Central Sparks take on the Northern Diamonds on Tuesday morning at Edgbaston, in their second T20 Charlotte Edwards Cup fixture of the season.
The Sparks come into the game off the back of two wins and were victorious the last time these two sides met back in April.
OVERVIEW
FIXTURE: Central Sparks v Northern Diamonds
COMPETITION: Charlotte Edwards Cup
DATE: Tuesday 23 May
GAME START: 11AM
VENUE: Edgbaston Stadium
Central Sparks
The Sparks come into this game in terrific form, having won their last two matches against the Southern Vipers and Sunrisers respectively. One of those wins, against the Vipers was in the 50 overs competition, with the latter being their T20 opener.
Sparks’ bowling unit has been firing all season long, with the likes of Em Arlott, Grace Potts, Katie George, Issy Wong, Georgia Davis & Erin Burns all taking wickets at speed. However, since her return to the side, batter & wicketkeeper Amy Jones, had joined her namesake Eve Jones at the top of the batting order, and the Sparks have been taking teams apart with the bat.
Both stand-out performers for the Sparks this season thus far, Burns and Jones, have been linchpins in the side, and pivotal to what Lloyd Tennant’s side have been doing. In the latest game, Jones recorded 51 runs, while Burns picked up two wickets.
The Sparks sit second in the CEC table after one game played, getting one win and they are just behind table toppers the Diamonds, who were also victorious at the weekend. Sparks will be hoping to make it three in a row as they play their first game at Edgbaston this season on Tuesday.
Northern Diamonds
As for the Diamonds, they are in good form having won their T20 opener against the Western Storm, and before that, beat the South East Stars in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy.
The Diamonds’ Lauren Winfield-Hill has been crucial for the side, posting some good run totals so far in 2023, but also captain Hollie Armitage hit a half-century at Headingley on Friday, so both will be looking to follow that up with strong performances against the Sparks at the home of the Warwickshire.
As well as the two batters, South African Chloe Tryon has been performing very well for the Diamonds and will have her eye on taking some T20 wickets in matchday two of the Charlotte Edwards Cup.
Head-to-Head
As previously mentioned, the Sparks won the last meeting between the two sides, by seven wickets in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy at Worcestershire’s New Road.
Before that though, Northern Diamonds had back-to-back wins in 2022 and 2021, with the Sparks winning the other fixture two years ago.
Player to watch
Having scored a half-century in the Diamonds’ last game, and being a key figure in the Diamonds’ squad, Hollie Armitage is the player to watch on Tuesday. So far this season, she has scored 156 runs, scoring 74 and 30 in separate games, while posting 37 runs when the two sides last met.
Ticketing Information
Tickets for the game at Edgbaston are priced from just £5, which you can purchase online here!
Alternatively, entry is free for Warwickshire & Sparks members, with entrance to the stadium open from 10am.