25th June 2020
| Mallory Gray
Western Storm are delighted
to announce that Sophie Luff, Fi Morris and Danielle Gibson have been awarded
retainer contracts from the 1st June through to the 30th September 2020.
These players, the first to take their place in the new look Western
Storm’s squad, will adhere to strength and conditioning programmes and
undertake certain online modules including anti-corruption and anti-doping
education. They will also give some of their time for “good of the game”
activities and appearances. At the end of their retainer contracts, the
players will transition onto a full-time contract with the
intention of starting in a full-time capacity in October.
The three names will be well
known to previous followers of the Kia Super League as both Sophie Luff and
Danielle Gibson featured regularly for Western Storm during this period. Luff, who is Captain of the
Somerset Women’s team is a well-known face across the South West and
Wales region as she was also awarded a contract for The Hundred competition
with Welsh Fire in 2020. Sophie currently works for both Somerset County
Cricket Club and the Somerset Cricket Board as both Head Coach for the Women
and Girls Pathway and a Chance to Shine coach, respectively.
On the field, Sophie is a
dynamic cricketer who has been integral to Western Storm’s successes to date,
hitting the winning runs for Western Storm in the KSL Final in 2017.
Gibson, who plays for Wales
Women and is from Dumbleton Cricket Club, is another familiar face to
Western Storm followers. Danielle cemented her place in the Western Storm line
up during the 2018 season, recording her best figures of 2-34 v Surrey Stars at
the Cheltenham Festival. The youngest of the three players at just 19, Danielle impressed in the
Kia Super League with her right arm seam and her outstanding athleticism in the
field. Danielle has been included in the England Women’s Senior Academy programme
since 2018 which trains at the National Cricket Performance Centre in
Loughborough and is a youngster with a bright future in the game.
Fi Morris will be a new name
in the Western Storm line-up. A previous recruit of the Southern Vipers in the
KSL (2016-2019), Fi is an exciting right-hand batter and right
arm off-break bowler.
Fi is a highly experienced
cricketer who lives in Bristol and currently play’s for Hampshire
Women and Winterbourne Cricket Club in the West of England Premier
League. Fi’s cricketing journey saw her part
of both the Gloucestershire and
England Women’s Academy programmes and Fi was a key part of
Hampshire’s County Championship winning team in 2018.
On awarding these contracts,
Western Storm’s Regional Director of Cricket Lisa Pagett said “We are delighted
to award these three retainer contracts to Sophie, Danielle and Fi. All three
players were proven performers in the Kia Super League and I
have no doubt they will make a significant impact in the new
Regional Domestic Competition. "Despite the setbacks we have all seen
due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s fantastic to see the ECB
making a strong commitment to the players with these retainer
contracts, I know all three girls will be big contributors
on the field as well as great ambassadors for the South West and Wales
region."
Earlier today, Lisa spoke to Cricket Wales' Head of Talent Pathway Matt Thompson to talk more around the contracts, the women and girls game generally and what there is to look forward to for aspiring young girls. The link can be found here: https://youtu.be/9ldc_plh-CA