Clare Connor delighted to end the summer on a high

Only a few months ago, it had appeared as though England's summer would be completely wiped out due to the ongoing pandemic. However, the ECB reiterated their commitment to the women's game announcing domestic retainer contracts and also organising the one-off Rachael Heyhoe Flint trophy - a regional 50-over competition consisting of eight teams. The final of the tournament is scheduled to happen on Sunday (September 27) with an unbeaten Southern Vipers to take on Northern Diamonds.

"We're absolutely delighted to be able to finish this summer with a real bang; to deliver the first season of the new domestic structure for the eight regional teams and in the guise this year of the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy," Connor told Sky Cricket.

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She added that the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy has provided female cricketers with a greater opportunity and financial security during a period that saw the postponement of the inaugural The Hundred competition which led to plenty of speculation about the future of the women's game.

"The regional structure is all about the pathway and performance elements of giving players more all-round opportunity to have specialist coaching, really good science and medicine support, a skill and fitness emphasis - giving them access to what our centrally-contracted women's players have had over the last five or six years."

"We will be investing every penny of what we said we would into the women's and the girl's game because it has been the right thing to do," she said, adding that the ECB would remain true to their ambition of cricket being a game for everyone by doing so.

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