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 and Sophia Gardens. They were captained by Sophie Luff and coached by Trevor Griffin. The team were partnered with Somerset, Gloucestershire, Glamorgan, Devon, Cornwall, Wiltshire and Cricket Wales. Originally formed to compete in the Women's Cricket Super League in 2016, Western Storm won the competition twice, in 2017 and 2019. When women's cricket in England was reformed in 2020, the Western Storm brand was retained, and they competed in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy and the Charlotte Edwards Cup.
At the end of the 2024 season, following reforms to the structure of women's domestic cricket, the team was effectively replaced by a professionalised Somerset team.
History
2016–2019: Women's Cricket Super League
Western Storm were formed in 2016 to compete in the new Women's Cricket Super League, representing the South West. In their inaugural season, they came second in the group stage, meaning they progressed to the semi-final, which they won against Loughborough Lightning. However, they lost in the final by seven wickets to the Southern Vipers. 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.
In 2017, Western Storm finished third in the group stage, again progressing to the semi-final, which they won against the Surrey Stars. 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. In 2018, Western Storm again reached finals day, finishing third in the group stage, but were defeated by the Surrey Stars in the semi-final. Storm's Smriti Mandhana was the leading run-scorer and player of the tournament.
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. 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. 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.
2020–2024: Domestic Regional Hub
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. 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. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 season was truncated, and only 50-over cricket was played, in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy. Western Storm won 4 of their 6 games, finishing second in the South Group and therefore failing to progress to the final. 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.
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. 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. 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. Storm bowler Nicole Harvey was the fourth-highest wicket-taker in the tournament, with 12 wickets at an average of 9.41.
Ahead of the 2022 season, it was announced that O'Leary was stepping down from his role as Head Coach. 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. The side finished third in their group in the Charlotte Edwards Cup, with three wins from their six matches. They finished fourth in the group of eight in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, winning three of their matches. In 2023, they finished sixth out of eight in the Charlotte Edwards Cup and bottom of the group in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy. In 2024, the side finished seventh in the Charlotte Edwards Cup and eighth in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy.
2024 was the side's final season, with reforms to the structure of domestic cricket in England meaning that the side was effectively replaced by a professionalised Somerset team.
Home grounds VenueGames hosted by season16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 TotalCounty Ground, Taunton 2 1 3 3 – 3 2 4 5 23County Ground, Bristol 1 1 1 2 3 3 2 3 3 19 College Ground, Cheltenham – – 1 – – – 1 1 2 5 Sophia Gardens – – – – – 1 1 2 2 6 Millfield School – – – – – – – 1 – 1
Players Current squad Final squad, 2024 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 Batters35 Fran Wilson Right-handed Right-arm off break 63 Sophie Luff Right-handed Right-arm medium Club captain All-rounders5 Heather Knight Right-handed Right-arm off break 25 Alex Griffiths Right-handed Right-arm medium 27 Niamh Holland Right-handed Right-arm medium 28 Danielle Gibson Right-handed Right-arm medium 74 Emma Corney Right-handed Right-arm medium Wicket-keepers 22 Jess Hazell Right-handed — 37 Nat Wraith Right-handed — 38 Katie Jones Right-handed — Bowlers8 Claire Nicholas Right-handed Right-arm off break 13 Gemma Lane Right-handed Right-arm medium 14 Mollie Robbins Right-handed Right-arm medium 15 Emily Geach Left-handed Right-arm medium 16 Sophia Smale Right-handed Slow left-arm orthodox 20 Chloe Skelton Right-handed Right-arm off break 23 Lola Harris Right-handed Right-arm leg break 24 Lauren Filer Right-handed Right-arm medium 88 Imogen Cooper Right-handed Right-arm medium
Academy The Western Storm Academy team played against other regional academies in friendly and festival matches across various formats. The academy selected players from across the South West and Wales regions, and included some players who are also in the first team squad. Players in the 2023/24 Academy are listed below:
Name CountyKaty Cobb WiltshireOlivia Daniels GloucestershireRuby Davis DevonBeatrix Ellis GloucestershireEmily Geach CornwallLola Harris SomersetLilly Hawkins SomersetJess Hazell SomersetEve Jackson WalesKatie Jones GloucestershireAmelie Munday Devon/MiddlesexIsobel Patel GloucestershireAnna-Mae Shearn WiltshireIsla Thomson WiltshireErin Vukusic Devon
Overseas Players 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) Amanda-Jade Wellington – Australia (2024)
Coaching staff
Head coach: Trevor Griffin Regional Director: Lisa Pagett Assistant coach: James Schofield Lead physiotherapist: Rhys Gowman Performance analyst: Andy Payne Strength & Conditioning Coach: Ian Fisher Team Operations Executive: Jonathon De Lyall
As of the 2024 season.
Seasons Women's Cricket Super League Season Final standing League standings Notes P W L T NR BP Pts NRR Pos 2016 5 4 1 0 0 1 9 +0.838 2nd Lost to Southern Vipers in the final 2017 5 3 2 0 0 0 12 –0.887 3rd Won against Southern Vipers in the final 2018 10 6 3 0 1 4 30 +0.919 2nd Lost to Surrey Stars in the semi-final 2019 10 9 1 0 0 3 39 +1.109 1st Won against Southern Vipers in the final
Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy Season Final standing League standings Notes P W L T NR BP Pts NRR Pos 2020 6 4 2 0 0 2 18 +0.51 2nd DNQ 2021 7 3 4 0 0 1 13 –0.46 6th DNQ 2022 7 3 3 0 1 1 15 –0.21 4th DNQ 2023 14 2 8 0 4 0 16 –1.07 8th DNQ 2024 14 4 10 0 0 2 18 –0.21 8th DNQ
Charlotte Edwards Cup Season Final standing League standings Notes P W L T NR BP Pts NRR Pos 2021 6 4 2 0 0 1 17 +0.182 2nd DNQ 2022 6 3 3 0 0 1 13 +0.148 3rd DNQ 2023 7 3 4 0 0 0 12 –0.512 6th DNQ 2024 10 2 6 0 2 1 13 –0.659 7th DNQ
Statistics Women's Cricket Super League + Women's Cricket Super League - summary of resultsYear Played Wins Losses Tied NR Win % 2016 7 5 2 0 0 71.43 2017 7 5 2 0 0 71.43 2018 11 6 4 0 1 54.54 2019 11 10 1 0 0 90.90 Total3626901 72.22 Abandoned matches are counted as NR (no result) Win or loss by super over or boundary count are counted as tied.
+ Women's Cricket Super League - teamwise result summaryOppositionMat Won Lost Tied NRWin % Lancashire Thunder 6 6 0 0 0 100.00 Loughborough Lightning 7 5 2 0 0 71.43 Southern Vipers 9 6 2 0 1 66.66 Surrey Stars 8 4 4 0 0 50.00 Yorkshire Diamonds 6 5 1 0 0 83.33
Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy + Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy - summary of resultsYear Played Wins Losses Tied NR Win % 2020 6 4 2 0 0 66.67 2021 7 3 4 0 0 42.86 2022 7 3 3 0 1 42.86 2023 14 2 8 0 4 14.29 2024 14 4 10 0 0 28.57 Total48162705 33.33 Abandoned matches are counted as NR (no result) Win or loss by super over or boundary count are counted as tied.
+ Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy - teamwise result summaryOppositionMat Won Lost Tied NRWin % Central Sparks 6 1 4 0 1 16.67 Northern Diamonds 6 0 6 0 0 0.00 North West Thunder 6 4 2 0 0 66.67 Southern Vipers 8 0 6 0 2 0.00 South East Stars 8 3 4 0 1 37.50 Sunrisers 8 6 2 0 0 75.00 The Blaze 6 2 3 0 1 40.00
Charlotte Edwards Cup + Charlotte Edwards Cup - summary of resultsYear Played Wins Losses Tied NR Win % 2021 6 4 2 0 0 66.67 2022 6 3 3 0 0 50.00 2023 7 3 4 0 0 42.86 2024 10 2 6 0 2 20.00 Total29121502 41.38 Abandoned matches are counted as NR (no result) Win or loss by super over or boundary count are counted as tied.
+ Charlotte Edwards Cup - teamwise result summaryOppositionMat Won Lost Tied NRWin % Central Sparks 4 2 2 0 0 50.00 Northern Diamonds 4 1 3 0 0 25.00 North West Thunder 4 3 0 0 1 75.00 South East Stars 5 0 4 0 1 0.00 Southern Vipers 3 0 3 0 0 0.00 Sunrisers 7 6 1 0 0 85.71 The Blaze 2 0 2 0 0 0.00
Records Women's Cricket Super League
Highest team total: 185/4, v Lancashire Thunder on 9 August 2018. Lowest team total: 70, v Southern Vipers on 10 August 2017. Highest individual score: 106*, Rachel Priest v Yorkshire Diamonds on 20 August 2017. Best individual bowling analysis: 5/23, Anya Shrubsole v Yorkshire Diamonds on 14 August 2016. Most runs: 1,062 in 36 matches, Heather Knight. Most wickets: 37 wickets in 36 matches, Freya Davies.
Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy Highest team total: 313/4, v Sunrisers on 18 September 2021. Lowest (completed) team total: 89, v South East Stars on 1 May 2023. Highest individual score: 157*, Sophie Luff v Sunrisers on 18 September 2021. Best individual bowling analysis: 5/26, Fi Morris v Sunrisers on 5 September 2020. Most runs: 1,769 runs in 43 matches, Sophie Luff. Most wickets: 41 wickets in 34 matches, Chloe Skelton.
Charlotte Edwards Cup Highest team total: 186/8, v Northern Diamonds on 19 May 2023. Lowest (completed) team total: 99, v The Blaze on 7 June 2024. Highest individual score: 78, Sophie Luff v Sunrisers on 29 May 2022.