi-final, where they were beaten by eventual runners-up Western Storm. The following season, 2017, saw Loughborough miss out on Finals Day, finishing 4th with two wins.
2018 was Loughborough Lightning's most successful season, as they topped the group with 7 wins from 10 games, progressing straight to the final. However, they were defeated by Surrey Stars by 66 runs after the Stars' Lizelle Lee hit a century. Lightning bowler Kirstie Gordon was the leading wicket-taker of the tournament, with 17. In 2019, the Lightning again progressed to Finals Day after finishing 2nd in the group with 7 victories, but were beaten in the semi-final by the Southern Vipers. Following this season, women's cricket in England was restructured and Loughborough Lightning were disbanded as part of the reforms; however they survived in spirit for a new team, Lightning, who represented a larger area, but retained some of their players.
Home grounds VenueGames hosted by season16 17 18 19 TotalHaslegrave Ground 3 1 4 4 12County Ground, Derby – 1 – – 1Edgbaston Cricket Ground – – 1 – 1Trent Bridge – – – 1 1
Players Final squad, 2019 season 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 Batters1 Georgia Adams Right-handed Right-arm off break 22 Mignon du Preez Right-handed Right-arm medium Overseas player All-rounders17 Kathryn Bryce Right-handed Right-arm medium 20 Alice Monaghan Right-handed Right-arm medium 25 Jo Gardner Right-handed Right-arm medium 24 Jenny Gunn Right-handed Right-arm medium England Performance squad34 Georgia Elwiss Right-handed Right-arm medium Club captain; England Performance squad50 Hayley Matthews Right-handed Right-arm off break Overseas player58 Chamari Atapattu Left-handed Right-arm medium Overseas player Wicket-keepers27 Abigail Freeborn Right-handed — 40Amy Jones Right-handed — England Performance squad Bowlers7 Lucy Higham Right-handed Right-arm off break 16 Sarah Glenn Right-handed Right-arm leg break 46 Tara Norris Left-handed Left-arm medium 48 Kirstie Gordon Right-handed Slow left-arm orthodox England Performance squad
Overseas players Dane van Niekerk – South Africa (2016) Ellyse Perry – Australia (2016–2017) Sophie Devine – New Zealand (2016, 2018) Kristen Beams – Australia (2017) Elyse Villani – Australia (2017–2018) Rachael Haynes – Australia (2018) Mignon du Preez – South Africa (2019) Chamari Atapattu – Sri Lanka (2019) Hayley Matthews – West Indies (2019)
Seasons
Season Final standing League standings Notes P W L T NR BP Pts NRR Pos 2016 5 3 2 0 0 2 8 +0.170 3rd Lost to Western Storm in the semi-final 2017 5 2 3 0 0 2 10 +0.664 4th DNQ 2018 10 7 3 0 0 5 33 +1.361 1st Lost to Surrey Stars in the final 2019 10 7 3 0 0 4 32 +0.792 2nd Lost to Southern Vipers in the semi-final
Statistics Overall Results + Women's Cricket Super League - summary of resultsYear Played Wins Losses Tied NR Win % 2016 6 3 2 0 0 50.00 2017 5 2 3 0 0 40.00 2018 11 7 3 0 0 63.63 2019 11 7 3 0 0 63.63 Total33191400 57.57 Abandoned matches are counted as NR (no result) Win or loss by super over or boundary count are counted as tied.
Teamwise Result summary
OppositionMat Won Lost Tied NRWin % Lancashire Thunder 6 5 1 0 0 73.33 Southern Vipers 7 3 4 0 0 42.85 Surrey Stars 7 5 2 0 0 71.42 Western Storm 7 2 5 0 0 28.57 Yorkshire Diamonds 6 4 2 0 0 66.66
Records
Highest team total: 174/7, v Southern Vipers on 4 August 2018. Lowest team total: 97, v Southern Vipers on 14 August 2016. Highest individual score: 91, Dane van Niekerk v Surrey Stars on 12 August 2016. Best individual bowling analysis: 3/10, Jenny Gunn v Lancashire Thunder on 22 July 2018. Most Runs: 636 in 31 matches, Amy Jones. Most wickets: 28 wickets in 21 matches, Kirstie Gordon.
References