# South East Stars

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

| Venue | Games hosted by season | Games hosted by season | Games hosted by season | Games hosted by season | Games hosted by season | Games hosted by season |
| Venue | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | Total |
| County Ground, Beckenham | 2 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 28 |
| The Oval | 1 | 1 | – | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| St Lawrence Ground | – | 1 | – | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Woodbridge 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 |
| Batters |||||||
| 14 | Kirstie White | England | (1988-03-14) 14 March 1988 (age 36) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| 25 | Madeleine Blinkhorn-Jones | England | (2003-04-20) 20 April 2003 (age 21) | Right-handed | – | |
| 28 | Aylish Cranstone | England | (1994-08-28) 28 August 1994 (age 30) | Left-handed | Left-arm medium | |
| All-rounders |||||||
| 4 | Bryony Smith ‡ | England | (1997-12-12) 12 December 1997 (age 26) | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | Club captain |
| 7 | Paige Scholfield ‡ | England | (1995-12-19) 19 December 1995 (age 28) | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | |
| 10 | Phoebe Franklin | England | (1998-02-18) 18 February 1998 (age 26) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| 18 | Priyanaz Chatterji ‡ | Scotland | (1993-08-12) 12 August 1993 (age 31) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| 24 | Alice Davidson-Richards ‡ | England | (1994-05-29) 29 May 1994 (age 30) | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | |
| 26 | Alice Capsey ‡ | England | (2004-08-11) 11 August 2004 (age 20) | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | |
| 27 | Kalea Moore | England | (2003-03-27) 27 March 2003 (age 21) | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | |
| 29 | Ryana MacDonald-Gay ‡ | England | (2004-02-12) 12 February 2004 (age 20) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| 47 | Sophia Dunkley ‡ | England | (1998-07-16) 16 July 1998 (age 26) | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | |
| 88 | Emma Jones | England | (2002-08-08) 8 August 2002 (age 22) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Wicket-keepers |||||||
| 20 | Kira Chathli | England | (1999-07-29) 29 July 1999 (age 25) | Right-handed | — | |
| 33 | Chloe Hill | England | (1997-01-03) 3 January 1997 (age 27) | Right-handed | — | |
| 67 | Jemima Spence | England | (2006-07-06) 6 July 2006 (age 18) | Right-handed | — | |
| Bowlers |||||||
| 9 | Claudie Cooper | England | (2002-05-01) 1 May 2002 (age 22) | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | |
| 12 | Alexa Stonehouse | England | (2004-12-05) 5 December 2004 (age 19) | Right-handed | Left-arm medium | |
| 19 | Danielle Gregory | England | (1998-12-04) 4 December 1998 (age 25) | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | |
| 21 | Matilda Corteen-Coleman | England | (2007-08-23) 23 August 2007 (age 17) | Left-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | |
| 38 | Bethan Miles | England | (2003-11-25) 25 November 2003 (age 20) | Right-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | |
| 53 | Tash Farrant ‡ | England | (1996-05-29) 29 May 1996 (age 28) | Left-handed | Left-arm medium | |
| 55 | Charlotte Lambert | England | (2006-06-22) 22 June 2006 (age 18) | 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 | County |
| Emily Burke | Surrey |
| Hannah Burridge | Surrey |
| Darcey Carter | Kent |
| Matilda Corteen-Coleman | Kent |
| Daisy Feast | Surrey |
| Indigo Gentry | Sussex |
| Genevieve Jeer | Kent |
| Laxmi Johal | Surrey |
| Anjali Ketan | Surrey |
| Charlotte Lambert | Surrey |
| Bethan Miles | Surrey |
| Maddie Richardson | Kent |
| Jemima Spence | Kent |
| Charlotte 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 | League standings | League standings | League standings | League standings | League standings | League standings | League standings | League standings | Notes |
| Season | Final standing | P | W | L | T | NR | BP | Pts | NRR | Pos | Notes |
| 2020 | Group stage | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 | −0.197 | 3rd | DNQ |
| 2021 | Group stage | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | −0.226 | 5th | DNQ |
| 2022 | Losing semi-finalists: 3rd | 7 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 26 | +0.687 | 2nd | Lost to Southern Vipers in the semi-final |
| 2023 | Losing semi-finalists: 3rd | 14 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 36 | +0.583 | 3rd | Lost to The Blaze in the semi-final |
| 2024 | Runners-up | 14 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 40 | +0.246 | 2nd | Lost to Sunrisers in the final |

### Charlotte Edwards Cup

| Season | Final standing | League standings | League standings | League standings | League standings | League standings | League standings | League standings | League standings | League standings | Notes |
| Season | Final standing | P | W | L | T | NR | BP | Pts | NRR | Pos | Notes |
| 2021 | Champions | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 21 | +1.050 | 1st | Won against Northern Diamonds in the final |
| 2022 | Losing semi-finalists: 3rd | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 21 | +0.660 | 1st | Lost to Central Sparks in the semi-final |
| 2023 | Group stage | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | –0.096 | 5th | DNQ |
| 2024 | Runners-up | 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 results :
| Year | 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 |
| Total | 52 | 27 | 23 | 0 | 2 | 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 summary :
| Opposition | Mat | Won | Lost | Tied | NR | Win % |
| 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 results :
| Year | 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 |
| Total | 33 | 22 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 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 summary :
| Opposition | Mat | Won | Lost | Tied | NR | Win % |
| 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