Alex Hartley to lead Thunder in Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy

Rachael Heyhoe Flint trophy on Friday (August 28). Head coach Paul Shaw also announced a 13-member squad for the first two matches of the competition, that's set to start on August 29.

Left-arm spinner Hartley was part of England’s 2017 World Cup winning side and has taken 42 wickets from 32 international matches. She is one of the three players, along with Georgie Boyce and Ellie Threlkeld to receive retainer contracts with the North West region.

Three players from the England training squad namely Kate Cross, Sophie Ecclestone and rookie Emma Lamb are part of the 13-member squad as part of the ECB’s decision to allocate England squad players to each of the eight teams.

Alice Clarke, Danielle Collins, Rebecca Duckworth, Daisy Mullan and Liberty Heap from the original 15 miss out from the side that will play the first two matches of the tournament.

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Thunder will start their campaign with their match against Lightning at Trent Bridge on the opening day of the tournament and will take on Central Sparks on Monday (August 31), which was originally scheduled as a home game but now has been switched to Edgbaston because of the unavailability of Old Trafford and Liverpool Cricket Club. Northern Diamonds is the fourth team in the group.

Squad: Alex Hartley (c), Georgie Boyce, Natalie Brown, Kate Cross, Alice Dyson, Sophie Ecclestone, Laura Jackson, Hannah Jones, Emma Lamb, Laura Marshall, Olivia Thomas, Ellie Threlkeld, Sophia Turner