Horton raises the bar

Charlotte Horton has set a stunning target in this season’s new Walter Lawrence award for the women’s game with an unbeaten 177 for Derbyshire Women against Northamptonshire Women.

The 26-year-old opener hit 28 fours and a six in her innings, scored off 157 balls, helping her side to an 83-run victory in the LV Women’s County Championship Division Three match at Derby.

The award goes to the batsman who makes the highest individual score in a season from the ECB Women’s County Championship, the ECB Women’s County T20 Cup and all England Women’s matches played on home soil.

The winner will receive a cheque for £1,000 as well as an engraved silver medallion and an invitation to the traditional Walter Lawrence Trophy end-of-season presentation dinner in the Long Room at Lord’s.

This latest initiative completes a quartet of Walter Lawrence Trophy awards, supported by Veuve Clicquot, which encompass four distinct areas of the game.