Worcestershire Women’s Rapids captain Chloe Hill praised the quality of the current squad and the hard work they have put in after winning the ECB T20 Group Two competition.
The Rapids topped the qualifying group and then defeated Shropshire in the semi-final and Staffordshire in the final at Falkland CC on Sunday.
It meant they had triumphed in nine of their ten T20 matches this summer after playing some superb cricket.
Hill said: “We all said yesterday, even Gareth Davies and Ryan D’Oliveira (Rapids Coaches), that this is the strongest Worcestershire Rapids squad we’ve had.
“It’s the strongest on paper and, most importantly, in the way they’ve performed.
“Really, really proud of the girls, and it’s a reward for all the hard work they have put in from the start to the finish of the competition in these T20s.
“It would have been tough to walk away from not being the overall winners after topping the group.
“We were determined to try and make sure that did not happen and, all in all, pretty chuffed we came away as overall winners.
“The level of players we’ve got now, and the work and the training they are doing, is showing what a great bunch of girls we’ve got.
“In every game, we’ve got runs on the board, and I think it shows where our batting is as a team and where our standards are.
The Rapids amassed 216-3 in the semi-final win over Shropshire thanks to half-centuries from Ami Campbell and Georgina Macey and a five-wicket burst from England spinner Sarah Glenn.
Hill said: “The first game against Shropshire produced one of the highest T20 scores we’ve ever achieved.
“Seeing Ami (Campbell) get her first half-century for Worcestershire was quite special.
“Georgina (Macey) has been in excellent form in virtually every single match, and we know we can rely on her at the top of the order.
“Sarah (Glenn) bowled fantastic. For her to walk away with five wickets in that first game was fantastic.
“She looked really good with the ball. Our plans as a bowling attack early doors was to bowl straight, hit the stumps, don’t give them anything wide because it was a very quick and not the biggest of outfields.
“That is what Sarah did, and it just shows her level of skill to be able to do that consistently throughout her four overs.”
Campbell scored another fifty in the final to rescue the Rapids from 14-3 in a crucial partnership of 74 with Emily Arlott.
Hill said: “It was a fantastic knock by Ami, especially after we lost three wickets in the powerplay.
“For her and Emily Arlott and her to build that partnership was fantastic.”
Arlott then defied an injury to bowl a crucial 18th over just when Staffordshire were threatening to make the game a tight finish.
Hill explained: “In the field early on in the innings, Emily went down with a bit of a knee injury. We rested and rested her as much as possible, and then towards the innings, I said, ‘we need two good overs from you here.’
“One of the overs she bowled (the 18th), six slower balls out of the back of her hand, all on the spot, showed her level of experience.”
Ellie Anderson finished the game off with two wickets in the 19th over.
Hill said: “Because we’ve had Sarah (Glenn) back, I’ve said to Ellie, ‘you might have to come and bowl at the death,’ and she has taken on that role really well.
“She has taken two or three wickets nearly every game bowling at the death, so a new little role for her.”
