Lightning (women's cricket)
Lightning are a women's cricket team that represent the East Midlands region, one of eight regional hubs in English domestic women's cricket. They play their home matches at various grounds, including Trent Bridge and Grace Road. They are captained by Kathryn Bryce and coached by Chris Guest. The team carries over many elements of the WCSL team Loughborough Lightning, and maintain their partnership with Loughborough University. They also work alongside Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Lincolnshire. 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. Lightning were one of the sides created under this structure, effectively replacing the Women's Cricket Super League team Loughborough Lightning and representing the East Midlands, partnering with Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Lincolnshire, as well as Loughborough University. The side was to be captained by Kathryn Bryce and coached by Rob Taylor. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 season was truncated, and only 50-over cricket was played, in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy. Lightning finished bottom of the North Group in the competition, winning two of their six matches . At the end of the season, five Lightning players were given full-time domestic contracts, the first of their kind in England: Kathryn Bryce, Sarah Bryce, Bethan Ellis, Lucy Higham and Abigail Freeborn. The following season, 2021, Lightning competed in both the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy and the newly-formed Twenty20 competition, the Charlotte Edwards Cup. In the Charlotte Edwards Cup the side finished bottom of their group, losing all six of their matches. In the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, Lightning finished fourth in the group of eight, winning three of their seven matches. In the final match of the  season, Lightning scored 320/6 in their victory over Central Sparks, with the Bryce sisters, Kathryn and Sarah, sharing a 207-run partnership, the highest across the competition. Lightning bowler Kirstie Gordon was the leading wicket-taker in the competition, with 16 wickets. Rob Taylor left his role as Head Coach at the end of the season, and was later replaced by Chris Guest. Players. Current squad. As per 2021 season. Academy. The Lightning Academy team plays against other regional academies in friendly and festival matches across various formats. The Academy selects players from across the East Midlands region, and includes  some players who are also in the first team squad. Players in the 2022 Academy are listed below: Coaching staff. "As of the 2022 season."