Picture by John Clifton/SWpix.com. Lauren Winfield-Hill has posted scores of 88 and 60 in the opening two rounds of the Vitality County T20 Cup, against Derbyshire and Staffordshire.
Yorkshire captain Lauren Winfield-Hill wants to put her own spin on the age-old saying of, ‘If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em’ when she faces Essex tomorrow.
The White Rose welcome the Eagles to Headingley for a blockbuster third-round tie in the Vitality County T20 Cup, starting at 2.30pm.
This is pretty much top of Tier 2 versus bottom of Tier 1, with the counties having had contrasting starts to their respective 50-over campaigns so far this summer.
While Essex have lost six and won one in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup and sit at the foot of that table, Yorkshire have won three from four in their second-tier equivalent and are second on the ladder.
Having also won through the opening two rounds of county cricket’s knockout answer to football’s FA Cup, Yorkshire are on a five-match winning streak.
“We’re playing well, and they’re a team who have struggled to find their way, so we’ll probably meet somewhere in the middle, won’t we?” said wicketkeeper-opener Winfield-Hill.
Picture by Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com. Yorkshire captain Lauren Winfield-Hill is heading to Essex on loan later this month. But not before she aims to knock them out of the Vitality County T20 Cup.
This is a fascinating tie for Yorkshire and Winfield-Hill in particular. Not only is there the realistic possibility of an upset at Headingley, the skipper is playing against the county she is due to join on loan at the end of this month.
The 34-year-old will play for Essex in the forthcoming Vitality Blast.
“It’s going to be a bit like a game immediately before you join up for the Hundred,” she smiled. “You know, you play against players who you’re about to play with.
“It will be interesting.”
But you can forget all about split loyalties. Winfield-Hill is desperate to win this one for her home county.
She recently spoke of this Vitality County Cup as being Yorkshire’s main priority in 2025 and the county having a point to prove after being denied Tier 1 status by the ECB for this summer.
Picture by John Clifton/SWpix.com. Netherlands international batter Sterre Kalis is also back in Yorkshire colours as she juggles commitments with her parent county and loan side Warwickshire in Tier 1.
“I think we’re ready for a bit more of a challenge,” said Winfield-Hill, whose side warmed up for this weekend with a six-wicket 50-over win against Leicestershire at York yesterday.
“We’ve been ok the last couple of games, but I think we can be better, and we’re ready to be put under a bit more pressure.
“We’re full of confidence. We’ve played some good T20 cricket (wins so far over Derbyshire and Staffordshire). We’re not relying on any one player, which I think is always a good sign.
“We’ve spoken a lot about it all year. It’s not necessarily about chasing the outcome of the result, it’s about actually, ‘Are we playing the way in which we want to play?’
“That’s what we’ll be focusing on.
“It’s just a really good moment to see where we’re at.
Picture by Robbie Stephenson/Getty Images. England A captain Grace Scrivens leads Essex.
“We prepare like a Tier 1 team, we’ve got the support of a Tier 1 structure, but until we start playing against those kinds of teams, we don’t truly know where we’re at. We’re looking forward to finding out.”
Essex are captained by England A skipper Grace Scrivens, the batting all-rounder, and they’re coached by Andy Tennant.
This is the third of six possible rounds through to a Finals Day at Taunton on Bank Holiday Monday, May 26.
A through draw right to the final has already been made.
The winner of this tie goes on to host either Devon or Warwickshire in the quarter-finals next Saturday. The possibility of a Yorkshire v Lancashire final remains.
Winfield-Hill is available to Yorkshire for the entirety of the competition, as is fellow batter Sterre Kalis, who is on loan at Warwickshire for the summer.
Picture by John Clifton/SWpix.com. Seamer Grace Hall has taken four wickets in two Vitality County T20 Cup fixtures.
While both players will represent their respective Tier 1 counties in the forthcoming Vitality Blast, which starts at the end of the month, they can still represent Yorkshire at stages through the Tier 2 equivalent should the schedules tie in.
“Yeah, there are some fixtures I’ll be playing in,” confirmed Winfield-Hill.
“I can’t remember exactly which ones they are, but I remember Gav (Gavin Hamilton, Yorkshire’s general manager of cricket), saying, ‘Can you play these two?’
“Look, I’ll still be around intermittently. It’s not like I’m going down to Essex and not coming back.
“I’ll still be training with the girls and things like that.”
Explaining the reasons behind the loan move, Winfield-Hill added: “Just in the build-up to the Hundred with the Oval Invincibles, and obviously this being the T20 format, I just thought it was important that I play some Tier 1 cricket.
Picture by John Clifton/SWpix.com. Beth Langston faces her home county at Headingley tomorrow.
“It’s striking the balance of having the best of both worlds, and I feel we’ve done that pretty well.
“I felt it was important for me to be around at Yorkshire at the start of the season, so I wanted to play in this 50-over block and obviously the County Cup as well.”
