Western Storm: Heather Knight’s season review part two
31 October 2016
Part two of Heather Knight’s Western Storm season review.
England and Western Storm Captain looked back on her side’s first four matches in the Kia Super League and today she starts off with the Storm’s final group match against Yorkshire Diamonds at Headingley.
Match Five:
Western Storm 119 for 4 (Priest 50, Taylor 45) beat Yorkshire Diamonds 118 all out (Mooney 56, Shrubsole 5/23) by six wickets.
“This was quite a day for Anya. She bowled a quadruple wicket maiden in the last over of their innings which is something that you don’t see very often! I think she went for about 17 in the over before that but she definitely made up for it! To finish with those figures was great for her. You know what you’re going to get with her. She’s always got a plan and she’s one of the very best T20 bowlers in the world and she really showed her class in that last over. It was a convincing win and it ultimately secured us a place at finals day.
We were trying to get runs quickly in order to get the bonus point and Stafanie and Rachel put on 101 for the first wicket which got us off to a great start. It was really nice to see them both hitting the ball to all parts of the ground. Our batting was outstanding throughout the whole tournament and I think those two epitomised it on that day.”
Semi-Final:
Western Storm 128 for five (Knight 52) beat Loughborough Lightning 124 for seven (Perry 64*, Taylor 3/31) by five wickets.
“We had a great semi-final. We bowled really well and batted well to get over the line too. We knew Ellyse Perry would be dangerous and so it proved but we performed well as a unit again and it was nice to get a few runs and see us through to the final against Southern Vipers.”
Southern Vipers 143 for 3 (Bates 52) beat Western Storm 140 for 5 (Priest 57) by 7 wickets.
“Unfortunately we didn’t have a great final. We didn’t play our best game. Bowling wise we didn’t quite nail our plans and we probably left it a little too late with our batting and ended up about 15 to 20 runs short. Obviously we were all desperately disappointed not to win in the final but it was a great day to be involved in. It was great for the squad to make the final and I was really pleased with how all the players in the squad performed throughout what was a great tournament. I couldn’t have asked any more from them. We had a great group of girls and I really enjoyed captaining them. The whole squad got on really well and there was a great team spirit.
It was a good campaign but we just didn’t quite make it. It was a shame to be on the losing side in the final but the Vipers played better than us on the day and therefore deserved to come away with the trophy. The tournament as a whole was a massive success and some of the cricket that was played was really outstanding. From an England point of view it was a great competition because it gave the England players a taste of what they will face with the national team. It also gave the younger players a taste of playing against the best players in the world in front of big crowds and the pressure that brings. That sort of experience is priceless for the players that are coming through and it was great to see some of the younger players develop as the tournament went on”.
