The 2024 season was North West Thunder's fifth season, in which they competed in the 50 over Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy and the Twenty20 Charlotte Edwards Cup. In the Charlotte Edwards Cup, the side won three of their ten matches, finishing fifth in the group. In the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, the side finished sixth in the group, winning five of their fourteen matches.

The side was captained by Eleanor Threlkeld and coached by Chris Read. They played seven home matches at Old Trafford Cricket Ground, two at Stanley Park, Blackpool and one apiece at Rookwood Cricket Ground, Sale, Trafalgar Road Ground, Southport and Sedbergh School.

This was North West Thunder's final season in existence, effectively being replaced by a professionalised Lancashire team under the England and Wales Cricket Board's changes to the structure of women's domestic cricket from 2025 onwards.

Squad Departures On 21 November 2023, it was announced Sophia Turner had left the side, joining Northern Diamonds. Turner had previously been on loan to Diamonds in September 2023. On 19 April 2024, it was announced that Daisy Mullan had gone on loan to The Blaze for the opening six rounds of the 2024 Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy. On 3 September 2024, it was announced that Naomi Dattani had been loaned to Southern Vipers for the remainder of the season.

Arrivals At the start of the season, it was confirmed that Stephanie Butler, Laura Marshall and Olivia Thomas had not been retained in the squad compared to the previous season. On 6 March 2024, it was announced that Ailsa Lister had joined the side, signing a professional contract. On 11 April 2024, it was announced that the side had signed Katie Mack and Georgia Voll as overseas players for the season, with Mack available during April, May, August and September, and Voll available in May, June and July. On 30 April 2024, Grace Johnson was included in a matchday squad for the first time. On 25 August 2024, it was announced that the side had signed Darcey Carter on loan from South East Stars. On 31 August 2024, it was announced that the side had signed Evelyn Jones on loan from Central Sparks for the remainder of the season.

Personnel and contract changes On 24 November 2023, it was announced that Chris Read would be the side's new Head Coach, replacing Paul Shaw, who stepped down at the end of the previous season. On 6 March 2024, it was announced that Hannah Rainey had signed a professional contract with the side. On 23 April 2024, it was announced that Danielle Collins and Olivia Bell had signed their first professional contracts with the side.

Squad list Age given is at the start of North West Thunder's first match of the season (20 April 2024). Name Nationality Birth date Batting Style Bowling Style Notes Batters Danielle Collins Left-handed Right-arm medium Evelyn Jones Left-handed Left-arm medium Loaned from Central Sparks in September 2024 Katie Mack Right-handed Right-arm leg break Overseas player; April to May, August to September 2024 Daisy Mullan Right-handed Right-arm medium Loaned to The Blaze from April to May 2024 Shachi Pai Right-handed Right-arm medium Georgia Voll Right-handed Right-arm off break Overseas player; May to July 2024 All-rounders Naomi Dattani Right-handed Right-arm medium Loaned to Southern Vipers in September 2024 Liberty Heap Right-handed Right-arm off break Emma Lamb Right-handed Right-arm off break Fi Morris Right-handed Right-arm off break Wicket-keepers Alice Clarke Left-handed Right-arm medium Ailsa Lister Right-handed — Seren Smale Right-handed — Eleanor Threlkeld Right-handed — Captain Bowlers Olivia Bell Right-handed Right-arm off break Darcey Carter Right-handed Right-arm off break Loaned from South East Stars from August to September 2024 Kate Cross Right-handed Right-arm medium-fast Sophie Ecclestone Right-handed Slow left-arm orthodox Mahika Gaur Gaur has also played international cricket for the United Arab Emirates. Right-handed Left-arm medium Phoebe Graham Right-handed Right-arm medium Laura Jackson Right-handed Right-arm medium Grace Johnson Right-handed Right-arm medium Joined April 2024 Hannah Jones Left-handed Slow left-arm orthodox Sophie Morris Right-handed Slow left-arm orthodox Tara Norris Left-handed Left-arm medium Hannah Rainey Right-handed Right-arm medium

Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy Season standings

advanced to the Semi-finals

Fixtures

Tournament statistics Batting Player Matches Innings Runs Average High score 100s 50s 13 13 0 4 10 10 1 1 9 9 1 1 13 12 0 2 13 12 0 1 Source: ESPN Cricinfo Qualification: 200 runs.

Bowling Player Matches Overs Wickets Average Economy BBI 5wi 13 22 0 13 16 1 6 12 1 Source: ESPN Cricinfo Qualification: 10 wickets.

Charlotte Edwards Cup Season standings

advanced to the Semi-finals

Fixtures

Tournament statistics Batting Player Matches Innings Runs Average High score 100s 50s 9 9 0 1 9 9 0 1 Source: ESPN Cricinfo Qualification: 150 runs.

Bowling Player Matches Overs Wickets Average Economy BBI 5wi 9 9 0 6 7 0 4 6 0 9 6 0 Source: ESPN Cricinfo Qualification: 5 wickets.

Season statistics Batting PlayerRachael Heyhoe Flint TrophyCharlotte Edwards Cup Matches Innings Runs High score Average Strike rate 100s 50s Matches Innings Runs High score Average Strike rate 100s 50s Olivia Bell 1 1 4 4* – 80.00 0 0 – – – – – – – – Darcey Carter 2 2 12 11 6.00 48.00 0 0 – – – – – – – – Alice Clarke 5 5 87 41 17.40 50.28 0 0 – – – – – – – – Danielle Collins 8 8 58 23 7.25 60.41 0 0 8 5 59 30 11.80 84.28 0 0 Kate Cross 6 5 67 36 16.75 68.36 0 0 6 5 49 17* 12.25 122.50 0 0 Naomi Dattani 11 10 128 36 14.22 68.44 0 0 – – – – – – – – Sophie Ecclestone 3 3 36 24 12.00 92.30 0 0 4 4 53 23 13.25 100.00 0 0 Mahika Gaur 4 3 11 11 3.66 33.33 0 0 2 – – – – – – – Phoebe Graham 9 7 31 10 5.16 43.05 0 0 9 4 16 8* 8.00 80.00 0 0 Liberty Heap – – – – – – – – 5 3 30 12 30.00 71.42 0 0 Laura Jackson – – – – – – – – 1 – – – – – – – Grace Johnson 2 2 50 27 25.00 64.10 0 0 1 1 1 1 1.00 14.28 0 0 Evelyn Jones 3 3 73 57 24.33 66.97 0 1 – – – – – – – – Hannah Jones 13 9 68 26* 17.00 56.66 0 0 4 – – – – – – – Emma Lamb 10 10 356 107 39.55 84.36 1 1 9 9 228 63* 32.57 100.88 0 0 Ailsa Lister – – – – – – – – 5 4 75 44 18.75 117.18 0 0 Katie Mack 9 9 324 100 40.50 83.72 1 1 4 4 33 28 8.25 91.66 0 0 Fi Morris 13 12 275 89 22.91 84.09 0 2 9 9 132 43 14.66 120.00 0 0 Sophie Morris 6 4 2 2* 2.00 10.52 0 0 4 2 7 4 3.50 53.84 0 0 Daisy Mullan – – – – – – – – 1 1 2 2 2.00 50.00 0 0 Tara Norris 11 8 119 53* 19.83 72.12 0 1 8 6 43 13* 14.33 89.58 0 0 Shachi Pai 1 1 8 8 8.00 22.85 0 0 – – – – – – – – Seren Smale 13 13 515 99 39.61 71.92 0 4 9 9 207 88* 34.50 112.50 0 1 Eleanor Threlkeld 13 12 249 69* 24.90 62.87 0 1 9 8 59 20 7.37 73.75 0 0 Georgia Voll – – – – – – – – 1 1 19 19 19.00 146.15 0 0 Source: ESPN Cricinfo

Bowling PlayerRachael Heyhoe Flint TrophyCharlotte Edwards Cup Matches Overs Wickets Average Economy BBI 5wi Matches Overs Wickets Average Economy BBI 5wi Olivia Bell 1 4.3 0 – 6.22 – 0 – – – – – – – Darcey Carter 2 10.0 1 48.00 4.80 1/48 0 – – – – – – – Danielle Collins 8 – – – – – – 8 1.0 0 – 16.00 – 0 Kate Cross 6 50.1 12 19.00 4.54 6/40 1 6 21.3 7 17.14 5.58 2/14 0 Naomi Dattani 11 41.0 7 37.00 6.31 2/35 0 – – – – – – – Sophie Ecclestone 3 30.0 7 12.14 2.83 3/16 0 4 16.0 6 16.83 6.31 3/18 0 Mahika Gaur 4 31.0 4 32.00 4.12 3/33 0 2 8.0 4 12.50 6.25 3/39 0 Phoebe Graham 9 66.3 7 45.42 4.78 2/56 0 9 25.4 6 35.66 8.33 3/16 0 Liberty Heap – – – – – – – 5 1.0 0 – 17.00 – 0 Laura Jackson – – – – – – – 1 2.0 0 – 13.50 – 0 Grace Johnson 2 12.0 1 40.00 3.33 1/14 0 1 2.0 0 – 5.50 – 0 Hannah Jones 13 102.3 22 20.90 4.48 4/50 0 4 12.5 1 107.00 8.33 1/26 0 Fi Morris 13 80.4 16 25.93 5.14 6/35 1 9 29.0 9 16.55 5.13 3/22 0 Sophie Morris 6 52.4 9 21.11 3.60 3/31 0 4 13.0 4 17.50 5.38 2/13 0 Tara Norris 11 77.0 9 38.11 4.45 4/18 0 8 22.0 4 41.25 7.50 2/30 0 Georgia Voll – – – – – – – 1 1.0 0 – 8.00 – 0 Source: ESPN Cricinfo

Fielding PlayerRachael Heyhoe Flint TrophyCharlotte Edwards Cup Matches Innings Catches Matches Innings Catches Olivia Bell 1 1 0 – – – Darcey Carter 2 2 0 – – – Alice Clarke 5 5 2 – – – Danielle Collins 8 8 2 8 8 3 Kate Cross 6 6 4 6 6 1 Naomi Dattani 11 11 6 – – – Sophie Ecclestone 3 3 4 4 4 0 Mahika Gaur 4 4 0 2 2 0 Phoebe Graham 9 9 2 9 9 0 Liberty Heap – – – 5 5 1 Laura Jackson – – – 1 1 1 Grace Johnson 2 2 0 1 1 1 Evelyn Jones 3 3 2 – – – Hannah Jones 13 13 2 4 4 2 Emma Lamb 10 10 4 9 9 1 Ailsa Lister – – – 5 5 2 Katie Mack 9 9 2 4 4 1 Fi Morris 13 13 3 9 9 6 Sophie Morris 6 6 0 4 4 1 Daisy Mullan – – – 1 1 0 Tara Norris 11 11 6 8 8 2 Shachi Pai 1 1 0 – – – Seren Smale 13 13 4 9 9 1 Georgia Voll – – – 1 1 0 Source: ESPN Cricinfo

Wicket-keeping PlayerRachael Heyhoe Flint TrophyCharlotte Edwards Cup Matches Innings Catches Stumpings Matches Innings Catches Stumpings Eleanor Threlkeld 13 13 6 3 9 9 1 3 Source: ESPN Cricinfo

Notes

References