Team Brunt came out on top after a competitive week of cricket at the 2019 ECB School Games in Loughborough, defeating Team Knight in the final.

The competition brought together 41 of the best young female cricketers in the country for a round-robin T20 tournament, with teams named after England stars Heather Knight, Katherine Brunt and Nat Sciver.

And Team Brunt won the high-scoring final with seven balls to spare, with a 50 from opener Phoebe Franklin helping them on their way to a six-wicket win.

Lucinda Kendall topped the batting charts for the tournament, with her 47 in Team Knight’s final innings taking her to 124 runs for the week.

Team Brunt possessed one of the Games’ best bowlers in Hannah Baker, who took seven wickets at just nine runs apiece, bettered only by Team Sciver’s Olivia Thomas, who bagged eight scalps.

As well as the cricket, the three days also offered off-field education, with anti-doping, athlete workshops and programmes on how to balance education and life all featuring.

Di Lewis, National Talent Manager for Women’s Cricket, said: “It was great to see some fantastic individual and team performances this week at the ECB School Games.

“The past three days in Loughborough have given us a great opportunity to track the progress of some of our most talented youngsters, while giving the cricketers themselves the chance to play against their peers from around the country.

“For some of the girls, this tournament will have been their first chance to see how they compare to players on a national scale. Others are already involved in England development programmes and were keen to continue impressing the coaches and moving up the pathway.

“It’s exciting to see so much potential coming through in the women’s game and we look forward to following their progress in the coming years.” 

School Games squads 

Team Knight

Scarlett Hughes (wk)
Bethan Solomon
Lucia Kendall
Rebecca Odgers
Grace Scrivens
Lizzie Scott
Kalea Moore
Ellie Mitchell
Anjalie Singh
Sonali Patel
Freya Kemp
Sophie Smale
Fran Goldthorp
Ria Fackrell

Team Brunt

Alice Capsey (wk)
Alex Avoth
Phoebe Franklin
Chloe Brewer
Deeksha Sharma
Beth Harmer
Olivia Churcher
Sophie Munro
Cassidy McCarthy
Katie Wolfe
Daisy Mullan
Hannah Baker
Poppy Davies
Amy Gordon

Team Sciver

Ella Claridge (wk)
Leah Dobson
Ella McCaughan
Illenia Simms
Emma Corney
Sophie Mitchelmore
Bethan Ellis
Rebecca Halliday
Grace Ballinger
Gayatri Gole
Olivia Thomas
Lauren Filer
Liberty Heap