Slats the way to do it! 

Rachel Slater, a left-arm swing bowler with an extremely high ceiling, has a fascinating back story in that she is a Scottish international who was raised in Leeds and therefore qualifies for England. Added to that, she was also born in New York State and could have played internationally for the USA.

She was awarded a full-time contract with the Northern Diamonds ahead of 2022, describing it as a “dream come true”.

The left-arm quick had made her senior Diamonds’ debut in late 2021, in a Charlotte Edwards Cup T20 clash with the Western Storm at Durham. She struck with only her second ball and again in her second over before going on to play both regional finals that summer.

Slater then made her international debut for Scotland against Sri Lanka in Kuala Lumpur in January of 2022, at the Commonwealth Games Qualifiers. She has gone on to play 13 times for the country she qualifies for through her Scottish-born mother.

Slater has played for Yorkshire from age-group through to senior cricket.

She took a stunning 6-7 in an Under 17s game versus Staffordshire in 2019, a fixture in which she was captaining the county.

In 2022, whilst playing for the Northern Superchargers during the Hundred, she met and trained with one of her cricketing heroes Mitch Starc, who was in Leeds supporting his wife Alyssa Healy.

The 2023 summer was a challenging one for Slater, who played only one Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy game and spent some time away from cricket. But, having spoken inspiringly about managing ADHD in October, she seems ready to attack 2024 with gusto.

UPDATED: Jan 2024.