Putting the win in Winfield-Hill
It was a phrase used by Lauren and her wife Courtney, the ex-Leeds Rhinos and England rugby league star, throughout 2022. “We’re putting the win in Winfield-Hill” they would say as the trophies came flooding in. For Lauren’s part, she won both the Hundred with Oval Invincibles and the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy with the Northern Diamonds.
An England wicketkeeper-batter, a Yorkshire legend, Winfield-Hill has enjoyed a stunning couple of years in 2022 and 2023. It was just a shame that in the latter, team success with the Diamonds didn’t come alongside continued excellence with the bat.
In both 2022 and 2023, she was the overall leading run-scorer in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy. In the former, she accrued 470 runs from seven innings, including a brilliant best of 125 not out in a victory over the Southern Vipers at Headingley to clinch a Lord’s final appearance.
In 2023, she amassed 663 runs from 14 innings with a best of 116 not out in a win over South East Stars at Beckenham. She captained the Diamonds that day. As a result, she was named as the Diamonds Player of the Year for 2023 as well as being voted the Yorkshire Members’ Women’s Player of the Year.
It shows the strength of England Cricket at present that despite her excellent recent form, she has lost her central contract with England. But the silver-lining is that it meant the Diamonds could offer her a three-year regional contract ahead of 2023.
At time of writing, she has played 104 times for England across all formats since debuting in 2013.
She helped Yorkshire win the County Championship title in 2015, picking up her winner’s medal in a Buckingham Palace reception. Just around the corner, a couple of years later, she was in the England team that won the 50-over World Cup by beating India in a tense final at Lord’s.
Fingers crossed, there a many more titles to come for this serial champion.
UPDATED: Feb 2024.