| Loughborough Lightning | |
| Colours: | Purple |
| Coach: | Rob Taylor (2018–2019) Salliann Briggs (2016–2017) |
| Captain: | Georgia Elwiss |
| Founded: | 2016 |
| Ground: | Haslegrave Ground, Loughborough |
| Ground2: | Trent Bridge, Nottingham |
| Title1: | WCSL |
| Title1wins: | 0 |
| Website: | Loughborough Lightning |
| H Pattern B: | _thinpinksides |
| H Leftarm: | 800080 |
| H Body: | 800080 |
| H Rightarm: | 800080 |
| H Pants: | 800080 |
| H Title: | T20 kit |
Loughborough Lightning were an English women's Twenty20 cricket team based at Loughborough University. They were formed in 2016 to compete in the inaugural season of the Women's Cricket Super League. They primarily played their home matches at the Haslegrave Ground.[1] They were coached by Rob Taylor[2] and were captained by Georgia Elwiss.[3] The team was partnered with Loughborough University.[4] Together with the netball team and the women's rugby union team, the cricket team was one of three women's sports teams based at Loughborough University that used the Loughborough Lightning name.[5] In 2020, following reforms to the structure of women's domestic cricket, some elements of the Loughborough Lightning were retained for a new team, named just Lightning and representing a broader region.[6]
Loughborough Lightning were formed in 2016 to compete in the new Women's Cricket Super League, partnering with Loughborough University and playing across the Midlands.[7] In the first season of the WCSL, the Lightning finished 3rd in the group stage, progressing to the semi-final, where they were beaten by eventual runners-up Western Storm.[8] [9] The following season, 2017, saw Loughborough miss out on Finals Day, finishing 4th with two wins.[10]
2018 was Loughborough Lightning's most successful season, as they topped the group with 7 wins from 10 games, progressing straight to the final.[11] However, they were defeated by Surrey Stars by 66 runs after the Stars' Lizelle Lee hit a century.[12] Lightning bowler Kirstie Gordon was the leading wicket-taker of the tournament, with 17.[13] In 2019, the Lightning again progressed to Finals Day after finishing 2nd in the group with 7 victories, but were beaten in the semi-final by the Southern Vipers.[14] [15] Following this season, women's cricket in England was restructured and Loughborough Lightning were disbanded as part of the reforms; however they survived in spirit for a new team, Lightning, who represented a larger area, but retained some of their players.[16]
| Venue | Games hosted by season | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | Total | ||
| Haslegrave Ground | 3 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 12 | |
| County Ground, Derby | – | 1 | – | – | 1 | |
| Edgbaston Cricket Ground | – | – | 1 | – | 1 | |
| Trent Bridge | – | – | – | 1 | 1 |
Final squad, 2019 season[17]
| No. | Name | Nationality | Birth date | Batting style | Bowling style | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batters | ||||||
| 1 | 4 October 1993 | Right-handed | ||||
| 22 | Mignon du Preez | 13 June 1989 | Right-handed | Overseas player | ||
| All-rounders | ||||||
| 17 | Kathryn Bryce | 17 November 1997 | Right-handed | |||
| 20 | 20 March 2000 | Right-handed | ||||
| 25 | 25 March 1997 | Right-handed | ||||
| 24 | Jenny Gunn | 9 May 1986 | Right-handed | England Performance squad | ||
| 34 | Georgia Elwiss | 31 May 1991 | Right-handed | Club captain
| ||
| 50 | Hayley Matthews | 19 March 1998 | Right-handed | Overseas player | ||
| 58 | Chamari Atapattu | 9 February 1990 | Left-handed | Overseas player | ||
| Wicket-keepers | ||||||
| 27 | 12 November 1996 | Right-handed | — | |||
| 40 | Amy Jones | 13 June 1993 | Right-handed | — | England Performance squad | |
| Bowlers | ||||||
| 7 | 17 October 1997 | Right-handed | ||||
| 16 | 27 February 1999 | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | |||
| 46 | 4 June 1998 | Left-handed | ||||
| 48 | Kirstie Gordon | 20 October 1997 | Right-handed | England Performance squad | ||
Ellyse Perry – Australia (2016–2017)
Sophie Devine – New Zealand (2016, 2018) Kristen Beams – Australia (2017) Elyse Villani – Australia (2017–2018) Rachael Haynes – Australia (2018)
Chamari Atapattu – Sri Lanka (2019)| Season | Final standing | League standings | Notes | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | L | T | NR | BP | Pts | NRR | Pos | ||||
| 2016 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | +0.170 | 3rd | Lost to Western Storm in the semi-final | ||
| 2017 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 | +0.664 | 4th | DNQ | ||
| 2018 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 33 | +1.361 | 1st | Lost to Surrey Stars in the final | ||
| 2019 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 32 | +0.792 | 2nd | Lost to Southern Vipers in the semi-final | ||
| Year | Played | Wins | Losses | Tied | NR | Win % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 | |
| 2017 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 40.00 | |
| 2018 | 11 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 63.63 | |
| 2019 | 11 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 63.63 | |
| Total | 33 | 19 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 57.57 |
| Opposition | Mat | Won | Lost | Tied | NR | Win % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 73.33 | ||
| 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 42.85 | ||
| 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 71.42 | ||
| 7 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 28.57 | ||
| 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 66.66 |