Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Coach and captain Rich Pyrah and Lauren Winfield-Hill celebrate Saturday’s win over The Blaze at Headingley. Will we see similar scenes at Emirates Old Trafford this weekend?
Captain Lauren Winfield-Hill has urged her Yorkshire team-mates to relax and enjoy the occasion as they head across the Pennines this weekend for the first ever Roses fixture in women’s professional cricket against Lancashire.
The Roses rivals have met in the non-professional era before the Northern Diamonds and Thunder faced off in professional cricket under the regional banner between 2020-2024.
Yorkshire being in Tier 2 last season meant that, while they have played a number of friendlies – three of them have come this pre-season, both counties have had to be patient to lock horns in a competitive environment.
That will happen at Emirates Old Trafford on Saturday, starting at 10.30am.
This is actually a clash of last season’s Metro Bank One-Day Cup champions, with Lancashire winning the Tier 1 version and the White Rose triumphant in Tier 2.
Both have started this summer almost identically, one win and two defeats from three matches. They sit fifth and sixth in the nine-team table with five points apiece.
Lancashire have the edge courtesy of a superior net run-rate, but Yorkshire head into it with significant momentum having beaten last season’s semi-finalists in three different competitions The Blaze at Headingley on Saturday.
In-form wicketkeeper-opener Winfield-Hill, who has scored two fifties in three matches so far, said: “Lancashire are a good side with a couple of trophies in the cabinet. But what a great opportunity for us.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SW. Yorkshire’s Claudie Cooper celebrates dismissing The Blaze’s Kirstie Gordon on Saturday, one of three wickets for the off-spinner, who has started 2026 impressively with six wickets in three matches.
“They’ve recruited really well over the years and have put a lot of money into their women’s programme, and these are the games we want to play.
“I can’t wait to play against the best players in the country week in and week out, but I’ve always looked forward to this one.
“You know you have to be at the top of your game and play really well every week. That’s what keeps me going. It gets my beans going.
“I’m really excited to run it with the best players in the world, with the England players available as well.
“It’s going to be a great challenge, and it’ll be a great contest.”
Winfield-Hill added: “You do have to be careful you don’t try too hard, though, because naturally these games (against Lancashire) mean a little bit more.
“You’ve got to use that and fuel it in the right way.”
One player who will know how to handle the big occasion is Yorkshire’s Australian overseas all-rounder Jess Jonassen, who starred in the aforementioned win over The Blaze with a fluent 67 and then 4-18 with her left-arm spin.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Jess Jonassen appeals for a wicket against The Blaze. She finished with four of them, added to a half-century with the bat.
Jonassen has played in countless internationals – Ashes Tests, World Cup finals, etc.
In early 2020, she played in the T20 World Cup final between Australia and India, which the hosts won, in front of a crowd of more than 86,000.
In August 2017, she played five Kia Super League matches for Lancashire Thunder.
“It will be a really exciting match, and we’re looking forward to,” said the Queenslander. “The girls have played a lot of pre-season games against Lancashire, so they should know them like the back of their hand.
“It will be very interesting because most of the time I’ve come over to play in England has been later in the summer. I’ve never actually played at Old Trafford early in the season.
“But, if the way the pitches have been playing already is anything to go by, it will be a really good pitch again.
“Hopefully there’s a little bit on offer for the spinners, like myself. And we’ve got a few other good spinners in our side as well.”
Lancashire may have won all three pre-season matches, both in Potchefstroom and at Moorlands CC, but it counts for little on Saturday.
Picture by Jeremy Ng/Getty Images. England left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone could face Yorkshire on Saturday.
The Red Rose won two titles last year, also adding the Vitality County T20 Cup to their One-Day Cup success. But they have had a mixed start to the season.
Like Yorkshire, they have also been beaten by Somerset. That came last time out at Southport on Sunday when the visitors chased down 260 to win by four wickets.
They could field England quartet Kate Cross, Sophie Ecclestone, Mahika Gaur and Emma Lamb, though the latter missed that Somerset game through injury.
Their overseas player is Ireland top-order batter and captain Gaby Lewis. Like Lamb, she also missed the Somerset game because of injury.
Yorkshire’s England leg-spinning all-rounder Sarah Glenn is yet to feature this season as she continues her recovery from a broken finger.
