South East Stars were a women's cricket team that represented the London & South East region, one of eight regional hubs in English domestic women's cricket. They played their home matches at various grounds, including the County Cricket Ground, Beckenham. They were captained by Bryony Smith and coached by Johann Myburgh. The team carried over many elements of the WCSL team Surrey Stars, but were partnered with both Surrey and Kent. The team won the inaugural Charlotte Edwards Cup, beating Northern Diamonds in the final.
At the end of the 2024 season, following reforms to the structure of women's domestic cricket, the team was effectively replaced by a professionalised Surrey team.
History In 2020, women's cricket in England was restructured, creating eight new 'regional hub' teams, with the intention of playing both 50-over and 20-over cricket. South East Stars were one of the sides created under this structure, effectively replacing the Women's Cricket Super League team Surrey Stars and representing the London & South East region, partnering with Surrey and Kent. The side was to be captained by Tash Farrant and coached by Jonathan Batty. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 season was truncated, and only 50-over cricket was played, in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy. South East Stars finished third in the South Group of the competition, winning two of their six matches. At the end of the season, five Stars players were given full-time domestic contracts, the first of their kind in England: Tash Farrant, Alice Davidson-Richards, Sophia Dunkley, Bryony Smith and Aylish Cranstone.
The following season, 2021, South East Stars competed in both the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy and the newly formed Twenty20 competition, the Charlotte Edwards Cup. Johann Myburgh was named as the new Head Coach of the side. In the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, the side finished fifth in the group of eight, winning three of their seven matches, including scoring the highest team score of the tournament in the opening match, 324/7 against Sunrisers. In the Charlotte Edwards Cup, the Stars topped Group A of the tournament, winning five of their six matches to progress directly to the final. In the final, they played against Northern Diamonds. Chasing 139 to win, South East Stars won by 5 wickets with 2 overs to spare, with Alice Capsey top scoring with 40*. Bryony Smith, who captained the side throughout most of the tournament whilst Tash Farrant was on international duty, ended the tournament as the leading wicket-taker, with 14 wickets. Smith became the permanent captain of the side ahead of the 2022 season. The team qualified for the semi-final of the Charlotte Edwards Cup that season after topping Group A with five wins from six matches, but lost by 2 wickets to Central Sparks. They finished second in the group stage of the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, qualifying for the play-off. In the play-off, they lost to Southern Vipers by 6 wickets.
In 2023, they finished fifth in the Charlotte Edwards Cup, winning three of their seven matches. They finished third in the group stage of the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, therefore qualifying for the play-off. However, they lost in the play-off to The Blaze by 8 wickets (DLS). In 2024, the side were runners-up in both competitions. In the Charlotte Edwards Cup, they finished second in the group stage before beating Southern Vipers in the semi-finals and losing to The Blaze in the final. In the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, they again finished second in the group, and again defeated Southern Vipers in the semi-finals. They lost to Sunrisers in the final. Stars batter Alice Davidson-Richards was the leading run-scorer in the tournament, with 650 runs.
2024 was the side's final season, with reforms to the structure of domestic cricket in England meaning that the side was effectively replaced by a professionalised Surrey team.
Home grounds VenueGames hosted by season20 21 22 23 24 TotalCounty Ground, Beckenham 2 4 5 7 10 28The Oval 1 1 – 1 2 5St Lawrence Ground – 1 – 1 1 3Woodbridge Road, Guildford – 1 2 2 – 5
Players Current squad Final squad, 2024 season. No. denotes the player's squad number, as worn on the back of their shirt. denotes players with international caps. No. Name Nationality Birth date Batting style Bowling style Notes Batters14 Kirstie White Right-handed Right-arm medium 25 Madeleine Blinkhorn-Jones Right-handed – 28 Aylish Cranstone Left-handed Left-arm medium All-rounders4 Bryony Smith Right-handed Right-arm off break Club captain7 Paige Scholfield Right-handed Right-arm fast-medium 10 Phoebe Franklin Right-handed Right-arm medium 18 Priyanaz Chatterji Right-handed Right-arm medium 24 Alice Davidson-Richards Right-handed Right-arm fast-medium 26 Alice Capsey Right-handed Right-arm off break 27 Kalea Moore Right-handed Right-arm off break 29 Ryana MacDonald-Gay Right-handed Right-arm medium 47 Sophia Dunkley Right-handed Right-arm leg break 88 Emma Jones Right-handed Right-arm medium Wicket-keepers20 Kira Chathli Right-handed — 33 Chloe Hill Right-handed — 67 Jemima Spence Right-handed — Bowlers9 Claudie Cooper Right-handed Right-arm off break 12 Alexa Stonehouse Right-handed Left-arm medium 19 Danielle Gregory Right-handed Right-arm leg break 21 Tilly Corteen-Coleman Left-handed Slow left-arm orthodox 38 Bethan Miles Right-handed Slow left-arm orthodox 53 Tash Farrant Left-handed Left-arm medium 55 Charlotte Lambert Right-handed Right-arm medium
Academy The South East Stars Academy team played against other regional academies in friendly and festival matches across various formats. The academy selected players from across the South East region, and included some players who are also in the first team squad. Players in the 2023/24 Academy are listed below:
Name CountyEmily Burke SurreyHannah Burridge SurreyDarcey Carter KentMatilda Corteen-Coleman KentDaisy Feast SurreyIndigo Gentry SussexGenevieve Jeer KentLaxmi Johal SurreyAnjali Ketan SurreyCharlotte Lambert SurreyBethan Miles SurreyMaddie Richardson KentJemima Spence KentCharlotte Stubbs Surrey
Overseas players Lauren Smith – Australia (2022) Tazmin Brits – South Africa (2023) Georgia Redmayne – Australia (2024)
Coaching staff
Head Coach: Johann Myburgh Regional Director: Emma Calvert Assistant Coach: Darren Stevens Senior Regional Talent Manager: Tom Lister Regional Talent Manager: Jenni Jackson Lead Strength & Conditioning Coach: Guy Pitchers Medical Services Lead: Saajan Shah Nutritionist: Charlie Binns Sport Psychologist: Louise Byrne Performance Analyst: Mark Stewart Team Operations Manager: Lettie Hadley
As of the 2024 season.
Seasons Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy Season Final standing League standings Notes P W L T NR BP Pts NRR Pos 2020 6 2 4 0 0 2 10 −0.197 3rd DNQ 2021 7 3 4 0 0 1 13 −0.226 5th DNQ 2022 7 5 1 0 1 4 26 +0.687 2nd Lost to Southern Vipers in the semi-final 2023 14 7 6 0 1 6 36 +0.583 3rd Lost to The Blaze in the semi-final 2024 14 9 5 0 0 4 40 +0.246 2nd Lost to Sunrisers in the final
Charlotte Edwards Cup Season Final standing League standings Notes P W L T NR BP Pts NRR Pos 2021 6 5 1 0 0 1 21 +1.050 1st Won against Northern Diamonds in the final 2022 6 5 1 0 0 1 21 +0.660 1st Lost to Central Sparks in the semi-final 2023 7 3 4 0 0 0 12 –0.096 5th DNQ 2024 10 7 2 0 1 4 34 +0.309 2nd Lost to The Blaze in the final
Statistics Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy + Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy – summary of resultsYear Played Wins Losses Tied NR Win % 2020 6 2 4 0 0 33.33 2021 7 3 4 0 0 42.86 2022 8 5 2 0 1 62.50 2023 15 7 7 0 1 46.67 2024 16 10 6 0 0 62.50 Total52272302 51.92 Abandoned matches are counted as NR (no result) Win or loss by super over or boundary count are counted as tied.
+ Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy – teamwise result summaryOppositionMat Won Lost Tied NRWin % Central Sparks 6 4 2 0 0 66.67 Northern Diamonds 6 1 4 0 1 16.67 North West Thunder 6 3 3 0 0 50.00 Southern Vipers 10 2 8 0 0 20.00 Sunrisers 9 8 1 0 0 88.89 The Blaze 7 5 2 0 0 71.43 Western Storm 8 4 3 0 1 50.00
Charlotte Edwards Cup + Charlotte Edwards Cup - summary of resultsYear Played Wins Losses Tied NR Win % 2021 7 6 1 0 0 85.71 2022 7 5 2 0 0 71.43 2023 7 3 4 0 0 42.86 2024 12 8 3 0 1 66.67 Total33221001 66.67 Abandoned matches are counted as NR (no result) Win or loss by super over or boundary count are counted as tied.
+ Charlotte Edwards Cup - teamwise result summaryOppositionMat Won Lost Tied NRWin % Central Sparks 7 4 3 0 0 57.14 Northern Diamonds 3 2 1 0 0 66.67 North West Thunder 2 1 1 0 0 50.00 Southern Vipers 6 3 3 0 0 50.00 Sunrisers 5 5 0 0 0 100.00 The Blaze 5 3 2 0 0 60.00 Western Storm 5 4 0 0 1 80.00
Records Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy Highest team total: 334/5, v North West Thunder on 22 April 2023. Lowest (completed) team total: 98 v Southern Vipers on 5 September 2020. Highest individual score: 134*, Paige Scholfield v Western Storm on 1 May 2023. Best individual bowling analysis: 6/28, Alice Capsey v Western Storm on 1 May 2023. Most runs: 1,354 runs in 42 matches, Alice Davidson-Richards. Most wickets: 48 wickets in 47 matches, Danielle Gregory.
Charlotte Edwards Cup Highest team total: 183/9, v Sunrisers on 5 June 2022. Lowest (completed) team total: 66, v Southern Vipers on 19 June 2024. Highest individual score: 83, Bryony Smith v Southern Vipers on 23 May 2023. Best individual bowling analysis: 5/19, Matilda Corteen-Coleman v Northern Diamonds on 31 May 2024. Most runs: 773 runs in 33 matches, Bryony Smith. Most wickets: 34 wickets in 33 matches, Bryony Smith.
Honours Charlotte Edwards Cup: Champions (1) – 2021
See also Kent Women cricket team Surrey Women cricket team Surrey Stars
References