London Spirit are a franchise 100-ball cricket side based in North London. The team represents the historic counties of Middlesex, Essex and Northamptonshire in The Hundred,[1] which took place for the first time during the 2021 English and Welsh cricket season. Both the men's and women's sides play their home games at Lord's.
 | |
| Personnel | |
|---|---|
| Captain | Dan Lawrence (Men's team) Heather Knight (Women's team) |
| Coach | Trevor Bayliss (Men's team) Ashley Noffke (Women's team) |
| Overseas player(s) | Nathan Ellis Shimron Hetmyer Andre Russell (Men's team) Grace Harris Meg Lanning Georgia Redmayne (Women's team) |
| Team information | |
| Colours | |
| Founded | 2019 |
| Home ground | Lord's |
| Capacity | 30,000 |
| History | |
| No. of titles | 0 |
| The Hundred game wins | 16 (Men's team: 8) (Women's team: 8) |
| Official website | London Spirit |
History edit
The announcement of the new eight-team men's and women's tournament series in 2019 was not without controversy, with the likes of Virat Kohli criticising the England and Wales Cricket Board for pursuing a shift away from Test cricket,[2] while others argued the format should have followed the established and successful Twenty20 format. The ECB however decided it needed a more unique format to draw crowds.
In August 2019 the side announced that former Australian spinner Shane Warne would be the men's team's first coach, while former Australia Women coach Lisa Keightley was appointed coach of the Women's team.[3]
The inaugural Hundred draft took place in October 2019 and saw the Spirit claim Rory Burns as their headline men's draftee, and Heather Knight as the women's headliner. They are joined by England One-Day captain Eoin Morgan and Essex's Dan Lawrence for the men's team, while Freya Davies joins Knight in the women's side.[4]
Honours edit
Men's honours edit
The Hundred
- Third place: 2022
Women's honours edit
The Hundred
- 4th place: 2021 (highest finish)
Ground edit
Both the London Spirit men's and women's sides play at the home of Cricket, Lord's, in the St. John's Wood area of London. The women's side had been due to play at the home of Essex County Cricket Club, the County Ground in Chelmsford, and the home of Northamptonshire, the County Ground in Northampton but both teams were brought together at the same ground as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Current squads edit
- Bold denotes players with international caps.
Women's side edit
| No. | Name | Nationality | Date of birth (age) | Batting style | Bowling style | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batters | ||||||
| 5 | Heather Knight |  England |
26 December 1990 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | Captain |
| — | Cordelia Griffith | England |
19 September 1995 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| — | Meg Lanning |  Australia |
25 March 1992 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | Overseas player |
| All-rounders | ||||||
| 3 | Charlie Dean | England |
22 December 2000 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | |
| 17 | Grace Harris | Australia |
18 September 1993 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | Overseas player |
| 27 | Niamh Holland | England |
27 October 2004 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| 28 | Danielle Gibson | England |
30 April 2001 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Wicket-keepers | ||||||
| — | Georgia Redmayne | Australia |
8 December 1993 | Left-handed | — | Overseas player |
| Pace bowlers | ||||||
| 24 | Tara Norris |  United States |
4 June 1998 | Left-handed | Left-arm medium | UK passport |
| 44 | Sophie Munro | England |
31 August 2001 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| — | Eva Gray | England |
24 May 2000 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Spin bowlers | ||||||
| 33 | Sarah Glenn | England |
27 August 1999 | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | |
| — | Hannah Jones | England |
10 February 1999 | Left-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | |
Men's side edit
| No. | Name | Nationality | Date of birth (age) | Batting style | Bowling style | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batters | ||||||
| 15 | Zak Crawley | England |
3 February 1998 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | |
| 28 | Dan Lawrence | England |
12 July 1997 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | Captain |
| 45 | Daniel Bell-Drummond | England |
4 August 1993 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| — | Shimron Hetmyer |  West Indies |
26 December 1996 | Left-handed | — | Overseas player |
| — | Ollie Pope | England |
2 January 1998 | Right-handed | — | |
| All-rounders | ||||||
| 8 | Liam Dawson | England |
1 March 1990 | Right-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | |
| 20 | Matt Critchley | England |
13 August 1996 | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | |
| — | Andre Russell | West Indies |
29 April 1988 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | Overseas player |
| Wicket-keepers | ||||||
| 17 | Adam Rossington | England |
5 May 1993 | Right-handed | — | |
| 19 | Michael Pepper | England |
25 June 1998 | Right-handed | — | |
| Pace bowlers | ||||||
| 38 | Daniel Worrall | Australia |
10 July 1991 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | UK passport |
| 72 | Nathan Ellis | Australia |
22 September 1994 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | Overseas player |
| — | Richard Gleeson | England |
2 December 1987 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | |
| — | Olly Stone | England |
9 October 1993 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast | |
| Spin bowlers | ||||||
Seasons edit
Women's team edit
| Season | Group stage | Playoff stage | Ref. | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pld | W | L | T | NR | Pts | Pos | Pld | Pos | ||
| 2021 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 4th | Did not progress | [5] | |
| 2022 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7th | Did not progress | [6] | |
| 2023 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 6th | Did not progress | [7] | |
Men's team edit
| Season | Group stage | Playoff stage | Ref. | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pld | W | L | T | NR | Pts | Pos | Pld | Pos | ||
| 2021 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 8th | Did not progress | [8] | |
| 2022 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 3rd | 1[a] | 3rd | [9] |
| 2023 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 7th | Did not progress | [10] | |
Notes
- ^ London Spirit men qualified for the eliminator in 2022. They played one match, losing the playoff for the final against Manchester Originals by 5 wickets.
See also edit
- List of London Spirit cricketers
- List of cricket grounds in England and Wales
- List of Test cricket grounds
References edit
- ^ "The Hundred: Team-by-team guides, coach details and venues". Sporting Life. 21 October 2019. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
- ^ sport, The Guardian (28 August 2018). "Virat Kohli gives ECB's 100-ball 'experiment' the thumbs down". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
- ^ "Shane Warne named as coach of Lord's Hundred team". The Guardian. 9 August 2019. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
- ^ "The Hundred: Central contract and local icon 'drafts' explained". ESPNcricinfo. 1 October 2019. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
- ^ "The Hundred Women's Competition 2021". espncricinfo.com.
- ^ "The Hundred Women's Competition 2022". espncricinfo.com.
- ^ "The Hundred Women's Competition 2023". espncricinfo.com.
- ^ "The Hundred Men's Competition 2021". espncricinfo.com.
- ^ "The Hundred Men's Competition 2022". espncricinfo.com.
- ^ "The Hundred Men's Competition 2023". espncricinfo.com.
Further reading edit
- BBC: The Hundred player draft – covering the first draft signings for each region's team